A lighthouse on a virtually deserted island. Two pilots who are also brothers. A father-daughter relationship that smacks of Tangled. Oh, yes, and romance.
This, ladies and gentlemen, is The Otherworld by Abbie Emmons.
Orca Monroe wants only one thing for her eighteenth birthday: to experience the Otherworld – the mysterious “mainland” across the sea that her father has forbidden her from visiting.
Growing up in a lighthouse on a remote island, Orca has lived isolated from the world . . . until one day when she finds a cell phone washed up on the beach. Orca has her first conversation with Jack Stevenson, whose older brother, Adam, has gone missing after crashing his seaplane off the coast.
One stormy night, Orca finds Adam Stevenson collapsed on her doorstep. As she nurses him back to health, she finds herself spellbound by his inquiring mind and rugged good looks. Simultaneously, Adam is captivated by her wild beauty and pure heart. But with a ten-year age gap between them – and her father’s determination to keep Orca protected from outsiders – Adam knows they can never be together.
Resigned to give Orca up, Adam returns to the mainland – but Jack refuses to leave her trapped at the lighthouse. Blind to the fact that his brother is in love with her, Jack offers to show Orca the world she’s always dreamed of. But when she leaves her island for the first time, Orca begins to realise that the mainland may hold more dark secrets than she ever imagined . . . and the two brothers she helped bring back together may be the very people she tears apart.
I’m not one for romance, but the lighthouse got me 😉 I also loved Abbie’s debut novel, 100 Days of Sunlight,and wanted to read anything else she wrote. I’m grateful to NetGalley and Abbie for an advance copy of this novel, so here is my honest review of The Otherworld.
The prose. Abbie’s writing was very descriptive, if a little wordy sometimes and slowed down (I thought) by adjectives and similes. She did a lovely job of describing Orca’s island home; it became a place you cared about, too. The worldbuilding fell away a bit as soon as we were in the Otherworld, and I found it harder to picture the boys’ hometown and its surrounds.
The people. This is where I feel torn. Because I enjoyed 100 Days of Sunlight and have a lot of admiration for Abbie, I really wanted to love this book. But it was so hard to sympathise with any of the characters.
I was irritated with Orca. I understand she has to be innocent, naïve and untamed, but her lack of filter was sometimes a bit much.
Adam and Jack Stevenson started out as stronger, more interesting characters; Jack was particularly sympathetic in the beginning. But Jack’s subsequent behaviour – especially concerning Orca – put him on the blacklist. I’ll single out the scene where he bought Orca a swimming costume, and made sure to pick a skimpy bikini. His and Adam’s ensuing reactions made me squirm and roll my eyes. I didn’t think the incident added anything to the story.
Adam, unfortunately, also didn’t have enough strength of character to hold my interest. I found him a little bland, uninspiring, and maybe just too good.
The plot. The plot hinges on Orca’s father’s decision to keep her secluded on the island, far from the mainland. Although The Otherworld explores his motives and backstory, I didn’t feel that sufficiently explained his actions, making the novel’s premise a bit flimsy. A few other incidents also seemed implausible and too easily resolved, like we were asked to suspend belief. That’s easy with fantasy, but harder when a novel is set in 1997 America.
Orca and Adam’s romance stands central to this novel, and . . . Well, I just couldn’t get into it. By turns it left me annoyed, unbelieving, flabbergasted, uncomfortable, impatient. I wished they would just get married so the book could end.
Many Goodreads reviewers flagged The Otherworld’s age-gap romance. I’m pretty open-minded about those, but I quickly saw what they were on about. The interaction between eighteen-year-old Orca and twenty-eight-year-old Adam made me cringe, and I couldn’t buy it. I can understand Orca falling for an older man (especially since he’s the first man she meets other than her father). But at almost twenty-five, I can’t believe Adam’s feelings for Orca. Declarations of undying love so early on? And how do they know they’re soulmates when half the time they’re kissing rather than talking? How will you get to know the other person’s mind, heart and worldview unless you talk to them? Yes, Adam, small talk is allowed sometimes. (This is probably a Me Problem: I want my romance to be believable.)
I hate to say it, but I didn’t enjoy The Otherworld, which is why I won’t give it a star rating. I thought the book could be significantly shorter, and my lack of sympathy for any of the main characters kept me from getting involved. Ten years ago I would have loved this book; now the lack of believability drove me crazy. The Otherworld is a sweet and easy read, although someone like me will argue it’s too sugary and straightforward. But if love triangles are your thing – coupled with wild and lonely landscapes, relationship drama, love and longing, lush language and plane rides – then this book is for you.
Only by Grace 