The God of Endings

  I received a copy of this release from the publisher in exchange for an honest review.

Title: The God of Endings 

Author: Jacqueline Holland

Publisher: Flatiron 

Release Date: 3.7.23

Publisher’s Summary 

By turns suspenseful and enchanting, this breathtaking first novel weaves a story of love, family, history, and myth as seen through the eyes of one immortal woman

Collette LeSange is a lonely artist who heads an elite fine arts school for children in upstate New York. Her youthful beauty masks the dark truth of her life: she has endured centuries of turmoil and heartache in the wake of her grandfather’s long-ago decision to make her immortal like himself. Now in 1984, Collette finds her life upended by the arrival of a gifted child from a troubled home, the return of a stalking presence from her past, and her own mysteriously growing hunger.

Combining brilliant prose with breathtaking suspense, The God of Endings serves as a larger exploration of the human condition in all its complexity, asking us the most fundamental question: is life in this world a gift or a curse?

My Review

I'm seeing comparisons of this to The Invisible Life of Addie La Rue and I can see that, but beware that Addie is soft and sad, while this is sharp and dark. Yes, it is a vampire story but much more The Historian than Twilight.  Collette LeSange (the protagonist's current name) is experiencing a sudden increase in cravings. "For more than a century, I could have set a clock by my cravings, and a quart of blood every third day never failed to satisfy them. But suddenly and mysteriously, this is no longer the case." Pursued by Czernobog, the god of endings, we follow Ana/Collette across the globe, through war and persecution, landing in 1984 teaching privileged preschoolers at her private home school. As she becomes intertwined with one of the students and his mother (think A Simple Favor) her actions become more dangerous until she acknowledges what she must do to curb her increased appetite. This story unfolded in so many directions that I could see it being turned into a television series. 

At 480 pages this debut novel runs long and the nonlinear timeline confused me a few times, but I was truly invested in and enjoyed the story. No spoilers but the ending is both final and leaves the option for a sequel (or series) that I would love to read.