A few days ago, I was reading this sumptuous novel and my husband was talking to me. Or so he says he was, I have no recollection of it. He could have been telling me there were cats having tea on our ceiling and I would paid him no mind, that's how involving I found Sere Prince Halverson's new novel, ALL THE WINTERS AFTER.

The summary you'll see below offers a good basis, so I won't get into that. Instead, can I tell you how this one made me feel?

I found myself swept away by the narrative of this complicated, layered family in this complicated, layered land. I know nothing of Alaska (beyond what I've learned in my repeated viewings of The Proposal, let's be honest) and I'm one of those folks who considers myself a life-long learner. I love learning about people and places that I have no first hand knowledge of and the fact this was set in Alaska was the reason I picked it up in the first place. On that front, it did not disappoint. I feel like I got a gentle but thorough history of America's Final Frontier, while also learning about some incredibly realistic characters.

But I asked if I could tell you how it made me feel, so let me do that. It made me feel thankful for my family and grateful for the opportunity to love. Cheesy, I know, but true. There were moments in this narrative, as the two main characters began to reveal piece of themselves to each other I actually paused and took a breath. It felt like I was trespassing on intimacy, and man, does that take craft. I am in awe of Halverson's work here.

I'd absolutely recommend ALL THE WINTERS AFTER for anyone who loves life-like descriptions (there's definitely more narrative than dialogue) and rich worlds.