Posted on  20/08/2024 17:12:13

My rating: 5 What do you want the most in the world stars!!

Copy received by the author in exchange for and honest review.


This book is a work of art! And just like each and every work of art, it will appeal to some, but not to others. I am one of those who felt drawn to it and thoroughly appreciated it.

Let me just start by saying this: if you're looking for a light and fluffy time travel romance with lots of smut and cheesy relationships, don't waste your time with either my review, or this book! You've gotta look elsewhere to find that!
This story is for the old souls! For those who want meaning and beauty within the pages of their books! For those who don't shy away from the grittiness of life and human nature and do not rush to condemn a broken soul!

'Sonder(n): the realisation that each random passerby is living a life as vivid and complete as your own.'

Sonder Village somehow ended up at the very bottom of my received ARCs pile and I got to read it very late. Trust me when I say I regret not having laid my hand on it sooner! It is exceptional!

Remy, our MC, is an artist. A painter in a 'mid-life crisis' who, after loosing her artistic inspiration decides to throw everything in the wind and 'escape'. Escaping is what Remy does best. First from her family who never understood her, then from her marriage that had become stiffing and lastly, from her career. Now don't you go thinking Remy was a saint or damsel in distress who had to endure the worst in life. Quite the contrary if I may dare say so. She had been loved and cared for, and never been abused. It's just that she was never able to fit in. And particularly because of that fact, Remy is difficult to like. I personally found it very hard to really care for her for a while. Until I really got to know her and until the author masterfully allowed me to see that Remy is each and everyone of us!
How many of us feel that life could be so much more? How many of us settle because we lack the courage to throw caution to the wind and follow a dream? How many of us know with absolute certainty what they really want from life?!

Fate, or perhaps a bit more than that, gets Remy to a small village in northern Spain, located near the Camino de Santiago, a pilgrimage path renowned for miracles.

'Be mine, the village whispered. I can give you everything you've ever wanted. The desire Remy felt was intoxicating. It dug into the deepest recesses of her heart and turned her inside out. She couldn't have walked away from it even if she wanted to.'
Needless to say, Remy feels compelled into purchasing what could be the worst real estate investment of all time. And she starts fixing it up, rebuilding the ruins of both her village and her life.

But the property is special and holds dangerous secrets dating back to a Galician military coup in 1846 that refuse to stay buried. And strange things happen around it. Remy stumbles upon Bieito, a local fisherman who seems to have the key to her artist's block. But there is a timeless quality about Bieito and more often than not, the two of them don't seem to be on the same page, much less the same book. And it doesn't help that Remy suddenly speaks in perfectly fluent Spanish (which she had never learnt), or the door to her cottage is suddenly bright red (when no one was there to paint it). To add to the mystery building around Remy and convince her that her sanity had completely vanished, weird accidents happen and Remy finds a picture of a woman that could be practically her sister, in a old book from the 1800s.

Unwittingly, Remy is thrust into a past that no one else can see, smack down in the middle of a military coup, with no escape back to her own time. The newly discovered nitty-gritty existence, forces Remy to test both herself and her newly developed relationship with Bieito; to see if all of it is real, or a mere fantasy. Without upsetting a delicate historical balance, she has to come to terms with what she really wants!

But every wish has a cost! And there's always a price to pay!
It just remains to be seen if the price is worth it!

In a flawless prose, on the background of hauntingly beautiful descriptions of a small Spanish village and other wonderful places like the Camino de Santiago, Taylor Hobbs delivers a gritty story of real people and real life choices, with a deep insight into human nature.
Camino de Santiago - FlightNetwork.com

She gives readers a smart romance with a profound meaning.

'What do you want most in the world?'
This is one question that stayed back with me long after turning the last page of 'Sonder Village'. And it may stay with you too!

A solid read for all those looking for a good romance and much more! I highly recommend it.
Happy reading! :)

Check out this book and more of Taylor Hobbs over at www.taylorhobbsauthor.com