Howdy, readers! Okay, that’s going to be the one cowboy pun you’ll find on this post today. Attached by Terece Hahn is one of the books I got to work on in 2022, so I want to spread the word about Hahn’s fantastic work. Saddle up!
Rating: 5 Stars
Synopsis
What if everything you knew, everything you were taught, all that you expected from life was stripped away? What would you do? Who would you be? Would you like who you were if it was all there was left?
Ellie has always known her role as a woman of the mountains. Taking care of her family, hunting, panhandling, and running the family store is all she deserved.
Raised in rural Northern Washington Territory in 1884 around other “roughnecks,” she knows her place. That is until one fatal morning when everything changes. As Ellie’s family foundation is dismantled log by log, she must face her destructive past and the uncharted, unknown future.
In a time when life expectancy was short, 20-year-old Ellie, must either accept help from unlikely allies or become part of the local violent outlaw authority to survive. Choosing between two men, two lives, and two sides.
Attached, Terece Hahn’s debut work,is an adult literary Bildungsroman Western novel, a captivating novel of love, grief, and resilience in unfamiliar rugged, and raw territory.
What I Enjoyed
I honestly love any book that convinces me to give their genre a second look. For example, Western novels aren’t really on my radar—they’re not blowing up my FYP, y’know? I’m also not a fan of genres that tend to glorify the “good ol’ days” without acknowledging how messed up people used to be. Or they used to feature the past in a very one-sided manner.
Hahn breaks out of the mold by showing a woman in real circumstances of that time but shows that her time or location does not excuse the behaviors of others. No matter what, people don’t deserve violence or abuse. Hahn has life coach experience and it shines in this book; the character is able to apply “modern” practices to take control of her future. As someone who is still dissecting and recovering from the past, I found Ellie’s path very relatable—down to her imperfections and her less-than-stellar moments.
My Final Thoughts
Hahn’s debut novel is ideal for adults who are looking for a little bit of everything: healing from childhood traumas, romance, breathtaking scenery, and relatable characters. By the time you finish, you’re going to be thinking “I could use a mentor like Aponi.” I do want to give a quick warning for alcohol abuse, verbal abuse, and toxic relationships. Hahn does a great job of depicting real people overcoming real problems but this might not be immediately for everyone.
Hopefully, I shared enough to pique your curiosity. Want to get reading? If so, I highly recommend you look Terece Hahn up on social media:
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