Waiting for Fireflies

By: Matthew Fish

Narrated by: Kay Ells

Length: 5 hrs and 3 mins

Publisher's summary

We are all waiting for something: Love, happiness, a chance to feel like a normal person once more, some abstract opportunity that will give us comfort and security, moments of clarity and - finally and absolutely - hope. We are all waiting on hope.

In the early 1900s, a young woman named Elise returns to the mysterious Red Manor, a mansion on a remote island that she grew up in after her mother tragically passed away. At Red Manor, Elise relives memories of her childhood and is haunted by ghosts that still reside within the decaying red walls of the old mansion. As she attempts to piece together the reasons for her return, for which she has no memory of, her decisions and past will shape the lives of a young couple living a hundred years later.

Andrew and Anna are both suffering from depression and are having difficulty dealing with their lives and the complexities involved in sustaining a relationship when both feel that they are unable to do so. Just as Elise must figure out her past in order to move on, so must Andrew discover the truth of his own past and learn to overcome his tragic memories - if he has any chance of living a normal life with Anna. However, sometimes in order to move on we must sacrifice everything we know and place our trust in uncertainty. Trust in the idea that there may be a bit of magic reserved for us in an often cruel world.

Waiting for Fireflies is a story about how love can change both the past and the future in unexpected ways. Connected through time by the secretive Red Manor and a mythical white stag, Elise, Andrew, and Anna may just find the hope they are so desperately waiting for.

©2012 Matthew Fish (P)2016 Matthew Fish

Well written, disjointed story

Waiting for Fireflies is by Matthew Fish, is a story in three parts. The first main story is about the young woman Elise, who arrives at the family estate, Red Manor, and is quickly discovering that things are not as they should be. The house appears to be more than what first appears, and she discovers that her family has a secret she didn’t know about. And the second main story is about the romantic development between two young people, Anna and Andrew, who quickly falls in love. The third story seem mostly to be a philosophical addition from the author without much focus.

The book is generally quite well written, with well developed characters whose stories intertwine nicely in each sub story, and prose which makes the stories flow well. I will mention though, that the first 10% of the book had excessive descriptions of EVERYTHING. Everything that happened was compared to irrelevant things, described in irrelevant detail of how they looked, or how they sounded. It was WAY too much, but fortunately it disappeared. It was a bit strange, as it felt like the author changed his way of writing a bit through the book.

While well written, overall, the book is somewhat disjointed though, as the first and second main story are only really connected by the secret presented in the first story, which I will not comment on here for obvious reasons. The first 80% of story two is completely independent, and is just tied to the first one at the end. And as the two stories are quite different, despite the overarching theme being love, they don’t bind together as much as I would have liked. The first story even has a dap of horror in it, which is completely lacking in the second story, which adds to the separation of the stories. While I kinda enjoyed either story separately, I do feel it would have made for a much better book, if they were much more intertwined. I will also add that I though story two wasn’t very deep. It was well written, and you felt a true connection between the loving characters, but that was also all there was to it. Again, was there more connection to the first story, it would have worked better. The overarching story looses its focus due to its character driven focus, which wasn’t really the point of the book (As I experienced it).
The third story is quite strange, and feels like an add-on by the author, to try and explain some of the thoughts that went into the first two books, and it felt very out of place. As in, last chapter in Harry Potter, out of place.. :P

I listened to the audiobook, which was narrated by Kay Ells. She did a fine job, with a clear voice and good pacing. I could have liked somewhat more distinct character voices, but since there aren’t too many characters in the book, it wasn’t hard to keep track of who was talking. There were a problem with a high pitched background noise in the beginning of the audiobook, but that disappeared quickly fortunately.

Overall, it was enjoyable, but I do feel it could have been quite a bit more. If you really enjoy romance and family ties, I think you will enjoy it. But if smooching teenagers going on and on and on about how “I love you”, “no I love you more!” and doing nothing more for a good part of the book, which then goes into full on depression, because teenagers, then you should skip it.

I received this audiobook for free in return for a review. I have no affiliation with the author, the narrator, the publisher, or their pets (Although I am sure the latter are quite nice!).