Hummingbird Salamander

First things first, the cover is gorgeous!

“Jane Smith” receives a taxidermied hummingbird along with clues which lead her to a taxidermied salamander. This is where readers might be thinking “what???” I know I was. Hmmm, why was Jane Smith chosen to receive these items and go on the hunt. Silvana, a reputed deceased ecoterrorist left her the note that started Jane Smith on this journey. Taking the Hummingbird from the storage unit triggers events which leave Jane and her family in danger.

An interesting concept which started strongly for me but then became a struggle. Initially I found it to be weird, confusing and wondered what the heck was going on just like Jane Smith in this book. But in the beginning chapters this book had something which grabbed me and made me want to keep reading to find out what was going to happen. But then it became a real struggle. This book is about endangered species, conspiracies, eco-terrorism. At heart this is a sci-fi mystery. I am hit or miss with science fiction so perhaps I was not the best reader for this book. I do not mind being in the dark, this often sparks my curiosity but along the way I got lost while reading this book.

Jane herself, is infesting in that she is an odd lady. She is a former wrestler and physically intimidating. She towers over most people and her personality is lacking. Honestly, for most of the book, I did not know what to make of her. But she is smart, tough, but remained somewhat flat for me.

I must give this book props for originality and not spoon feeding the reader. For most of the book, I was in the dark. Reading this book was like trying to put the pieces of a 1000-piece puzzle together. Another positive of this book is the brilliant writing.

While many are loving this book, it just did not quite work for me. I am sitting out in outlier field on this one. Read the reviews of others who are enjoying this much more than I did.

Thank you to Farrar, Straus, and Giroux/MCD and NetGalley who provided me with a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. All the thoughts and opinions are my own.