Where the Crawdads Sing - Delia Owens --------- 4 Stars

While I'm a bit late to the Where the Crawdads Sing party, as this book came out over 18 months ago, it's still a massive bestseller and currently#2 on Amazon books. And while I really didn't enjoy the ending (more below), I was thoroughly entertained by the book as a whole.

I would imagine many people have read or know of this book. Short synopsis - story, over multiple decades, about young girl who becomes a woman who lives in nature in very rural North Carolina. Of course, there is some intrigue and mystery in the book to keep it moving, but most of the novel is about the interesting experiences of her life.

For the most part, I really enjoyed this book. It's a really comfortable read and has a nice pace. The plot moves forward in a smooth way and never feels rushed. Nature is a focal point of this novel and the author does a wonderful job of going into beautiful and serene descriptions of different outdoor scenes. As much of the novel is based on the swamp the protagonist lives in, wonderful and detailed descriptions are offered of the beaches, birds, water, etc.

In many ways, the story of where the main character lives, is just as important as what happens to her. The marsh that is her home for the extent of the novel is a character unto itself. As the main character's life is so closely connected to the environment she lives in, you can't help but fall in love with it. Or, at least, fall in love the way she falls in love with it. The story provided and the environment and setting really do make this an enjoyable read. It's got a scenic and leisurely pace that I really enjoyed.

While I really enjoyed the majority of this book, and found it hard to put down, I really was left disenchanted with the ending. For me, it closed this up just a bit too quick. After spending 350+ pages becoming connected and truly caring about protagonist, it was a bit tough for me to see her story end so abruptly. I also found it quite odd. The author spend so much time carefully nurturing her story and the environment that enhances it, it seemed surprising she would not take as much care with the ending. Perhaps she had some other things to do? Lol.

Overall - really entertaining read and was hard to put down, just be forewarned that you may not enjoy the final parts of the book!