LITTLE BIRD'S LULLABY by Kameo Monsoon #RBRT #TuesdayBookBlog

 3.5 out of 5 stars

On Amazon (universal link)
On Goodreads

How I discovered this book: it was submitted to Rosie's Book Review Team, of which I am a member.

In a Nutshell: Family drama, dangerous adventure.

This is not my usual sort of genre at all, but the nicely written blurb piqued my interest.  Generally, this novel was a bit too 'Hallmark' for me, but that's merely a matter of taste - the book itself was jolly good, and the author can certainly write.  The  characterisation is excellent, the story is well-paced, and I found myself wanting to know what would happen next - which is, of course, what the answer to the question 'is it any good?' hinges upon.

Parents Jen and Blake take their three children - Sydney and Tessa, teenagers, and Max, aged 10 - on a hiking trip in Arizona canyons, an area of wild beauty and potential danger, which I had trouble picturing because of course there is nothing like that in England!  I looked up a couple of Youtube videos of canyon hiking, flash floods, etc, so I could see what I was reading about.  Divisions and underlying tensions are magnified when the family's strengths are pitted against Nature at her most unrelenting.

Sydney is the eldest and is reluctant to go on the trip because she will be missing her boyfriend's party - and she is already concerned about his loyalty.  She was the most interesting character.  I didn't take to Jen much; she seemed rather humourless, and Blake a bit too Great Dad.  

I liked reading all the stuff about hiking and survival - it was clear that the author is well-versed in this but the information was seamlessly woven into the narrative and never felt like too much.  My star rating of 3.5 is a reflection of personal preference, but in the interest of objective reviewing I've rounded it up to 4* on Amazon and Goodreads.