The Island Mother – Jon Cohn

5 stars!

I swear Jon Cohn cannot write a bad book. Everything I’ve read from this man I’ve fallen in love with, and The Island Mother is now a very happy addition to that list!

Let’s talk characters: Jesse is the classic charming, Southern gentleman who will protect his woman from anything, but abusers always show their true colours in the end. Kai is a golden retriever who says all the right things and takes care of everyone, but you can never trust the pretty ones. Leigh has been running her entire life and bouncing from one bad decision to the next, but now she’s done running.

Jon wrote these characters so well; I’m actually a little mad about it (read as very mad). I really liked Kai a lot for most of the book but he absolutely sucks! I kind of liked Jesse off and on then he’d say something and I’d be reminded how actually terrible he is and hate myself for ever even liking him at all. I was getting frustrated with Leigh for some of her decisions, but she turned out to be the best character in the book! And I’ve been singing Hawaiian Roller Coaster Ride in my head for hours! See, I’m definitely not mad at all….

I’m not really familiar with much of Hawaiian legend, so I liked getting to know a little piece of their culture and legends through The Island Mother. The story of Pele and Namaka was presented with a lot of love and respect for the culture, and I enjoyed getting to learn more about Hawaiian creation myth, which then sent me on a deep dive through various mythologies while I considered the Creation/Destruction dichotomy in this myth.

The ending was one of the most satisfying I’ve ever read, truth be told. Leigh’s character grew so much and she took that final step to completely put her past behind her and move forward in a way she never could before; it was a crazy poetic moment. I loved it for her character and it brought her life in Kentucky and Hawaii together in a truly spectacular way.

Jon is an instant buy for me. No matter what I’m in the mood for, I really can’t go wrong with a Jon Cohn book.