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There are currently 25 member reviews
for Fireflies in Winter
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Sonya M. (Takoma Park, MD)
Maroon Immigration to Canada
Set in the late eighteenth century, Fireflies in Winter tells an important historical story that I was unfamiliar with. The novel explores the experiences of the Jamaican Maroon population—formerly enslaved individuals who escaped American slavery—who were forcibly relocated by the British to Halifax, Canada. This transition, from the warmth of Jamaica to the harsh cold of Canada, and with limited resources, is central to the narrative.
The history depicted in the novel is fascinating, however, the narrative can be challenging to follow, as it weaves together the histories and stories of slaves, indentured servants, and Maroons. And characters I kept confusing.
The story is told mainly through Cora, a young Jamaican Maroon woman, whose journey highlights encounters with a diverse, mixed-race community of immigrants. These individuals are united by their struggle to survive the brutal Canadian winter near Halifax and collective abuses as people of color, enslaved people, and as always the story of women who are limited in any power or independence. This was an important story that was somehow not written in a way to engage my continued interest, slow and confusing.
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Amber H. (Asheville, NC)
Mixed Thoughts
While Eleanor Shearer's prose is descriptive, Fireflies in Winter often gets bogged down. I found myself wading through a significant amount of "filler"—details and subplots that didn't feel essential to the core arc. When a story is rich in historical potential, you want every sentence to build toward the climax, but here, the pacing often felt stalled by information that didn't move the needle.
One of my biggest hurdles was the lack of context regarding the Maroons of Jamaica. The Maroons have a fascinating, complex history of resistance and independence, but the narrative seems to operate on the assumption that the reader is already well-versed in their story.
Interestingly, Shearer mentions in her acknowledgments that she wasn't initially familiar with this history herself. It's a bit of a missed opportunity; rather than bringing the reader along on that journey of discovery, the book leaves a gap where foundational world-building should have been.
The book finds its stride in the latter half. From about the 60 mark to the 85 mark, the story gains the momentum I was looking for. During this stretch, the stakes felt higher, the character motivations were clearer, and the "fluff" fell away to reveal the heart of the story. If the rest of the book had maintained this level of energy and focus, it would have been a much stronger read.
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Vivian H. (Winchester, VA)
Interesting Bit of History
Thank you to NetGalley/ Berkeley Publishing for/ BookBrowse for the privilege of reading and Advance Reader Copy of Fireflies in Winter in exchange for an honest review.
Protagonist Cora along with Silas, Leah and young Benjamin were transported by the British from Jamaica to Nova Scotia following the 2nd Maroon war. Maroons were escaped African slaves who fled to the interior mountains of Jamaica, fought colonization, and developed their own culture. The Maroons lived in Nova Scotia between 1796 and 1800 before sailing to Sierra Leone.
Cora is an orphan living with her friend Leah and widower Silas, who has an eye on Cora. The book actually begins with a woman on trial in a Halifax courtroom. The narrative moves back and forth from the courtroom to the Maroons living in the village of Preston.
I liked the writing style of Eleanor Shearer. Additionally, I'd been unfamiliar with the deportations of Maroons from Jamaica to Nova Scotia, which intrigued me and caused me to dig deeper into the history. I can't imagine a greater cultural shift than being transported from the Caribbean Beaty of Jamaica to the wintry starkness of Nova Scotia.
Ultimately, I thought Cora was the least interesting character in the book. I could not empathize with Cora. Agnes remained an enigma. Other characters including Thursday, Leah, and Benjamin found my heart.
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Ruth K. (Greensboro, NC)
Confusing plot
I kept nodding off through the first half of this book and almost gave up trying to read it. To describe it as slow moving, is an under statement. Every noun has an adjective and every verb an adverb. It's exhausting and much too wordy. I felt like I had started watching a movie from the middle. It very much needed a backstory to explain a period in history that I'm sure very few people, including myself, are familiar with. Once the semblance of a plot emerged, it became a somewhat more interesting read, but I never connected with it and basically feel that it was a wasted read.
