The God of Endings
A Novel
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4.3 • 37 Ratings
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- $12.99
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- $12.99
Publisher Description
“A new kind of vampire story, and the result is a surprising and spellbinding tale.” —Laura Moriarty, New York Times bestselling author of The Chaperone
“Great for fans of Interview with a Vampire and The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue.” —Library Journal
Suspenseful and enchanting, this breathtaking debut spans history, weaving a story of love, family, history, and myth as seen through the eyes of one immortal woman.
Collette LeSange has been hiding a dark truth: She is immortal. In 1834, Collette’s grandfather granted her the gift of eternal life and since then, she has endured centuries of turmoil and heartache.
Now, almost 150 years later, Collette is a lonely artist running an elite fine art school for children in upstate New York. But her life is suddenly upended by the arrival of a gifted child from a troubled home, the return of a stalking presence from her past, and her own mysteriously growing hunger for blood.
Combining brilliant prose with breathtaking suspense, Jacqueline Holland's The God of Endings serves as a larger exploration of the human condition in all its complexity, asking us the most fundamental question: is life in this world a gift or a curse?
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
Holland debuts with a reflective and poetic take on the nature of immortality. Ana, a young girl in the 1830s, watches her family and the rest of her village succumb to tuberculosis without knowing what's happening. Before the disease can take her, too, an older gentleman claiming to be her grandfather arrives to whisk her away. At the moment of her death, he decides her life is worth saving and changes her into a vampire like himself. Ana slowly learns to survive in this new form—and watches everyone around her die in the process. A century-and-a-half later, Ana has taken the new name of Collette and travels to her grandfather's country estate at his request, as he's in need of a caretaker. She's happy enough running a preschool for the rich out of the mansion until her hunger grows suddenly insatiable and nightmares from her past reappear. Holland's refreshing vampires lean philosophical as they struggle with immense grief and loneliness. The intrinsic magic of her worldbuilding, meanwhile, creates a consistent feeling of mystery. The result will especially wow fans of Katherine Arden and Sophie Anderson.
Customer Reviews
Really good book!
This book is full of emotions and stories that make you think bout life as we know it. It peers into the life of a woman who has lived for centuries and has never know peace for long enough to get bored with it. The God of Endings, is a book that was written with love, care and a lot of thought. There’s enough tragedy in this book to make you look forward to the few happy moments you get from the characters.A vampire book like no other that I have read and I’m glad I read it. (10/10)(highly recommend)
A pleasure to read
A phenomenal story and engrossing from start to finish. I’d buy this book twice if I could.
The struggle is real
I have struggled with this book review for a while now. Never has a book touched me like this. It’s a love hate. I feel like it should be read by high school or college literature classes. This is unlike anything I’ve read. I love any kind of vampire tale. But after this, I no longer want to be one lol. It’s a serious book. Collette had no choice. She had died from an illness when very young and was turned. After growing up, she runs a preschool from her home. She is older than I don’t know what. I couldn’t get enough of this book but all the time thought I’m not even half way?! It’s so long. At times it became tedious. I think if it had been half the length it would be 5 stars. Because we were looking at her life and alternating each chapter between the present and her past. She lived through wars and watched people she loved grow old and die. After the second half it was so depressing I had to read something else. Make sure you’re in the mood for this. It’s very poetic. But the part that became horror was something if I’d known I wouldn’t have read it. Little warning: animal cruelty. But I can see how if it were real life, it would happen. There was also a shocking part. That really threw cold water on my sexy vampire wannabe. It really makes you think. Also, if I’d known how it ended, I wouldn’t have read it. I DO like the decision she made, but what happened to cause it was something I don’t like to read about. I work in a hospital and see enough sadness and death. No one wants to see it like this. There’s one person in the book I wish she would’ve killed slowly. I’ll let you decide which one. But after it was such a long book and had such a buildup, it pretty much just ended in a chapter that was quick and a pretty much flat ending. I was like, ‘That’s all?!’ And to happen on Christmas! Not sure if this will have a second book after this. But the main thing and also the reason for the title, we never really saw. The mythical part about it. I get the meaning of what she learned and that makes sense. But seems like that all fell away fast. I just wish it would’ve been more dramatic. I’d also like to read about the life she was choosing at the end. To hear more about others like her that we met.
Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher/author