Annie Crow Knoll: Sunrise

Annie Crow Knoll, Book 1

By: Gail Priest

Narrated by: Regan Brown

As far as young Annie Crow is concerned, the world is full of irrational rules and conventions, especially for women. She is troubled by her grandmother’s suicide and secrets about her mother’s parentage. In her teens, Annie faces the potential loss of the Chesapeake Bay property of summer cottages left to her. When the family legacy of depression haunts her early adulthood, will Annie be able to accept love from the man who has been there all along?

Annie Crow Knoll: Sunrise, book one in a moving and emotional women’s fiction trilogy, will keep you devouring every minute.

©2013 Gail Priest (P)2020 Gail Priest

Got Me Sentimental About a Place I've Never Been

Annie Crow Knoll: Sunrise by Gail Priest, admittedly is in a genre I rarely find myself reading, but has now got me thinking that's an oversight if the stories are as warm, pleasant, and sentimental as this.

Starting in the summer of 1955, we take a meandering trip through life with Annie "Crow" Atkinson as she grows up on the knoll - an out-of-the-way place run by her parents where they lease cottages by the Chesapeake Bay during the warmer months of the year.

This book threw me early on with a character named "Big Black Bo", and it took me a moment to remember this book was set in the 50s with all of its attendant problems. There are portions of this book that deal with racist attitudes of people, and I think the author handled them well. It would have been disingenuous of the times to leave them out.

As Annie Crow grows and inherits the Knoll, her indomitable spirit spurs her on through the years as she settles down and has a family. I found that even though I understood her motivations for some of the choices she made, I still felt like I wanted to yell at her to point out the obvious path she was seemingly blind too.

Gail Priest did a marvellous job of making the Knoll seem somehow familiar even though it's somewhere I've never been. The cottages, the outlooks, just the people and friendships, in general, had me longing to visit and say hello.

Narration by Regan Brown suited the story and the character of Annie Crow well. There were plenty of different voices, but Regan didn't fall into the trap that narrators sometimes fall into by trying to make them (well, the male ones) sound overly masculine and in the effort, just making them comical. Instead, just by lowering her voice an octave or two, she gave each of the characters a distinct voice while not pulling me out of the story.

All up, a charming story that I'm very glad I had the chance to experience.

I was given this audiobook at my request and have voluntarily left this review. I have not let this gift affect nor influence my opinions of this audiobook and have left an honest review.

Compelling characters; Beautiful setting

What a lovely listening experience! Ms. Priest introduced interesting characters, a lovely setting, and a compelling family story. We follow as Annie, only nineteen at the beginning of the novel, becomes the owner and manager of a group of summer cottages on beautiful Chesapeake Bay. She has quite a struggle, trying to keep the colony viable. The author's descriptions of the area are wonderful and colorful. Although I've never been to this part of the East Coast, upon finishing the book I began to feel like a native! Annie's story pulled me right in and held me from the first page to the last. I loved her courage and determination as well as the in-depth stories of the other characters. This is the beginning of an excellent trilogy--I've read all three books in their print versions--and I'm hoping Audible will record the other two books soon. Ms. Priest doesn't shy away from the social issues Annie must confront as she becomes an adult. For instance, racism is addressed openly, as well as are characters who've chosen to live differently, and the inevitable conflicts between family members. This is a family saga beautifully written with love and a deep understanding of each of the characters and their interlocking worlds. Regan Brown is the perfect narrator for this book and I hope the other two novels in the trilogy will be presented by Audible and that this narrator returns. A perfect read for these strange times we're living in. Highly recommended!!