Leta’s Book Review: The White Hare by Jane Johnson

The White Hare by Jane Johnson

Historical, Romance, Domestic Fiction, 15+

Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐/5

Thank you to Simon&Schuster Canada for an ARC of The White Hare in exchange for an honest review.

The White Hare is a story about three generations of women living in a mysterious motel-turned-house surrounded by the strange overture of Cornish folklore. Mila tells the story as she attempts to escape her past and the scandal it holds. She joins her mother Magda, a woman obsessed with image and propriety, in restoring the hotel to its former glory. Mila’s daughter, Janey, is along for the adventure, well-suited to the isolated and imaginative world of White Cove. But White Cove holds a certain magic, and beings such as Janey’s plush toy, Rabbit, seem to be up to something. As omens run through the woods around the hotel, Mila and her family must confront the past, each other, and the cove itself to reveal all.

The White Hare is nothing if not magical. Mila is the point of view character and her state of mind truly brings the story to life. She accepts some of the strange happenings, but others are too unbelievable and the only one who seems to understand them is Janey in all her childhood wonder. Mila struggles with a lot of issues through the course of the story, in between the odd moments that White Cove seems to conjure up and the romantic feelings she begins to have for a certain handyman.

I enjoyed watching Mila learn more about herself and the Cove. There was a great deal of whimsy put into The White Hare and it managed to make the forest and ocean surrounding the Cove feel alive. I want to recommend this read to those searching for a place to land after hard times. As Mila and her family convert the hotel into a home, the reader will no doubt relax into a new rhythm – after the excitement of the events that insist on playing out around Mila and Janey. As with all of my five-star reads, I highly recommend The White Hare.