The Fabled Earth

Kimberly Brock writes a gorgeous story and The Fabled Earth is her latest book. The story is told in dual timelines of 1932 and 1959 and tells the story of Cleo Woodbine. In 1959 she has lived pretty much as a recluse since the happenings on a night in 1932 changed the lives of all involved forever. When Frances comes to town all of the secrets and mysteries start to be uncovered.

Beautiful settings, beautiful writing and amazing characters. The audio is narrated by Cassandra Campbell and is perfection!!!

5 huge stars for another Kim Brock masterpiece!!! Thank you Netgalley and Harper Muse for the honor to read and review this book.

The Fabled Earth
Kimberly Brock
The setting is both 1932 and 1959, Cumberland Island is Southern Georgia.
“Everyone of us has a library we’re carrying around right inside us. All those stories just waiting…Did you know that’s why all stories are ghost stories?”
1952: Audrey Howell was still a newlywed when her husband was killed. She was trying to run the local inn. She took a photograph and accidentally double exposed it, making it look as if a ghost of someone missing since 1932 was standing in the background.
Cleo Woodbine was an artist that preferred to live in isolation on Kingdom Come, a narrow marshy strip of land where the servants of the mansions on Cumberland Island lived. She creates art inspired by her grandfather. She gathered the fruit from the old trees and bushes and traded it for her needs. She felt guilty over something that happened in 1932. Her life has never been the same. A man from her past showed up unexpectedly. He saved her life nearly thirty years ago but his return awakened tales that some would prefer to remain asleep.
Cleo has been warned to leave Kingdom Come. The ground under her cabin is eroding. They warned her of a severe storm looming. She refused to listen, claiming to have heard it all before. Folklorist, Frances Flood came to town researching a local legend and seeking information about her mother who was on the island in 1932. Her presence gave Cleo a new outlook on life. Frances was estranged from her mother at her time of death. She wanted know more about her mother’s life; what she found challenged
The death of a woman who was there that fateful night in 1932, has rekindled talk about the past, the bonfire and the death.
This is the type of book you want to savor. There are tales, folk tales, history, secrets, treachery and fear. In many ways this is a love story. There is a large cast in this tale making it a bit difficult to keep up with who is talking. Each character had their own story to tell, many of them a tragedy. Often the story as we see it is different from reality. The story moves in and out on a dual timeline. This is a beautiful tale filled with relationships, traditional stories and family drama.
Thank you NetGalley for the review copy.

I was lucky enough to be able to listen to Favled Earth. This was a phenomenal book that everyone should read!

A beautiful dual time line story telling us about Cleo Woodbine.
In 1932 something happened which made Cleo a recluse. That night changed for many. Someone knew comes to town and the mystery of that night will be revealed. Brock a way of weaving a beautiful, heartfelt novel. Cumberland Island in Georgia is on my bucket list. The characters are complex and the area sounds gorgeous.

Thank you, NetGalley and HarperCollins Focus | Harper Muse books for this ARC for review. This was a beautiful and enchanting novel that sweeps back in forth in time between what happens in 1932 and what happens in 1959. As the story weaves itself together, you find out how Cleo has come to where she is and what happened to her and around her to make her the recluse she is now. This story was both beautiful and heartbreaking as secrets are revealed and lives were lost. This was my first Kimberly Brock novel, but it will not be my last.

Set on a remote island off the coast of Georgia, this novel deals with a set of young friends who met there in the 1930's and have never come to terms with "what happened" during their youth. The main character is an older woman who lives by herself and works as an artist on a spit of land off Cumberland Island. She had stayed there as a young girl to be a companion to a young guest of a wealthy family living on the island. Years later, the daughter of this guest appears out of the blue, along with other descendants of the group of friends from decades ago. The plot of the novel keeps you guessing as to "what really happened" all those years ago.

The novel has a nice, slow pace and is a relaxing read. The prose is beautifully written, and the characters well drawn and authentic to the South. This would be a good novel for those interested in fairly recent American historical fiction and/or interested in novels set in the Southeast.

The Fabled Earth is a wonderful novel that involves the challenges of relationships and the power of memories from the past. There are many characters in this dual timeline story that continue to draw you in even deeper into the story.

The story centers around multiple characters but focusing on Cleo and Joanna from the past and then Cleo and Joanna's daughter in the present. Joanna's daughter delves into her mothers life and secrets as she uncovers much about her own past that will shape her future. The novel involves many generations, and how the past has such impact on the present.

Kimberly Brock's writing is poetic and magical and truly brings you right into the setting of Revery and Cumblerland Island. The Fabled Earth is a beautifully written novel that offers a look at the bonds that tie us to our families and the land. This book is a wonderful and draws you in from the start. I found it hard to put down and highly recommend it.

I listened to the audo version which was wonderfully done!! I loved the narrator and loved the accents of the many characters. I felt i was truy in
South Georgia!!

I was luck enough to read The Fabled Earth, by Kimberly Brock. The storyline is character driven with a rich moody southern vibe that's told in two timelines. So I was excited to listen to the audio book, and it did not disappoint. The voice acting was superb. It's definitely an audio book I would want to listen to again, and again.

Wow! What a story! Kimberly Brock weaves a fantastic tale of youth, heartache, and friendship. I couldn't put this down, I had to know what actually happened that night at the bonfire that so drastically changed the lives of so many.

Cumberland Island sounds beautiful, wild and mysterious; I want to add this to our short list of must travel locations now! Thank you @harpermusebooks for my early finished copy of THE FABLED EARTH, publishing October 1st by @kimblerlydbrock .

THE FABLED EARTH definitely gives Where the Crawdads Sing vibes with the setting and secret/mysterious events.

Kimberly Brock’s writing is an immersion in lyrically beautiful storytelling. I imagine hearing this story told at the National Storytelling Festival! There are so many great nuances, shifts and turns as the characters are developed.

Told in a dual timeline perspective between 1932 and the opulence of the Gilded Age on Cumberland Island and then 1959 where Cleo has been living in a cottage on the island as a reclusive artist.

Brock created central conflicts in the novel that are issues the South was facing during the time period (classism, racism, gender inequalities). Will’s storyline and those of several Native Americans during the story was meaningful to me.

The story is about more than an island frozen in time and wild, it is a wild storm, a reckoning metaphorically for these characters as their decisions and the subsequent events will alter their lives forever.

This is a beautifully done piece of Southern Fiction, and if you enjoy historical fiction, Georgia, women’s fiction, storytelling, and the punishments we ensure, then you will enjoy this read. There is also so much that can be discussed with this novel, it would make a great book club book (and includes questions at the end).

Speaking of the end, I loved the author’s note- definitely read it after the novel!

Loved the audio and reading it as a tandem read!