Still the Sun

4.3 | 20 ratings

Price: 5.99

Last update: 06-04-2024

About this item

An ancient machine holds the secrets of a distant world’s past for two intimate strangers in the latest romantic fantasy adventure by Wall Street Journal bestselling author Charlie N. Holmberg.

Pell is an engineer and digger by trade—unearthing and repairing the fascinating artifacts left behind by the mysterious Ancients who once inhabited the sunbaked planet of Tampere. She’ll do anything to help the people of her village survive and to better understand the secrets of what came before.

Heartwood and Moseus are keepers of a forbidding tower near the village of Emgarden. Inside are the remnants of complex machines the likes of which Pell has never seen. Considering her affinity for Ancient tech, the keepers know Pell is their only hope of putting the pieces of these metal puzzles together and getting them running. The tower’s other riddle is Heartwood himself. He is an enigma, distant yet protective, to whom Pell is inexplicably drawn.

Pell’s restoration of this broken behemoth soon brings disturbing visions—and the discovery that her relationship to it could finally reveal the origins of the tower’s strange keepers and the unfathomable reason the truth has been hidden from her.

Rhonda Reads

Amazing!

Reviewed in the United States on June 1, 2024

Wow. Just wow. I could not put this book down. Every word played out like a movie in my head, and I Devoured it. Holmberg always comes up with the most magical worlds, and this one is something I never could have fathomed.

I loved Pell and her little village. I loved the way her mind worked and all the little Easter eggs that were strung throughout the story. More than anything, I loved how this story unfolded, unfurling its secrets bit by bit until I was sucked in and unable to let go.

Heartwood had me intrigued from the very beginning. I loved how Casnia was portrayed and I love even more the reason behind it. Each of the characters were wonderful and I wish there was more. I would love to see a little more, a glimpse into the future to see how it all turned out after the end—partially because I think there is more story to tell, but mostly because I’m not ready to let it go.

Sigh. I’ll be thinking about this one for a long time to come.

Megan (hellobookbird)

This novel really makes me feel Charlie's growth as an author.

Reviewed in the United States on June 1, 2024

"A mere tinkerer in a village of farmers will do."

Pell is an engineer and digger by trade—unearthing and repairing the fascinating artifacts left behind by the mysterious Ancients who once inhabited the sunbaked planet of Tampere. She’ll do anything to help the people of her village survive and to better understand the secrets of what came before.

Heartwood and Moseus are keepers of a forbidding tower near the village of Emgarden. Inside are the remnants of complex machines the likes of which Pell has never seen. Considering her affinity for Ancient tech, the keepers know Pell is their only hope of putting the pieces of these metal puzzles together and getting them running. But Pell’s restoration of this broken behemoth soon brings disturbing visions—what is her relationship to it and why has the truth has been hidden from her?

"Something is missing."

4.5 stars. The thing that I love about Holmberg is that all of her books are unique. I'll say it again and again, pick up every single new book she puts out, and recommend her to others. Even if I don't re-read a large majority of her books, they will always be worth reading even a single time.

Most of the novel is spent describing the puzzle of the tower machines--musing over what they're for and ways to fix them. Holmberg explains the parts and repairs in a way that is (or at least sounds) technical but simple enough (and with enough context clues) to not lose a reader like me that doesn't know jack about fixing things.

While I was continually frustrated the first half of the novel with her flashbacks covering reality (I'm one of those people that needs spoilers like I need breath so this is definitely a me thing to be frustrated at learning at the pace of the character), once it hit the 42% mark I finally felt like we were rolling. The pieces started coming together, you started venturing your own guesses, and when you had alllllllmost everything but that ONE MISSING PIECE...ah, the excruciatingly satisfying FINISH.

This novel really makes me feel Charlie's growth as an author and I can't wait to see what else comes next.

Recommended for the tinker lovers and the "what's happening" lovers especially.

Thank you to Netgalley and Holmberg's street crew for providing an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Photolady

Charlie N. Holmberg does it again.

Reviewed in the United States on June 2, 2024

Still the Sun had me from the very beginning. The world was vivid and interesting and the seeds of the plot were woven so well that I saw, and didn't see them at the same time. Which I love! I would absolutely recommend this book! (

Klapaucjusz

Not her best book

Reviewed in the United States on June 3, 2024

I liked some of Ms Holmberg books (for example,”The Hanging City”) but this one was a disappointment.
My major problem was that for the most of the book the main heroine is trying to put back together a complicated machine left behind by ancient beings. There are long descriptions of her mechanical actions but without some technical drawings there is no way to understand what she is doing and how the machine looks like. The behavior of the residents of a small village and of other characters is bizarre and full of irritating contradictions and only at the very end we learn why it is so. But even at the end not all questions are answered and there are gaping wholes in the logic of many events.
However, I liked the basic concept of the story so I gave it 3 stars.

Dustin

Slow burn, but worth the read!

Reviewed in the United States on June 2, 2024

I know this book won’t be for everyone, but I recommend you give it a chance. Charlie kept me wanting more right up to the very end.

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Still the Sun

About this item

Top reviews from the United States

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