About the book
BOOK SUMMARY
After losing nearly everything, journalist Nate Cartwright retreats to his family’s remote Oregon cabin, only to find it occupied by a mysterious man and an extraordinary young girl. As dangerous forces close in, Nate becomes entangled in their secrets and must decide how far he is willing to go to protect his unexpected new family.
Published 2018
Science Fiction
416 pages
Irritating clichés and corniness galore
January 22, 2026
Sheesh, this was a tough one for me to get through. I have not read any other T.J. Klune books, so I can’t say how this one compares, but I can only hope that the others are better.
The bottom line is that this is a story that has already been done countless times. Just off the top of my head, I could name at least half a dozen existing works of film/television/literature that follow the exact same plot as this book. The only addition here is some descriptive gay sex that felt completely forced and out of place.
Every character is a painful stereotype. Nate exhibits less main character energy than perhaps any main character I have ever encountered. An alarming amount of his inner dialogue is some version of “I didn’t know how to respond to that” or “I didn’t know what to do with that”. It’s a wonder he is able to make it through this world, poor guy. Nate and Alex as a couple made zero sense.
Also, the dialogue is so so corny. Artemis is not nearly as charming as the author thinks she is. It’s just cliche after cliche… Weird girl doesn’t know how to operate in the world and says awkward things. Big tough marine guy doesn’t want to let anyone in but he has a secret gentle side. Normal unsuspecting guy gets pulled into their world and decides to join them to escape the mysterious government forces that are after them!
But, idk, maybe you’ll like it.
kelsi’s reading diary 