Release date: June 15th 2020
I was kindly sent a copy of the book to review by the author, in exchange for an honest review.
‘Sounds Like a Halifax Adventure’ is a totally unique and an extremely enjoyable reading experience. We start with Parker who has synaesthesia, and is moving flat so decides to take the sounds of his old home with him. Two of these sounds are Pia, a doorbell chime, and Edgar, the hum of the fridge who are both anthropomorphic, and decide to have an adventure around Halifax in Nova Scotia, Canada.
The ‘choose your own adventure’ format works beautifully to complement the story and characters, and made for a really fun interactive reading experience. I’ve not seen it used much in recent years, and I think this really utilizes it to it’s full potential. There are many endings, all of which add something totally different on each read through of the story. Though they are all set in slightly different timelines due to the choices the reader makes, we learn something new about Edgar and Pia on each read-through, and a little more of Parker and his life in Halifax.
If you read all the endings, ‘Sounds Like a Halifax Adventure’ feels almost like a series of stories the same universe and with the same characters, so each new story built up a new layer of characterization. By the end of the reading experience, I felt quite attached to Pia and Edgar, and really enjoyed seeing them explore life outside of Parker’s flat – though I am going to pretend only the happy endings are the real ones! There are 27 endings in all, some happy, some sad and a variety of adventures and feelings in between. Some endings are much shorter than others, due to the nature of the adventure the characters follow, whilst others are a lot more fleshed out and a little lengthier. I felt that this was a nice mix, as each read through is a new experience.
The setting of Halifax provided a really great backdrop for the story, as we explore the city for the first time seeing it through Edgar and Pia’s eyes. This was a really nice touch, as it meant it was part history lesson and part tour guide. As I’ve never been to Halifax, this was especially lovely as I got to explore the city and some of its landmarks from my own home!
‘Sounds Like a Halifax Adventure’ is definitely a work that a lot of love has gone into. From the exploration of sound through Parker, Pia and Edgar, as well as their experiences and exploration of the city and it’s history, it adds an extra level to the reading experience. Overall, it’s a really enjoyable, unique and fun read, and I’m very glad I got the experience of reading it!
You can buy a copy of Sounds Like a Halifax adventure here!
Eldritch Fae 