Bulwark by Brit Lunden, also known as Carole P. Roman, the prolific children’s book writer of over 50 books, was the first foray into adult fiction by this author. Bulwark is a creepy paranormal thriller featuring strange goings-on in the small town of Bulwark, Georgia involving witches, werewolves and stolen children.
Since then, there has been a spin-off series of books in the Bulwark anthology, written by various authors. The Knowing, also by Brit Lunden, is volume one of the Bulwark multi-book anthology and tells the story of one of the characters from the original story and prequel to the anthology, JB Straton. If you have read Bulwark and enjoyed the paranormal aspect of it, The Knowing is completely different. The Knowing is more of a romance story with a slight hint of the paranormal, it tells the story of how JB Straton meet his wife, Ellie. The paranormal creepiness has gone.
We first meet JB Straton in Bulwark, as the grumpy old, widowed man that takes in two car crash victims. He takes offence when the wife of the crash victims accuses his dead wife of taking the couple’s children, calling her a witch and The Knowing continues from after they leave, seeing JB reminiscing about his life and the only love of his life, Ellie. It tells JB’s story, starting and ending in the present day but with the bulk of the story set back in the 1960s.
The Knowing is a love story, one of love at first sight, one of self-worth and one of soul mates. It goes back fifty-odd years to when JB and Ellie where at high school together.
“It’s the Knowing. It’s that feeling when you gonna meet your someone special …”
JB was a farmer’s son and destined to work on his father’s peanut farm. When he meets Ellie at school it is love at first sight for both of them but JB feels that as a poor peanut farmer he has nothing to offer Ellie. When he is offered a full scholarship to play football at college, he takes it so that he can offer Ellie a better life, but this causes issues with his family and also separates him from his Ellie. His love for Ellie is so great that he is never happy with anyone else, but as soul mates they are destined to be together.
Overall, The Knowing is a completely different story than Bulwark and focuses on the life of one of the characters. While it is a romantic love story about love and loss, it does have a small hint of the paranormal, but nothing like I was expecting after reading Bulwark.
It is a charming little love story, adding a bit more depth and backstory to the town and citizens of Bulwark, Georgia. It has been put together well and is a fast read. Slightly disappointing that is didn’t continue in the same vein as Bulwark but interesting all the same.
If you are expecting a paranormal thriller as found in Bulwark, The Knowing is definitely not that but is a story that will introduce the characters of Bulwark in a broader sense and is a charming read.
Rating: 4/5
RRP: £8.49 (Paperback) / £2.12 (Kindle)
For more information, visit www.britlunden.com. Available to buy from Amazon here.
