Bishop! Let's Talk About It!!

Hello everyone and welcome back to my blog!

I hope you are having a wonderful day!

This post is one that I am really excited about! This book was sent to me by one of my Twitter followers Candace Nola! So, make sure you go show her page some love after reading this review!

This book was written in 2022 and the amazon summary of the book says

"Caught between an ancient evil and a man with nothing to lose, a young girl's fate hangs in the balance." "Erin Rogers and her daughter Casey have been missing in the Alaskan wilderness for five days. Troy Spencer is determined to find his sister and niece at any cost. Once there, a local tells Troy about a loner, Bishop, a man shrouded in secrets, who may be his only hope." "As Troy sets out to find the mysterious Bishop, Casey is lost in the woods, alone and frightened, seeking help for her gravely injured mother. But she is not alone, something ancient stalks these forested trails, something evil that hungers for fresh blood." "The trio soon finds themselves caught in a struggle against time as an ancient rivalry is renewed."

After looking at her profile on amazon she has written other books that I am going to have to check out after reading this book. Here is her link to her amazon account if you want to go check them out for yourselves!

https://www.amazon.com/Candace-Nola/e/B07YYW4T7N/ref=aufs_dp_fta_dsk

********SPOILER ALERT!!!!!!!!!!!!!********

(I will not include all of the details of the book but will provide a brief summary so there is still some sort of surprise to some of the events that happen in the book if you decide to read it. There is so much to unwrap with this review it will be hard to keep it short lol)

(Also bear with me on this review, this is my first one on a book and there is obviously a lot of bouncing back and forth between the characters perspective. I am not sure how to make that smooth transition but maybe someone can comment and help me with that)

So, the book opens up with a Prologue where we meet a character named Elliott Tanner. He is on a trip with his parents visiting his grandmother, in the middle of the night Elliott sees something outside the car and before he knows what's happening the car spins out of control and off of a cliff. A news report says that a couple was mauled by a pack of animals and their son is missing.

We then jump 25 years later, and we meet Troy Spencer who is heading out to find his missing sister Erin and niece Casey who have not come home 2 days after they said they would be back from a hiking trip. There was a terrible snowstorm in Tongass Park and he warned them not to go but they went anyway. He headed to the ranger station where they already had several search parties out looking for them. His sister and niece were experienced hikers, but nothing could have prepared them for the bad storm they walked into. They were the only family he had left, and he was going to find them or die trying.

He headed to a post and supply house with a man he met at the station named Charlie to try and find a man who went by the name Bishop. Troy wanted the best man on the job helping him look for his family and Charlie told him Bishop was the one who could find them the fastest. Bishop wasn't known by many people in the town; he was more of an urban legend to people than an actual man. But he was the best tracker and Troy needed his help. (More than he realized as the story continues).

We then jump to Casey's perspective. She had left her mother in a cave they found during the storm and was trying to go find help since her mother was hurt. She had gone back to their campsite, but an animal had torn through it and destroyed everything. The whole time she is traveling she feels like something is stalking her, she cannot see it she can only hear it moving in the shadows and making noises that she had never heard before from any animal. She stopped for the night; deciding she would head back to stay with her mother till help arrived and found a safe place to hide. She could hear the creature outside lurking and keeping her where she was, toying with her as she tried to stay out of its sight.

Now back to Troy's perspective. He finally made it to Erin and Casey's campsite, and he was not prepared for what he saw. The campsite was torn to shreds but there was no blood or signs of a struggle so that gave him a little bit of hope that they were okay. The next morning, he woke up to Bishop standing outside their tents. At first it seemed like he wasn't going to help them, but he agreed to help Troy out and help him find his family. Bishop was like no other man Troy had ever met; quiet and strong and he moved through the forest like he was a part of it. Bishop wanted to get this done as fast as he could, he wasn't used to being around other people for any longer than he had to be. As Troy and Bishop are together Bishop starts to open up a little bit and tries to reassure Troy that he is going to everything in his power to get his family back to him.

Now finally we jump to Erin's perspective. (I have been waiting for this chapter to see what kind of condition she is in since so far, we are only told by others what has happened to her.) She is alone in the cave after being left behind by Casey to go get help. She is huddling over a mini stove that Casey gave her hoping to keep her warm till she returns. The entire time she is alone a glowing dark pair of eyes is watching her, slowly getting closer with every second. It eventually makes its way to the cave entrance and Erin gets her gun out to protect herself. The creature lets out a low growling laugh as it slowly enters the cave. Casey starts to pray to God that someone will find her and help her. The creature speaks to her hissing "There is no God here" We end this chapter with Erin seeing the creatures face and her screaming to death as the creature attacks her.

With a heavy heart we go back to Troy and Bishop knowing what they are going to eventually find. Bishop has run away from the camp while Troy is sleeping, and he was shifting into something. He strips naked, starts chanting in a native tongue and transforms into an enormous bear. He followed the scent of blood upriver and finds Erin's body; completely ripped apart and organs missing. His heart sank knowing that this is the condition that Troy was going to find his sister in. He could smell the familiar scent of the creature nearby and he let out a loud roar of pain and anger. He returned back to the camp as a man, being short with Troy knowing the heartbreak he was leading him to. They made their way to the entrance of the cave and the stench of death was in the air. Troy knew what they were about to find but he didn't have the stomach to go in yet. Bishop confirmed it was Erin and Troy mourned over the loss of his sister and became even more determined to find Casey.

Going back to Casey's perspective now. She is making her way back to her mother and a creature is lurking in the shadows making her go a different way then she wanted. It was leading her somewhere. She ended up to the entrance of a different cave now, she ducked in hoping the creature didn't see where she went. She looked around the cave and there were bones covering the floor. There were rows of intentionally placed human skulls lined up. She ran out of the cave heading straight for her mother as the gray figure followed close behind.

Now heading back to Troy and Bishop. He tried to quickly set up camp so that through the night while Troy slept, he could locate Casey and keep an eye on her till morning. Once Troy went to sleep, he shifted back into the bear and followed Casey's scent to the creature's den. We learn that Bishop had been tracking this thing for most of his life, but his trail ran dry about eight years ago near the Yukon Territory. We then learn what the creature is. His people called it a Wintigo and throughout the years it was Americanized into the term Wendigo; an ancient spirit that possesses humans who have turned to cannibalism as a needs of survival, forever cursed with an insatiable hunger that could never be satisfied. Once the Wendigo had a humans scent, it would become obsessed with killing them and could find them even if they were hundreds of miles away.

Heading back to Casey's perspective. She finally makes it back to the cave where she had left her mom. She walks in expecting to find her alive and well, but she is just the opposite. She found her mom moved to a corner, wrapped in the sleeping bag dead. She ran out of the cave mourning for her mother, then pulled herself together knowing that someone had moved her after finding her and she needed to get to them.

Jumping to Bishops perspective, in bear form watching over Casey. His heart already ached for Troy but now watching Casey see her mother in that state enraged him even more to want to kill this monster. He followed the Wendigos scent even more enticed to get this thing away from everyone. This is the first time in the book where we actually get a detailed description of the Wendigo. It was tall, had gangly arms that dragged on the ground and boney legs with sharp talons. Bits of matted hair stuck randomly on its decaying body. Its face was long and made completely of bone with antlers sprouting out of the top in every direction. It had empty black glowing eyes. Bishop wasted no time attacking the monster and trying to drive it away from Casey. As the two fought Casey woke up from the noise and immediately went in the opposite direction. Bishop knew he wanted to kill it but in this moment, he needed to keep it away from Casey until morning. The creature started toying with Bishop, calling him a little boy and telling him that no one could save her. This forced Bishop to change into his strongest form, the werebear. They fought until the creature retreated to his cave before the sun began to rise, and Bishop was finally able to shift back into a man......right as Troy saw him.

Bishop had a lot of explain to do with what Troy just saw. He asked Troy to give him a chance and let him know that the only thing he was doing was trying to bring his niece back to him. He explained what the Wendigo creature was and then explained his people had a way of protecting themselves that was gifted to them by the gods. It is a trait passed down to the eldest son in the tribes leading family and passed down through their bloodline. This gift gave them the abilities to change forms to protect their tribe, but over the years the need for the gift was reduced and eventually forgotten about. Some people had the gift and didn't even know it. Then Bishop explained that when he was a child that he lost his parents to this creature and that his name was Elliot Bishop Tanner (the child mentioned in the prologue), and he had been chasing this creature pretty much his whole life. He also didn't know he had this ability till the night his parents died and over the years learned how to use it on his own.

Troy was thrown off with all of this information, but he could tell that Bishop was being genuine and he immediately went back to focusing on getting to Casey. (This is the part of the book where we quickly jump back and forth between character perspectives, so I won't both splitting it up) Troy and Bishop are looking for Casey, and Casey runs into Tony back at their first campsite. He comforts her and then patrols the area to make sure she is safe and see if anyone else from the search parties is close. Bishop and Troy were getting closer to Casey but Bishop didn't want to shift anywhere near her so she wouldn't be further traumatized. He would only do it unless it was absolutely necessary to keep them both safe. Bishop told Troy that when he was next to Casey that he needed to grab a log from the fire for protection since the Wendigo was afraid of fire and that was the only way to kill it.

As the two got closer, Tony was walking and ran into the Wendigo. He was slashed to death and the creature charged for Casey. Bishop jumped into action and shifted into a bear and immediately went after the Wendigo. Troy followed behind heading straight for Casey and grabbing a log from the fire. The Wendigo fought Bishop for a bit then headed straight for Casey. Troy jumped in front of them swinging the fire log as Casey started to run in the opposite direction. The Wendigo quickly went in her direction and Bishop stopped it in its tracks. Troy grabbed Casey and told her to stay close to the fire. Bishop and the Wendigo were close to them and as Bishop slashed it down its back Troy jumped in and burned it with the fire. That made the Wendigo start to go after Troy and it pinned him to the ground. Bishop quickly shifted to the werebear and grabbed the Wendigo off of Troy, started ripping it apart and throwing its limbs into the fire.

The Wendigo was finally dead, and Bishop could finally take a breath of relief. He left Casey and Troy behind while Troy tried to explain to Casey what had just happened. After Bishop has shifted back, he returned to them and answered all of Casey's questions and he was surprised but her excitement and curiosity. It was the first time in a long time that Bishop didn't mind staying and talking to someone.

We end the book with a happy ending. Troy and Casey were packing up and get ready to head back home. Bishop stopped by to say his goodbye's and wish them good luck. Casey invited Bishop to come live with them on their land, so he no longer had to be alone. Bishop was excited about the idea and said that after the winter ended her would come stay with them and see how things went.

I was really nervous about doing this review just because it was the first one that I had done on my blog reviewing a book. But this book was absolutely fantastic. It was really well written and I really enjoyed reading it! There is an incredible amount of thought put in by the author with each character and the emotions that they are feeling during the entire span of the book. We not only go along and see what they are outwardly saying to others but also what they are internally feeling to themselves. Most authors simply give off a few lines of what a character is thinking. Candace devotes paragraphs and sometimes even pages to what her characters were feeling in some moments in the book; and it isn't over kill either. We experience every thought and emotion that they are feeling, it was almost like a diary that we are taking a peek at inside their own personal thoughts. Every anxiety ridden, heart racing, blood curdling even that happens to each character, we know about it.

If you saw my other post about the movie Antlers that I did you can learn a little bit more history about the Wendigo and see what it looks like. This book and the movie are the only things that I have come across that depict the Wendigo from the Native American lore viewpoint. All the other ones just say it is a huge gray creature that eats people and really doesn't have any features to it. Candace does provide backstory on the lore of Wendigos in her book and there is also some shapeshifter information with Bishop is clarified in the book as well. So not really a lot of research needed for this review.

I also had a few questions after reading the book that I sent to Candace and she was kind enough to answer them!

1- Where did you get the inspiration for the wendigo lore in your book?

• I’ve always been fascinated with Wendigo lore and Native American culture, being of Native American descent.

2- Where did you get the inspiration for the were-bear lore in your book?

• My oldest friend came up with the idea. His nickname is Bear and I just ran with it.

3- What made you want to combine the two lore's together as enemies?

• Both are rooted in Native American culture, shifters and Wendigo's.

4- Over the course of the book, Bishop went from very reserved and not wanting to be near anybody but towards the end of the book he opened up quite a bit, what made you want him to change his ways after so many years of seclusion?

• Bishop spent much of his life alone, never had a family unit. Seeing Troy's concern for Casey and their willingness to accept him, as he was, went a long way toward opening his mindset.

5- Are the characters based off of anyone you know in real life?

• Bishop is loosely based off my friend, Bear.

6- Do you think if you had added more gore to some of the scenes in the book or even more carnage to the book, would it have been over-kill to the main story?

• I do. Bishop was never meant to extreme horror but aimed toward a more mainstream crowd.

7- What gave you inspiration for the fight scenes in the book?

• Just various books and movies and visualizing the scenes in my head.

8- Have you ever thought of writing a prequel to the book so we could learn more about Bishop?

• Not a prequel, but there is a sequel in the works.

9- Have you ever thought of writing a prequel/ other version of the book but from the perspective of Wendigo?

• Not until now.

10- What was your writing process like? I do a lot of internal processing.

• Once the story is set in my head, I just write it.

11. What was your favorite part to write?

• Casey and her survival gear.

12- What was the hardest part to write?

• The emotional scenes.

One thing that really stuck out to me in this book was the character development of Bishop as the story unfolded. At first, he was just doing it to get Troy out of the town to stop speaking his name. But then he has a complete change of heart and becomes less of a jerk and found himself growing a human connection with someone after so many years of seclusion. There were very few times in the book where Bishop never wanted showed any kind of empathy or emotional attachment to anyone. He even tried to keep himself at arm's length with Troy but as he found out more about his family and what was happening to him, he couldn't help but mourn for them and mourn with them. He grew attached to them in just a few short chapters having the internal struggle of telling himself to stop but realistically knowing that there was nothing he could do to emotionally detach him from these people. They were going through the same thing that he went through when he lost his parents all those years ago. He wanted to do everything in his power to stop history from repeating itself, and when he was too late, he did everything he could to kill the Wendigo.

I really didn't have anything in this book that I didn't like. If I had to give any sort of critique for the purpose of the review is that there weren't any chapters in the perspective of the Wendigo. Like maybe a chapter about who the Wendigo was when it was human or maybe have us watch Casey or Erin through the Wendigo's eyes would have been a cool thing to read. But for all I know that could've just changed the story completely. There was absolutely nothing wrong with this book whatsoever I just think that would've been a cool thing to read from the Wendigos perspective. BUT I could have sparked an idea for her to write something like that with one of the questions I asked her!

All and all I would give this book honestly a 4-star rating. It was well written, kept me locked in with the story to keep reading to find out more, and was just a really great book to read. It is definitely one that I am adding to my personal library, and I am going to need to check out the other books that she has written as well. If you are a fan of supernatural books this is definitely one you need to read!

As always to end this post I will use one of my favorite quotes from the book.

"Bishop watched Casey from the eyes of the bear; he had been too late to protect her from the site of her mother’s body. His being ached with her sorrow, so akin to his own when his parents had died. He desperately wanted to comfort her, but he couldn’t show himself in this form, it would only traumatize her further."

This line was one of my favorites because even the coldest of hearts after so many years of being alone can open back up again and let people in.