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360 pages, ebook
First published January 31, 2017
Once in Africa, I kissed a king...
"And just like that, in an old red barn at the foothills of Mount Kilimanjaro, I discovered the elusive magic I had only ever glimpsed between the pages of great love stories. It fluttered around me like a newly born butterfly and settled in a corner of my heart. I held my breath, afraid to exhale for fear it would slip out, never to be found again.”
When a bomb explodes in a mall in East Africa, its aftershocks send two strangers on a collision course that neither one sees coming.
Jack Warden, a divorced coffee farmer in Tanzania, loses his only daughter. An ocean away, in the English countryside, Rodel Emerson loses her only sibling.
Two ordinary people, bound by a tragic afternoon, set out to achieve the extraordinary, as they make three stops to rescue three children across the vast plains of the Serengeti—children who are worth more dead than alive.
But even if they beat the odds, another challenge looms at the end of the line. Can they survive yet another loss—this time of a love that’s bound to slip through their fingers, like the mists that dissipate in the light of the sun?
“Sometimes you come across a rainbow story—one that spans your heart. You might not be able to grasp it or hold on to it, but you can never be sorry for the color and magic it brought.”
There’s an unspoken rule about how long you can stare like that at another person. No one says it, but we all know it. There is the quick glance we give to strangers, the acknowledgement we exchange with people we know, the private joke, the silent acceptance, the lover’s gaze, the parent’s concern. Our eyes are always different, always speaking. They meet and look away, a thousand nuances expressed without words. And then there’s this. Whatever was passing between Jack and me in the middle of that ancient caldera. Perhaps it was because we didn’t know exactly where we git — two people bound by a sunny, tragic afternoon, retreating from the edge of attraction — lives that were oceans apart, breaths that lingered in the space between.
“How is he now?”
“Intimidating. Sad, angry, bitter. I think he might have a death wish. He was standing under a tree in the storm, by his daughter’s grave, like he wanted to be struck down right next to her.”
“In a thousand lives, I would die a thousand deaths to save her. Over and over and over again.”
It was barely a brush, but his entire body tightened in reaction. I felt the quieting of his breath on my face, the jolt of his thigh against my body, the crackle of awareness where his bare arms touched mine. I felt the kind of chemistry I’d been holding out for, the kind that ignites all your senses, so that you’re more alive in that one second than in all the moments, in all the days before.
Losing someone you love tunes you in to the fragility of life — of moments and memories and music. It makes you want to embrace all the foolish, inarticulate longings that pull at your heart. It makes you want to grasp un-played notes of un-played symphonies. Perhaps that was why Jack and I clung to that moment, eyes locked, breaths stilled, listening to something that only we could hear, something that lived in the fleeting space between hello and goodbye.
To his credit, Jack kept a straight face.
I ripped into the biscuits before he got in the car.
“Not a fan of the local cuisine?” he asked.
“Not a fan of roasted entrails, local or otherwise.”
His gaze traveled over my face for a long time, still beat before falling on my neck.
“I can’t bear the thought of you leaving,” he said to the mark his teeth had left there.
“I stop breathing every time I think about it.”
I wish I could explain to you what that voice does to me.
I wish I could explain to you how you make me feel.
I don’t think I’ll ever fall as hard and as fast for anyone, the way I fell for you.
I don’t think I’ll ever love anyone the way I love you.
I knew that whenever I thought of love, it would have a face, a name, a voice. And I would hear its heart beating from inside a tent in the wilds of Africa.
“Kissing Jack was like kissing a slumbering lion. He barely moved, but I could sense the raw power behind his restraint.”
“Sometimes you come across a rainbow story—one that spans your heart. You might not be able to grasp it, but you can never be sorry for the color and magic it brought.”
'Mists of the Serengeti' is poignant, beautiful, inspiring, unique and breathtaking. It is like nothing I’ve ever read before. It is purely and simply amazing. This thought-provoking and so stunningly written story touched me deeply. I finished this book days ago and I’m still thinking about it. It made me speechless and it made me feel. This book is epic from cover to cover. Needless to say, I can already tell that Leylah Attar’s newest release will be on my favorite shelf this year.
“And just like that, in an old red barn at the foothills of Mount Kilimanjaro, I found the elusive magic I had glimpsed only between the pages of great love stories.”
Rodel ‘Ro’ Emerson is a teacher in England who is about to purchase her dream house, looking forward to finally have her place and find the stability she always wanted. Her life is irrevocably changed when she receives a call from Africa. She gets on a plane to Tanzania, hoping that Africa will bring her the peace she desperately needs. She decides to stay for three weeks, visit some places and try for the first time in her life to live properly, to see the world from a different perspective.
“In a thousand lives, I would die a thousand deaths to save her. Over and over and over again.”
Jack Warden is a ‘mzungu’, but his family has lived in Tanzania for generations. He has a coffee farm, one of the largest estates in the area. Recently Jack had lost the one thing that really ever mattered to him. He’s sad, angry, bitter, not wanting to live again. All he feels is guilt and so much agony and all he wants is to be left alone.
By some crazy twist of fate, Rodel and Jack’s paths cross. They are thrown into a hopeless situation trying to save each other and heal each other. What neither of them expects is to learn how to share their pain and grief, to learn the power of destiny and to fall in love with each other.
“The most profound, most memorable moments of life are the ones that make you feel.”
A story about redemption, healing, finding who you are and love, 'Mists of the Serengeti' is such an unforgettable read. It is, at times, hauntingly beautiful, heart-breaking and real, yet, at other times, so very heart-warming. I loved every single aspect of the story. I loved the magical, lyrical prose, the fascinating premise and captivating story-line. I loved the message, the epilogue which connects the whole story in such a fascinating way, the characters and I absolutely loved the epic romance between the hero and the heroine.
“You don’t always get what you want. Sometimes you get exactly what you need.”
Rodel and Jack’s story evoked so many emotions in me. From the prologue, it made me feel so much. Like I mentioned above, this compelling story was like nothing I’ve read before. The beautiful setting and the amazing descriptions were spectacularly done. I felt in love with Africa, with Tanzania, immediately. Leylah did such a wonderful job describing all these amazing places. I felt like I was there from the moment I started reading this fantastic book.
I loved the intricate plot, the progression of the story, the fantastic blend of suspense, action and romance. The supportive characters are as wonderful as the main ones. They are absolutely fascinating and vividly portrayed. As for the main characters – simply amazing. I loved both Rodel and Jack. They are incredibly well developed and complex - both flawed and tormented. My heart broke for both of them. I felt their pain and how lost they were at times, I felt their fears and insecurities.
“Sometimes you come across a rainbow story—one that spans your heart. You might not be able to grasp it or hold on to it, but you can never be sorry for the color and magic it brought.”
I absolutely loved Rodel and Jack together. The connection between them was palpable from the beginning of the novel. The epilogue, purely and simply, blew me away. It left me speechless. It definitely was one of the most original epilogues I’ve ever read.
If you are looking for a beautifully written, unique and poignant story that will make you think and feel, with two amazing, fantastically layered characters, then you must read this one.
"We are all connected. Taleenoi olngisoilechashur."
But this one - Mists of the Serengeti by Leylah Attar is one of those timeless ones...a story that spoke directly to my soul. It evoked images, memories and so many emotions in me. A book that has stayed with you forever from the moment you put it down and no matter how much you try...it's like the author's words were speaking for me....
Unique. Riveting. Haunting. LyricalSo often a scene from book pops into my head and I find myself thinking about the story over and over again.
WHAT WAS IT ABOUT MISTS OF THE SERENGETI THAT MADE IT SUCH AN UNIQUE EXPERIENCE FOR ME?
“Sometimes we need to be jarred out of our own reality. We base so much of ourselves on other people’s perceptions of us. We live for the compliments, the approval, the applause. But what we really need is a grand, spine-chilling encounter with ourselves to believe we’re freaking magical. And that’s the best kind of believing, because no one can unsay it or take it away from you.
They evoked images, memories and so many emotions to me.
“We don’t always understand the things we do. We just do them and hope we’ll feel better.”Reminded me of some many things about life that have happened to me....
The plight of the ostracizing of a certain group of people in Tanzania as well as some of history of the Masai people, is seamlessly woven into the story and fits in without it becoming the focal point in the story.
"This is what it looks like when you wander somewhere between sand and stardust, and meet a piece of yourself in someone else.".
and Bahati, the family friend, who shines through the pages. The fragility and strength of the albino children.
I loved the evocative descriptions of Tanzania and the Serengeti. I have visited both places and the author brought to life the sense of place and time so incredibly well.
The Epilogue: Sad. Raw. Totally unexpected. It just blew me away!!
I LOVE THE BOOK COVER!!!
Once in Africa, I kissed a king…
“My greatest loss had led to my greatest love. Hearts were broken, and hearts were healed. Lives were lost, and lives were saved.”
“Sometimes you come across a rainbow story—one that spans your heart. You might not be able to grasp it or hold on to it, but you can never be sorry for the color and magic it brought.”
"We are all connected. Taleenoi olngisoilechashur."
**Spoiler**
I am despondent. Ms. Attar is one of my fail-safe authors, this book however, was indulgent and specious.
But first, thank you to Ms. Attar for:
• taking us on a road trip through East Africa (Tanzania, to be exact)
• highlighting the humanitarian issues that persist in parts of that culture and
• the intelligent and vivid prose.
Now, on to the (love) story itself.
Even though I finished Mists of the Serengeti less than 24 hours ago, I struggle to remember the main characters. Jack- the H- I remember (vaguely) but for the life of me, I cannot recall the name of our female MC! Furthermore, I did not buy their love story! AT. ALL.
If I thought Karina Halle's Heat Wave was a travel guide disguised as a love story, well, then, MOTS was the full on Safari experience! I was bored. Outta my head bored. With a Leylah Attar book? You see now why it has to be me and not this book? Can you understand why I'm in despair?
The H and h lose loved ones under the most tragic circumstance yet a mere one month after this horrific incident, Jack and the h (darnit, what's her name?!) are busy making googly eyes and embarking on an Indiana Jones escapade? Notwithstanding they were both fighting for a just cause, the speed and time frame of their relationship, for me, was inappropriate on many levels. I'm sorry. I can't. No.
I pictured losing a daughter or any of my sisters and I literally couldn't breathe, so instinctively, I knew this story did not capture even a tenth of the anguish that ought to have been intrinsic to the plot.
Then the story telling was just that. Telling. It might be Ms. Attar has spoiled me with 53 Letters for My Lover and The Paper Swan (both are 5-star mind reeling reads), MOTS was a whole lot of beautiful words that never felt right. I mean, I was right there with Jack and the h, yet, I didn't understand why or how the love came to be.
The book moves along with them separating for 10 months- a period captured in a mere 5 pages- only to have Jack turn up on her doorstep? What was the point of this plot twist if it wasn't fully explored? If Leylah had devoted fewer pages to other aspects of this story, I might have felt a connection to the main characters, perhaps their love would have been more reflective of the author's intent. Instead, we get pages upon pages of info-dumping about the ambiance, the Maasai tribe, the persecution of people with albinism (truly tragic) and so on. It was all too much.
Still, I kept reading until I got to the part highlighted below (85%, the h, and Jack are at dinner exactly one year after the tragic incident):Our hands met silently across the table and held, taking comfort in each other.
“I called Sarah today,” I said. We hadn’t talked since Lily’s funeral, but I knew she missed her just as much as I did, and today of all days, I felt the need to reach out to my ex.
“And?”
I shook my head. “I don’t think she’s ever going to forgive me for what happened to Lily.”
Rodel squeezed my hand softly. “People will love you. People will hate you. And it always has more to do with them, than it does with you.”
Seriously? That the h could say this about Jack's ex-wife, who, btw, also lost a child, was UNFORGIVABLE! I don't care how you spin it, no one has a right to talk about how I should comport myself while grieving the loss of MY child. Especially not my ex-husband's new GF!
How dare she? I was livid and done with her to the point I all but erased her character from my mind!
Overall, the story felt indulgent and superficial, even the epilogue- as heartrending as it was- could not redeem this book.
I have to stop now to go nurse my broken heart. Please know this is just MY opinion and in no way means this wasn't a good book. Just not for me.
"Once in Africa, I kissed a king..."
"We don't always understand the things we do. We just do them and hope we'll feel better."Rodel Emerson is a young teacher who is living a happy life. When she is in the middle of purchasing a new home and feeling hopeful about putting down her roots, she receives a call that will change her life forever. In one moment, her life is shaken, and she decides to make the journey to Africa to find some semblance of peace. Jack Warden, a farmer in Tanzania, is also experiencing a significant loss. Desperate to be left alone in his misery, it is the introduction to Rodel that begins to break down his walls. Once their paths are crossed, they come together on a mission that has the potential to save lives.
"We were both feeling guilty for it because desire has no place at grief's table, and yet, there it was, sitting between us like a shameless, uninvited guest."As Jack and Rodel venture out into the African countryside, they face many adversaries. Africa is beautiful. Africa is violent. Africa becomes everything. The friendship between Jack and Rodel blossoms and quietly transitions into so much more. After experiencing so much loss, it seems a betrayal for them to find a sliver of happiness in each other. When their mission comes to an end, will Jack and Rodel find a way to be together or will Rodel return home and leave Africa (and her heart) behind?
"His mouth moved wildly over mine, his tongue exploring the recesses of my mouth, as if I had stolen a piece of him, and he wanted it back."Told in dual POV, Mists of the Serengeti is an absolute masterpiece. The lyrical writing style of Ms. Attar flows naturally and is full of vibrant colors. The characters are complex, and their circumstances make the stakes high for each of them to find solace and peace in the chaos of this world. The real life connections only further enhance the impact of this story because the events and circumstances are in fact parallel to actual events and circumstances taking place in Africa today. Jack and Rodel share such an intimate and beautiful connection, and because it follows such horrific losses for them both, it makes their relationship even more precious. The supporting characters offer comedic relief with their dynamic presence and witty dialogue. There were countless moments in the book when I found myself highlighting, re-reading, and re-living each second because I could not get enough! In short, this is truly so much more than a romance novel as the message is so clearly and eloquently delivered. We are all connected in a special and unique way. Life sometimes moves in a direction we least expect. We will face losses, but even in those moments, there is beauty and love.
"All we really want is to feel that we matter-that we're seen, that we're heard."
"I caught a glimpse of his soul. So many pieces of him had been fed to the lions. And as dark and bitter as it had turned him, he was a gladiator for standing where I would have surely fallen."
"I knew that whenever I thought of love, it would have a face, a name, a voice. And I would hear its heart beating from inside a tent in the wilds of Africa."
And as dark and bitter as it had turned him, he was a gladiator for standing where I would have surely fallen.
“We don’t always understand the things we do. We just do them and hope we’ll feel better.”
"What’s heartbreaking is when you don’t get back up, when you don’t care enough to pick up the million broken pieces of you that are screaming to be put back together, and you just lie there, listening to a shattered chorus of yourself."
"You lose people you love. Over and over again. Some get taken away from you. Some walk away. And some you learn to let go."
Losing someone you love tunes you in to the fragillity of life - of moments and memories and music
"It's beautiful and heart-wrenching. It heals you, it destroys you.
Sometimes the most heroic thing we can do is fight the battle within and just emerge on the other side. Because it's not just one battle, one time. We do it over and over again, as long as we breathe, as long as we live.
"I want to take you like I hate you. Fiercely. Completely. Because you resurrected me, only to relinquish me." - Jack -
"I want recless. I want mindless, ruthless, heedless. I want to be swept up in madness. I want your passion. I want your pain. I want you to tell me that you can't bear the thought of me leaving, that it feels like you can't breathe, that you want me, that you'll miss me." - Rodel -
My greatest loss had led to my greatest love. Hearts were broken, and hearts were healed. Lives were lost, and lives were saved.
...It's gonna take a lot to drag me away from you
There's nothing that a hundred men or more could ever do
I bless the rains down in Africa
Gonna take some time to do the things we never had
The wild dogs cry out in the night
As they grow restless, longing for some solitary company
I know that I must do what's right
As sure as Kilimanjaro rises like Olympus above the Serengeti
I seek to cure what's deep inside, frightened of this thing that I've become
It's gonna take a lot to drag me away from you
There's nothing that a hundred men or more could ever do
I bless the rains down in Africa
Gonna take some time to do the things we never had
Hurry boy, she's waiting there for you...
"Sometimes you come across a rainbow story-one that spans your heart. You might not be able to grasp it or hold on to it, but you can never be sorry for the color and magic it brought."
“The most profound, most memorable moments of life are the ones that make you feel. And that’s what I’ve been missing. The feeling of being alive.”
“Trust me. Some things are better left in the dark, where they belong.”
“Last chance, sweetness. I’ve never wanted anyone the way I want you. So if you’re having second thoughts, now’s the time, because in a little while I’m going to take you, gently at first, and then to all kinds of dark, delicious places.”
"In a thousand lives, I would die a thousand deaths to save her."
“My greatest loss had led to my greatest love. Hearts were broken, and hearts were healed. Lives were lost, and lives were saved.”
“Sometimes you come across a rainbow story—one that spans your heart. You might not be able to grasp it, but you can never be sorry for the color and magic it brought.”
“It wasn’t just a kiss. It was a lesson—a fierce, burning imprint, so that my lips would always know the difference between being wanted and being craved.”
“It said I was equal parts earth and stars, equal parts animal and soul. I was hope. I was calamity. I was love. I was prejudice. I was my sister. I was his daughter. I was Juma. I was Jack, Jack, Jack, Jack.”
“Sometimes we have to let go of the people we love because we love them—because their hopes and dreams lie elsewhere. It’s the reason I let you go, the reason I never asked you to stay. And it’s why Goma is letting me go, because my heart is already with you, all day, every day. So if you want me, always and forever, here I am.”
We're all connected in strange, mysterious ways. Pull a thread here and a life unravels there.
How many times do we pass people on the street, whose lives are intertwined with ours in ways that remain forever unknown? How many ways are we tied to a stranger by fragile, invisible threads that bind us all together?
"You ever wonder what we'd find if we could pick up the threads back to the point where things unravel, where paths cross, and lives pivot, and people come together?"I don't want to give too much away but I love how everyone's stories ended up weaving together. I wasn't always expecting things to happen the way they did, but I thought it all came together beautifully.
She had book boyfriends that no flesh-and-blood man could ever live up to.Rodel made me feel like I could be dropped in a situation like that and get through it (well, maybe not me because I have extreme anxiety when I travel), but that any one could, if they had to. She's unsure and afraid, but she keeps moving.
"I don't have the answers, Jack, but sometimes the only things that keep us from falling off the edge are necessary lies. The kind we tell ourselves, so we can keep going."She tries even when she thinks it's hopeless...
I'm dead either way. At least I'll die trying.And in the end she's left with an incredible, life-changing experience.
I pulled back, my eyes still closed, knowing that I had just stolen an epic moment from life. Someday when I looked back, I would smile in the middle of the street and no one would know why, because it was just for me, so that I could say to myself: Once in Africa, I kissed a king...
Maybe he wanted to be fully aware, fully awake to the pain. Maybe Jack Warden liked the pain because he believed it was exactly what he deserved.I was happy that he didn't push Rodel away for too long because it was obvious how much they needed each other. I enjoyed his character but I wish we'd gotten a bit more of his POV in the middle, I would have loved to have his thoughts.
They had been doomed from the start, but when does that ever stop anyone from falling in love?
When you lose someone you love, it doesn't end with that event, or with their funeral, or with their name on the tombstone. You lose them again and again, every day, in small moments that catch you off guard.
There is an invisible threshold of possibilities when someone is alive. It contracts when they're gone, swallowing up all the worlds that hover around them—names of people they'd never meet, faces of kids they'd never have, flavors of ice cream they'd never taste.
"Growing old isn't for sissies... you lose the people you love. Over and over again. Some get taken away from you. Some walk away. And some you learn to let go."
"We live for the compliments, the approval, the applause. But what we really need is a grand, spine-chilling encounter with ourselves to believe we’re freaking magical. And that's the best kind of believing, because no one can unsay it or take it away from you."
Maybe that's what life was about. Seven billion people playing hide and seek, waiting to find and be found. Mothers, fathers, lovers, friends, playing a cosmic game of discovery—of self, and of others—appearing and disappearing like stars rotating on the horizon.
Some people are like that. They listen to their inner voice even if it's mad and feral and doesn't make sense to the rest of us.
His mouth moved wildly over mine, his tongue exploring the recesses of my mouth, as if I had stolen a piece of him, and he wanted it back.
I tasted the whole universe in Jack's kiss—the blue heat of spinning stars, the birth of distant suns, atoms buzzing and colliding and fusing.
"That fear is a liar. Don’t let it whisper in your ear. Turn that shit off. Do what scares you. Over and over again. And one day, your fear will become so small, you'll be able to laugh at it."
That night, my definition of hero grew bigger and wider. Sometimes heroes were found between the pages of a book, and sometimes they stood on a hill, their checkered togas fluttering in the wind, holding fort for the rest of us.
I had always thought of home as a place, where you put down your roots, unpack your collection of mugs with snarky quotes, put up all the bookshelves you want, and watch the rain splash down your windows on wet, gray afternoons. But I was realizing that home was a feeling—of being, of belonging—a feeling that swirled through my veins every time I was with Jack.
"People will love you. People will hate you. And it always has more to do with them, than it does with you."I know there's a lot, but I couldn't cut any of them, these words were beautiful and really resonated with me ❤️ My inner quote whore was very pleased 😏😍🤗