inlibrisveritas
Written on Feb 5, 2012
I’ll be honest, going into the this book I wasn’t sure what to expect really. I had seen other reviews for it and coupled with the summary it painted a really intriguing picture. I’m very happy to say that this book ended up surprising me so many times that I ended up loving it. I will say that it is a little hard to review though, because if I say too much it will ruin the story or at least part of it, so I’ll try to be deliciously vague and enticing.
The story overall is one that I’ve never quite experienced before. From the summary you may think that it will be a straightforward fun little fairytale, but that’s not the case at all. Instead you are greeted with an in depth and meaningful story in which the author has expertly weaved insight on the depth of emotions, humanity’s meaning, and what it is to have a soul into the very core of the story. It’s fairly fast paced and the mystery that this book contains is immense. All the questions you have in the beginning of the story are answered in a timely and satisfying manner but upon receiving those answers you end up with even more mystery, and because of this I was hooked. I really enjoyed trying to figure things out as I read and I loved how it kept surprising me even in the most docile of moments. The ending was not what I was expecting, and it seems to be slightly open for a sequel. The lore that this book thrives on is not something you see very often in books now, and those not familiar with it may be a tad confused at first but as I said before it all evens out rather quickly. The writing is really rich and detailed, but it has a quality and style to it that will stick with you after you’ve put it down.
The characters are incredibly important to this story and it made me realize the difference between a ‘story driven character’ and a ‘character driven story’. This is very much the latter, and each character has something different to bring to the table. Maddy is an interesting character and the more you read the more interesting she becomes. With each question that is answered you learn a little more and you understand a little more. She’s definitely one you can relate to as well since her emotions are so clear and the description that goes into her situation and thoughts really makes it so that you can experience her journey with her. Jas is such a bitter-sweet character that everything he does brings understanding and sympathy. Will is a charming man with loyalty and humor that really won me over before the end and he’s probably my favorite character. Marcus is such a bold character right from the beginning that you can’t help but wonder about him and his story is the one that really shocked me the most. All of the characters are vibrant and have personalities, and more importantly none of them are solely good or evil. Each character’s mind, relationships, and ideas are explored and delved into over time and thanks to that the characters truly take on a human quality that other books overlook. The characters have layers and each one doesn’t feel predetermined or stiff, it feels organic.
I can’t go into detail about the events in the book because I run the risk of unraveling the story for you, but I can say that each little twist and turn only made me want to run deeper into this. I had a hard time putting it down when I found the time to read it, and ended up missing more than a few hours of sleep because of it. Nothing was what I expected it to be and when I finished I immediately started craving more, so I can honestly say that if there is a sequel I will be reading it. I am simply dying to learn more about the characters and what will happen to them.