Kaseys Korner

The Becoming

The gushing I did over 'The Awakening' has subsided. boohoo. Why does that have to happen???

Was the year between books too long? I know I had high expectations going in ~ I dared to believe the excitement I felt at the end of book one would keep escalating but unfortunately, it plateaued or even (yikes) plummeted.
The second book in a trilogy can be like the middle of a really long novel, where it drags and lags and takes work to stay engaged if the author isn't careful. That's exactly what happened in 'The Becoming.' It seemed like I read endless, endless, endless filler material before anything happened. There was some character development, plot points set, etc., but (I can't believe I'm saying this!!!) the novelty of Talamh and especially Breen had tarnished. The place is still fantastical but the action proceeded at the pace of a tortoise. When I can walk back & forth from the cottage, thru the Welcoming Tree, to Nan's house in my sleep ~ there's been too much trivia.

Breen (our heroine) took a slide back into the uninteresting category. Dang, she'd barely crossed over to interesting in 'The Awakening.' Where I thought there'd be "wow" in the development of her magical abilities, there was "hmmmm." So she can light fires with a wave of her hand, ride a dragon, and do a little healing ~ from the daughter of a powerful Taoiseach, I wanted fireworks in the sky. Maybe her human side is just too dominant? The one battle, at the end of the book, she had to be told multiple times to fight before she actually engaged. What????? I can't quit feeling she still wanted to be the insignificant wallflower we were introduced to at the beginning of book one and not the Savior of the Fey we keep being told she actually is.... What is wrong with this picture?? And when is this dichotomy in her personality going to merge into one kick ass woman?? She's only got one more book to make it happen...

As far as that budding romance between Breen and Keegan, there were more sparks with her friend Marco and his love interest (Brian) than there were between the two main characters. It takes halfway thru the book until they get past "hey." Nora, Nora, Nora ~ what's up with that?? Zero tension or chemistry, leaves a girl flat. That is not AT ALL what we want, even from a romance on simmer! Something needs to be kicked up a notch and quick.

Despite the disappointment, I will definitely read the last book when it's published later this year. I expect a crescendo of activity and hopefully a brilliant ending. It would be the only fitting conclusion to a trilogy that started so well...

 

 

 

The Vanished Days

Susanna Kearsley covers her subject matter thoroughly. You can never rush thru the reading, there's too many little bits that will come into play down the road. If you've missed them, you'll be left scratching your head! This book, case in point!

Having said that, I had NO IDEA 'The Winter Sea' was part of a trilogy!!! That was the very first book of this authors I ever picked up and it made me an instant fan. 'The Vanished Days' was written out of order and now that the series is finished (I think??) and I know it's the prequel, I'm feeling motivated to reread the others in order. I read 'The Firebird' (3rd book) so far apart from 'The Winter Sea' that I didn't even connect the dots they were related. Definitely need a reread!!

This book is a return to form for Ms Kearsley. I've felt a few of her recent books were off the mark (like the last book 'Bellewether') but this one was fantastic. Stick with it, it's a slow building story but it unravels like a dream. There are times you want it to move along faster, but trust me, now I see all the pieces were necessary and worth the patience. The heroine grabbed my heart from the onset and the ending absolutely turned the book upside down. I had to read it twice!! Absolutely brilliant!!!

It's always interesting to see how a book title connects to the story & this one is beautiful. Touches on regrets which many of us have about decisions we've made in our lives. This quote I love, "I think often of the vanished days that Captain Gordon spoke about—the ones that are behind us that we cannot live again—and how he wished it might be possible to make the clock run backward so that we could live those days a second time, and live them better."

Lots of well researched Scottish history woven throughout the book (Jacobites, religious tensions, restitution from the Equivalent, the one attempt Scotland made at colony building, etc., etc.) which makes it as informative as it is engrossing.
4.5 Stars (maybe 5, I'm still considering...)

 

The Botticelli Secret

This was so much bawdy fun and by that, I mean because of the verbalizations of Luciana, our happy-go-lucky protagonist who starts the book as an unapologetic prostitute. Other than the vulgar things that come out of her mouth, there's no sex in the book, should that be off-putting to you. If you don't get thrown off by her crudity, especially in the beginning chapters, and just settle into her free spirited personality, it's a fun romp across Renaissance Italy particularly once she's paired up with her counterpart, Monk-in-training, Brother Guido della Torre. Two more opposite characters there couldn't be but they work together magically.

I know very little about Art and neither did Luciana but the biggest clue there was something important about the "cartone" she stole of the infamous Botticelli painting "La Primavera," was everyone coming up murdered around her. To think there was a message/meaning buried into any beautiful painting would be far removed from my mind. Out of curiosity, I had to google the real painting & while magnificent, I still would have missed any communication transferred so subtly. It's an interesting, harrowing adventure following the two characters while they deciphered that message tho and a fantastic idea to build a book around.

Fun read. Unlike anything I've read previously and charmingly irresistible book to start off the New Year. 4 stars but the cover alone gets FIVE ~ can we just say "cover lust??!!" That dress is splendiferousl!!