Summary:
Rowan Rose lives in a small village where girls aren't taught to read, candlelight is used as the only lights, and superstitions run wild. It's a predictable world until five of the King's men are found brutally murdered. Then, Fiona Eira, a long lost cousin of Rowan's shows up in town. She's beautiful and mysterious and Roman's best friend Tom falls in love with her instantly. The only problem is that death has shown up in the village and Fiona is another victim. Her heart is torn out and she is placed inside a glass casket. Tragedy strikes and the town searches for what might have brought down these horrors to their village.
My thoughts:
Honestly, the plot and mystery within this novel is very well down. I did not guess what the ending would be until more than halfway through the novel. Even then, I was still a little unsure. The horror and blood along with each murder is written about with exquisite detail. Templeman has done a very good job of pulling you into the story itself. Unfortunately, the characters are not done very well. I never felt like I really got to know any of them. They are definitely surface characters. You get to know most of the village, but never really like anyone. Plus, the point of view changes rather quickly, so you don't even stick with someone to really follow them. To me it felt like characters in a mediocre play where you anticipate the actor is going to bring them to life for you.I desperately wanted a character to connect with because the mystery was done so well.
Rowan Rose lives in a small village where girls aren't taught to read, candlelight is used as the only lights, and superstitions run wild. It's a predictable world until five of the King's men are found brutally murdered. Then, Fiona Eira, a long lost cousin of Rowan's shows up in town. She's beautiful and mysterious and Roman's best friend Tom falls in love with her instantly. The only problem is that death has shown up in the village and Fiona is another victim. Her heart is torn out and she is placed inside a glass casket. Tragedy strikes and the town searches for what might have brought down these horrors to their village.
My thoughts:
Honestly, the plot and mystery within this novel is very well down. I did not guess what the ending would be until more than halfway through the novel. Even then, I was still a little unsure. The horror and blood along with each murder is written about with exquisite detail. Templeman has done a very good job of pulling you into the story itself. Unfortunately, the characters are not done very well. I never felt like I really got to know any of them. They are definitely surface characters. You get to know most of the village, but never really like anyone. Plus, the point of view changes rather quickly, so you don't even stick with someone to really follow them. To me it felt like characters in a mediocre play where you anticipate the actor is going to bring them to life for you.I desperately wanted a character to connect with because the mystery was done so well.
