4 stars
Reviewed by Gaynor
Romarin Demitri, American teenager comes to London to attend Charm School, she has left her parents (and a ton of baggage) behind so she is able to start on her journey of self discovery. However the route that she initially chose to take is brought to an abrupt end when a chance event leads to the death of a man at her feet. That man believes he has seen the Angel of Death at his feet and Romarin’s instinct takes her to place she never wanted to be. Left with no memory she befriends Yves and is visited by the mysterious Talia who tasks Romarin with finding her once her captivity is escaped. Throughout her journey Romarin meets others who have abilities and are more than meet the eye, those friendships are hard forged and as her memory fully returns to her she is able to embrace who she truly is as a result. Talia, once found, is able to fill in the blanks on her dark heritage and explain why Romarin is the way she is, why she needs blood to survive….she is the descendant of Lady Bathory, whose ancestral home also becomes Romarins. Also resident are the other key players, Audin who is Talia’s right hand man, Travis who seems to be along for the ride and Kit/Katrina who has found a place of solace within the castle walls. We are brought into a world of beings both supernatural by heritage and also by design and how the eclectic streets of London is the perfect place for them to thrive.
For me, this was the first time I had read a book with the author instead being the narrator, this worked well for me and i found the prose really fun to read. However it did mean when chapters were from other characters points of view i got a little confused and it also wasn't always clear who was speaking, which meant the occasional re-read of paragraphs. It did very much feel that this was the first book in a series, the story contained lots of events and no real major set pieces or climax’s but there is lots to look forward too and it’s almost as if there is a spin off now set up for every character. The story is well written and intellectual, although as a Brit I did find some of the writing a bit under researched as to colloquialisms (we haven’t referred to the police as “bobbies” since the 70’s!), it was clear that this had been through a proper process prior to publication with only one small typo to be found. All in all i found this to be an intriguing and engaging read, taking an unusual and unique viewpoint on the supernatural world. I would be happy to review book 2 when it comes out. I give this book 4 stars.
Late Night Books Reviewer Gaynor
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