Disclosure / Disclaimer: I received this book, free of charge,from Zonderkidz, for review purposes on this blog. No other compensation, monetary or in kind, has been received or implied for this post. Nor was I told how to post about it
And now, our first book review of the day- something for the teens!
Synopsis:
Grey Haward has always detested the Chemists, the magicians-come-scientists who rule her small western town. But she has always followed the rules, taking the potion the Chemists ration out that helps the town’s people survive. A potion that Grey suspects she—like her grandfather and father—may not actually need.
By working at her grandfather’s repair shop, sorting the small gears and dusting the curio cabinet inside, Grey has tried to stay unnoticed—or as unnoticed as a tall, strong girl can in a town of diminutive, underdeveloped citizens.
Then her best friend, Whit, is caught by the Chemists’ enforcers after trying to protect Grey one night, and after seeing the extent of his punishment, suddenly taking risks seems the only decision she can make.
But with the risk comes the reality that the Chemists know her family’s secret, and the Chemists soon decide to use her for their own purposes.
Panicked, Grey retreats to the only safe place she knows—her grandfather’s shop. There, however, a larger secret confronts her when her touch unlocks the old curio cabinet in the corner and reveals a world where porcelain and clockwork people are real. There, she could find the key that may save Whit’s life and also end the Chemists’ dark rule forever.
Review:
Most teens will LOVE this book, with it's mythical world, that updates ye old Lion, With and the Cupboard , into a curio cabinet of magic and clockworks, yet keeps the good versus evil, and has a teenage heroine as its main character! Add in characters that EVERY teen will be able to relate to, and you have a book that will leave them enthralled from the opening chapter! It is an interesting take The book feels familiar, as it draws from different genres of writing, to make a complex world, much like how Tolkien made his lands and tales. I would say it would make a thrilling movie, but I don't believe the nuances of the book could be properly brought to life. Our imagination can do so MUCH more than a camera can, right? This is a book that you will be thinking about for days after you finish reading it. So pick it up for the kids, but sneak it off to read when they're in school!
BONUS:
For a peek into the origins of the Curio world check out the prequel novella,
Mark of Blood and Alchemy, which is FREE right now on Kindle!
Synopsis:
Olan Havardsson flees a devastating plague that took his family only to be saved by a mysterious group of "magickers" with healing powers. But as he accompanies his rescuers to their alpine enclave, mysteries arise surrounding their potions and powers of alchemy. Questions mount when Olan observes a deep division forming between those who seek to defend the purity of the healing alchemical work and those who would wield it as a powerful weapon.
Olan is thrust into the midst of this dissention after he discovers he is somehow special--chosen as a guardian like the enclave's founder. As he spends time with two of his rescuers--Auriana, a clever and captivating inventor, and Alaric, a brooding young man wrestling with his father's cruel beliefs--Olan realizes he may have the power to direct the course of blood and alchemy.
.
About the Author
Evangeline Denmark cannot sing. This tragic discovery led to bouts of angst-ridden poetry writing in her teens, an ill-advised relationship with Edward Fairfax Rochester, and the compulsive creation of her own fictional worlds.
Having found her true voice, Evangeline writes fiction with hints of whimsy, glimmers of fantasy, and strokes of the supernatural. This is her debut novel. Evangeline lives in Colorado with her husband, an engineer with a sense of humor and an artistic streak, two ravenous sons who steal her laptop and demand dinner, a cat, two turtles, and a cattle dog who runs the house.
Comments
Post a Comment