About the Book
-
Author:
- Kai Meyer
Cover Story: Ack!
BFF Charm: Not Me
Talky Talk: Prosetastic
Bonus Factor: Sicily, Scott Walker
Anti-Bonus Factor: Snakes
Relationship Status: Mysterious Stranger
Cover Story: Ack!
What’s worse than a partial face? A partial face with a snake! I had to put something over this cover so my hand wouldn’t be touching the snake every time I read it.
The Deal:
TRIGGER WARNING: I am about to discuss a spoiler that may be a trigger for some readers. If you don’t want to be spoiled, stop reading now and skip down to the next paragraph… the main character in this book deals with feelings of regret she’s left with after an abortion from a pregnancy that was the result of being drugged and raped.
Rosa Alcantara’s life has fallen apart, so she’s traveling to her ancestral home in Sicily to join her sister and aunt. She’s heard stories of the Sicilian Mafia families that rule the country all her life, but doesn’t really believe any of them… until she finds herself smack in the middle of the war between her own family and the Carnevares, and, specifically the war she’s fighting against her own feelings for Alessandro, the heir to the Carnevare family “business.”
Add to that the dangerous beasts roaming the countryside and an encounter with a tiger who… looks familiar, and… well, you get the idea.
BFF Charm: Not Me
I like Rosa’s toughness a lot, and even her compulsion to shoplift is charming, but she’s a member of a dangerous family, and if I wasn’t afraid of her aunt, I’d be afraid of becoming collateral damage in the war with the Carnevares. So I’ll enjoy watching Rosa from afar, thank you very much.
Swoonworthy Scale: 5
Alessandro is pretty swoony with his messy hair and green eyes, and the way their relationship progresses in the beginning is thrilling in the way their attraction seems to defy the Capulet and Montague relationship of their families. However, once the action really starts to happen, the focus on the romance has to take a backseat for a bit.
There were moments that I did have some issues with, dealing with the more… animal aspects of their nature. It doesn’t go to Shiver levels, by any means, but still.
Talky Talk: Prosetastic
Meyer’s prose is truly beautiful, and his descriptions of Sicily are breathtaking. The story of the mob families is suspenseful and thrilling, and the author crafts his world fantastically. I did feel that this book suffered from just having too much going on in it, though. Meyer’s creation was exciting and full enough without the fantasy element, and I think would have appealed to a broader audience without it. However, fans of fantasy — specifically fans of were-type fantasy — won’t be disappointed.
Bonus Factor: Sicily
Being from the US, books that are set in beautiful locations are a huge plus for me, and if they include the history of that country as well as descriptions as lush as Meyer’s? BONUS!
Bonus Factor: Scott Walker
Scott Walker’s “My Death” features heavily in this story, and I was like, “Scott Walker!!!!!” If you aren’t already a fan, you should be.
Anti-Bonus Factor: Snakes
I hate snakes. I hate them so much. I am afraid of them and I hate them. I hate them more than just about anything in the world. It is hard for me to even look at a picture of one of them, such is my hatred. So I had… issues with some of this book.
Relationship Status: Mysterious Stranger
You know how you meet that mysterious stranger, and are instantly drawn to them? And then when you get to know them a little bit they’re all exciting and tortured and interesting, and you connect with them on such an intense chemical level that all you can think about is getting to know them more? So then you do — get to know them — and the exciting starts to feel more reckless, and the tortured can be a bit much and the interesting turns out to be… maybe not as much as you initially thought. But you can’t really blame them for not being all you expected once you peeled away their mysterious layers, so while you might not want to spend the rest of your lives with them, remembering the getting-to-know-you part of your relationship will always bring a wistful smile.
FTC Full Disclosure: I received my review copy from HarperCollins. I received neither money nor cocktails for this review (damnit!). Arcadia Awakens is available now.
