Review: Vivid descriptions and fast-paced storytelling
Rating: 4 out of 5
Date: 04 30, 2013
Night Sea Journey is a joy to read.  I'm not familiar with Paula Cappa's work, but judging from this book, her greatest gift is an almost poetic way with words.  Her descriptions are so evocative, I sometimes found myself reading them again and saying them aloud, just to hear how it sounds that way.But that's not her only strength.  This is a fast-paced novel filled with clever concepts and interesting characters.  On the surface, you could call it a haunted house book where dreams threaten to break through to reality, but that only begins to describe it.  There are a lot of religious overtones, which occasionally threaten to get a little heavy-handed when she singles out the Catholic Church, but I admire her guts taking on such a divisive issue.  And she finds just the right balance of terror and romance.  Make no mistake, though, even though there's a love story at its heart, there are some unsettling moments in here.Gothic and dreamy, Night Sea Journey is worth a shot.  If nothing else, it's worth the price for her intricate descriptions, but you'll likely get much more out of it than that.