Review: Great way to start off a series!
Rating: 4 out of 5
Date: 05 26, 2013
Typically I like to provide my own mini summary of a book when doing a review, but in this case I feel the synopsis provided is more than enough so I'll just get right to the point.The first chapter was extremely intriguing and had me on the edge of my seat wanting to know what was causing all of Lena's pain and inner turmoil over going back home. She was obviously torn up over some horrific tragedy. I have to admit I kind of expected it to be over something other than the loss of her father. Not to downplay the pain one feels from losing a parent, but it just felt like the suspense was building up to something completely different. As you continue reading you learn just how close she was to her father and how his sudden death affected her so her pain becomes more understandable, and you can see how it caused her to spiral out of control. However, it seemed as though her sister and mother weren't nearly as depressed and had made peace with his passing much sooner than Lena did.I enjoyed the story and especially liked the historical aspect of it. I always love learning new things while reading so this was a pleasant surprise. While the writing was good and the story flowed nicely, it didn't exactly peak. It kept an even pace and tone from beginning to end, but I will say it never lost its intrigue, hence the reason I finished it in a day. Ms. Goodson does an amazing job of getting the reader inside Lena's mind. She was like an open book. Every thought and feeling was described in great detail. The imagery was excellent, I could picture her surroundings as if I was standing right beside her. So there's absolutely no doubt in my mind that she's a great writer. I took off 1 star in my review just for the lack of climax, but otherwise I have no complaints and look forward to the 2nd book in this trilogy.