Review: Such a thrill to read!!
Rating: 5 out of 5
Date: 03 29, 2014
I was lucky enough to get this book as a gift from Urban Heart Book Reviews.Be still my heart! Where do I begin with this one? Besides, to yell "I LOVED THIS BOOK!!" I mean total and complete! This one will be a read I return to after some time. For me that is a HUGE statement because I am not a re-reader often. Once I know a story, then I know it. There is no surprise left. With THIS book...WOW!!White Leaves (E.L.F) is a fantasy novel in every way. I would truly like to tell much about this book, only I have no clue HOW to do so without ruining the ride for other readers. That is part of what I enjoyed most with White Leaves, so much was uncertain. You learn as the main character Shannon Hunter does. This made the story-line flow with more credibility to me. This is no SIMPLE read. It is written from many POV's throughout. In a fantasy tale, for me that is a key factor to understanding the way the world(s) in the book work. Author M.P. Ness has done a marvelous job in bringing modern times together with mythological legends to form his tale.If I had any struggle with the book, it was nothing more than grasping how to say some of the names used. This is a fairly common thing with fantasy, so not very unexpected. I have struggled more with other reads. Author Ness had some foresight there, as he did incorporate a few pronunciation hints into the character dialogue. Well played M.P., highly grateful for that! I found the writing to flow well with very few edit issues. THAT was much appreciated in an E-book! The characters were at times so immense they were hard to envision, yet I see how that added to the entire thing for me. As I traveled the story with Shannon, the more I could "see" it all. Some of the description is superb. Many times I saw it all as a well done anime in my head! (If you knew my household, you would get that anime is HUGE.)What have I read that could compare? Many things, and yet NOTHING. There is just so much that happens in the book, many questions, many emotions. I could mention a movie or two the sprung to mind during particular stages in the story. That would be all I could do, and it would not even come close. It is not JUST the main character that changes as in most books. By the end of White Leaves (E.L.F.), you could just as well be holding an entirely different book than what you first picked up. I am a VERY satisfied reader and have already pestered the author asking about the next book!