For a book about a remarkable, seemingly never ending journey, the narrative went nowhere. I understand leaving elements ambiguous but Westerbeke left far too much unanswered. In fact, when the reader thinks the main character has finally received some relief, Westerbeke seemingly undoes all of it.
I’m beginning to wonder if The Seventh Veil of Salome was a one hit wonder for me. I almost DNF’d this book from disappointment due to the simplicity and much younger narrative voice. Knowing, however, that this was only her third novel gives me a little hope that other works from her will work for me. I’m giving her another chance.
Yet again (I have no idea how this keeps happening) I started reading a YA fantasy book box book expecting “normal” fantasy and ending up with urban fantasy. This is not bad in itself, just serves as an expectation adjustment once I started reading. I found the overall plot fairly intriguing although I can clearly see the potential for an aggravating love triangle in the conclusion to the duology.
This book was such a delight to read. Romney’s passion for the topic infused every single page. Even if I did not already have an interest in the topic, I would have devoured this book just as quickly. This book most definitely should have won the Goodreads Choice Awards for the History and Biography category. I will be purchasing a copy for my home library.
When I started reading, I did not expect this book to have a setting of ancient Greece. This made me a little wary since I am quite burned out on Greek myth retellings. However, this appeared to simply use ancient Greece as a setting not to retell a specific myth. I persevered since, while not my favorite, I could put up with the setting since the first third felt rather intriguing. That went south, for me, quickly, when the main character ended up joining Hercules and the rest of the
crew on the Argo. Turns out that this is a retelling, although with a unique spin. Unfortunately, I will not continue.
I ended up slightly disappointed in this book due to my expectations based on my experience with her YA work. I also mistakenly believed that this was a horror rather than a thriller. Setting that aside, I think that Jackson actually did an excellent job with her middle grade debut. The target audience would definitely be much more likely to follow along with the suspense-creating elements and have an excellent reading experience.
