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2.94 AVERAGE
2.94 AVERAGE
This is a wonderfully written book that has a unique view of death and what lies after. It took me a few pages to get into it but after that I loved it! I especially enjoyed the way the story carried on, each choice pushing the balance between life and death, good and evil, and the way the romance was important but wasn't the only part of the story.
Calder is a Fetch, part of a society as old as time itself, responsible for helping souls reach heaven. He's used to being unattached and solitary, but being alone takes it's toll. When he sees a beautiful woman at the deathbed of a child, he thinks he's in love, and after seeing her twice he makes a choice. He will find her and bring her with him back to heaven to be his star fetch. It doesn't work out though, and he finds himself locked out of the place he called his home and an impossible task. Save a soul that he knew before and take the children safely home. Will he be able to do that before the darkness takes them or will his selfish journey wrought the destruction that he feared?
Calder is a Fetch, part of a society as old as time itself, responsible for helping souls reach heaven. He's used to being unattached and solitary, but being alone takes it's toll. When he sees a beautiful woman at the deathbed of a child, he thinks he's in love, and after seeing her twice he makes a choice. He will find her and bring her with him back to heaven to be his star fetch. It doesn't work out though, and he finds himself locked out of the place he called his home and an impossible task. Save a soul that he knew before and take the children safely home. Will he be able to do that before the darkness takes them or will his selfish journey wrought the destruction that he feared?
A wonderful romance/fantasy/historical fiction book. I loved it!
I've had this book for years. It's a GORGEOUS hardback, and I know that's exactly why I bought it. Plus, the premise was unique at the time and seemed like a super cool concept to explore.
That being said, in the end, this one just wasn't really for me. I liked it okay enough, but it was a little out there for me in content, and kind of failed in impressing itself upon my heart where it could have had the author better deepened the POV of the MC, Calder, who was flat and uninspiring. I'll admit, so much of the story felt like, "Why is this happening?" The execution of everything just tended to skew toward random and forced, with this part of the story feeling incompatible with these other parts, and so on. In many ways, the story felt like an incongruent patchwork quilt of story ideas.
I also had no idea going into it that there was so much of the plot tied into the horrendous execution of the Romanov family as well as their prior relationship to the "holy man", Rasputin. If you don't know anything about that and the events surrounding it, it's dark, depressing stuff. So this story just came off continuously heavy in a way I wasn't prepared for (it's not the author's fault that I didn't investigate the storyline much before reading, but that doesn't erase the fact that this story is much heavier than it was marketed as). Furthermore, I didn't believe it was accurately marketed as a romance. Yes, a romance is present, but it's not at the forefront of the story (and if you know me, you know that was a huge disappointment for me).
Who I would recommend this for: readers who enjoy very prose-y, detached writing styles, era-centric stories, and fictionalized historical events and people with supernatural elements.
Prudie breakdown:
(Ratings are as follows -- 0 is none to speak of, 10 is atomic bomb)
-Language -> 2/10 (Very little; all words were small ones)
-Steaminess -> 2/10 (Chaste kisses, and very few of those; hand-holding and chaste hugging/snuggling; brief meeting of a woman in her nightgown in bed with a guy, the implications of their relationship clear; a couple of teenage characters are stripped down to their undergarments by soldiers but it's definitely not sexualized; one character laughingly describes how he could have any woman he ever wanted, even the wives of other men)
-Positive themes -> 6/10 (Family, found family, dealing with the death of loved ones, sacrifice, growing up, being bold and courageous even when you're scared, striving to do what's right, fixing your mistakes, looking out for others, teamwork, exercising prudence of thought and decision, don't be hasty, actions have consequences, and there was a friendly attitude toward God and Heaven although the theology was stripped of authentic Biblical acumen)
-Political correctness -> 2/10 (The "theology" of the afterlife and of God, Heaven, Hell was all very fictionalized and inaccurate. I'm sure the politics of the Russian revolution incorporated into the story will hit differently depending on the reader.)
-Violence -> 8/10 (Even though we don't directly see every bit of the violence described or implied, there is so much death and violence strewn throughout this story. People are brutalized and murdered left and right, people are shot in cold blood, innocents are beaten to death, there are dead bodies (those are often described in great detail), and many scenes of death. There're also creepy, dark, violent spirits.)
That being said, in the end, this one just wasn't really for me. I liked it okay enough, but it was a little out there for me in content, and kind of failed in impressing itself upon my heart where it could have had the author better deepened the POV of the MC, Calder, who was flat and uninspiring. I'll admit, so much of the story felt like, "Why is this happening?" The execution of everything just tended to skew toward random and forced, with this part of the story feeling incompatible with these other parts, and so on. In many ways, the story felt like an incongruent patchwork quilt of story ideas.
I also had no idea going into it that there was so much of the plot tied into the horrendous execution of the Romanov family as well as their prior relationship to the "holy man", Rasputin. If you don't know anything about that and the events surrounding it, it's dark, depressing stuff. So this story just came off continuously heavy in a way I wasn't prepared for (it's not the author's fault that I didn't investigate the storyline much before reading, but that doesn't erase the fact that this story is much heavier than it was marketed as). Furthermore, I didn't believe it was accurately marketed as a romance. Yes, a romance is present, but it's not at the forefront of the story (and if you know me, you know that was a huge disappointment for me).
Who I would recommend this for: readers who enjoy very prose-y, detached writing styles, era-centric stories, and fictionalized historical events and people with supernatural elements.
Prudie breakdown:
(Ratings are as follows -- 0 is none to speak of, 10 is atomic bomb)
-Language -> 2/10 (Very little; all words were small ones)
-Steaminess -> 2/10 (Chaste kisses, and very few of those; hand-holding and chaste hugging/snuggling; brief meeting of a woman in her nightgown in bed with a guy, the implications of their relationship clear; a couple of teenage characters are stripped down to their undergarments by soldiers but it's definitely not sexualized; one character laughingly describes how he could have any woman he ever wanted, even the wives of other men)
-Positive themes -> 6/10 (Family, found family, dealing with the death of loved ones, sacrifice, growing up, being bold and courageous even when you're scared, striving to do what's right, fixing your mistakes, looking out for others, teamwork, exercising prudence of thought and decision, don't be hasty, actions have consequences, and there was a friendly attitude toward God and Heaven although the theology was stripped of authentic Biblical acumen)
-Political correctness -> 2/10 (The "theology" of the afterlife and of God, Heaven, Hell was all very fictionalized and inaccurate. I'm sure the politics of the Russian revolution incorporated into the story will hit differently depending on the reader.)
-Violence -> 8/10 (Even though we don't directly see every bit of the violence described or implied, there is so much death and violence strewn throughout this story. People are brutalized and murdered left and right, people are shot in cold blood, innocents are beaten to death, there are dead bodies (those are often described in great detail), and many scenes of death. There're also creepy, dark, violent spirits.)
This book had some excellent parts, but overall it was kind of bloated. This could have been cut down to half the length without all the tedious train and boat trips (except the boat trip with the gypsy-esque family, that was pretty boss).
The romance was really chaste and didn't do much for me, in fact it kind of bugged me considering it was between a teenage girl and a guy who, while not technically much older, was commandeering the body of a very gross and weird, much older family friend (Rasputin, mmmmm). If I were that girl, I probably would not have been able to get past that.
The whole image of the afterlife presented by Whitcomb was really interesting and beautiful. If there were more of that and the Lost Soul revolt, and less squicky romance and searching for a pointless MacGuffin, this book would have been much better.
The romance was really chaste and didn't do much for me, in fact it kind of bugged me considering it was between a teenage girl and a guy who, while not technically much older, was commandeering the body of a very gross and weird, much older family friend (Rasputin, mmmmm). If I were that girl, I probably would not have been able to get past that.
The whole image of the afterlife presented by Whitcomb was really interesting and beautiful. If there were more of that and the Lost Soul revolt, and less squicky romance and searching for a pointless MacGuffin, this book would have been much better.
An interesting fantasy book that takes place during the Russian Revolution. The main character, Calder, is a fetch - a person who fetches a soul to heaven. He makes a decision that puts himself and the two children in his care in terrible danger. They take a journey around the world in search of answers.
This was an interesting book, but as different as it was I couldn't get lost in the story or even feel for any of the characters. They just didn't draw me in.
This was an interesting book, but as different as it was I couldn't get lost in the story or even feel for any of the characters. They just didn't draw me in.
slow-paced
Terrible. Couldn't get through it the first time. Tried again and i still couldn't finish it. It's very boring and slow, although it has an interesting plot. I do like the historical references though.
I'm pretty sure I loved this book, even though at this moment in time I couldn't tell you what the heck I just read. *chuckles* I adore Calder, I am greatly impressed with Ms. Whitcomb's imagination, and I am dying to know what happens next. But I'm wondering if maybe it's better that I don't.... Sometimes leaving things up to the imagination is the bestest part of the end of a story. =)
When I picked up Fetch in the 'new' section of the library, the cover interested me. Then I read the inside, and found out it had a bit of Historical Fiction. The first two pages and I was hooked. I didn't have much time, but somehow I devoured the book in two days, and let me tell you, it was a wild ride full of imagery and empathy. And love.
I think I cried, but I believe it was because it was the ending of the book, and I had to say goodbye to my favorite characters. Because even if an ending is happy, isn't that always the saddest part?
I think I cried, but I believe it was because it was the ending of the book, and I had to say goodbye to my favorite characters. Because even if an ending is happy, isn't that always the saddest part?