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A review by carynwelby
The Cathedral of Cliffdale by Melissa Delport
4.0
One of the biggest challenges of the fantasy genre is being able to build a world that is both believable and rich, and Melissa Delport does that excellently from Summerhall to Cliffdale, I could almost feel the chill in the atmosphere, or imagined the setting encloses of all the mythical creatures. Delport completely achieved the transportation of the readers’ minds to a different realm.
Another thing I thoroughly enjoyed about this book was that the story was told from multiple sources, it centers around a centuries long war between the vampires and fae but even though the protagonist was on the side of the fae we got to see the story from the perspective of the vampires too, and the gypsies who fall in the middle and other characters making the story that much more endowed and richer. It was like a 360 look at this one point in the story’s timeline.
The storyline of Quinn and Drake completely enthralled me and I found myself hooked and eager for them to interact more. Perhaps it’s the chemistry or my unhealthy obsession with forbidden love, but I was rooting for them every step of the way even though they fought on opposite sides. I loved their unlikely friendship.
A strong female character is always enough to get me interested in a book, regardless of the genre, and Delport delivered with Quinn. She is multi-faceted, interesting, tough, vulnerable and most of all, she feels real. She is the driving force in this novel and what kept me interested all the way through.
One problem I did have with the book however is that I found that Delport introduced too many mythical creatures too soon - I felt like I was barely learning about vampires when the gypsies were introduced then the werewolves, then the faes, then the unicorns etc. I was constantly confused over which character was who and what species each one was. I think this might have been easier to understand if so many mythical creatures were not introduced in the first book and they were staggered throughout the series.
Would I recommend this: Yes, Quinn and Drake will suck you in, you will cheer for Quinn, and the world itself is a place you have to experience for yourself.
Another thing I thoroughly enjoyed about this book was that the story was told from multiple sources, it centers around a centuries long war between the vampires and fae but even though the protagonist was on the side of the fae we got to see the story from the perspective of the vampires too, and the gypsies who fall in the middle and other characters making the story that much more endowed and richer. It was like a 360 look at this one point in the story’s timeline.
The storyline of Quinn and Drake completely enthralled me and I found myself hooked and eager for them to interact more. Perhaps it’s the chemistry or my unhealthy obsession with forbidden love, but I was rooting for them every step of the way even though they fought on opposite sides. I loved their unlikely friendship.
A strong female character is always enough to get me interested in a book, regardless of the genre, and Delport delivered with Quinn. She is multi-faceted, interesting, tough, vulnerable and most of all, she feels real. She is the driving force in this novel and what kept me interested all the way through.
One problem I did have with the book however is that I found that Delport introduced too many mythical creatures too soon - I felt like I was barely learning about vampires when the gypsies were introduced then the werewolves, then the faes, then the unicorns etc. I was constantly confused over which character was who and what species each one was. I think this might have been easier to understand if so many mythical creatures were not introduced in the first book and they were staggered throughout the series.
Would I recommend this: Yes, Quinn and Drake will suck you in, you will cheer for Quinn, and the world itself is a place you have to experience for yourself.