A review by flijn
Jasmyn by Alex Bell

3.0

You have never heard a story quite like this one. I can hear you protesting already but, the fact is, it doesn't matter how old you are, how many books you've read, how many things you've seen... this story will be new to you.

Well, of course, in the most literal sense I have not heard this story before. But in fact, it does matter how many books you've read. A statement like this should be made very carefully, even when it is the protagonist talking and not the author. Because when this is the first thing I read, I think of J.K. Rowling, Neil Gaiman, and Lev Grossman, to name just a few; which means my standards (if not expectations) are staggeringly high.

Therefore, I am disappointed. Not because this book is bad; it is a smooth ride of mystery, magic, faeries and castles; and some things are quite original. But it is not unique in the darkness of its magic, it is certainly not the darkest example of magical tales ever written. Nor is it particularly haunting; it is too one-dimensional to really make you check the stairs to the basement uneasily, or to start pondering human nature.

Points, though, to the main character for doing sensible things. Weird situation #1 happens? Jasmyn chalks it up to grief/coincidence. Weird situation #2 happens and a stranger threatens her? She calls the police and spends the night at her parents'.
On the other hand: she gets a bit too 'damsel-in-distress'-y for my taste, but at least she is aware of it herself. And I suppose it is a staple in this genre that a beautiful/special young woman mesmirizes others with her looks, all the while thinking she is nothing special/very hideous. The constant reminders about the main characers' looks made this a little too much like a Harlequin romance.

To end on a positive note: just look at this. Schloss Neuschwanstein, Bavaria, Germany. It's a real place, and I like how fact and fiction came together here.