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A review by mermaidmoonqueen
The Book of Whispers by Kimberley Starr
1.0
I received a copy of this book from the publisher on Netgalley. All thoughts and opinions are my own.
I was initially intrigued by this book because of the time period it was set in. When have you ever, and I mean in your entire life, even heard of a fiction book set during the crusades?? I never have, which is why I was so interested to try this book. I thought if nothing else, I could learn something from this book. And I guess in a way, I did. I learned about the path the crusaders went on and just how long the crusades were. But other than interest about the time period, there's not much else to recommend this book.
The Book of Whispers follows a young man named Luca who has always seen demons and desperately wishes to go along during the crusades. He disobeys his father in order to volunteer for them after receiving a mysterious book that's been in his family for generations that no one has been able to read. It also follows a young girl named Suzan, who has lived her whole life with her mother in a convent, but now must go out alone in the world during this dangerous time. This book is about demons and attempting to save the world.
The only thing I can think of nice to say about this book I've already said. The plot is what really dragged this book down, in my opinion. The characters were okay, if a bit dull, but the plot really dragged. The pacing in this book is so slow and we meander a lot from the original plot. This book could have been 100 pages shorter and the pace would have really benefited. I also felt like this book had too many mythological elements and I wished it were a less magical depiction of the crusades. I wish Luca were just a knight that really believed in what he was doing.
Another part I disliked was the romance. I don't think it's really hard to guess which two characters fall in love, but I'll keep it hidden. It was basically insta-love, then they spend a lot of time together and just don't fucking communicate. Yes, that's a great basis for a relationship (cue eye roll.) But in all honesty, it just didn't feel authentic.
In general, I just can't recommend The Book of Whispers. There was too much wrong with it that I don't want anyone else to suffer through.
I was initially intrigued by this book because of the time period it was set in. When have you ever, and I mean in your entire life, even heard of a fiction book set during the crusades?? I never have, which is why I was so interested to try this book. I thought if nothing else, I could learn something from this book. And I guess in a way, I did. I learned about the path the crusaders went on and just how long the crusades were. But other than interest about the time period, there's not much else to recommend this book.
The Book of Whispers follows a young man named Luca who has always seen demons and desperately wishes to go along during the crusades. He disobeys his father in order to volunteer for them after receiving a mysterious book that's been in his family for generations that no one has been able to read. It also follows a young girl named Suzan, who has lived her whole life with her mother in a convent, but now must go out alone in the world during this dangerous time. This book is about demons and attempting to save the world.
The only thing I can think of nice to say about this book I've already said. The plot is what really dragged this book down, in my opinion. The characters were okay, if a bit dull, but the plot really dragged. The pacing in this book is so slow and we meander a lot from the original plot. This book could have been 100 pages shorter and the pace would have really benefited. I also felt like this book had too many mythological elements and I wished it were a less magical depiction of the crusades. I wish Luca were just a knight that really believed in what he was doing.
Another part I disliked was the romance. I don't think it's really hard to guess which two characters fall in love, but I'll keep it hidden. It was basically insta-love, then they spend a lot of time together and just don't fucking communicate. Yes, that's a great basis for a relationship (cue eye roll.) But in all honesty, it just didn't feel authentic.
In general, I just can't recommend The Book of Whispers. There was too much wrong with it that I don't want anyone else to suffer through.