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A review by tracythewriter
The Splendor Falls by Rosemary Clement-Moore
4.0
This review is taken from my blog: www.tracyebanghart.com
This book was exactly what I hoped it would be. Dark, creepy, and romantic, haunting and funny, with a great main character, whose voice is consistent and engaging throughout. Sylvie begins the story both mentally and physically "broken" - she's suffered a career-ending injury and her mother's convinced she's not handling it well. And, in many ways, she's not. Somehow Rosemary makes Sylvie's "woe is me" attitude at the beginning more compelling than grating, more engaging than off-putting. The best part of this is it sets up a lovely character arc for Sylvie - she actually gets to grow and change over the course of the book!
It's tough letting your characters be broken at the beginning of a story - it can be scary letting them show their bruises and aches and anger and pain, wondering if the reader will care enough to watch them recover, reclaim their power, grow, change....at least...it's hard for ME to do this. :-) From the beginning, I was with Sylvie for the long haul, and I loved watching her journey.
One of my favorite things about this book was the slow build. The slow build of tension, of romance, of mysteries...it took quite a while to get to the explanations and resolutions but I didn't mind, because I enjoyed the piling mysteries, the building sense of dread. The delayed pay-off was INTERESTING, not annoying. And, as I said, creepy! I actually had a hard time reading this book before bed because it was just spooky enough to make me start at strange noises and moving shadows in the night.
I also loved Rosemary's unique take on the love triangle. She didn't try to make the boys "equal" - the suspense is not in WHO DOES SYLVIE LIKE BEST, but in questioning each boy's motives. In the irony of knowing who Sylvie SHOULDN'T choose - but worrying she might choose him anyway.
And, finally, the sense of place, the lush setting served as a wonderful backdrop to the story. I love books where the setting feels as important as the characters, and this is definitely one of those books.
So, pick up a copy, relax in your favorite chair, and enjoy disappearing into Sylvie's world. Believe me, you'll want to linger there long after you finish reading. :-)
This book was exactly what I hoped it would be. Dark, creepy, and romantic, haunting and funny, with a great main character, whose voice is consistent and engaging throughout. Sylvie begins the story both mentally and physically "broken" - she's suffered a career-ending injury and her mother's convinced she's not handling it well. And, in many ways, she's not. Somehow Rosemary makes Sylvie's "woe is me" attitude at the beginning more compelling than grating, more engaging than off-putting. The best part of this is it sets up a lovely character arc for Sylvie - she actually gets to grow and change over the course of the book!
It's tough letting your characters be broken at the beginning of a story - it can be scary letting them show their bruises and aches and anger and pain, wondering if the reader will care enough to watch them recover, reclaim their power, grow, change....at least...it's hard for ME to do this. :-) From the beginning, I was with Sylvie for the long haul, and I loved watching her journey.
One of my favorite things about this book was the slow build. The slow build of tension, of romance, of mysteries...it took quite a while to get to the explanations and resolutions but I didn't mind, because I enjoyed the piling mysteries, the building sense of dread. The delayed pay-off was INTERESTING, not annoying. And, as I said, creepy! I actually had a hard time reading this book before bed because it was just spooky enough to make me start at strange noises and moving shadows in the night.
I also loved Rosemary's unique take on the love triangle. She didn't try to make the boys "equal" - the suspense is not in WHO DOES SYLVIE LIKE BEST, but in questioning each boy's motives. In the irony of knowing who Sylvie SHOULDN'T choose - but worrying she might choose him anyway.
And, finally, the sense of place, the lush setting served as a wonderful backdrop to the story. I love books where the setting feels as important as the characters, and this is definitely one of those books.
So, pick up a copy, relax in your favorite chair, and enjoy disappearing into Sylvie's world. Believe me, you'll want to linger there long after you finish reading. :-)