Kimberley StarrRecensioni

A very good fantasy-historical young adult novel. It is a blend of action, mystical and historical and I am glad the author, Kimberley Starr, did not romanticise the violence and brutality shown by the crusading pilgrims in their “holy” quest.

The characters Luca and Suzann are likable and the villains appropriately villainous!

The story develops at a good pace and there is enough action and romance to keep a young reader engaged. The only comment I have is that I found there was just too many demons and descriptions of them early in the story – I found that a bit tedious at times.

I can see a future for a sequel.

Wow this book is awesome!
Lucy has just finished refurbishing a 100 year old telescope in Yarra Valley, Victoria. Her husband of twenty years Justin, is running for parliament & election day is looming. But Lucy has had enough of Justin's seeming ambition & desire to make their hometown a booming tourist destination & is planning on leaving him after the election, her only concern is how her daughter, Gabby will react to the news. A week before the polls open, Lucy goes for a walk. But she doesn't come back..... Justin is convinced Lucy has left him but Gabby is certain her mum's missing & is mystified as to why her dad isn't looking for her.......
I absolutely loved this book, it is so engaging & will keep you that way if you're a bit of a science lover with all the information about stars, constellations etc sprinkled all through the book. Kimberly Starr's writing style made me immediately sympathise with the characters, even Justin who's greed & desire had made me absolutely despise him by the middle of the book. Although there are chapters, this book is written in a sort of run- on style that means you really have to pay attention to keep up but it's worth it as the writing is beautifully lyrical with lush descriptions that made me devour it & kept me wanting more. There are a few twists I didn't seem coming & thee ending was perfect. Well, I thought it was! If I had a favouritee shelf, this would definitely be on it!

What a great story to read during the final days of the federal election campaign! Astronomer Lucy Rutherford’s husband Justin is running for parliament in Victoria, but she’s not interested in being an MP’s wife. In fact, she’s planning to leave him and start a new life interstate with their daughter Gabby. Just days before polling day, Lucy takes Kepler, the family dog, for a walk and disappears. But no one seems to care. As the days roll on, Gabby can’t understand why her dad isn’t looking for her mum. Then, on election day, they’re all faced with a decision. Melbourne-based author Kimberley Starr has produced a totally engaging read, one which maintains its grip right to the end. It’s deftly written and brilliantly researched. Of all the characters, I loved best the depiction of Gabby, only 11 years old but oh, so clever with words. Starr’s previous novels have won awards and I’m sure readers will say this deserves to join them.½

Set in Victoria's Yarra Valley, Torched by Australian author Kimberley Starr is essentially about the relationship between Phoebe and her son Caleb. Phoebe is the Principal at the local Primary School in Brunton and her son Caleb is accused of starting a bushfire that raged through the district, burning everything in its path. Many people lost their lives, properties and livestock were destroyed, yet Caleb won't talk about what happened.

The locals in Brunton blame Caleb for their losses and Phoebe and Caleb's lives subsequently fall apart. As the court date draws closer, Phoebe is desperate to learn the truth.

I found myself a little annoyed with Caleb's character as he insisted on withdrawing into his artistic gothic persona and providing only vague responses to the allegations made against him. Phoebe is an equally flawed character and I thought way too much time was spent on her warring thoughts about her son and her insomnia.

The climax builds as the reader swings back and forth on whether Caleb is guilty or not until the final denouement. In contrast to most readers, I found the most exciting and compelling part of the book were the scenes that took place during the bushfire. The scenes featuring Phoebe were absolutely gripping and completely captured the horrors of an immensely powerful Australian bushfire. I felt the heat and Phoebe's fear, and I'd even go so far as to say it was as good as the bushfire scene in Scrublands by Chris Hammer.

Unfortunately, this level of writing isn't maintained throughout the novel. After the fire has been extinguished and the investigation begins, I was less moved by the rest of Phoebe and Caleb's story.

Overall, Torched is a good Australian mystery with a topical subject at its heart and a solid character study of a troubled mother son relationship.

* Copy courtesy of Pantera Press *

Setting aside circa page 75 with more of a meh than a nope. There's simultaneously too much and too little going on--lots of things happening, but too many crossing threads hang loose and it's hard to pick which are important. I'm quite interested in Suzan's circumstances, but we're spending the bulk of time with Luca, who can't even be bothered to talk with his father about his sister's panic about a sexual predator, despite repeated entreaties and promises to do so, so nuts to him.

There is a story there but it was not for me. I like reading about demons but in this story they are talked about but not really developed. The boy can see them but his interaction is limited and nothing about them or why he can see them is explained, The characters personalities were rather shallow. Reading about the crusades, corrupt priests and people treating people poorly made me not want to finish reading this book. I only made it through about 50%. It was well written but it was not for me.

Took a little bit to get into but once the 2 main characters were established, this was quite good. Set during the time of the crusades, this is about a wealthy italian prince called Luca who sees demons attached to everything he looks at. On telling his family, they have had the Church perform an exorcism on him - a traumatic experience that didn't cure him of seeing demons but Luca keeps his mouth shut so they think he is cured. His father decides that he needs to go on a Crusade to the Holy Land. He tells Luca not to go and entrusts him with a special Book prior to departure. Luca, fearing his malicious cousin will try and do something to his father to inherit Luca's father's lands, decides to go anyway and takes the book with him.
Meanwhile, in a convent along the way, a girl called Suzan lives with her mute mother who has become a nun. Suzan, fearing that her tongue will also be cut out to make her mute, pretends to be so until the convent is threatened by raiders. She runs away, fearing the fate of her mother, now that her secret is discovered and joins Luca on the crusade.
Suffice to say, Suzan has the gift of language and can read the book Luca has, the two fall in love and along the way to the Holy Land, they battle demons, meet death in a human form, stop the cousin and other evil princes from exacting their terrible plans and generally solve the mysteries of the book of whispers. Not a bad stand alone effort for readers who like fantasy and quests.½

Thanks to NetGalley for giving me an ARC of this book! 😃

I didn't know a lot about the crusades, so this book has left me shell-shocked!

The characters of Luca and Suzan, and the romance they share are all the sweetest things possible in the mayhem of the demons and all the evil that surrounds the pilgrims to Jerusalem.

There was history and there was fiction, there was comedy and there was romance. There was suspense and there was sarcasm.

So all in all, The Book Of Whispers was a power-packed, utterly interesting and awesome read!

I received an ARC from the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

"'We each have a different truth,' Brother Bonaccorso agrees. 'But our differences don't mean other people are wrong.'"

Tuscany, 1096 AD. Luca is the heir of the Italian Conte de Falconi with the unfortunate ability to see demons. Joining his father and narcissistic cousin on a pilgrimage to conquer the Holy Lands for Christ, the last thing he expects is to meet a stunning Cappadocian woman or to engage in a battle to save humanity. Suzan, raised in a subterranean convent by her mute mother, is likewise shocked to ally herself with a young knight and his dangerous but noble quest. Using a mystical heirloom of Luca’s family, the pair must race against time to mine the ancient book for clues as to how to defeat the gathering demon forces.

The Book of Whispers struck me as a gem of a story, but sorely lacking polish. A uniquely augmented history, The Book of Whispers is a depiction of the First Crusade as though it had been spurred by demon hoards. Some of the writing, the dialogue in particular, felt shaky and lacking in complexity, which kept me from loving this. Alternatively, the story itself is very mature, not shying from the carnage, bigotry, and horrors of the First Crusade and delving into the sexual curiosities of young Luca and Suzan. I was engaged in the action and the alluring setting, and yet the narrative alternated between dragging unnecessarily and rushing clumsily. I enjoyed the history and incorporation of a discussion of religious extremism, but the style and pacing left me wanting.

This fast paced and well developed story had a little bit of everything to provide you an interesting foray into a historical journey through time. Grief, love, chaos, adventure, magic, and the Christian crusades into Jerusalem all melted together into a beguiling and beautiful novel. Thankfully she adds a bit of lightness to the story with a sweet, albeit quickly begun, romance.

This was a good fictional introduction into the Crusades for anyone with little to no familiarity as Starr does a wonderful job making you feel like you are riding alongside the knights desperate for food, water and sanity. Her descriptions of the settings transported you back hundreds of years to a different time and place; you could practically feel the dust getting kicked up around you as your mind allowed you walk the same grounds as once important historical figures. Though I’ve never been to Jerusalem, through Starr’s book I felt as if I had actually gone there. It was beyond obvious the author really worked hard in her research to get historical details correct along with cultures, religions and settings.

You will walk away hoping she creates a sequel though it does end leaving you filling satisfied even if she doesn’t.