Let me start by saying I love Heidi Cullinan as an author and I really wanted to love this book. Unfortunately, that didn't work for me.

This was very close to a DNF for me. I had started it months ago and just could not get into it. The story was very fantasical and it was hard for me to keep up. So much was going on but it wasn't interesting for my brain to try to keep up. I found myself annoyed by the characters more than I was rooting for them. I put the book down about 2/3 through. I finally picked it up again today because I needed a book for a challenge. The last third was better than the first part but not by much. I understand there are other books after this so I can understand to a point why the ending was so blah and incomplete but I didn't like it.

Just not my cup 'o tea. ( )

2.75 stars

This story is very ambitious. It reads like an epic story, but somehow doesn't meet it's grandiose plans.

I really liked all the characters, they were all very well written. The background and world they reside in are all very well laid out. I think where it missed the mark was in its complexity. It was all very convoluted. I kept having to go back to re-read certain sections because it just didn't make sense to me at times. The MC was tortured beyond belief... it was horrible the amount of "stuff" he went through. I also had a bit of trouble suspending disbelief at the length the demon/daemon went through to get his plan together... it was all a bit much. The length of the book was also a little off-putting. After a while, I just wanted to be done.

The characters, however, shined. I loved Charles and Timothy, they were tough and bright; special. I really want them to have their happy ending.

I doubt I'll read all the books in the series, but will definitely read other books by Ms. Cullinan.
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I love epic fantasy novels, and at first, The Seventh Veil seemed just the type of story I usually love. The world of the Seventh Veil certainly was an imaginative one, but we didn't get to see much of the world beyond the abbey and the small village in this first book. There were three main couples, and the POVs switched between them. While I came to like all of them, I didn't feel special connections to any of them, either. This book wasn't exactly a romance, even with three romantically involved couples, but there were fair bits of sex in the book. I'd have preferred to learn more about the world and the characters.

One other thing that bothered me was the way the solutions to problems/conflicts almost seemed to follow a set of steps already laid out. The characters or ghosts or the god/goddess appeared at right moments to nudge the event along, and the cryptic hints made me think from very early on that things will just work out if the characters would only follow along. The characters did go through painful situations to get to the end, especially Charles. But it rarely seemed like the characters arrived there on their own strengths.

I like epic fantasies where the characters go on quests, see the world, learn difficult lessons, grow through adversity, and usually suffer a lot in the process. So this book not working for me is definitely a person taste thing. I could see where others might love this book. ( )

The Seventh Veil is a journey through Time; it’s a story of gods and goddesses, daemons and demons, and men and women; it’s a story of witches and alchemists. The Seventh Veil is also the love story of bisexual bastard and genetic construct, Charles Perry and Timothy Fielding, a Catalian palace concubine, but that’s just at the surface.This is not a light read. The novel encompasses the beginning of all creation and the main characters have more than one aspect of themselves on the stage at any given time. Charles Perry the wastrel confronts himself as the god-like White Charles on more than one occasion. His lover, Timothy also has a duality of personality and spirituality. Other main characters have similar confrontations with aspects of themselves.The Seventh Veil is the first novel in a six book series that takes place primarily in Etsey, a place of Cullinan’s creation. It smacks of England in the Middle Ages, but there’s magic great and small, as well as scientific capabilities such as genetic testing and manipulation.Heidi is a great storyteller. She handles this complex novel with considerable aplomb. The characters of Charles and Timothy, Charles’ brother, Jonathan and the apprentice witch, Madeline move on and off the stage with fluidity. She evokes considerable empathy with the suffering of one of the main characters at the hands of Martin Smith, the evil alchemist. This is definitely a 5 Ravens book.I am very much interested in seeing what Cullinan develops in book two, The Temple Boy which is due out this Fall.Review originally published on Blackraven's Reviews ( )

This was a DNF for me. Such a weird book for Heidi - I couldn't make myself keep reading it. ( )