Customer Reviews

The Convent of the Pure

5 star:		(5)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

"I am Portia Gyony," she repeated, and the world bent slightly around the edges.


What would it be like to witness a battle between celestial beings? Sort of like The Convent of the Pure by Sara M. Harvey. Portia is a demon hunter and a Nephilim, a descendant of human and angel. Still mourning the death of her lover Imogen, yet protected by the ghost of Imogen, Portia is trying to complete her training to become a full member of the Gyony (demon hunter Nephilim as opposed to magic user or necromancer Nephilim) community.

Instead she is pulled into a plot to over throw the Primacy, the ruling council of the Nephilim, by a dark-hearted sect of necromancers, one of which helped her keep Imogen at her side after her tragic death. Portia isn't just a tool in the necromancer plot, she is the plot, one of the rare "Pure Bloods", a direct child of an angel and human.

The Convent of the Pure is a fast paced dark fantasy with steampunk elements. The world is rich and enticing, the only real flaw is it's short length. The world really could support a full length book, if not a series as Portia and Imogen are engaging, their romance a sweet up point against the dark tenseness of the world setting. Portia is strong without being snarky or bitchy. There's no stress over her ability to "hang with the boys", no real issue of gender roles at all, which is refreshing. The action is large scale and satisfying without being too easy or overwhelming.

Overall The Convent of the Pure is an excellent, enjoyable tale sure to appeal to readers of dark fantasy, urban fantasy and even paranormal romance.

I'd been looking forward to this since I saw the cover art on the Apex site and Sara Harvey did not disappoint.

Despite a Publisher's Weekly review that mentioned "fluffy lesbian erotica," there was no sex. There was, however, a great deal of intrigue, a fair bit of blood and a really amazing battle scene.

The world-building is excellent. In this reality the nephilim, children of angels and human women, are sought out and taught quietly by others of their kind. Portia and her lover, Imogen, were Gyony, the warrior clan. Imogen died and her ghost still looks after Portia.

But there are those who wish to purge the line of the blood of men and for this, they have brought Portia to the decaying convent where Imogen was raised.

Portia battles demons and a sorcerer as she tries to solve the mystery of who and why.

The cover is gorgeous and the internal black and white art lends an old-fashioned feel to the book.

The premise: this steampunk fantasy is steeped in the Biblical legends of the Nephilim and is the first installment of a trilogy. Portia is sent to an abandoned convent to investigate news of a demon. She's still reeling from the incident that cost her lover Imogen her life and has little to no confidence in her abilities or magic. Fortunately, the ghost of Imogen is always at Portia's side, giving her guidance when she needs it. However, it may not be enough, as what Portia hunts is far greater and more dangerous than anyone ever imagined, and worst of all, her dead lover might be involved in a plot that will destroy her.

My Rating: there's potential in this book, no doubt, and certainly, Harvey is dealing with original material when it comes to the fantasy genre. Using Biblical mythology/legends that embrace more than simply angels and demons can make for a fascinating read, but my wish is that rather than writing a novella, the author had really THROWN herself into the world and created a story that was bigger and more epic. I wanted to like the book far more than I did, and I blame my distance on the fact that I'm thrown into the action and expected to care about characters that I don't even know in crisis. The info-dumping, while extremely necessary to get through the book, is unfortunate because I'd rather experience and discover the world, not have it dumped on me. It's a fast read that reminds me of a hybrid between Harry Potter and the film The Orphanage in terms of setting and world-building, which is kind of fun. But I firmly believe the novella (or a trilogy of) is the wrong form for this epic set of ideas, of world-building, and even the level of relationships that have formed between the characters. Everything about this story is epic, but the form is far too short to let the reader truly appreciate and experience it, which in turn is a let down. Will I read the rest of the trilogy? No. I'm convinced the two sequels will be told in the same manner, and if the form doesn't work for me, why read more just to get more out of the world and characters? That may not make sense, but it boils down to the fact that this should've been something far bigger, and anything less just won't do. Not for me.

This steampunk fantasy is centered around the relationship between Portia Gyony, a nephilim demon-slayer, and the ghost of her lover, Imogen.

The relationship takes center stage here, as Portia works to unravel a web of conspiracy based in an isolated convent full of sinister secrets. Portia failed to protect Imogen, and she blames herself for her lover's death. Imogen, meanwhile, has been bound to Portia in spirit form, an ever-present voice with the ability to take solid form briefly and with great effort. As one might imagine, this can be awkward. But it's also their only hope of staying together, and neither lover is ready to let go.

Author Sara Harvey does a nice job of getting into her protagonist's head, and she also delivers on the action scenes. Her villains are fun, especially her wonderfully nasty succubus, which she does in a nicely original interpretation.

The book is sensual, but is more action and intrigue than sex. The complexity of the characters is nice to see, particularly in a genre where so many authors never use "lesbian" as the sole defining trait of a character and never manage to get beyond it. Portia and Imogen are multifaceted personalities that bring a lot of emotional depth to the relationship.

The world has good depth to it, and there is clearly a lot more of it to be explored, and really, the main weakness of the book is its length. Or rather, its lack thereof. The events and revelations come fast and furious, and I found myself wishing I'd had more time to get to know Portia and Imogen, and their world, before the plot developments hit. There is also a lot of world development, based on biblical mythology, that is just barely hinted at. A sequel is definitely in order. A prequel might be even more fun.

The book's length does insure that the pacing is very tight, and the events of the story build rapidly to a satisfying finish that includes a couple of really strong climactic battles.

This is a fast, fun read that does a nice job of getting away from the fantasy stereotypes that you may be used to.

This book is a cross between Wild Wild West and Buffy the Vampire Slayer. It left me wanting more... luckily, two more are planned in the series!

Convent of the Pure by Sara Harvey is easily one of the most gripping and intense novels I have ever read. It's an intoxicating blend of mystery, adventure, and horror, with twists that shock you just as you think you have a handle on the story. Set in a steampunk world (itself richly described), Convent of the Pure combines many different modern and medieval themes into one seamless tale. Mrs. Harvey has an amazing ability to develop her characters in a short amount of time, while still devoting large chunks of her book to plot and atmosphere.

Convent of the Pure is not the type of book I normally read, and yet I read this in one sitting and was BEGGING for more at the end. I cannot recommend it highly enough.

Plenty of reviews with story details here, but suffice to say, I loved this book. It gripped me from start to finish with powerful characters, brilliant imagery and a story that left me eager for the next installment. Sara Harvey is destined for a long and rich writing career.

This is one of the freshest stories I've read in a long time. as in an original one. It may not be for the closed minded but to me it was a wonderful new fantasy world I want to explore deeper.

This book came to my attention through a distress entry in a blog - apparently the book would not have been published if the publishing company did not receive enough pre-orders. The distress entry had it be known that this book was absolutely fabulous and no one would be sorry they bought it. I ponied up my $15 on pre-order and waited anxiously for this book - I like new content by new authors, and I have no problem paying a lot of money for good content. When I received it I immediately sat down to read it. Sad to say, I was sorely disappointed. The book is 137 pages of text and mid-level artwork. What's on the cover is superior to the artwork within the book. Past that, and far more importantly, the story was simply not very well-written.

The short format of the story prevents a whole lot of character development from happening, which is one of the books' big failures. The other is this: the book relies upon cliche. The book literally starts on a dark and stormy night and descends from there. The elements of the plot are predictable. The writing does not sparkle even when it is not embroiled in cliche. The dialogue is forced and at times rather silly. The book would have benefitted from tight editing, something it did not receive.

I did not find this book's plot or characters gripping, intense, shocking, or surprising. I didn't think that nephilim demon-hunting lesbian nuns were particularly novel. I felt more like the author needed to really make her characters stand out and be special, so she piled four things together and built a story around that. I also suspect that the characters would not pass the Mary Sue litmus test.

The author plans on publishing a second and third installment, which means the audience is expected to pay $45 for what is basically a single book in length. Given the mediocrity of both writing and art, I will not continue the series.