Most Helpful Customer Reviews
49 of 51 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
A strangely beautiful story..., August 17, 2009
This review is from: The Strangely Beautiful Tale of Miss Percy Parker (Mass Market Paperback)
The Strangely Beautiful Tale... is certainly strangely beautiful, and I had to force myself to put the book down so I could sleep. Set in an alternate Victorian England, where spirits roam the streets and six chosen people safeguard the mortal world from dangerous ghosts, this book is richly imagined and constructed, with fascinating characters and an engrossing storyline.
I think my favorite thing about this book is the incredible romantic tension that develops between meek Percy and arrogant Alexi. Have any of you seen North and South (the BBC production of Elizabeth Gaskell's novel, with Richard Armitage and Daniela Denby-Ashe, not that Civil War miniseries from the 80s)? You know how the tension between Margaret and Mr. Thornton builds and builds and builds with no release in sight, and when there finally is a release, you're practically panting even if it's just a kiss? Well, I spent every page of this book from the moment Percy met Alexi in that state. It's really a fantastic take on the destined-to-be-together storyline; I was surprised that I liked it so much because I usually don't care for that type of romance. It just worked really well in this context.
Percy is an unusual heroine for me to like, because she is very meek and uncertain. I lean toward the tough chicks, and while Percy does have incredible inner strength, she is very timid on the outside. There were a few times when I wanted to shout at her to stand up for herself, but she does come through when it really matters (and I cheered). Alexi, on the other hand, pushes all of my brooding hero buttons. I have to admit that I pictured the aforementioned Richard Armitage as Alexi; a Twitter conversation with the author revealed that she imagined Alexi as Alan Rickman when she started writing the novel. Either way, he's brooding and isolated, having devoted his entire life to seeking out the Prophecy revealed to him when he was a teenager, and he's the perfect picture of a lonely romantic hero.
I think the thing I found most fascinating about this novel was the mythology that surrounds the characters. Alexi and his five companions were chosen as young teenagers to serve as the Guard, and they were granted specific powers that would allow them to police London and send dangerous spirits packing. Alexi has spent the twenty years since that time struggling to balance his beliefs as a scientist with the memory of the goddess who appeared to them through a portal in the air. I won't give away the mythology itself, but it was well-integrated into the story and was definitely an interesting twist on what could have been a simpler ghost story.
The only complaint I have is that the end seemed to happen really swiftly, and I wish it had been drawn out a bit more. But otherwise, I absolutely loved this book and would definitely recommend it.
Help other customers find the most helpful reviews
Was this review helpful to you? Yes
No
16 of 17 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
tender love story, August 20, 2009
This review is from: The Strangely Beautiful Tale of Miss Percy Parker (Mass Market Paperback)
It's has been awhile since I've read a gothic fantasy and I don't remember being this entertained reading a book in this genre as much as I was reading Strangely Beautiful Tale of Miss Percy Parker. I enjoyed how Ms. Hieber prose could make me feel the anticipation of that first touch and the thrill of that first kiss. I was transported to a Victorian London, during the terrible reign of Jack the Ripper. I could hear the clip-clop of the horse hooves echoing down the street, see the ghosts along the streets and feel the eeriness that always seem to accompany the evenings in London. Since I've read this book, I've even caught myself thinking in Victorian speak, it had that much of an impact on me.
It was truly a pleasure reading Ms. Hieber's tender love story with her version of Greek mythology mixed with the paranormal. The plot was well rounded and the ending gives you a nice closure but I have a few questions lingering that I hope will be answered in the next book. Your not going to find anything too terribly dark or forbidding in this book, though the evil ones were evil enough to fulfill their part in the setting of this book. It was a wonderful journey reading this book and I'm looking forward to next book in this series. Yes, I would definitely recommend this book.
If your still not sure about reading this book, I suggest that you head over to Leanna Renee Hieber's website and read the prologue and excerpts: [...]. I was hooked from reading just the prologue and I'm betting you will be too.
Help other customers find the most helpful reviews
Was this review helpful to you? Yes
No
30 of 35 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
Strangely beautiful? Meh. Strange? Yes!, February 10, 2010
This review is from: The Strangely Beautiful Tale of Miss Percy Parker (Mass Market Paperback)
I'm not exactly sure what star rating to give to this book; three stars seems at once too generous and not generous enough. Perhaps it would help to simplify and break my review down into what I like and what I don't like about the book.
What I Like: The gothic spin on a traditional Victorian London setting. The dark, gloomy and terrifying atmosphere of classic gothic storytelling fits perfectly with this book, whose story takes place in the year 1888, the year of Jack the Ripper. I also liked the interpretation of the ancient tale of Persephone and her abduction by Hades, which forms the backbone of the book's storyline.
What I Don't Like: The author's repeated use of 'regal' and 'noble' to describe the appearance of Professor Alexi Rychman. 'Regal brow', 'noble face', 'regal this', 'noble that', ad infinitum, ad nauseum. Enough already, we get it, he's a handsome dude! I know Ms. Hieber is emulating the traditional gothic guidelines in describing her hero, but one or two 'nobles' or 'regals', combined with the futher descriptions of the character swooping, stalking, pacing and prowling, is quite enough for us to understand he is the hero, in all his brooding, mysterious, tormented, waiting-to-be-saved-by-his-one-true-love glory. Ease up on the descriptors and move on! I also quite dislike the book's subject, Miss Percy Parker herself. She has been raised in a convent, where modesty and self-effacement is all that, but her mewling, whining, whimpering, cowering, cringing, apologetic, servile attitude is so far beyond modesty, it creeps into the sado-masochistic realm ("please, hurt me, for I deserve no better"). Yeesh! Annoyance is not a strong enough word to describe the feeling her behavior engenders in me. We, as readers, are given to understand that the lack of self-confidence in Percy comes from her unique appearance when instead she is merely falling prey to the tired cliche of a Beautiful Heroine Unaware of Her Beauty. Her continual assumption that her snow-white hair, milk-pale skin, and near-colorless eyes brings nothing but revulsion to people grates on the nerves and, frankly, made me want to smack her. I know the Victorian era was several decades before the "Let Your Freak Flag Fly" movement was popular, but, still... Woman up and grow a backbone already! When she finally does grow a backbone, it comes so late in the tale and it's such a half-hearted attempt at confidence that it doesn't seem worth the effort. Lastly, the density of the other characters as regards to Percy and her role in the story was so frustrating, I came close to throwing the book at the wall. Despite many clues, one of which the equivalent of a ginormous neon sign, as to Percy's importance, the characters' heads remained firmly up their arses. Ostensibly, this was to create a dramatic denouement at the finale of the book, but their behavior was so unbelievable that instead of a gasp of surprise and empathy at the reveal, I blurted out "Well, duh! That's what happens when you have your heads up your butts." It was a ham-handed approach to creating dramatic tension.
However, despite all these failings, I felt a strange (strangely beautiful?) compulsion to keep turning the page. It was the kind one feels when watching a train wreck, the horrified fascination which comes when one knows something will end badly but has to watch anyway.
Help other customers find the most helpful reviews
Was this review helpful to you? Yes
No
|
