Yzabel / July 4, 2012

Blackstone & Brenwen – The Mirror & The Meretrix by Andrew D. Mellusco

My rating: [rating=5]

(Book read and reviewed for {Read It & Reap 75} in the Shut Up And Read group.)

First, I must say that this novel was not devoid of imperfections. I spotted a few recurrent glaring errors, of the kind that I unfortunately easily notice, as well as a couple of formatting problems (missing ends of sentences). However, what might have been a problem in another book wasn’t one here. In spite of those mistakes, I found the novel fascinating, devoured it in a blink, and couldn’t stop myself. It was sheer gluttony on an ereader screen.

The world in which the author set his court drama was fascinating from beginning to end, bouncing off and twisting traditional fairy tales, well-known ones as well as more obscure ones. It is a consistent and believable world, full of rich descriptions and allusions, that I took much pleasure in discovering—and linking to the original versions of the fairy-tales woven within the story. The plot itself was interesting, intricate enough to demand that the reader pay attention to catch little hints. I didn’t find any inconsistencies in it, the mystery was preserved for long enough without being held off uselessly, and everything nicely tied up in the end.

Above all, the characters were very enjoyable, all with their distinct personalities and little quirks. I liked reading about them, about their meetings, about their conversations, and I was glad to see that each of them had his/her important part to play, as well as his/her own backstory. I was especially fond of Fury, but the others came very close behind.

I will definitely keep an eye out for the second volume in this series.