Never mind that last one...

Okay, this is a first for me, people.  I started reading The Prophecy of the Sisters - passed the first chapter, okay.  Passed 75 pages, not so okay.  I just wasn't into it.  And that rule of mine, about reading on if there is any reason at all to continue ... well, it still applies!  I found no reason to continue reading this book.  I loved the atmosphere starting out - dark, gothic, melancholy.  But there just wasn't enough description of the period, virtually no historical detail, and when I pick up such a promising book about a 19th-century New York family's dark and deadly secrets, I really want some flourish.  I like the word "rich" to describe the language I love to read, so that when you're reading about the red wine they drink, you taste it in your mouth, and when the character is afraid, you are also afraid.  That's another issue with this one - the characters were neither very interesting nor very believable, which is due in part to the dialog that just didn't seem at all authentic.  Maybe I need to pick up one of those Jane Austen re-workings like Pride and Prejudice and Zombies or something, for the better of both worlds?  Let me know on that, I haven't tried 'em yet.

Anyway, sorry about the false alarm, but that's the way I feel about my 75-page venture into historical YA.  I'm sure there will be more to come sometime, I'm totally willing to check out that "genre" if you can supply me with some recommendations.  Since I value you guys' opinions, I promise to read the entire book in that case!  So without (much) further ado, next up is a little review of an awesome little book called The Wind in the Willows, which I just finished this afternoon.