Wednesday, October 19, 2016

Book Review: Nightspell by Leah Cypess


Pages: 326
Released: May 12, 2011
Publisher: Harper Collins
Rating: 4.5 out of 5 stars
Goodreads

I read the standalone companion novel Mistwood years ago back in 2010, and while I always intended to get around to Nightspell, it took me a really, really long time to finally pick it up (you know how it goes, all these great TBR intentions, and then suddenly six years have flown by!).

I would normally kick myself for waiting so long, but I'm actually glad I did because Nightspell came into my life at just the right time. I had just finished the lack-luster and mildly irritating The Hidden Oracle, which was even more of a disappointment after coming off of the magical Special Shelf book high of A Knight in Shining Armor. I needed a book to make things better again.

Enter Nightspell. I could see how some might describe it as slow, but I found it absorbing in that black hole, suck the world away kind of way. I inhaled the book over the course of two days, which in normal times is impressive for me since I'm not a fast reader, but is extra fast now that it takes me weeks to finish a book this size.

It isn't high action, but it is a creeping mystery set in an world that is as terrifying as it is fascinating. There are three main characters and three kind of main/side characters and each is a mystery themselves. I can't say that I like any of them, but I loved reading about all of them and I felt deeply for all of them.

This is technically a companion novel to Mistwood since they're set in the same world and one of the characters in Mistwood appears in Nightspell. It probably would have been neat if I had remembered the details about this character, but after six years I could barely even remember that this character existed. I don't think that affected my enjoyment at all though, and so I don't think it's necessary to read Mistwood before reading Nightspell.

I know I'm not saying much about the actual story, or even the characters, but that would take away from all the mysteries. Trust me when I say, fans of court fantasy, slow burn plots, world building, and mysteries will find much to like in Nightspell. I'm glad I own a copy, since I'll definitely reread this one.







2 comments:

  1. I haven't read anything by this author but I do love court intrigue and mysteries. Color me curious.

    ReplyDelete
  2. I read Mistwood a long time ago too but haven't gotten around to reading this one so it's nice to know that even if you can't remember all the details, you still enjoyed it.

    ReplyDelete

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