Anathema

Anathema by Megg Jensen
Published by 80 Pages Incorporated
Release Date: 2011-02-11
Series: The Song of Eloh Saga #2
Genres: fantasy, romance
Pages: 193
Source: author
Format: eARC
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Rating:

from the back cover

From the back cover...

Forget prophecy. Make your own destiny. 

Sheltered from the outside world with no hope for escape, slave girl Reychel dreads her fifteenth birthday - when her master’s symbol is burned on the back of her bald scalp. Her best friend disappears the night before, leaving her to face the branding ceremony alone. She soon discovers nothing is as it seems when people desperate for freedom beg for Reychel's help.

Can Reychel learn to believe in herself?

My Review

Anathema is the first in a new trilogy by Megg Jensen, and a wonderful start to it.  The story centers around Reychel, a slave girl who has known no other life than that of slavery.  But, even though she is a slave, she has always been treated differently by her master, mysteriously both being afforded special treatment and being restricted even more than the other slaves.  That mystery is at the center of the plot and its characters.  For the first part of the book, it is almost as if two distinct worlds have been created by the author, with Reychel so very separate from the outside world of the other characters.  It was a very unique way of adding interest to the story.  Reychel’s complete, and bizarre, isolation kept me wondering why, and that kept me thoroughly engrossed.  There were a lot of twists and turns and the story was very well-paced.  I have to say, I was absolutely POSITIVE I knew where the story was going for one of the major twists towards the end,… and I was completely wrong!  I love the unexpected!!

The characters were wonderfully developed, each of them having their own story that wove intricately together to form the full story.  The characters were all equally well-developed, regardless of how big their role was within the story line,  For me, that makes for a much richer read.  Each of them was entirely believable and real, even set in a fantasy world.

And while I realize we have all been told not to judge a book by its cover, but it is a completely safe thing to do with this particular book!

My Recommendation

I recommend you run, not walk, to get yourself a copy of this wonderful book!  And be sure to pick up the next installment, Ouibliette, coming this summer!

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