Won this book at Goodreads again and it was awesome. I absolutely loved it! It is the first book in the "Stone Series" and the next is due out this spring. The next, which I will definitely be buying. Because this one ended in such an awesome way, I have a feeling that, impossibly, the next book may be even better. Formal review:
Wow, what a ride. "Angels in Stone" by Tanja
Kobasic is an amazing book filled with thrilling twists at every turn that will
leave you breathless for the next book. “Angels in Stone” follows Claire, a
narcissistic, snobby woman who cares only for herself and will do anything to
get what she wants. Even if it means selling her soul to the devil. And when
she meets the voodoo priestess Esperança, that option is made readily available.
The first thing that caught my attention in this novel
was the originality of it. There aren’t many books with a character that has
you rooting for their demise, and if there is, you’ll usually drop the book
because you can’t stand reading about the character. This book, however,
manages to pull it off flawlessly and at times—dare I say it?—you may actually
find yourself rooting for Claire because, as cruel as she is, she has qualities
that are much easier to relate to than a perfect character with no flaws.
The second thing I noticed, of course, was the beautiful
prose. The writing was lovely and managed to make the complex plot easy to
understand, though it was not, by any stretch of the imagination, simple.
Everything was so easy to picture and it was as if you were there, experiencing
what Claire was experiencing and seeing what she was seeing. Emotion seeped
through the pages and you were never confused unless the author wanted you to
be.
Then we get to the characters. Yes, as I’ve said, Claire
was unlikeable… in the beginning. But as she grew and we began to understand
why she was so bitter and angry, she became more and more likeable to the point
where you’re wishing she would give up her hate and accept the light inside of
her. And Claire wasn’t the only one to grow; Esperança the voodoo priestess,
who was probably my favourite character though I did end up loving them all, changed
in ways I never expected; ways that shocked me in a good way. Patience, Esperança’s
“granddaughter” also shocked me when I found out who and what she really was.
Even if nothing else in this book was good—which definitely isn’t the case—I’d
still enjoy it because of the characters and the dark, humorous banter between
them.
Now, finally, the plot. Wow. Really, wow. The pacing wasn’t
the lighting-paced, fast-flowing pace that most amazing books are, but it was a
slow, smoldering pace that was so intense you couldn’t tear yourself away from
the pages for a breath of air. You may think a slow pacing would be a bad thing
but, like Claire’s narcissism, it was an amazing thing. It’s not that I love
slow paces but it’s just that the author pulled it off so
well.There’s a part where Esperança is telling stories of
the past and they’re so rich, full of life and just so…well, fantastic that I
think I may even reread the book.
The one thing that may turn readers away from this book
is the deepness of it—there are times when the reader must read between the
lines to really understand. Yes, it may turn some readers away, but I found it
only added to the richness of the plot, characters and writing. There are great
themes and if you have to think a little to get them, it’s not necessarily a
bad thing. So overall, I love this novel. And with the cliff-hanger that it
ended on, I cannot wait to read the next one!
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