Nevermore

Nevermore - Kelly Creagh Kelly Creagh introduced me to a world that gave me chills, even as I became more lost in the pages of her novel. Her world filled my mind and I could almost see the forest, the ash, the despair and the evilness of her characters and her world. It made me ask myself - how would it be if I couldn't tell a dream from reality and that my soul or the soul of a boy I loved would be lost if I didn't? These are the things that Isobel had to struggle with since almost her first meeting with Varen.The characters in this book were exceptional. Even as my first initial reaction to meeting Isobel and Varen was to think cliche character types, my mind couldn't stick to my initial reaction. Isobel was a popular cheerleader type and Varen was a Goth type. But Kelly made her characters real. Isabel was kick-ass and determined. Varen was a fighter and even with him believing everything was lost, he kept fighting. They had real problems. Isobel had her over-protective father, and Varen with his abusive one. I wonder, even if I write this, if it was the abuse that helped create the sad and twisted world that both Isobel and Varen got lost in.Even the minor characters had their part to play. I absolutely loved Gwen. She was so friendly and didn't take any crap. She was the first one to support Isobel, a girl she didn't really know, after Isobel split with her boyfriend. And Reynolds! He was like Isobel's spiritual guide. It's the only way I can think of him when I think of the things he did in the book. The book centered around Edgar Allen Poe, but wasn't ABOUT him. Sure, there are parts of his poems throughout the book, but mainly because Varen has an obsessive interest in him and he has to do a project with Isobel. But, it was the glue that held the book together. I think it was the fact that this book was so different from other fantasies I've read that made me enjoy it so much. I've read so many Fae, Werewolf and Vampire books that it made a nice change for the setting to be a dream world, yet with reality mixing in with it. And, the little demons, the Noc's, being there was well. I can't call it an Angel/Demon book because I just didn't feel like it was. Maybe that's the appeal of this book.I'd really like to pick out some things I found wrong with it, but I can't - unless you call Nevermore being a long novel wrong. it is quite big and took me several days to finish it. It's the kind of novel you can't put down unless real life intervenes - like it did for me.I'm just going to give my rating now, instead of driveling on about the brilliance of this book, even though I think you'll know what it is.Five out of five stars.This review can be found at http://magicalmanuscriptsandwritingthings.blogspot.co.nz/