This book gave me an interesting insight into how some myths came to be. Luca Vero is a seventeen-year-old boy in training to become a priest, but he is pulled out of the monastery when he is chosen to go on missions for a holy order. In his first mission he meets Isolde, a displaced heiress who has been placed in a nunnery because she refused to marry the man who had been handpicked for her.The mission that Luca goes on is to map the fears of the people of Christendom to determine if good or evil prevails.There is a different feeling to this book. I think it's because it feels like Philippa has done a lot of research before writing this book, and it shows. I was fascinated by the world Philippa created for Luca. It gave me an idea of how people may have been like back in the 1400's. I really enjoyed the plot of this book.Luca is a strong character, a flawed one. He is smart, but at times can be caught up in the moment and back in those times it would have been dangerous. He has two traveling companions as he travels - Peter and Frieze. I think Luca is actually a mystery. The leader of the order believes him to be Fae, but taking the tone of this book, I have my doubts.Isolde is a wonderful character. She suffers quietly, defends herself when needed and is true to her beliefs. Her friend is Ishraq, who is considered an infidel in those times.I recommend this book to anyone who enjoys historical fiction with a twist of fantasy mixed in. It is definitely not high fantasy.I gave this book 2 out of 5 stars because although it had some really awesome positives about it - I didn't connect with it the way I wanted to. I will continue to read the series, just to see how the series turns out.
A Reader's Heart
Focuses on reviews of Young Adult novels with honesty and integrity. My ratings and reviews vary on how I feel about the book.
This book gave me an interesting insight into how some myths came to be. Luca Vero is a seventeen-year-old boy in training to become a priest, but he is pulled out of the monastery when he is chosen to go on missions for a holy order. In his first mission he meets Isolde, a displaced heiress who has been placed in a nunnery because she refused to marry the man who had been handpicked for her.The mission that Luca goes on is to map the fears of the people of Christendom to determine if good or evil prevails.There is a different feeling to this book. I think it's because it feels like Philippa has done a lot of research before writing this book, and it shows. I was fascinated by the world Philippa created for Luca. It gave me an idea of how people may have been like back in the 1400's. I really enjoyed the plot of this book.Luca is a strong character, a flawed one. He is smart, but at times can be caught up in the moment and back in those times it would have been dangerous. He has two traveling companions as he travels - Peter and Frieze. I think Luca is actually a mystery. The leader of the order believes him to be Fae, but taking the tone of this book, I have my doubts.Isolde is a wonderful character. She suffers quietly, defends herself when needed and is true to her beliefs. Her friend is Ishraq, who is considered an infidel in those times.I recommend this book to anyone who enjoys historical fiction with a twist of fantasy mixed in. It is definitely not high fantasy.I gave this book 2 out of 5 stars because although it had some really awesome positives about it - I didn't connect with it the way I wanted to. I will continue to read the series, just to see how the series turns out.
