Review Detail

The story starts out with Luce being late for the tour of the new boarding school she is attending, Sword & Cross. You're introduced to a few of the characters that become a big part of the story, such as Gabbe, Cam, and Arriane. Instantly, Cam takes a liking to Luce and so does Arriane, volunteering to show her around the grounds then demanding that Luce cut her hair like her own. Soon after, Luce spots Daniel Grigori, who she is immediately attracted to. More odd than that, she feels as though this isn't her first time seeing him. When Daniel spots Luce, he gets wide-eyed right before smiling and gallantly flipping her off. Even though he was rude to her, Luce continually finds herself thinking about him and looking for him. That is until she has a run-in with Molly, who quickly welcomes her to school with a big plate of meatloaf over her head. However, thanks to Molly, Luce is introduced to Penn - the late school caretaker's daughter who decides to stay at Sword & Cross because that's where her father is buried. Although a little eccentric, Penn turns out to be a good information source for Luce. Luce and Daniel talk every once in a while, but each time she's left even more confused than before. A little less than a hundred pages into the novel, you have your first big scene of action that kind of puts the whole novel into swing - before then, it's just a bunch of introductions, Cam flirting with Luce, and you sort of get an idea of why Luce is in Sword & Cross. However, it's never really fully fleshed out in the story, which either may be a hole in the plot or something the author plans on telling in the next book. Either way, you know enough to know there was a tragic accident, she was blamed for it, and now she's in a boarding school with other "troubled teens". I'm going to stop with the play-by-play, but I will say that as the story unravels, you figure out that a lot of people are not what they seem. You also get the whole story on why Daniel seems so familiar to Luce, as well as a big back story on why they may never be able to be together.

Alright, I'll admit ... I judged a book by its cover - bad. Reading the blurb on the back, I didn't really think there would be anything all that intriguing in the book. Why? I thought it would just be a book where you follow a girl who drools over some really hot guy the whole time and that's about it. I have to say that I was definitely wrong. The story is pretty wonderful. As I said in my review for Evernight, the cover would fit better on that. However, not every book has a cover that fits well with the story itself. So, I'll say that, as just a cover, it's an attention-grabber and it's very beautiful. And really, what's better than being a proud owner of a good book with a gorgeous cover? The prologue to the story is actually a flashback, with unnamed characters, but you quickly understand it as the story goes along - and it does it's job as a prologue by catching your attention, making you want to read more. The plot? As mentioned, it does have some holes and you will have some questions after you read the novel. Since it is a part of a series, I am hoping the author will fix that by answering the questions later on in the series. So, I'm going to be lenient on that until I read more of the series. I loved the characters and they fit their persona well - though I do think that Arriane lost a little of her spark as the story went along. I think she faded back a little too much and didn't keep her spunkiness that she originally started out with. There IS an epilogue that goes with the story. After you read it, you'll have a "Whhhhaaaat?!" moment, but it's a good one! It really gets your blood pumping for the next book. The writing is wonderful, as well as the point of view ... which follows Luce in third person, but you do get a grip on the surroundings too. I forgot to mention that the ending is a little heart-wrenching, but it's necessary and gets your hopes up for the sequel.