cajengirl's review against another edition
5.0
This is book #2 in the Cemetery of Forgotten Books series. I finally read the first book (The Shadow of the Wind) earlier this year and really loved the story and the storytelling. This one was a winner as well. There are some recurring characters her, but the book could definitely be read as a standalone. Set in Barcelona and with another book-centric story, the story of an author underutilizing his talent who makes a deal with a new publisher that seems to good to be true. With a mix of mystery, friendship, love story, and a little bit of creepy, I thoroughly enjoyed this story from beginning to end and will be grabbing the next one in the series soon!
matildenobile's review against another edition
3.0
Carlos sei un attimo scivolato ma non perderò mai le speranze
obviouslyjudith's review against another edition
4.0
Big shoutout to David for successfully setting up his friends while actively being haunted
lanttu's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
hopeful
mysterious
sad
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.75
sarai_te's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
megansgc's review against another edition
4.0
A dark story about a writer living in Barcelona in a mysterious mansion contracted by a mysterious frenchman with a high reward and a high price. The frenchman wants him to seemingly create a new religion based on writing a new bible. With romance, the love of books, tragedy and everything in between. Zafron's writing is brilliant, moody and so evocative
hbelle01's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
bamamelereads's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
4.5
What a perfect book to finish on Halloween and for spooky season!
I put off reading this book for years because I was so worried it couldn't live up to Shadow of the Wind (one of my favorite books). But I shouldn't have worried. CRZ's writing is just so hauntingly beautiful. I was drawn into the story immediately and couldn't put it down. It's almost hard to describe what happens. There is the immersive atmosphere of Barcelona, the spooky/creepy benefactor "Boss", the heartbreaking star crossed love story, the books (!), the mysteries upon mysteries, the supernatural elements, the intrigues and plots and greed, the feeling that maybe you're going insane, or maybe it's just our narrator...this book is so layered and complex. The relationships between the characters were so intricate and heart wrenching. This is not a happy book with good people and happy endings for them. It's dark and gritty and can be depressing. But it's so powerful in the way it explores the ways in which the characters are unhappy.
The end was an absolute crescendo of action and reveals. And the loose ends and threads were mostly tied up (I think I was overwhelmed by everything that happened and very likely didn't understand 100%, so that's why I say mostly). The epilogue however has me unsure. I didn't know if it was heartachingly sweet and beautiful (I think this was the author's intent), or if it gave me the ick. I'm maybe leaning toward the ick and that's where 1/2 star is coming off.
But overall, this tied in wonderfully with the first book as kind of a prequel-ish. I absolutely love the Sempere family and their bookstore, so I loved seeing them in this book. I want to go reread Shadow of the Wind now!
I put off reading this book for years because I was so worried it couldn't live up to Shadow of the Wind (one of my favorite books). But I shouldn't have worried. CRZ's writing is just so hauntingly beautiful. I was drawn into the story immediately and couldn't put it down. It's almost hard to describe what happens. There is the immersive atmosphere of Barcelona, the spooky/creepy benefactor "Boss", the heartbreaking star crossed love story, the books (!), the mysteries upon mysteries, the supernatural elements, the intrigues and plots and greed, the feeling that maybe you're going insane, or maybe it's just our narrator...this book is so layered and complex. The relationships between the characters were so intricate and heart wrenching. This is not a happy book with good people and happy endings for them. It's dark and gritty and can be depressing. But it's so powerful in the way it explores the ways in which the characters are unhappy.
The end was an absolute crescendo of action and reveals. And the loose ends and threads were mostly tied up (I think I was overwhelmed by everything that happened and very likely didn't understand 100%, so that's why I say mostly). The epilogue however has me unsure. I didn't know if it was heartachingly sweet and beautiful (I think this was the author's intent), or if it gave me the ick. I'm maybe leaning toward the ick and that's where 1/2 star is coming off.
But overall, this tied in wonderfully with the first book as kind of a prequel-ish. I absolutely love the Sempere family and their bookstore, so I loved seeing them in this book. I want to go reread Shadow of the Wind now!