kricketa's review against another edition
3.0
apparently there are spoilers in this review because someone is whining about them and making grumpy faces. i read this book four years ago so frankly i have no idea at this point but if you're a whiny person who is afraid of spoilers, don't read this review. thank you.
a fetch is a death escort- someone who shows up to guide the dying to heaven. calder's been doing this for several centuries, and it's time for him to pick an apprentice fetch, if you will, by giving his fetch key to a dying soul.
however, at the deathbed of a young alexis romanov, calder falls in love with alexandra, wife of the tsar. so distracted is he that alexi, who is ready and wishing to die, remains alive. calder ends up trading places with dying man (rasputin) and gives alexandra his spirit key, which she gives to alexis, who shares it with anastasia (THE anastasia.) thus, alexis and anastasia don't quite die during the family execution, but hover somewhere in between. complications abound in the spirit world, and calder must put everything right.
gorgeous writing, complicated plot. i had some trouble keeping up and suspending my disbelief. the connection to the romanovs was cool, but as book characters they just didn't wind up being that interesting. recommended for older teens with long attention spans.
a fetch is a death escort- someone who shows up to guide the dying to heaven. calder's been doing this for several centuries, and it's time for him to pick an apprentice fetch, if you will, by giving his fetch key to a dying soul.
however, at the deathbed of a young alexis romanov, calder falls in love with alexandra, wife of the tsar. so distracted is he that alexi, who is ready and wishing to die, remains alive. calder ends up trading places with dying man (rasputin) and gives alexandra his spirit key, which she gives to alexis, who shares it with anastasia (THE anastasia.) thus, alexis and anastasia don't quite die during the family execution, but hover somewhere in between. complications abound in the spirit world, and calder must put everything right.
gorgeous writing, complicated plot. i had some trouble keeping up and suspending my disbelief. the connection to the romanovs was cool, but as book characters they just didn't wind up being that interesting. recommended for older teens with long attention spans.
cajunliterarybelle's review against another edition
5.0
While some may argue that The Fetch moves a little slow or doesn't otherwise quite deliver, I thoroughly enjoyed it. Two of my favorite genres are fantasy / supernatural and historical fiction, and in the blending of those genres this book definitely delivers. The flashbacks for Calder as he remembers his mortal life add to the emotional and spiritual journey of his and his companions. The story is clearly a new twist on the Romanov's demise, but Whitcomb writes it with enough historical details about the family and Russian Revolution that she adds wonder to the characters and the reader. Long fascinated with the Romanov's demise, I was glued to the pages waiting to find out how the journey would conclude. Also intriguing and not to be forgotten is the elaborate way the beginning of the afterlife is written - humanized yet forgiving, heartbreaking yet joyous.
impybelle's review against another edition
3.0
Recently I went through my "ooh, shiny!" shelf and actually decided I was going to read some of these books, dangit. The Fetch happened to be at the top of the list so here we are. I... don't know how I feel about it? I don't know how it ended up on the OS! list to begin with, but I did read and enjoy "A Certain Slant of Light" so I figured past!me knew what she was doing.
Reading the blurb and the first chapter or so of the book, I was really excited. Annnnnnnnnd then we just slammed into "wait, what?" territory and I never fully recovered.
Did you ever think to yourself, "What if Anastasia Romanov fell in love with a not-quite-angel walking around in Rasputin's body?" Your reaction to that question will probably tell you all you need to know about how much you'll like the book.
I kept waiting for Calder to ditch Rasputin's body and it literally does not happen until the end of the book. So you spend the whole damn thing trying desperately not to remember that he's all Rasputin-y and even if she sees him as Calder, it's still just really freakin' weird. And you can't forget it either, as the book will take great pains to remind you of this fact. I don't have the words, truly, beyond "WHY" repeated in an endless loop that gets progressively more desperate the longer it goes on.
If you manage to push that very, very, VERY strange concept aside, I think there's actually something really interesting here. I liked that Calder's 'possession' of Rasputin's body explains some of the more fantastical elements attributed to the man. I love the concept of Fetches (though I swear Mean Girls has ruined the word for most of a generation) and the death doors and the change in Alexis and the reveal of the soul Calder is meant to free. I also really loved the final two boat rides in the book. However, this wasn't a book I wanted to race back and finish any time I had to put it down. I wanted to like it far more than I actually did and it feels like there's another version of this book somewhere in the multiverse that is *amazing* and for that reason I'm going with three stars.
Reading the blurb and the first chapter or so of the book, I was really excited. Annnnnnnnnd then we just slammed into "wait, what?" territory and I never fully recovered.
Did you ever think to yourself, "What if Anastasia Romanov fell in love with a not-quite-angel walking around in Rasputin's body?" Your reaction to that question will probably tell you all you need to know about how much you'll like the book.
I kept waiting for Calder to ditch Rasputin's body and it literally does not happen until the end of the book. So you spend the whole damn thing trying desperately not to remember that he's all Rasputin-y and even if she sees him as Calder, it's still just really freakin' weird. And you can't forget it either, as the book will take great pains to remind you of this fact. I don't have the words, truly, beyond "WHY" repeated in an endless loop that gets progressively more desperate the longer it goes on.
If you manage to push that very, very, VERY strange concept aside, I think there's actually something really interesting here. I liked that Calder's 'possession' of Rasputin's body explains some of the more fantastical elements attributed to the man. I love the concept of Fetches (though I swear Mean Girls has ruined the word for most of a generation) and the death doors and the change in Alexis and the reveal of the soul Calder is meant to free. I also really loved the final two boat rides in the book. However, this wasn't a book I wanted to race back and finish any time I had to put it down. I wanted to like it far more than I actually did and it feels like there's another version of this book somewhere in the multiverse that is *amazing* and for that reason I'm going with three stars.
midday_pigeon's review against another edition
5.0
This book is a twist on heaven and Russian history. It was fenomenal although it took a while to get into it. Once I was into it however, I could not put it down. I would recomend theis book to anyone who loves fantasy, mystery, romance with a dash of history all in one.
que_bella's review against another edition
4.0
This is a wonderfully written book that has a unique view of death and what lies after. It took me a few pages to get into it but after that I loved it! I especially enjoyed the way the story carried on, each choice pushing the balance between life and death, good and evil, and the way the romance was important but wasn't the only part of the story.
Calder is a Fetch, part of a society as old as time itself, responsible for helping souls reach heaven. He's used to being unattached and solitary, but being alone takes it's toll. When he sees a beautiful woman at the deathbed of a child, he thinks he's in love, and after seeing her twice he makes a choice. He will find her and bring her with him back to heaven to be his star fetch. It doesn't work out though, and he finds himself locked out of the place he called his home and an impossible task. Save a soul that he knew before and take the children safely home. Will he be able to do that before the darkness takes them or will his selfish journey wrought the destruction that he feared?
Calder is a Fetch, part of a society as old as time itself, responsible for helping souls reach heaven. He's used to being unattached and solitary, but being alone takes it's toll. When he sees a beautiful woman at the deathbed of a child, he thinks he's in love, and after seeing her twice he makes a choice. He will find her and bring her with him back to heaven to be his star fetch. It doesn't work out though, and he finds himself locked out of the place he called his home and an impossible task. Save a soul that he knew before and take the children safely home. Will he be able to do that before the darkness takes them or will his selfish journey wrought the destruction that he feared?
savannah_rae's review against another edition
3.0
So I love everything Russian, and anything that has to do with the Romanovs so this book was great in this sense. I also felt a kniship to the main charecter so that aspect was good. I enjoyed the writing, and great detail, but this book was a long read, and I wish there weren't so much detail. But still a great read, and a good concept.
nilaffle's review against another edition
3.0
The second Whitcomb book I read, and I was pleasantly surprised to discover it featured the Romanov family. It was up to Whitcomb's previous caliber in A Certain Slant of Light, though I felt the ending was a little weak. Nonetheless, an enjoyable ghost story.
jbojkov's review against another edition
4.0
I liked this one alot. It's about a death escort that becomes way too involved with one of his "clients." Going so far as to trade places with a recently departed person in order to visit his love interest in person. Breaking many rules in the process. This intertwines the story of the Russian revolution and the story of the assassination of the Romanovs. I enjoyed the pacing, the story and the hint of romance throughout that keeps you guessing as to how this escort will get his girl in the end.
frootjoos's review against another edition
4.0
Well hey! Surprisingly, I enjoyed this. Fans of Russian history and Christianity will, too. (mainly why I was surprised *I* liked it)
Calder is a Fetch, a Death-escort, and not a very good one in his own opinion. He breaks his holy Vows to pursue a human woman and ends up running away from demons (mostly of his own making) while circumnavigating the globe. It is a story of love, forgiveness, sacrifice and mainly, doing the right thing--or what you think is the right thing at the time.
When I first read the premise, I thought, "Cheese." Whitcomb uses speculation about Rasputin and the youngest Romanov children (Alexis and Ana) as a framework for the story, but surprised my by carrying it off well. It intermixes with her Fetch story in such a way that one enhances the other in a decidedly non-cheesy way. Phew.
I'm leaning up to 5 stars on this, but somehow can't quite get there. I don't think it helped that I was on a very long plane ride when I read this.
Calder is a Fetch, a Death-escort, and not a very good one in his own opinion. He breaks his holy Vows to pursue a human woman and ends up running away from demons (mostly of his own making) while circumnavigating the globe. It is a story of love, forgiveness, sacrifice and mainly, doing the right thing--or what you think is the right thing at the time.
When I first read the premise, I thought, "Cheese." Whitcomb uses speculation about Rasputin and the youngest Romanov children (Alexis and Ana) as a framework for the story, but surprised my by carrying it off well. It intermixes with her Fetch story in such a way that one enhances the other in a decidedly non-cheesy way. Phew.
I'm leaning up to 5 stars on this, but somehow can't quite get there. I don't think it helped that I was on a very long plane ride when I read this.