A review by errantdreams
A Terrible Beauty by Nancy Baker
4.0
This is a relatively gradual and low-action story. I didn’t have trouble focusing in the beginning, however, because it’s very easy to read between the lines and pick up on the fact, very early on, that Sidonie is not human. It’s clear to the reader, if not to Matthew, that the young woman he meets when he arrives at Sidonie’s house is actually Sidonie, not her daughter. She never eats, he only sees her at night, and the house contains no mirrors. The villagers who live nearby and who do her shopping and bring her supplies call her “the old one”. Matthew spends his days painting and exploring the house, frustrated beyond belief that he has no idea why he’s there, but he’s not allowed to leave. He knows she could kill him any time she wanted–so why doesn’t she?
Tal is the vampire who created Sidonie, and he is a cruel, malicious creature. He and his followers find it fascinating that Sidonie obviously hasn’t fed from Matthew, and there’s some question as to whether or not they’ll abide by the rules that keep them from touching him.
There are some episodes that keep things from being entirely slow. Matthew of course has to try to escape at least once. He visits the nearby village a couple of times, and nearly has a breakdown from taking a drug his friends gave him before he left. He and Sidonie gradually become more aware of each other’s dark places, and it isn’t that hard to figure out where things will go, but it’s the journey that’s so interesting. I love the details of the complex relationship that evolves between the two. They both end up winning my heart even though they’re each somewhat unlikable in their own way at first.
All in all this is a lovely book, and a very good vampire novel.
Original review posted on my blog: http://www.errantdreams.com/2019/10/review-a-terrible-beauty-nancy-baker/
Tal is the vampire who created Sidonie, and he is a cruel, malicious creature. He and his followers find it fascinating that Sidonie obviously hasn’t fed from Matthew, and there’s some question as to whether or not they’ll abide by the rules that keep them from touching him.
There are some episodes that keep things from being entirely slow. Matthew of course has to try to escape at least once. He visits the nearby village a couple of times, and nearly has a breakdown from taking a drug his friends gave him before he left. He and Sidonie gradually become more aware of each other’s dark places, and it isn’t that hard to figure out where things will go, but it’s the journey that’s so interesting. I love the details of the complex relationship that evolves between the two. They both end up winning my heart even though they’re each somewhat unlikable in their own way at first.
All in all this is a lovely book, and a very good vampire novel.
Original review posted on my blog: http://www.errantdreams.com/2019/10/review-a-terrible-beauty-nancy-baker/