Likable characters in a wonderfully imagined setting in Wales with a lavish mix of Arthurian legend thrown in. Kearsley's writing flows as she develops the romantic suspense.
What I liked: the setting, a small coastal village in Wales, frequent references to myth, legend, and poetry connected to Merlin. The prose makes much of the narrative very visual.
On the other hand, the book felt too short--as if the author had compelling ideas and was in a hurry to include everything and finish up.
Much of the mystery's supernatural aspect felt like an aside by the time I finished, sort of incomplete. The characters, some of whom offered such potential, never quite became real people. I liked and disliked them accordingly, but they all had intriguing elements that were left sketchy; they needed more depth and complexity.
Most elements were predictable, but isn't that what we sometimes want in this kind of fantasy? The familiar fairy tale with a romantic element and enough suspense to keep an edge? The kind of books that Mary Stewart, Barbara Michael's, and Victoria Holt wrote -- books that were more about romance than sex, full of atmospheric mystery and tension.
So...a book that was entertaining and visual. A bon-bon of subtle romance, myth, and mystery. The very fact that I wanted more from the Named of the Dragon is revealing. I wanted to be more fully immersed, wanted it to be denser and lengthier. Nevertheless, I enjoyed spending a rainy afternoon in Wales.
Read in June; blog post scheduled for Oct. 6
NetGalley/Sourcebooks
Mystery/Supernatural. First published 1998; Oct. 6, 2015. Print length: 295 pages
I love that phrase you used: "bon-bon of subtle romance". I admit I tend to like romance over sex when I read romance. I really enjoyed the one Kearsley book I read, but have yet to read more by her. I will have to look for this one.
ReplyDeleteThis was a fun, light read, but had the potential to be much more. I really would have liked it to be longer and denser!
DeleteThe setting is great in this book, isn't it? It makes me want to go to Wales. I just wish the ending wasn't quite so abrupt. Like you, I wanted more. :)
ReplyDeleteKearsley does a great job in the setting. Glad to know you wanted more, too. :)
DeleteSo true, there are times when books like these are just what we want. Good comfort reads. Have only read one of her books but keep meaning to read more.
ReplyDeleteI read one other one by Kearsley, but wasn't that enamored with it. I liked this one better, even if it did seem too short.
DeleteThis sounds like a fun, light read. I do like stories that are more in depth and lengthy and this book is one of those books which I will read based on my moods and/or situations like travelling, when I'd prefer my reading to be light than complicated. Nevertheless, I'll keep this mind.
ReplyDeleteKeep this in mind, I mean. ;-)
ReplyDeleteI especially liked the way the author depicted the Welsh village!
ReplyDelete