"A traditional Gothic romance with a graceful style and genuine emotion"
Sabrina Ayers's family is scorned and laughed at in a
small, deceptively picturesque town in California. A
gloomy secret of the past, once revealed, became the
family's curse. But there are more secrets waiting in the
dark... Sabrina dreams to leave and find a new life for herself
(which brings a certain question to the mind of this
curious reader: why the family never considered leaving
the town, not once during more than fifty years, if their
life there was so miserable?), but before she can spread
her wings and soar, she has to fight many battles;
discover many truths, and to cure her broken heart.
Broken heart, you ask? There must be a mysterious
stranger then? Yes, there is a mysterious stranger, and
his name is Richard Tate. And within the walls of the Tate
Mansion the innocence of Sabrina's soul will be lost
forever. A traditional Gothic romance, EVEN ANGELS FALL
demonstrates both the strength of the classic form and its
limitations. This story is a mild, nostalgic, PG-13 type
of a Gothic novel. Its characters are well-drawn and
intriguing, especially Sabrina's moody, mysterious Mother
and Richard Tate, who is a fallen angel of sorts himself.
Other characters are three-dimensional, lively and
interesting, too -- all, except Sabrina. She is likeable
enough, sweet and innocent and not without a spine.
However, Sabrina is unable to break out of the traditional
Gothic heroine mold. The story lingers on her life before
the main intrigue starts to uncoil, but there isn't enough
of it to hold this reader glued to the page. Once the plot
thickens after a few chapters, EVEN ANGELS FALL is a
tight, passionate read. There are a genuine emotion behind the story, a genuine
love for the genre and a graceful style that promises to
bloom into finesse. There is a neatly woven web of
secrets. There are an innocent beauty and a mysterious
stranger. What else one might want from a Gothic novel?
This one is an enjoyable reading experience; especially
for a quiet evening when a storm is raving outside... the
proper atmosphere heightens the pleasure! Daria Karpova © Copyright 2003
For PNR Reviews
Reviewed by PNR Group Member
Posted January 1, 2004
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A young woman named Sabrina Ayers meets the dashing,
handsome Richard Tate and is intorduced to his grieving
estate--the eerie Tate Mansion. She finds herself drawn
into a world of frightening deceptions, forbidden
obsessions, and dark family secrets--in a haunted house as
mysterious as its master...
Will Sabrina unlock the mystery of the mansion in time to
save herself?
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