Hmm, this is a bit of a weird one for me. It took me quite a few days to get through it, it wasn't one that I was able to fly through without coming up for air, and yet it didn't drag, to the point where I wasn't happy reading it.
Okay, i'll start with what I liked. I loved the concept of the town, the fact that their backwards thinking and prejudice could be sharpened and aimed at an indivudual was a brilliant plot point. The outrage I felt when the facts were twisted and witnesses were unreliable was satisfying. I loved that whole side of the book, the fact that a close knit society could be so filled with their own traditions and harsh cruelty that they don't see that they are the problem. As an extension of this, I liked all the minor characters. I loved those that stood up against the small mindedness of the town and yet I loved to read about those who were enforcing it. I thought that this book had a great, really interesting supporting cast. I loved Uncle Macon's destruction of the town citizens when they tried to punish Lena for a crime she didn't commit, during the disciplinary committee. Honesty is always the best policy, especially when you have other people's dirty laundry that you can air. Hehe.
I also loved the fact that Amma was fascinated with words and their definitions and that Marian Ashcroft knew the wonder of books, and that she was the type of character who would randomly quote sentences that at the time, summed up everything that needed to be said. I wish I was more like her, and she made me want to be a Librarian. : ) I also got the feeling that I would have really gotten along with Ethan's mother, she seemed like a great person. I enjoyed the gothic ambience, and every scene in Ravenwood Manor. I could visualise the town, and the rich history, and I really enjoyed the flashback scenes. This is the first book set in the South that i've really fallen into, without the setting removing me from the text slightly, so I appreciate it for that.
My main issue with the book, is that I couldn't really give two hoots about the love story. I love the setting that it is in, and I like the two characters separately, with their ambitions and limitations, but together... Meh. I just didn't really care. It seemed too obvious, the first outcast girl to enter the town captures the heart of a guy who feels he needs more than what the town can give him. I liked Ethan's ambition, and Lena's power, but that was about it. And Lena's occasional tendency to bounce from one exreme to another without much of a explanation, grated with me sometimes.Something seemed to fall a little... flat, for me. I don't know why, but I just didn't connect much with them. I enjoyed their story, and found it entertaining, I just didn't care as much as I would have liked to. I also do get the feeling that the book didn't need quite so much content, it could have achieved just as much with less pages. I think, as is the case when characters get together immediately, where else can they go from here? They practically fall head over heels as soon as they see each other, and that doesn't really interest me, or strike me as realistic. Though I did appreciate that this couple wasn't as sickly sweet about their affections as others I have read *coughtwilightcough*
The supporting characters would make me want to pick up the sequel, but over all I am left with a certain amount of apathy, surrounded with good world building, and interesting history. Though, once again, the love of words and books makes me feel like i'm sinking into a nice, familiar, cosy blanket. And on the plus side, the cover is rather beautiful.
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