Santa Olivia, Jacqueline Carey
well, here goes: my official first read from jacqueline carey, who i keep hearing praise about. the reason why i started reading this wasn't even anything to do with the author's fame, but rather that i just happen to have gotten a copy of this book, and flipped it open to page 1 just to see what it was about--to promptly find myself hooked and unable to stop reading. i think it's been a long time since a book caught me that off guard.
first off, this is an amazing book. that should be pretty evident by the fact that i honestly couldn't put it down, but i want to explain a bit further than that. the characters introduced are all extremely vivid, and character interactions are fragile and real, even though i admit to being caught off guard by the rampant swearing here and there. the premise is very interesting too, sort of like a crossover between x-files and v for vendetta, and there is a very accurate depiction of oppression here, of there being no way out.
this is also i think the first book in a long time that has managed to make me cry. i think about halfway through the book, something dramatic happens to our character, and it honestly left me in a state of shock; it was abrupt and traumatizing, not only to our main character, but i felt to me as a reader as well. that was the one instance where i had to stop in order to take a few breathers, because tears were literally streaming down my face, to my surprise. it was just completely awesome, considering the fact that i doubt another book will be able to make me feel that strongly again. this is something i will continue to doubt, but hope for.
our group of vigilantes also seriously had me cheering for them all the way. now, here i go: the only one part of the series i didn't find too convincing was the "love" story; it felt more like a lust story than anything else, and i didn't believe that what was developing was any form of love, since it seemed to only be about the physical. i felt there was a bit too much concentration on the physical aspects of their relationship, and oftentimes i just found myself thinking it's just younglings and hormones. some of the known "enemies" don't turn out to be such bad guys, and it was touching the way the main character was able to go around and form connections with these people from all walks of life in her world. i think i will sincerely be looking forward to any sequels that may come from a similar world, perhaps with different characters? i want to know what happens to our beloved santa olivia.
and with this, i'll close by saying i really think this is the most captivating book to come by me in a while, and to me that feels fairly significant. hopefully this is a streak that will continue, because i'd hate to see that i can only find one good read out of 10. i gave this 4 1/2 stars out of 5.
