A really good book

I don’t have a lot of time to read anymore, and worse, the time I have I sometimes (frequently) squander. A few months ago I got an ARC of a book by an online friend of mine. I was buried in day jobbery and my own writing, life and a few other things, so I didn’t get to it. I wanted to because it has an amazing cover, but I didn’t. I started reading it this week finally, after carrying it around with me for sometime. It’s probably got more than 3000 travel miles on it by now. Anyhow, I read it and I have this to say: Wow. Wow wow wow.

Let me tell you about it. First, the cover, because I think it really is one that grabs the eye:

Matchbox Girls by Chrysoula Tsavelas

This book is urban fantasy. It involves the faerie, angels, demons, and others. The plot revolves around a woman, Marley, who gets panic attacks and tends to run from life, and has a hard time keeping a regular job. She’s got a couple of really great friends, Branwyn and Penny, and she’s started hanging out a bunch with Zachariah and his two orphaned nieces, who are four year old twins. When Zachariah disappears, the girls call Marley for help and that sets off the plot.

There’s a lot going on here and you really have to pay attention, because things happen fast and there’s a lot of worldbuilding going on. The reader has to put a lot of the puzzle pieces together on the fly, because nothing is super obvious. I like this. I have to admit that for me, this was a page turner. I kept having to shoo people away while I was reading because they annoyingly kept interrupting.

I like the characters quite a bit, though I have to admit Tarn and Branwyn were my favorites. But I think what kept me going most was just wanting to find out what was going on and why. The mystery was really well built and the descriptions were compelling and vibrant. I also liked the way she portrayed the kids. They seemed real to me and not just incidental. They were important. I also liked the way that the magic was portrayed in this book. I really enjoyed it.

I do admit that I still have questions. I’m hoping they get explained in the future. Plus I want more of these characters and more of this story. More! Is it bad that I want to bug her for an early copy of the next one? I really hope there’s a second one coming. A lot.

Anyhow, this is a really good book and I recommend giving it a read.

%d bloggers like this: