Thursday, March 24, 2011

Keturah and Lord Death :: A Book Review

So, it is Bookanista Thursday again, which means my fellow writers and I are reviewing books that we LOVE. (For a list of Bookanista author bios, click here.) That's right. If one of us is reviewing something, it means we Lurrrrrrrrrve it. So today I am thrilled to rave about Martine Leavitt's book Keturah and Lord Death.

The one thing I have to ask, though, is: WHY ISN'T EVERYONE TALKING ABOUT THIS BOOK??? IT IS AMAZING!

Lost and hungry after following a stately hart through the forest, Keturah encounters Lord Death, who is ready to take her. Keturah spins a story that she leaves unfinished and extracts from Lord Death a promise that if she finds her true love in a day, she can go free. But Lord Death is falling in love with her, and as the villagers begin to sense her alliance with this horrifying figure, her life twists and turns on itself. -Exerpt from Amazon

What I liked about this book: Martine Leavitt is an incredible writer! She is a pacing and setting genius. Not once was I bored with her prose, and not once was I bored reading about the small-village setting of this book, or the many memorable characters. Pure Genius!

What I liked about the main character: Keturah is a smart, selfless sixteen-year-old. She outwits death (and more than once), she puts her friends happiness before her own, and she takes the initiative to solve her own problems.

What I liked about death: He is utterly untouchable . . . at first. But even death has his weaknesses. Like falling in love with Keturah. And letting his love for her give up his death-hold on others.

The other thing I liked: The ending! It was a dose of perfection that left me utterly satisfied. I closed this book and went to sleep with a smile on my face. No cliff hangers, no to-be-continued, just perfect satisfaction.

Now, if you want to know what these other writers fell in love with enough to blog about, click on a link below.

Elana Johnson reveals the cover of The Eleventh Plague
LiLa Roecker wonders What Happened to Goodbye
Christine Fonseca wants to be Like Mandarin
Jamie Harrington falls for Falling Under
Shelli Johannes-Wells visits Dark and Hollow Places
Beth Revis discovers Lost and Found
Carolina Valdez Miller is wild about Wither
Megan Miranda swoons for Anna and the French Kiss




12 comments:

Aurora Smith said...

A good ending is so important. There are a few books I read were I was so PISSED afterwards that I hate the author for life!

Nicole Settle said...

I've heard of this book and thought I'd check it out and then totally forgot about it. Thanks for the review. I'm going to go put it on my wish list now!

Artemis Grey said...

I LOVE this book! Since I grew up with a funeral director for a father (can we say 'My Girl?) I have this small obsession with books that present Death as an entity in and of itself. More often than not something ends up suffering, be it the portrayal of Death's character or the rest of the story, but in the case of Keturah and Lord Death, it was a blissful story, engaging but not overdone with characters that were artfully and deeply rendered but were also completely believable.

And the ending was ideal. It wasn't 'too easy' nor was it a complicated 'this can never be' which would leave you empty. It was just right.

Jessi said...

LOVE a book with a perfect ending, as they often seem so elusive. This one sounds great!

Taffy said...

I LOVED this book also. As did my young teen daughter. It's one of her very favorite of all times. I think this book pushed her to read and enjoy books.

Shannon O'Donnell said...

I'm convinced. Sounds like a great book! :-)

Olivia Carter said...

This book is AMAZING! I read it years ago and felt the same why- "Why aren't people freaking out about how lovely this book is?!?" It's beautifully written, engaging, I didn't know what was going to happen, a little fairytale-ish but not over done. Just sweet. I LOVED IT!

Carolina M. Valdez Schneider said...

Love books that leave you feeling like that when you're done. is this book a paranormal-historical type of book, or is it more like a fairy tale? Either way, it sounds lovely.

Anonymous said...

Gotta love great endings!

Stina said...

Wow, I'd never heard of the book. I'm definitely checking it out. Thanks for the great review. :D

Unknown said...

I've been wanting to read this one for awhile. Great review!

online pharmacy said...

I listened to this book on CD and I really liked the reader. I thought this was a sweet, fun fairy tale retelling. But different than any fairy tale I have every read. A book is different to me when I listen to it and I never end up liking it as much as if I had read it. The story was well written and held onto me until the end.