Veryan Williams-Wynn

Tatiana, at fourteen years old, seemed to be suddenly connected to the spiritual world. What brought on this change? Initially, the feelings always came in the same room – the drawing room which now held her grandmother’s ashes and a painting of her ancestor, Isabelle Lafont. Seeing ghostly apparitions may have been too much for Tatiana to handle on her own, but she soon received help from her cousin, Marcus. Her grandmother appears and guides her providing a much-needed family history account. Together, Tatiana and Marcus embark on a spiritual journey. Little does he know, the spiritual world will fully impact both of them.

This was a bit of many things – reincarnation and ghostly apparitions. Metaphysically, they’d find themselves in an all too real existence as other people in the days of the French Revolution. For this reason, the book is also historical fiction but loosely told. At the beginning, I felt some of the sentence structure could have used additional editing, but it seemed to smooth out and the rest of the story became quite interesting. There was a bit of over drama, I thought, as the grandmother’s spirit told her, “Only you can rescue her now, Tatiana.” However, maybe this works better for teen readers. What may not work for sensitive teen readers is some of the descriptions of the beheadings. This does delve into the French Revolution, after all. One other aspect that bothered me on a personal level is that the teens felt it necessary to ‘kowtow’ – bow down to the portrait of Isabelle. Rating: 3 out of 5.… (más)

I wasn't sure whether I would like this book or not when I first started reading it but I ended up really enjoying it. It is meant for YA and I really think it will appeal to those who enjoy not only the supernatural but also history.
Tatiana finds herself haunted after she receives her grandmother's ashes and a portrait. She ends up on a quest to release the spirit of an ancestor who is tormented and trapped on earth reliving the horrible days of the French Revolution. The author seamlessly blends past and present and describes the past so accurately that you feel as if you are also there. I received a copy of this book from the publishers (thank you) via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.… (más)