The Fabric of Sin - Book Review

With my 14th book in my #26in2011 I was whisked away to the very edge of Wales in a little village called Garway. Garway, a place steeped in Templar history, was the setting of a modern day slightly religious mystery. The Fabric of Sin was written by Phil Rickman.

My husband always says that for me to truly enjoy a book it must be full of "sexy religious, Christmas murder." He gets rather disappointed when a book I'm reading doesn't have all four. Unfortunately, this book was completely missing the Christmas end of things but it really makes up for other things in spades.

For much of the book, the hair on the back of my neck was standing on end. Being a) from Canada and not England or Wales and b) from the city where our fireplace growing up had a lightbulb and a plug, I really needed to do some extra research to fully understand the book. I'm not afraid to admit that I had no idea what an inglenook was. Now I know and I'll forever be afraid to look in one, but that's okay.

The book, I believe, is part of a series. Didn't even look at the cover when it said "A Merrily Watkins Mystery." I was drawn in by the creepy tombstone and the foggy church yard. Oh yes. I'm one of those readers that gets instantly pulled in by a great cover and an awesome description of what's inside.

The writing left a lot to your imagination but you kept reading because you needed to know what happened. It's almost like watching a moving on TV and they'd cut to a commercial just as things are getting really creepy. It was the middle of the action. But I couldn't turn away. I just wanted to keep reading. I needed to know how it ended. Better yet, I wanted to go there. Walk in the history. I wanted to know more about the Templar's traditions and everything about Templar architecture. It's certainly sparked an interest in reading more. Not just about the area, but more about the author. And more about Merrily and her story.

It's not very often that you meet a writer that writes with the protagonist against their own gender. Not to ruin a good thing, I started the story not knowing that it was written by a man about a woman. In fact, I was pleasantly surprised when I looked at the cover and discovered it was a man. This story had so many strong female characters that I really felt a balance between the genders. Kudos to the Phil Rickman for not only knowing enough about the Church of England, The Knights Templar, women, men and even a smart and sassy teenage girl.

I found the book at my favourite used book store. Millpond Records and Books in the downtown Hespeler area of Cambridge, Ontario. Check them out. They have many, many more awesome titles for you to find your own little gems like this book. I'm not giving you anymore but I still think you should check it out.

Three more book reviews

As I mentioned, I've been on a reading kick. This is beneficial for me completing my challenge of #26in2011. With the latest three books, I'm up to book 13. Pretty awesome considering this Friday is Friday the 13th. It's also my best friend Kristina's birthday so all in all, 13 is a lucky number.

The first of the three books is one of those fun mindless reads. It was just what I needed after the heavy blow I was given last week. I needed something that I could just read and enjoy and not really think. It was a good book. Part of a series so it didn't have to go too in depth into the secondary characters. The book is titled "deeply, desperately" by Heather Webber. It's sexy, it's fun. It's easy. It's a Lucy Valentine novel. :) Honestly, I would recommend it if you don't want anything too heavy.

The second book was beautiful in the words and the setting. "Gardens of Delight" by Erica James. Starting in the gardens of England and moving to the beautiful gardens in Italy, it was a good read. Not so deep, but still a little deeper than the first book in this review. I enjoyed it. My heart was involved with the characters and I found myself really torn about the way things were handled. Beautiful setting, but drew on some difficult topics. I found that my opinions on certain things going on around me were muddled in with the book. I won't go into detail, but know that this a fairly good read. Lucky for you, it will be back at the library soon as I need to return it. ;)

The third book was chosen as completely out of my normal reading type. "The Third Circle" by Amanda Quick. Based in Victorian England, the book bases around fantastical antiquities and people with special abilities and powers. From reading auras, to hypnosis and reading crystals, the characters in this book are passionately twisted. the language was a little off of my every day vocabulary, and it isn't really a time I've read too much about. But it was a good book. There was just enough sex and just enough intrigue. Evil characters when only the good can prevail. Heart racing, you will find that you want to see how everything ends. Lucky for you, even when it ends you will be happy to know that it's part of the Arcane Society Novel's. There are many more in the series.

And with that, I'm not sure where my books will go. Only 13 books left to go and just over 6 months to do it. Do you think I can be successful in my quest to read 26 books in 52 weeks?

Coming soon...

I have been on a reading kick lately and by the end of the day I hope to have 3 books to review for my lovely readers. Just wanted to let you know.

I've also been working on something really quite heavy that I feel the need to get off my chest. Hopefully that will come in a few days.

I've taken a mini hiatus from the online world this week as I come to terms with some heavy things happening in my personal life. I'm slowly starting to come around so don't count me out just yet.