Thursday, May 24, 2007

The Unrivalled Spangles by Karen Wallace

The two Spangles sisters, Ellen and Lucy (known by their stage names of Serephina Scarletta and Sapphire Scarletta) are both completely different from each other. They're both circus riders, but Lucy longs for attention and the crowd's adoration, whereas Ellen would prefer life as a governess and gets no pleasure out of circus life. When two young men walk into the sisters' lives, everything will change, and soon Ellen is burdened by more secrets and lies than she can handle.

THE UNRIVALLED SPANGLES had an intriguing premise, but sadly it failed to deliver. Very disappointing. I had next to no sympathy with the main character, Ellen, and I was constantly thinking that the story would've been much more interesting if told from the view point of Lucy, instead. The writing wasn't particularly good (another disappointment, after reading the well-crafted book WENDY by the same author). Perhaps I would pick up another book by the author sometime, but this one held no magic for me.

Rating (0 - 10 scale): 2

Reviewer Age: 16
Reviewer City, State and Country: Moscow, ID USA