Review: The Rose Labyrinth by Titania Hardie

I don’t even know where to begin with this one. A woman named Lucy needs a heart transplant, which she gets. She then becomes involved with her doctor, Alex. Somewhere along the way they’re pulled into a mystery that involves Alex’s brother, Will,  John Dee (circa the original Queen Elizabeth’s time), riddles, roses, labyrinths in churches, angels, Shakespeare, and the Rapture. If you can make sense of the plot and it’s circumnavigations, then by all means, have at it, my friends. For me, it was way too much. The riddles on the papers that Lucy and Alex find have much potential, but are SO numerous the reader is inundated trying to figure them out. Eventually they become so overwhelming you start skipping over the details to just get to the meat of it all. With all the clues and mystery there should be a grand finale at the end, but it’s over so quickly it’s as though it was all a dream and the reader just woke up to a hollow sensation that none of it is real.

A wonderful effort, brilliant idea, but for me, The Rose Labyrinth was completed mired down in it’s own mystery.

3 stars

In My Mailbox Monday: B&N Part II

Don’t forget to check out my giveaway post below this one!

In My Mailbox is hosted by The Story Siren, and Mailbox Monday is hosted by The Printed Page.

Here’s Part II of my Barnes & Noble sale aquirements:

The Gates by John Connelly

Young Samuel Johnson and his dachshund, Boswell, are trying to show initiative by trick-or-treating a full three days before Halloween, which is how they come to witness strange goings-on at 666 Crowley Road. The Abernathys don’t mean any harm by their flirtation with the underworld, but when they unknowingly call forth Satan himself, they create a gap in the universe, a gap through which a pair of enormous gates is visible. The gates to Hell. And there are some pretty terrifying beings just itching to get out….

How Nancy Drew Saved My Life by Lauren Baratz-Logsted

Broken, smashed and stomped in the mud

That’s how Charlotte Bell’s heart ended up the last time she let her emotions heat up on a nanny assignment. So taking a new position in frigid Iceland, working for Ambassador Edgar Rawlings, might be just what Charlotte needs in order to heal up–and chill out. This time, she’s determined to be intrepid and courageous. She’s even read all fifty-six original Nancy Drew books in preparation. Unfortunately, she’s neglected to find out anything about Iceland or to look into the background of her oddly compelling employer. When Charlotte stumbles onto the trail of a mystery that only she can solve, she’ll need every shred of Nancy’s wisdom to keep her life–and her heart–safe!

The Rose Labyrinth by Titania Hardie

Before his death in 1609, Queen Elizabeth’s spiritual consultant, astrologer, and scientific advisor John Dee hid many of his most astonishing written works, believing that the world was not yet prepared to face the shocking truths that they revealed. For seventeen generations, his female descendants have carefully guarded the secret of his hiding place, waiting for the right moment to bring Dee’s ideas to light. That time is now.