Jasmyn
“Don’t start this book unless you mean to finish it.”
From the back cover:
One day without warning, Jasmyn’s husband died. Since then, everything has been different. Wrapped up in her grief, Jasmyn is trapped in a world without colour, without flavour—without Liam. But even through the haze of her misery she begins to notice unusual events, a sense of being watched, a strange man visiting her home and asking pointed questions about her dead husband. Her world has turned upside down, but even so, things are not as they should be.
Eventually Jasmyn begins to explore the discrepancies that have sprung up after his death—the plane tickets to places Liam claimed he’d never visited, details of the meetings he was never supposed to have—and to follow their trail back into the events of his life.
Jasmyn has been in my personal library for close to two years when I finally picked it off the shelf about a week ago and started reading. I wish I had done it earlier. Author Alex Bell did a good job at characterizing Jasmyn. She is a freak—to most of the people, anyway, because of her albinism—but to her husband Liam, she is a snow princess. It is most unfortunate that he has to die at such a young age.
It is odd the husband she knew during their courtship becomes a different person when they wedded. Before, he is an animal lover, but after, he does not want anything to do with them. Even her mother-in-law seems to hate her. Liam’s estranged brother, Ben, seems to also give her the impression he dislikes her.
The story takes us on a journey with Jasmyn and her brother-in-law, Ben, hunting for a very valuable item. It is also an item a few people are looking for and they all have some sort of connection with Liam. Along the way, Jasmyn is exposed to a dark fairytale filled with black swans, knights, castles and bones. It is a story of lost love, stolen love, and war between brothers.
Initially I was irritated with the ‘mechanical’ style, but then I realized it might just be the way Jasmyn thinks and talks. She is, after all, a special girl. I had truly enjoyed the story and it had kept me interested throughout.
