*Review* Precious Bones by Irina Shapiro

Genre: Historical Fiction

Published: November 14, 2011

Pages: 431

Goodreads

When the skeletal remains of a young woman and her baby are found entombed behind the kitchen wall of a historic Tudor house, Cassandra is overcome with grief. She seems to know who the young woman was, but not how she knows, or how she came to be there. Cassandra becomes inexplicably drawn to the house and the mystery of the "Bones of Blackfriars." As she begins to learn the truth about the Thorne siblings who occupied the house during the reign of Elizabeth I, her own life takes an unexpected turn, and she finds out that her fate is linked to the Thornes in ways she never imagined.

Extensively re-edited 11/2015

I received an audiobook version of this book from the author. This is my honest review. 

This book did not really work for me. I felt like the narrator (of the story, not the audiobook narrator) seemed rather haughty and full of herself, and maybe some of that is because she is British (and therefore the audiobook narrator is British, and a British accent just sounds somewhat haughty to my American ears). Whatever the cause, I did not like her from the beginning, and because I didn't like her, I didn't really care much about what she had to say about herself and her life.

The reason this book wasn't a complete flop for me, though, is because of the bits set in the 16th century. I loved seeing life through Cassandra and Richard's eyes. If the entire book had just been about them, I'm pretty sure I would have enjoyed it much more. Their lives had mystery and intrigue and a little bit of medieval horror and I was hooked when they had the reins of the story.

So overall I give Precious Bones 3.076 stars because I only really enjoyed about half of it. - Katie 

Amazon

Irina Shapiro will be first in line if recreational time travel ever becomes a reality, but for now, she must rely on flights of imagination, traveling through time and space vicariously through her characters. Irina particularly enjoys stories set in the past, where the characters must navigate the volatile political climates of their time while still managing to live, love, and cause mischief.  

Irina has always had a particular fascination with the paranormal, and explores some of these themes in her books. She believes that nothing is truly impossible; true love can transcend space and time, and live on forever.

Please visit Irina Shapiro at www.irinashapiro.com to learn more about her titles and upcoming releases.

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