Book Review: The Kings and Queens of Roam by Daniel Wallace

Roam, a town found in the middle of the wilderness. Once, it was the home of a great silk factory built by Elijah McCallister. When the silk worms stop producing the town slowly falls into disrepair as it's inhabitants slowly move away.

Helen and Rachel McCallister are the great-granddaughters of Elijah McCallister. Orphaned when their parents perished in a car crash, the girls live together in the home that their great grandfather built when the town was established. Helen the eldest sister is ugly, while Rachel is beautiful. Helen is bitter, and Rachel cheerfully naive. Helen can see, while Rachel is blind as a result of a childhood illness. the girls are dependent on each other. Helen believes that Rachel can not survive without her daily help.

Helen's bitterness towards Rachel's beauty and the extra attention paid to her by their parents when they were alive leads to her uttering a lie one rainy afternoon when they were both children. This lie leads Rachel to gow up believing the worst about herself and her town. However, when Helen taunts Rachel with her inability to survive on her own Rachel decides to prove Helen wrong. What will happen to Rachel as she makes her way outside of roam? what will go through Helen's mind when she realizes that Rachel is going to find out the truth that will change everything that she believes to be true?

I am a fan of Daniel Wallace's books. I was delighted to receive an inquiry if i would be interested in an advanced readers edition of his book. I loved how the story alternated between Rachel and Helen's point of views, and how their story alternated with that of the town's past.This was written in a way that pulled me as the reader further into the setting rather than distracting from the main story. It was wonderful to see how the story lines intertwined and the effect each had on the other. I found myself drawn into the subtle weaving of magic and whimsy the story unfurls, and if not for other obligations could have easily spent an afternoon reading the entire book.


The Kings and queens of Roam will be released in May of 2013

Books Read in March 2013

Print:

1.)Twilight Warrior by Aimee Thurlo
2.) Darkness Falls by Les Martin
3.) Through the Sheriff's Eyes by Janice Kay Johnson
4.) Sarah's Key by Tatiana de Rosnay
5.) Harvest the Fire by Poul Anderson
6.) YUKIKO AND A JAPANESE CARNIVAL
7.) Thunder Rose by Jerdine Nolen, Kadir Nelson (Illustrator)
8.) Lewis & Papa: Adventure On the Santa Fe Trail by by Barbara Joosse, Jon Van Zyle (Illustrations)
9.) Working Cotton by Sherley Anne Williams, Carole Byard (Illustrator)
10.) I Want My Hat Back by Jon Klassen
11.) The Kings and Queens of Roam: A Novel by Daniel Wallace
12.) Jewels of the Sun by Nora Roberts
13.) The Shape-Changer's Wife by Sharon Shinn
14.) Mystic and Rider by Sharon Shinn


Audiobooks:

1.) Terminal World by Alastair Reynolds
2.) On Basilisk Station by David Webber

E-books:

1.) A Cook's Tour by Anthony Bourdain
2.) 5 Ronin by y Peter Milligan (Text), Tom Coker, Dalibor Talajić, Laurence Campbell, Goran Parlov, Leandro Fernandez (graphic novel)

Books Wild Released in March 2013

1.) Outlander on 3/4/2013
2.) Through the Sheriff's Eyes - on 3/4/2013
3.) Hidden Army: Clay Soldiers of Ancient China - on 3/4/2013
4.) Darkness Falls by Les Martin on 3/6/2013
5.) Twilight Warrior by Aimee Thurlo on 3/6/3013
6.) Harvest the Fire by Poul Anderson on 3/12/2013
7.) When Darkness Falls (The Obsidian Trilogy, Book 3) by Mercedes Lackey, James Mallory on 3/12/2013
8.) Dune Messiah (Dune Chronicles) by Frank Herbert on 3/20/2013
9.) Jewels of the Sun: The Gallaghers of Ardmore Trilogy (Irish Trilogy, Book 1) by Nora Roberts on 3/20/2013
10.) That's the Way It Crumbles, Cookie by Suzanne Weyn on 3/20/2013
11.) The Little Pilates Book by Erika Dillman on 3/20/2013
12.) Just Another Day in Paradise by A. E. Maxwell on3/26/2013
13.) Maximum Ride Saving The World And Other Extreme Sports by James Patterson on 3/26/2013
14.) Battlestar Galactica by Jeffrey A. Carver on 3/26/2013
15.) 13 Little Blue Envelopes by Maureen Johnson on 3/26/2013