Monday 10 June 2013

Review: Ferryman - Claire McFall

"I exist because you need me."

When Dylan emerges from the wreckage of a train crash onto a bleak Scottish hillside, she meets a strange boy who seems to be waiting for her.

But Tristan is no ordinary teenage boy, and the journey across the desolate, wraith-infested wasteland is no ordinary journey.

Life, death, love - which will Dylan choose?

Visit Claire McFall's website for more information.

Review:
Dylan was travelling across Scotland to meet her father for the first time when the train she was on was involved in an accident. Regaining consciousness alone and in the dark tunnel she is terrified and can't work out why there are no rescue workers on hand to help her. When she finally stumbles out of the tunnel she finds herself completely alone on a Scottish hillside. That is until she spots Tristan, a teenage boy who seems to be waiting for her. But who is Tristan and where are all the other passengers? Why is Tristan so determined to get her to follow him and what kind of creatures could be making the terrifying noises she keeps hearing in the distance?

I wanted to read Ferryman from the moment I first heard about it, I was incredibly intrigued by the concept for the story and curious to see how it would play out. It's hard to say too much about the story because it would be easy to give things away but I found the world that Claire McFall has created was really interesting and I was kept hooked because I wanted to see how things would play out for Dylan and Tristan. The writing style is beautiful and descriptive but it took me a while to get used to the way the perspective would change from one paragraph to the next. It felt like I spent quite a lot of time backtracking as I tried to make sense of things and that did throw me out of the story more than once.

Although I found the world interesting I have to admit that I wasn't a huge fan of either of the main characters. I never really felt that we got to know Tristan well enough to understand Dylan's fascination with him, in the beginning he pretty much ignores her or is rude to her and although he opens up later on I just never felt that connected to the relationship between them. I think my main problem was that I found Dylan very hard to relate to. Her reactions just didn't feel realistic to me, she accepts what has happened to her far too easily and without really batting an eyelid but then gets completely hysterical when she is separated from a boy she has only known for a few days. Perhaps if I'd been more invested in the relationship with Tristan I might have found that easier to believe her reaction but it just had me rolling my eyes in frustration.

There were a lot of good things about the story though, the concept was great and the world was well thought out and described beautifully. I would have loved to have learnt about more about some of the other people who had crossed Tristan's path because I'm sure he would have some very interesting stories to tell. Nearly all of the reviews I have seen for Ferryman have been incredibly positive so even though there were some things that didn't work for me personally I am definitely in the minority in that regard so I would hate to put anyone off giving it a try. If you're looking for a paranormal romance that doesn't involve your standard vampires or shape shifters but instead brings something unique to the genre then it might be worth checking this out.

Source: Received from Templar in exchange for an honest review

Other Reviews:
If you have reviewed this book on your blog please leave a link to your review in the comments & I'll add the link here.

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