I picked this book up at a dollar store, and finally had the time to open it. Passion Play reads like a historical novel mixed with an Arabian nights tale, except the country described is purely fictional. There's the story of women as property, of the haves and the have-nots, of the powers of magic, of remembrances of past lives, of political turmoil, all told from the perspective of a young girl trying to find her own way.I wouldn't call it terrific writing, but it kept me interested in wanting to know the rest of the story. A great summer diversion. While the world-building was wonderful (loved the way we were dropped in and not told about stuff in a long, drawn-out way), and the magic system was lovely and mysterious, this book just didn't finish well for me. It started off good and fast, and then got dark as bad choices led to bad results. The characters are well-drawn and engaging all the way through and the main character, while sometimes 'thinking' too much on the page for my liking, is thoroughly sympathetic.But somewhere along the way, the story of the girl Theresz/Ilse got swept aside in the story of the plot and the intrigues. Then the 'ending' came along and left me scratching my head. There is no ending here. Everything is left hanging. And her final decision came about so fast, I couldn't figure out why--why she chose that route, why it makes sense in light of what went before. I skimmed the last three chapters, trying to find out if this would end the way I thought...and it did. And I was disappointed. So honestly, while I loved so many of these characters, I'm not going to go back for the second book.
What do You think about Passion Play (2012)?
love love loved it!!! Great first volume and very original. Cant wait to read the second.
—AnnaBaLee
I won this in Goodread's First Reads contest. Yeah! Can't wait to get it in the mail!
—kez
