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There are currently 24 member reviews
for Lamp Black, Wolf Grey
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Marge V. (Merriam, KS)
Can You Believe in This Magic?
I love reading books that take place in the rural UK at any time period. Our heroine, Laura, is a gifted award winning artist who yearns to find inspiration on a Welsh mountain while living on it in a remodeled cottage. Her husband Dan visits on weekends from London. There's the requisite artistic local guy and she dreams of Merlin the Magician, and his Times because he is a local legend.
There's too much plot but not enough development. Everything is too pat and made me wonder how we got to where we were. There are reminiscences of Anya Seton' s Green Darkness and Mary Stewart's Merlin trilogy and Daphne DuMaurier' s Rebecca but the magic in this book never takes full shape.
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Mary L
Not what I had hoped for
Well want do I say. I was compelled to finish the book although I had
correctly guessed the ending. The book plot was VERY predictable. The
protagonist was not sympathetic and read a bit flat. The supernatural
(of which I was very interested in) was predictable and seemed to be
added as a side interest to gather more reader's interest. I'm so
sorry to say I felt I was reading a potential very good story that
tried to add several storylines only to interest more readers which
instead lost all readers.
That said, If you want an easy beach read, this will be entertaining.
However, if you are wanting what is described on the book blurb, I
would turn away to that classics, " the mist of Avalon", the Mary
Stewart trilogy, and the now in demand as they should be the Diana
Galbaldon "Outlander" series. For satisfaction chose these, for cotton
candy chose "black lamp"
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Ann B. (Kernville, CA)
In Team Laura vs Team Megan, I'd lean Team Megan
The author drew me in with deft and lyrical prose. She does a wonderful job of setting the scene in language that supports her characters. She describes the dramatic Welsh landscape as would a painter.
That said, the modern-day storyline felt more contrived than that of Arthurian times. I could not sympathize with any of the characters in Laura's storyline. I didn't quite buy any of the characters' motives, and I doubted their responses. The Megan storyline, on the other hand, seemed more lively, and I was more apt to buy into it because of its timeline and the mythology attached to its characters.
I imagine this book might appeal to readers interested in Welsh myths and history. Travelers to Wales might enjoy reading a novel set in the landscapes through which they're venturing.
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Deb T.
I'm sorry I bothered, but...
It was a quick read, and a semi-boring one at that. At least, that is my opinion. Very seldom, if ever, do I get a book with First Impressions that wasn't worth my time - this was one of them.
The premise was interesting, but it needs a lot of editing.
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Sherilyn R. (Bountiful, UT)
Left Me Wanting More
I really wanted to love this book but it was disappointing. The premise sounded great, Merlin appears in 21st century to connect with the reincarnation of his first love. But that was not really the plot. Merlin was an incidental character.
I don't know how I would describe this book. It's a little bit mystery, romance, fantasy, and the paranormal. A number of plots and sub plots but none were fully developed. Dissapointing.
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Carol T. (Ankeny, IA)
Lamp Black, Wolf Grey
An easy read. If you like Brackston's other books, you'll like this one. A few key characters aren't as well developed as I'd have liked and at least one major problem was solved by a character I didn't realize could solve it, but this book has possibilities.
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Freya H. (Phoenix, AZ)
Lamp Black, Wolf Grey
At best this was average. It was an easy read, and the premise rather interesting, but I didn't feel any real connection with the characters. I thought the Welsh
countryside sounded lovely although this is hardly enough to give it more than a 3 rating.
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