The Rook by Daniel O'Malley - Review

Saturday 15 October 2016

Hello everyone! 

It's been a while hasn't it? I'm really sorry about that, time management has gone out the window a little, but I'm back now and will be making a Herculean effort to keep you guys in the loop! To kick things off again let's do a quick book review :-) 

The Rook by Daniel O'Malley has been on my tbr for so long! My best friend bought it for me over a year ago after having sped through it, then my Mam read it and loved it, yet it still stayed on my tbr pile. I just wasn't massively intrigued by the cover or the story. Silly right? Especially when it does have all the makings of a fantastic story! 


Set in London, this story follows Myfanwy Thomas, or rather the woman inhabiting her body, as she navigates an incredibly complicated life. Being in charge of the admin for magical MI5, the elusive Checquey, is hard enough, without the mysterious gloved strangers trying to assassinate her at every turn and no memory of her previous life to guide her. Myfanwy must rapidly overcome her amnesia or adapt and flawlessly impersonate herself if she has any hope of survival. However, these are all small concerns! Myfanwy isn't the only one at risk, the whole world is under threat. There is a traitor in the Checquey and it's up to Myfanwy to stop them. 

This world is filled with magic and intrigue, it's complicated low level fantasy at its best! When I first picked up this book I found it quite hard to get into, it took me committing to the first 300 pages before I fully invested in the story. I think I had built up a mental block to it really, once I was into it properly I couldn't put it down! The pace of the story feels a little slow at first and it is quite convoluted, meaning it does require a lot of attention to follow, but I promise it is worth it! Towards the end I started to appreciate the slower beginning, it gave me time to comprehend the story and the world it is set in. 

I would recommend this book if you are a lover of Harry Potter or the Cassandra Clare books. Fantasy stories in our world are so accessible if you're a newbie to this genre :-) I would give this 3.5 stars! 

Have you read this? Let me know what you thought in the comments below and keep your eyes peeled for the sequel Stiletto, I know I will :-) 

xoxo

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