I have been a huge fan of Ted Dekker for quite a long time which is a big part of the reason why I thought I'd give this a chance. Well, that and the fact that I found it for like 3 or 4 dollars. The plot described on the back of the book seemed promising and and interesting, especially since it was supposed to be a fantasy/adventure with a great love story. That's certainly my cup of tea and enough to get me to read the book. so of course I couldn't wait to dig in and read it! However, I struggled with finishing the book. It was not the fast page turner, glued to your seat, cannot put down kind of book that I usually find with Dekker. The book is set in Russia during the 1700s. Toma is pretty much the main character for he does very much of the narrating and his friend Alek. The two of them are sent to protect the Moldavian countess and her two daughters, Lucine and Natasha by order of their Empress, Catherine the Great. Toma becomes very concerned when a group of strange Russians begin to share affections for the women. Did I mention that Toma has also fallen in love with one of the women? I was honestly kind of turned off by the characters in the first chapter. Usually a great character is one that is very likable and somewhat relate-able. Toma and Alek had none of that. I felt completely detached from the book and I had to force myself to finish it.It was way too repetitive. I understand that Toma was trying to fight his feelings for Lucine, but it seemed like every page we read that he's struggling with this. I picked up this book at the library because the cover bore a sticker that said something along the lines of "This book is changing lives! See first pages to read how this book has changed lives!" So you open the book and the first 4-6 pages are indeed glowing, obsessive paragraph-long reviews saying things like, "When I finished the last page of this book, I put it down and let out the breath I had been holding for so long. -- Jill Johnson, 33, homemaker." "I have never read a book that affected me so profoundly. As soon as I finished this book, I knew there were changes I needed to make in my life and I'll never look back. John Jackson, 23, student." **LIES!!** This book is terrible. It's a very quick read, so at least it only wasted 2-3 days of my life but that entire time I kept finding myself thinking, "Maybe it's just slow to start? Oh, now I'm 150 pages in? It must be any time now. This is it, right? No?" I wanted to quit but kept going because of those stupid reviews and because I'd always heard very good things about Ted Dekker as an author. I guess I shouldn't have read this book as my introduction to the author, as it makes me never want to pick up another of his books. At times I felt like I was reading one of my grandma's romance novels. At other times I felt like I was reading some weird wanna-be offshoot of Twilight, except Twilight was actually way better and I didn't even like that book. This was like a Twilight book trying to not be a Twilight book and be all "grown up" and "sophisticated." I guess I also didn't expect the Christian aspect of the book. I've never read a good Christian fiction book and probably wouldn't have read this one if I'd known that's what it was. I'm even less likely to pick up a Christian fiction book in the future now. THIS BOOK IS SO BAD. Who are these people writing ridiculous reviews at the beginning of the book?! What is wrong with them?
Do You like book Immanuel's Veins (2010)?
I really liked this book! It took me in and I could not put it down read it in 3 days!!
—chamilieon
Didn't finish. Got to page 66 and had a baby the next day. No time to read :)
—Lumiere
pretty good, wouldve given a better rating but its not really my genre.
—ChristianJewel
