Title: Black Spring
Author: Alison Croggon
Publisher: Candlewick Press
Acquired Via: Around the World ARC Tours
Release Date (US): August 27, 2013
In a savage land sustained by wizardry and ruled by vendetta, Lina is the enchanting but willful daughter of a village lord. She and her childhood companion, Damek, have grown up privileged and spoiled, and they’re devoted to each other to the point of obsession. But Lina’s violet eyes betray her for a witch, and witches are not tolerated in a brutally patriarchal society. Her rank protects her from persecution, but it cannot protect her from tragedy and heartbreak. An innocent visitor stands witness to the devastation that ensues as destructive longing unleashes Lina’s wrath, and with it her forbidden power. Whether drawn by the romantic, the magical, or the gothic, readers will be irresistibly compelled by the passion of this tragic tale.
Inspired by the gothic classic Wuthering Heights, this stunning new fantasy from the author of The Books of Pellinor is a fiercely romantic tale of betrayal and vengeance.
My Review
Promises of a willful daughter, wizardry, and vendettas brought me to Black Spring by Alison Croggon. I've never read Wuthering Heights because everyone says I should, but the idea of a retelling excited me nonetheless. Sadly, I found Black Spring to be a very dull and unsatisfying read. I was nearly convinced to give up on the book about five pages in, but I enforced my fifty page rule. Thankfully, the narration of poor little rich boy, Hammel, did not last long. The majority of the story was told by Anna, the best friend and servant of the doomed Lina.