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Liked It “Despite the pink tinged cover and subtitle “A Paranormal Romance”, this second novel from the author of A Certain Slant of Light is actually an exciting historical adventure and an intriguing imagining of life after death. The story follows Calder, who at 19 had died and took the offer to become...” see full review » see other reviews » |
Didn’t Like It1 of 1 members found this review helpful “Tedious and convoluted, with little plot or character development.” see full review » see other reviews » |
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“Despite the pink tinged cover and subtitle “A Paranormal Romance”, this second novel from the author of A Certain Slant of Light is actually an exciting historical adventure and an intriguing imagining of life after death. The story follows Calder, who at 19 had died and took the offer to become a Fetch, a death escort for dying souls. The Fetches live a peaceful, monastic life under the watchful care of the Captain, the one who ferries souls to Heaven. But Calder feels a peculiar stirring of human emotion while observing a young woman desperate to keep a baby alive. The baby’s soul stays, but to his surprise Calder visits the same child and woman in a later death scene. Overcome with emotion, he commands the child’s soul to live and leaves feeling certain this woman is meant to be a Star Fetch that he should train. Soon Calder encounters a wild eyed and strange soul by the name of Rasputin. Realizing this soul knows the woman, Calder breaks his Fetch vows and offers Rasputin the chance to visit the land of lost souls while he takes over his body. Once he finds the woman, Calder is horrified to discover it is the Tsarina of Russia, a married woman with children who will not want to leave her family. He decides to set things right, but discovers he can’t reopen the door to Heaven and that Rasputin is unwilling to leave the fascinating milieu of the angry lost souls. Soon Calder finds himself surviving attempted murder and guiding Alexis and Anastasia across the world and back to find a way into the afterlife. Whitcomb’s descriptive writing shines in her compelling vision of the post-mortal world and the dark reality of the Russian Revolution. After a brief slow down, the story picks up pace as dark forces drive our well-drawn characters forward and Calder soon discovers unfinished business from his own human life. There is a gentle attraction that builds slowly between Calder and Anastasia, but nothing much occurs. It is only the terrible details of the Romanov’s assassination that may disturb younger readers.”
Ms. Sarah wrote this review 11 days ago. ( reply | permalink ) Was this review helpful? Yes | No1 of 1 members found this review helpful“Tedious and convoluted, with little plot or character development.”
Tracy W wrote this review Tuesday, November 10 2009. ( reply | permalink ) Was this review helpful? Yes | No
“An interesting take on a historical event, but not riveting for me. Thought-provoking imagery of heaven and the afterlife process. The romance was sweet, but not developed enough for me. ”
Shelise G wrote this review Tuesday, November 3 2009. ( reply | permalink ) Was this review helpful? Yes | No
“Didn't like it much. I continued reading just to finish it. Lack of character. I was expecting a romantic story but didn't feel it at all. The historic connection that the characters were base on was interesting and unique.”
Ferntopia wrote this review Saturday, October 24 2009. ( reply | permalink ) Was this review helpful? Yes | No
“The premise is original and I liked how history is tied into the plot and characters. (Ana and Alexis are from Russian royalty- Romanov, Titanic sinking, WWI, etc.) Yet, I had to push myself to finish the book because it did not engross me. There is something lacking but I am not sure what. I just didn't care about the characters or what happened to them. I also had a hard time believing that Rasputin could be a heroic figure, since many history books portray him as crazy.
librarybooks wrote this review Thursday, October 1 2009. ( reply | permalink ) Was this review helpful? Yes | No
The cover falsely advertises this book as a romance but there was little romance throughout the book.
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“Whitcomb, Laura The Fetch, 379 p. Houghton Mifflin, 2009. $17. For centuries, Calder has existed as a Fetch, a spirit who appears to someone who is dying and escorts them through a Door, down the Hall and on to their afterlife. But twice now, Calder has seen a beautiful girl/woman and is certain that they are meant to be together. So, he defies all Fetch wisdom and commonsense in pursuit of a woman who is not what she seems to be. Now he is stuck in the body of Rasputin, his love is the now dead Queen Alexandra and Calder must cross the world with two of Alexandra's children in tow in order to find his Key and his Door in order to escort the two to their destiny. Should I mention that Rasputin is causing (or preventing) a rebellion in the Land of Lost Souls? Students who know something about the Russian Revolution and about Rasputin will understand this book much more than those who happen upon this. While this is aimed towards the YA audience, I think adults will enjoy it much more than teens. HS -OPTIONAL. Cindy, Library-Teacher.”
Cindy M wrote this review Thursday, October 1 2009. ( reply | permalink ) Was this review helpful? Yes | No
“Great story with interesting characters, just a little too dark for me.”
(PL) Anne Anderson wrote this review Sunday, September 27 2009. ( reply | permalink ) Was this review helpful? Yes | No
“The Fetch
Samantha K wrote this review Wednesday, August 12 2009. ( reply | permalink ) Was this review helpful? Yes | No
By Laura Whitcomb
Calder is a fetch, a death angel. When a soul leaves its body it must go with a fetch so that it can enter heaven.
Calder breaks his fetch vows for love, and by doing so causes a terrible rift in the way things are supposed to be. The book takes you on his journey of trying to set everything right once again.
While I enjoyed the story, I'm only giving this book three stars because it was too slow for my taste. I also like books that take me away into another world, and this one just didn’t do that for me. I could never truly get into it.
Some of the elements that I liked about the book are:
*It is a neat fantasy idea, that of a fetch (death angel) loving a mortal. And then truly falling in love with (well, I can't tell you or it would give away part of the book).
*I liked the war time, history theme to the story
Some of the things I didn't like:
*The love story part of the book didn't truly start to bloom until near the end of the book.
*When the story ended I was left saying, "What happens next?", but not knowing. "Was that really the end, or is there another book coming out?" ”
“Supernatural fantasy and historical fiction. Compelling characters.”
Lesley E wrote this review Sunday, July 26 2009. ( reply | permalink ) Was this review helpful? Yes | No
