Nicholas Vail is searching for a girl with a lovely voice. She comes to him in his dreams singing a sad riddle. He knows he must find her and solve the riddle in order to repay a debt. A debt that has haunted his family for many years.
When he finds Rosalind De La Fontaine, he is positive that she is the one in his dreams. Rosalind suffers from amnesia and has no clue who she is until she comes across an ancient book and she is the only one who can decipher it. While studying the book she and Nicholas discover a gate to another world called Pale....In Pale, Rosalind and Nicholas learn that they are both decendants of wizards and Rosalind herself is a powerful witch. Rosalind and Nicholas must then battle the wicked witch Epona and save Pale to pay his debt.

I am a huge fan of CC's FBI thrillers so i thought i would try something else of hers and i was a little disappointed. To me it was a little far fetched and hard to keep up with at times. It was like she was experimenting with this book. You could tell that CC was out of her league. She needs to leave the Sci-fi's alone and stick with her FBI's ...but that being said, it wasnt really BAD. I have read much worse by other well known authors. It was different and i did enjoy the ghosts. ( )

This book is about a man, Nicholas Vail, who was ostracized by his Father and new wife. Loved by his paternal Grandfather he heard many stories about an alternate universe from a book written by a 16th century wizard. When Nicholas's Grandfather dies he inherits the title of Seventh Earl of Mountjoy. In London he meets Rosalind de La Fontaine, a made up name of a young woman who was taken in by a man (Ryder Sherbrook) and his family. Ryder Sherbrooke found Rosalind nearly beaten to death in an alleyway as a child. For a long time Rosalind only speaks a mysterious phrase but, over time she starts to speak but has amnesia and cannot remember who she is or where she came from. As the years go by she shows signs of paranormal ability. When her brother, Grayson, Nicholas and she go to a fair Grayson buys an ancient book from a mysterious man. The books turn out to be almost the same book that Nicholas's Grandfather used to read him stories from. As the three delve into the mysteries of the book they enter another world. Rosalind turns out to be a princess in a direct line of very powerful wizards and witches. She must battle the forces of evil in the alternate world to save it from ruin.

The book is an average read and at some points very hard to follow. It gets lost in paranormal activity, alternate worlds and family dynamics. It was not a totally bad read, but I probably wouldn't read it again and would have to think long and hard about who I would pass this book on to. ( )

http://www.bookfetish.org/bookshelves... ( )

Cover says "Never Before Published"; should be "Will Never Be Published". Story line erratic, magic stuff is stupid, too many details never explained, revealed. Definitely NOT a keeper. ( )

While the story had GREAT lead ins...I got bored with the make believe part of this book. I just couldn't get into wizards that don't really exist and time freezing in an alternate universe...and jesus christ, just shut the stepmother up already. It wasn't my favorite book that I've ever read, it wasn't the worst I've ever read, but I probably won't read it again. I guess there was just too much going on for me to enjoy the story. I've never been a big CC fan, so that might be it. ( )