A Banshee's Tale

I only have one word that I can use to describe A Banshee’s Tale by Veronica Breville - Awkward. From the writing style, to the dialogue, to the cliff-hanger, everything was awkward.

A Banshee’s Tale is a told from the point of view of Catherine Dalry, who wakes up one day to find her hair on fire - not literally, but close enough. As a trait of a banshee - or Guide - her hair sometimes looks as though it’s engulfed in flames, so she wears a hat to school which causes her some humiliation. However, the reader need not worry about this; it never plays a part in the story, other than pointless humiliation of the protagonist.

Another trait of Guides is their strange eyes. Catherine has had these strange eyes all her life, yet, her show more mother never clues her in on the family history, even though her aunt is a Guide. I found it very frustrating that the aunt seemed present in Catherine’s life, yet she never questioned the strange eyes - which, by the way, the reader doesn’t find out what’s so strange about them until half-way through the novel.

Some Guides, especially the really special and powerful ones, usually have a Caomhnóir - a protector. Catherine’s protector turns out to be a gorgeous young man and, of course, she’s madly attracted to and hopelessly in love with him at first sight.

I had some major complaints about this story. First, Will - Catherine’s best friend, who she loves like a brother - share a similar dream with Catherine, but, instead of telling her about it, suddenly starts avoiding her so he could research why they shared the same dream. When he finally confesses, she decides to ask her aunt, but doesn’t ask her aunt until some time later.

Next, Catherine’s protector, Zane, is very two dimensional and sometimes sounds like he’s from a Jane Austen novel. He is also much older than young Catherine and well, for them to be romantically involved - which was obvious from the time they met - is a little creepy.

Finally (though I could go on and on) Will’s grandmother reveals a secret to Will, but, even though she’s been talking to Will all the time, she suddenly needs to tell only Catherine. The secret is to find a diary which will lead will to a secret (the real secret?) about his family history. The frustrating part was that Will knows that his mother has the diary and tells them this, but they wait for days before following up on this lead. Then, we have a fabulous cliff-hanger, which did not make me want to find out what happens next, because at that point, I really did not care.

This book really needed an editor - there were so many more things that I found frustrating, another example being the passage of time, very confusing - however, I am not sure there was enough to the plot to make it worthy of a series. I’m not really sure where the author will take the rest of this, but I am not intrigued enough to read on. show less

full review on talksupe.blogspot.com

The plot is unique and the book is an easy read. It's light, pleasant and refreshing. Catherine Dalry is a normal teenager who has an amazing family, going through the normal motions of life. But she got more than her fair share of Irish blood apart from having red hair and creamy white skin sans the freckles, she's the latest Banshee from her mother's side of the family. So her backstory is already prepped for the supernatural and all the fun stuff that goes with it.

Veronica Breville makes use of Irish myth wisely. It's always nice to read and get educated on other supernatural beings that litter the Earth, and a break from the usual fangers and hairy beasts are always a welcome challenge. As for the show more conflict in the story it's not as complicated as its counterparts. In my opinion, the confrontation with the Badbeh was a little underwhelming. The Badbeh are supposedly these badass body thieves and considering that Catherine and Zane, though charm protected, are newbies in the game, but somehow they managed to get away from these demons almost unscathed and they even saved/found the missing Guide! Beginners luck? I don't know, it was too easy and a little more adventure and roughing up could have been added to spice the story up a bit. I'm sure we'll be reading more about these villains in the succeeding book/s but right now, I see them more as a nuisance than threatening. show less

Finished A Banshee' s Tale from early reviewers and I have to say I want to read the next. I would agree with others that it would have been nice to pad the book with a few more details about her training, but over all, it was written quite nicely. For the market the book was intended for, the author keeps the story easy to follow and mostly surprising to the end. I love the way the book always leaves more questions to be answered without agitating the reader. Overall I would recommend the book with 4 out of 5 stars and anticipate the following book to hit either the shelves or Early Reviewers.

The concept behind “A Banshee’s Tale” is very innovative. Portraying a banshee as a helpful entity that guides souls to their proper resting place rather than a harbinger of death is a great spin on the traditional folklore. The story just didn’t do the notion much justice. I really tried to finish the entire story, but something was missing. The details story seemed a little rushed and the main character was a bit too dramatic. Again I think the whole idea of the story, but the execution is lacking.

This book was okay. I liked it enough that I want to see what happens next. The only problem I had with the book was at times the plot seemed to move slowly. I know that most books have a slow beginning but the beginning of this book was interesting and then it seemed to slow down and drag in away. My suggestion is to not begin reading this book with high expectations. Just read through it first and then decide.

I enjoyed this book. It was a different take on the Banshee lore. I feel the characters could have had a little more depth but over all it was kept my interest and I liked the story.

This is a very interesting book. I enjoyed reading it. Some dialogue left me shaking my head, but overall I would say that this is a book to put on your to read list. I am interested to see where she is taking this storyline.