Una moneda por tu suerte

by Sarah Stockbridge

Rose es una joven pitonisa gitana, algo que en la Inglaterra del siglo XIX no abre precisamente muchas puertas. Pero Rose es astuta y tiene tablas, y gracias a ello se convierte en la chica de confianza de Lady Quayle, una dama de la alta sociedad que llega a solicitar sus servicios varias veces por semana. En una de las fiestas que la pudiente señora organiza, Rose lee en la mano de Emily, una muchacha amiga de la familia, las trágicas palabras «una muerte terrible y violenta». Y aunque Rose sabe perfectamente que la adivinación es un arma de doble filo, se entremete en las vidas de Emily y de Tabitha, hija de Lady Quayle. A medida que pasan los días y se cumplen las profecías, Rose se dará cuenta de que las predicciones pueden tener varias lecturas distintas... algunas de las cuales es preferible no conocer.

260 pages, Kindle Edition

First published January 1, 2011

Reviews

[Angelique Simonsen · Rating 3 out of 5]

started off well but I grew to seriously dislike the mother who needed advice on every aspect of her life

[Vane · Rating 4 out of 5]

ENTRETENIDO Y SORPRESIVO RELATO DE MISTERIO

(8/10)

La primera sorpresa de esta historia me la dio conocer la identidad de la autora, vaya!!
Entre otras cosas, secundaria en algunas pelis muy molonas; desconocía su nacionalidad.
La segunda sorpresa me la dio la forma de narración escogida: las voces de 2 personajes distintos en primera persona.
Y la tercera sorpresa: las adivinaciones de la protagonista parecen marcar un camino, un destino, un final; pero. ....... a medida que avanza la narración todo parece cambiar, pareciera que las cosas no son lo que parecen, todo se trastoca. O tal vez no.

[tinalouisereadsbooks · Rating 5 out of 5]

'You must cross my palm with silver first, my pretty miss.'

1860s, London. The capital's high society ladies like nothing more than to while away an evening at a private supper party, drinking sweet wine, sharing confidences - and having their fortunes read. But palm-reading is a perilous business: the lines of the left hand can unlock secrets and reveal futures best kept hidden.

When fortune-teller Miss Rose is called to entertain Lady Quayle and her guests at Portland Place, she sees in the palm of shy, cautious Emily a future she is forced to keep to herself. 'A quiet life, my dear' is what she tells the girl. But she spies two little crosses that spell something quite different - fearful, violent death.

As Rose's predictions start coming true, her own fortunes become embroiled in the suspect fates of others and the future suddenly seems a dark and dangerous place. With a plucky heroine and a rollicking story, Sara Stockbridge's second novel is a cauldron of subterfuge and mysticism.

My Thoughts:

This book is fantastic !

I have always had a strong interest in gypsies and my husbands nan is a gypsy and lived in painted wagon so anything connected to gypsies is right up my street. I only saw this book by chance when looking on fantastic fiction so I was soon off to my local library.

Firstly if you want a book about the gypsy way of life then this book isn’t for you. The story is about a young girl, Tabith Quayle who is forced in to a society that she doesn’t really want. When she falls for a gypsy she plots with her friend to runaway. The other main character is Rose who is a gypsy and she reads palms and gets involved with the Quayles.

I just couldn’t put this book down. It has everything in it for me, a love story, a mystery, gypsies and fortune telling. The book was so easy to read and I found I was flying through the pages. The book was a pleasure to read from start to finish and I really cannot find anything negative to say about it.

[Candela · Rating 5 out of 5]

Me ha encantado. La trama te mantiene en vilo desde la primera página a la última y con un aire místico y oscuro que me ha resultado embriagador. No te esperas el final hasta que te vas acercando a él y eso lo hace aún más interesante. Y también me gusta mucho cómo está escrito (a pesar de que no soy fan de las novelas en primera persona) pero en este caso tiene mucho sentido y además cuando lo terminas entiendes que la forma en que está escrito te va dando pistas de cómo acaba la historia.
Brillante. Lo recomendaría muchísimo.

[Kirsty · Rating 1 out of 5]

First impressions of this book was that the blurb was interesting and the idea of the book was very promising. The first chapter of the book seemed engaging, but I very soon realised this book was not going to live up to my expectations. The writing style and prose didn't have any depth, and did not keep me hooked at all. The "twists and turns" in the plot were predictable, and did not add any excitement or drama to the book.

The characters were flat and uninspired. They seemed to be based on the stereotypical high society lady and cockney hustler, with no special traits to make them stand out and shine. All the main characters were unlikable, and I found that I had no empathy for them along their tedious journeys.

Although the book is actually very short, I found that it seemed to take a long time to read because it was so bland.

This book had the potential to be excellent, as the idea of palmistry is very intriguing. However, instead of being a dark, gothic peek into Victorian superstitions, it just ends up seeming tired and lifeless. A pity really...

[Vmontgzz · Rating 4 out of 5]

Esta novela al principio me parecio una historia muy atrapante.

Rose es una gitana en 1860 que ve en la mano de un cliente su muerte en forma violenta, despues ve en la mano de un amigo del cliente la marca del asesino y asi es como comienza su aventura pues el destino es algo que se modifica constantemente y las palmas de las manos cambian segun las decisiones tomadas dia a día asi que aunque no les dice la verdad si trata de interferir para que cambien su destino, pero es que Rose solo ve una parte y el resto se va revelando solo y como dice ella dos mas dos nunca suman cinco.

Las primeras dos terceras partes se me fueron como agua y bueno el final no es lo que hubiera esperado, lo que no me gusto es que no se aclararon los motivos de Emily y Valentine a mi quedaron demasiadas preguntas y como la historia esta contada en primera persona solo nos enteramos del punto de vista de Rose y Tabitha, en fin que aun asi la historia vale la pena.

[Lou Robinson · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book started off as a 2 for me, and ended up as a 3, a situation where I would have liked a half star really. What was right with it? Quite liked the fact it was set in Victorian London, and it was easy to imagine the characters and where they were living. I kind of liked the story. What was wrong with it? A slow start and it took me a while to get into the slightly sarcastic tone of the main protagonist, Rose. It was also in the first person, a style which I admit I still don't get on with. So overall, a middle of the road novel.

[Norma · Rating 1 out of 5]

I read Sara's first book 'Hammer' which was a really good read which I finished very quickly. Unfortunately with this novel I got bored and gave up halfway through. I won't be rushing out to buy her next novel.

[Mer Mayhem · Rating 1 out of 5]

2.5

EDITO: Con el paso del tiempo creo que comparado con las cosas que he leído la puntuación ha bajado. MUCHO.

[Suzanne · Rating 3 out of 5]

Good enough read, just not superb, and not as good as the Grace Hammer one.
Recommended as a light read for lovers of a bit of mystery.

[Deva · Rating 2 out of 5]

Fácil de leer, no se hace lento ni pesado, pero tampoco me ha encantado.

[Miriam · Rating 2 out of 5]

No te cambia la vida, pero es entretenido de leer. Un buen libro para cuando apetece una lectura más ligera.

[Graci · Rating 3 out of 5]

Bueno, ni fú ni fá.