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Black Swan Rising #2
The Watchtower
What secrets are hidden in her past . . . ?
Jewelry designer Garet James is still coming to terms with the astounding revelation in BLACK SWAN RISING that she is the last in a long line of women sworn to protect the world from evil. Now she has received a sign from Will Hughes, the 400-year-old vampire who once helped her defeat the evil threatening to destroy New York City. Hughes, tortured by his own violent history which is vividly reenacted here, has asked her to join him on a quest to rid himself of his curse of vampirism. While looking for Will in Paris, Garet encounters a number of mysterious figures-an ancient botanist metamorphosed into the oldest tree in Paris, a gnome who lives under the Labyrinth at the Jardin des Plantes, a librarian at the Institut Oceanographique, and a dryad in the Luxembourg Gardens.
Each encounter leads Garet closer to finding Will Hughes, but she realizes that she's not the only one who's trying to find the way to the magical world called the Summer Country. As Garet struggles to understand her family legacy, each answer she finds only leads to more questions--and to more danger....
Jewelry designer Garet James is still coming to terms with the astounding revelation in BLACK SWAN RISING that she is the last in a long line of women sworn to protect the world from evil. Now she has received a sign from Will Hughes, the 400-year-old vampire who once helped her defeat the evil threatening to destroy New York City. Hughes, tortured by his own violent history which is vividly reenacted here, has asked her to join him on a quest to rid himself of his curse of vampirism. While looking for Will in Paris, Garet encounters a number of mysterious figures-an ancient botanist metamorphosed into the oldest tree in Paris, a gnome who lives under the Labyrinth at the Jardin des Plantes, a librarian at the Institut Oceanographique, and a dryad in the Luxembourg Gardens.
Each encounter leads Garet closer to finding Will Hughes, but she realizes that she's not the only one who's trying to find the way to the magical world called the Summer Country. As Garet struggles to understand her family legacy, each answer she finds only leads to more questions--and to more danger....
397 pages, Paperback
First published August 1, 2011
28 people are currently reading
1079 people want to read
About the author
Lee Carroll
5 books85 followersThere is more than one author with this name
Lee Carroll is a pseudonym for the collaboration between Hammet Award-winning mystery novelist Carol Goodman and her poet and hedge fund manager husband, Lee Slonimsky. Goodman and Slonimsky live in Great Neck, New York.
Lee Carroll is a pseudonym for the collaboration between Hammet Award-winning mystery novelist Carol Goodman and her poet and hedge fund manager husband, Lee Slonimsky. Goodman and Slonimsky live in Great Neck, New York.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 112 reviews
September 25, 2011
At the end of the first book, Will Hughes, the vampire Garet James is in love with, ran away to France with the silver box in the hope of finding his way to the Summer Country of the Fey and a way of ending his vampire curse.
This book starts with Garet in Paris, looking for signs from Will and her own passage into the Summer Country. After meetings with various strange and mythical beings Garet does indeed find her way to Will and the Summer Country only for the pair to find that they still have to face the evil John Dee and his allies and for Garet to discover that you don’t always get what you wish for.
While Garet’s adventures in Paris are being narrated, the reader is also told the story of Will’s past and how exactly he ended up being a vampire.
I’m afraid this book didn’t really work for me on several levels.
My main problem lay in the fact that we had already been told the main outline of Will’s transformation in the first book and that therefore, the parts of this book describing his early life were a longer repeat of what we already knew. Couple that with the fact that I didn’t really like the character or the younger Will, and you’ll understand why I had difficulties staying with the story.
At the same time Garet’s adventures on her journey from modern day Paris to the Summer Country and beyond were not very exciting. Because Garet takes everything that happens to her at face-value and doesn’t really get excited or scared about anything, the reading experience is a bit flat too.
I think I might have given up on this book without finishing it if it hadn’t been for the fact that this is the second book in a trilogy the first instalment of which really enjoyed. I also hope that the third and final book will return to the standards of the first, and do find myself curious about how this story will end.
I should add that although I have these issues with the story, I have no problems with the language in which the story was told. The writing flows and the descriptions of creatures and landscapes evoke vivid pictures for me.
My conclusion has to be that the reading experience this book gave me was rather a mixed bag with enough positives in the mix to make me want to finish the story at some point.
This book starts with Garet in Paris, looking for signs from Will and her own passage into the Summer Country. After meetings with various strange and mythical beings Garet does indeed find her way to Will and the Summer Country only for the pair to find that they still have to face the evil John Dee and his allies and for Garet to discover that you don’t always get what you wish for.
While Garet’s adventures in Paris are being narrated, the reader is also told the story of Will’s past and how exactly he ended up being a vampire.
I’m afraid this book didn’t really work for me on several levels.
My main problem lay in the fact that we had already been told the main outline of Will’s transformation in the first book and that therefore, the parts of this book describing his early life were a longer repeat of what we already knew. Couple that with the fact that I didn’t really like the character or the younger Will, and you’ll understand why I had difficulties staying with the story.
At the same time Garet’s adventures on her journey from modern day Paris to the Summer Country and beyond were not very exciting. Because Garet takes everything that happens to her at face-value and doesn’t really get excited or scared about anything, the reading experience is a bit flat too.
I think I might have given up on this book without finishing it if it hadn’t been for the fact that this is the second book in a trilogy the first instalment of which really enjoyed. I also hope that the third and final book will return to the standards of the first, and do find myself curious about how this story will end.
I should add that although I have these issues with the story, I have no problems with the language in which the story was told. The writing flows and the descriptions of creatures and landscapes evoke vivid pictures for me.
My conclusion has to be that the reading experience this book gave me was rather a mixed bag with enough positives in the mix to make me want to finish the story at some point.
July 19, 2011
Once again the collaboration between Carol and Lee creates a wonderful story.
The Watchtower was a perfect blend of poetry, narrative, mystery and adventure. Garret and Will are wonderful characters and The Watchtower beautifully provides the reader with their background.
Picking up right where Black Swan Rising left off, The Watch tower is another page turner and I cannot wait for the third installment. For those of you who have read the first installment, you will find the reappearance of some of the beloved characters as well as those who lurk on the side of evil.
I have never really cared much for books that are part of a series (With the exception of Harry Potter), let alone books that involve vampires. But Lee Carroll has a way of putting a twist on how a reader thinks of a vampire especially skeptics such as myself.
I encourage anyone who loves a good mystery to dive right in to Black Swan Rising and then continue on to The Watchtower. You will not be disappointed.
The Watchtower was a perfect blend of poetry, narrative, mystery and adventure. Garret and Will are wonderful characters and The Watchtower beautifully provides the reader with their background.
Picking up right where Black Swan Rising left off, The Watch tower is another page turner and I cannot wait for the third installment. For those of you who have read the first installment, you will find the reappearance of some of the beloved characters as well as those who lurk on the side of evil.
I have never really cared much for books that are part of a series (With the exception of Harry Potter), let alone books that involve vampires. But Lee Carroll has a way of putting a twist on how a reader thinks of a vampire especially skeptics such as myself.
I encourage anyone who loves a good mystery to dive right in to Black Swan Rising and then continue on to The Watchtower. You will not be disappointed.
December 22, 2012
While I wouldn't class this as 'epic fantasy', it does share a characteristic of it: such importance is placed on introducing characters and creatures, there's little room for plot movement in only a few hundred pages. It seemed to me as if the authors didn't have much more to say than, "See how many creatures I know."
What plot movement there was seemed little more than a scavenger hunt. A frustrating scavenger hunt. Creature A says, 'Creature B has what you want.' Creature B says 'Creature C has what you want.' Creature C says, 'Creature D has what you want' ... ad infinitum.
The 'twist' at the end wasn't a surprise. It was dramatic inevitability. I'd foreseen it chapters ago. Which made it a dissatisfying end to the book.
My only comfort for the writers is that there are as many types of readers as there are books, so there are surely people that enjoy this trilogy. And my only comfort for me, is that I'm not one of them, so I don't have to wait in suspense for the publication of the third book.
What plot movement there was seemed little more than a scavenger hunt. A frustrating scavenger hunt. Creature A says, 'Creature B has what you want.' Creature B says 'Creature C has what you want.' Creature C says, 'Creature D has what you want' ... ad infinitum.
The 'twist' at the end wasn't a surprise. It was dramatic inevitability. I'd foreseen it chapters ago. Which made it a dissatisfying end to the book.
My only comfort for the writers is that there are as many types of readers as there are books, so there are surely people that enjoy this trilogy. And my only comfort for me, is that I'm not one of them, so I don't have to wait in suspense for the publication of the third book.
September 27, 2020
It's been a few years since I read the first book in this trilogy. I barely remembered what it was about to be honest, though my review tells me that apparently I loved it. This second book didn't quite manage to recapture that magic. Garet's quest to find a way to the Summer Country to track down Will and the fascinating characters she meets on the way were entertaining enough, but the whole Will & Marguerite backstory mostly bored me. Perhaps I'll pick up the final book at some point to see how it all turns out if it happens to cross my way, but I don't feel any particular urge to do so.
July 13, 2015
I picked up this book because it sounded interesting. To the contrary, I found the author's writing style jejune and the plot unnecessarily convoluted, muddled, and ludicrous. I would be unsurprised to find the author a nominee, or even a winner, of the Bulwer-Lytton Fiction Contest for constructing atrocities such as the following:
From chapter 2:
"My assessment of your talents is as objective as Pythagoras' area of a triangle."
"She was attired in a billowing floor length dress so modest it were as if the spirit of a nun massacred by King Henry VIII inhabited her."
"His features had so many angles to them they might have been a geometry lesson"
In the same chapter, (set during the Elizabethan Era) the "romantic hero" of the novel is introduced to a lady. His father tells "romantic hero" that he is supposed to marry the nice, but plain-looking, lady. The "hero" proudly replies in front of the poor lady (previously unknown to him),
"I'd sooner lie with a rotting horse. And if I knew her fifty years I wouldn't ask for her hand in marriage."
The father slaps him; the author describes the father's behavior as brutish. ????
Um, while I would not lie with a rotting horse under any circumstances, I will never pick up another book by this author. Unless I need a doorstop or to temporarily replace a missing brick.
By the way, I did finish the book so I could write this review fairly. *shudder*
From chapter 2:
"My assessment of your talents is as objective as Pythagoras' area of a triangle."
"She was attired in a billowing floor length dress so modest it were as if the spirit of a nun massacred by King Henry VIII inhabited her."
"His features had so many angles to them they might have been a geometry lesson"
In the same chapter, (set during the Elizabethan Era) the "romantic hero" of the novel is introduced to a lady. His father tells "romantic hero" that he is supposed to marry the nice, but plain-looking, lady. The "hero" proudly replies in front of the poor lady (previously unknown to him),
"I'd sooner lie with a rotting horse. And if I knew her fifty years I wouldn't ask for her hand in marriage."
The father slaps him; the author describes the father's behavior as brutish. ????
Um, while I would not lie with a rotting horse under any circumstances, I will never pick up another book by this author. Unless I need a doorstop or to temporarily replace a missing brick.
By the way, I did finish the book so I could write this review fairly. *shudder*
September 14, 2011
Another good book by the collaboration between Carol Goodman and her husband Lee Slonimsky is “The Watchtower” the second book in the Black Swan Rising series. Although, I liked more the first one, I still think that this is a very good book.
It’s a very different urban fantasy book with great plot with mystery and excellent characters, both the main and the secondary.
The book is written with alternating chapters and we have the story of Garet who searches the path into the Summer Country AND the story of Will, back at 1600’s and how he became a vampire.
In this book, like the first, I enjoyed the world-building and the atmosphere that the authors have created. It’s not an “easy” book and my personal opinion is that not all the readers are prepared for something like that. Also, I believe that it would be better if the plot had been faster paced because the slow pace is kind of bad for this kind of books.
The point is that I enjoyed this book because is different even if it has some small problems.
It’s a very different urban fantasy book with great plot with mystery and excellent characters, both the main and the secondary.
The book is written with alternating chapters and we have the story of Garet who searches the path into the Summer Country AND the story of Will, back at 1600’s and how he became a vampire.
In this book, like the first, I enjoyed the world-building and the atmosphere that the authors have created. It’s not an “easy” book and my personal opinion is that not all the readers are prepared for something like that. Also, I believe that it would be better if the plot had been faster paced because the slow pace is kind of bad for this kind of books.
The point is that I enjoyed this book because is different even if it has some small problems.
August 5, 2011
This book was harder for me to love...I LIKED it...a lot...but didn't feel th almost silly thrill that I got from the first.
Mostly I think it was just to slow moving for me. 70% of the book is...chapter...Garet hunting Will...then chapter....Will hunting Marguerite....back and forth. There were clues...there were mysteries...and going through Will's journey (even though I had a hard time with the 17th century dialog!) was sad and wonderful to learn at the same time...but it was just slow!
The book was amazingly brought together through the last part and I will absolutely look forward to more....just had to get through this 'middle book-ness' that I honestly was surprised to find with how very much I LOVED the first book.
Mostly I think it was just to slow moving for me. 70% of the book is...chapter...Garet hunting Will...then chapter....Will hunting Marguerite....back and forth. There were clues...there were mysteries...and going through Will's journey (even though I had a hard time with the 17th century dialog!) was sad and wonderful to learn at the same time...but it was just slow!
The book was amazingly brought together through the last part and I will absolutely look forward to more....just had to get through this 'middle book-ness' that I honestly was surprised to find with how very much I LOVED the first book.
October 1, 2015
i found it difficult to getinto this book, it wasn't the story so much but the way it was presented. we left our to main characters travelling on different paths and in this book we follow Garet in modern day france and will back in Shakesperean England. Each chapter changes character and i found that i was just gettin into that story when we changed chapters and changed stories. the book didn't flow! towards the end of the book the two stores started to collide and the the book flowed much better and i read the last 3 in a matter of days wheras the first 2/3rds took me almost 2 weeks, which if you know my reading habbits, is unheard of! it finishes with a twist and therefore i am now awaiting another book to see what happens to Garet and Will!
August 18, 2011
I didn't like this second book in the series quite as much as the first. The narrative kept switching back and forth from chapter to chapter between Garet's search for Will in Paris, and Will's life with Garet's ancestor Marguerite in 1602. The switching back and forth was a little tedious, but what I really didn't care for was Will's life. And it made me wonder why exactly Garet had fallen for him in the previous book. He's not a very likable character.
I still really enjoyed the worldbuilding, and while not exactly a cliffhanger, I really did not see the ending coming, so I am looking forward to seeing where the story goes from here in book 3.
I still really enjoyed the worldbuilding, and while not exactly a cliffhanger, I really did not see the ending coming, so I am looking forward to seeing where the story goes from here in book 3.
October 28, 2012
I was sorely disappointed with this book, I really enjoyed the first book in the series but this book was really tough to get through, I had to force myself to finish it. The characters have no substance, especially Will who comes off as a self-centered, arrogant, simpering fool, which I understand was the point in some sense. But there was absolutely nothing redeeming about him, nothing that made me want to find out his story, I was just bored. The setting was well done, and the parts with Garet somewhat redeemed the book, but even these fell flat. I'm not sure I'll read anymore, but I would really hope there is something redeeming in subsequent books.
January 27, 2015
Veci sa nasilu robiť proste nedajú... Presne tak ako sa ani na silu nemajú písat knihy.... Zo začiatku to bolo perfektne. Bavila som sa, bolo to zaujímave, plno nadprirodzených bytosti záhady, tajomstva, spomínaní aj Artuš :) Aj keď len asi dvoma vetami :D
Akonáhle sa objavili spolu Will a Garet, šlo to z kopca...
Iskra žiadna, láska tiež žiadna, ženská hlúpa, on tiež.... no škoda reči :D
Keď sa niekomu nepáčila prvá časť, toto sa vám tiež nebude.
Akonáhle sa objavili spolu Will a Garet, šlo to z kopca...
Iskra žiadna, láska tiež žiadna, ženská hlúpa, on tiež.... no škoda reči :D
Keď sa niekomu nepáčila prvá časť, toto sa vám tiež nebude.
September 15, 2011
It took me forever to finish one. I found the parts of Will's backstory to be really boring, so that was one cause of struggle. The other was me being distracted by wedding stuff. :)
I enjoyed the first book much more. As soon as a certain...event happened, I knew exactly what was going to happen, and that there'd most definitely be a third book. Which I'm just kinda eh about at this point.
I enjoyed the first book much more. As soon as a certain...event happened, I knew exactly what was going to happen, and that there'd most definitely be a third book. Which I'm just kinda eh about at this point.
December 31, 2011
After putting this book aside for so long I am so upset at the ending! I can't believe it ended like that with no mention of whether there is to be a third book in the series.
An umimpressed reader, 3 stars just for the ending otherwise it would have been a 4 - ooops!
An umimpressed reader, 3 stars just for the ending otherwise it would have been a 4 - ooops!
October 18, 2014
As tedious as it was to plow through this book, the surprising ending made it well worth the effort.
May 8, 2021
I really liked the first book in this series a lot. Unfortunately, this book was a disappointment and I did not end up finishing it.
To be fair, there was a gap of several years between the first book and being able to find the second, so possibly that impacted my enjoyment of the second installment of the story. But I really feel like the mood and style of this book was completely different from the first.
The first book felt, clever and charming, slightly mysterious but in an enticing way. This second book felt heavy handed and convoluted, with more side-plots and secondary characters than seemed absolutely necessary to the main plot, at least for me.
I also was not into the alternating chapters in the first part of the book that told the story of Will's early relationship with Garnet's ancestress. I was not interested at all in that story, and found that Will to be selfish and unlikable, so it made it that much harder to be with the story when Will and Garnet finally come together.
And as for the ending, I was very disappointed and unhappy about the complete cliff-hanger way the reader is left. I get that this is intended to set up more books, but it felt like a cop-out. I won't be continuing with this series. I'm done with these characters.
To be fair, there was a gap of several years between the first book and being able to find the second, so possibly that impacted my enjoyment of the second installment of the story. But I really feel like the mood and style of this book was completely different from the first.
The first book felt, clever and charming, slightly mysterious but in an enticing way. This second book felt heavy handed and convoluted, with more side-plots and secondary characters than seemed absolutely necessary to the main plot, at least for me.
I also was not into the alternating chapters in the first part of the book that told the story of Will's early relationship with Garnet's ancestress. I was not interested at all in that story, and found that Will to be selfish and unlikable, so it made it that much harder to be with the story when Will and Garnet finally come together.
And as for the ending, I was very disappointed and unhappy about the complete cliff-hanger way the reader is left. I get that this is intended to set up more books, but it felt like a cop-out. I won't be continuing with this series. I'm done with these characters.
April 14, 2019
Druhá časť série je tiež urban fantasy plná bytostí z mýtov; víly, dryády, vampíri a iné nesmrteľné tvory. Morské (p)otvory sú super a úplne najviac ma bavil Divoký hon. No, je to zaujímavé porovnávať vo fantasy knihách, ako je tá téma lovcov spracovaná.
Inak, v príbehu sa strieda minulosť jej milovaného muža Willa, ako prišiel o smrteľnosť a lásku a jej súčasnosť, kde Garet pátra a ide po jeho stopách do krajiny z povestí.
Je to pohodové čítanie, také víkendové.
Trojka už tuším v češtine ani nevyšla, že? A na sj preklad sa ani nejdem pýtať... Takže zase mám nedokončenú sériu... ja mám na to fakt smolu...
Inak, v príbehu sa strieda minulosť jej milovaného muža Willa, ako prišiel o smrteľnosť a lásku a jej súčasnosť, kde Garet pátra a ide po jeho stopách do krajiny z povestí.
Je to pohodové čítanie, také víkendové.
Trojka už tuším v češtine ani nevyšla, že? A na sj preklad sa ani nejdem pýtať... Takže zase mám nedokončenú sériu... ja mám na to fakt smolu...
December 30, 2019
Not as good as the first book of the series and I think some illustrations would do this book a ton of good. Maybe this would even be a great comic book or TV series with a lot of beautiful scenery to marvel at.
The background and history is woven into the story beautifully in my opinion, the authors toying with myths of the past and bringing them alive. But the character of Gareth somehow got lost in the chase for love. I liked the parallel telling of Will and Gareths paths, but still there was something missing to draw me into the story.
The background and history is woven into the story beautifully in my opinion, the authors toying with myths of the past and bringing them alive. But the character of Gareth somehow got lost in the chase for love. I liked the parallel telling of Will and Gareths paths, but still there was something missing to draw me into the story.
June 10, 2019
I picked up this series because I read and enjoyed Carol Goodman’s Fairwick trilogy. Book 1 (Black Swan Rising) wasn’t bad. Some cliche writing but not bad. This book is just awful. I tried to force myself to finish it but life’s too short to read dumb books. I read about 2/3 then tossed it into the donation box.
August 3, 2020
I když je tento díl série poněkud akčnější, než díl první, rozhodně mě nezklamal. Jediné co mě trochu mrzí je, že na to, že oba bojují za "lásku" je vztah obou postav docela vlažný, tedy alespoň tam působí... Ale co, to plně vynahradí všechny ty úžasně popsané vedlejší postavy. Jen škoda, že v cz nevyšel i poslední díl, já bych si ho ráda přečetla.
November 16, 2019
Read this a few times and still find it enjoyable! I enjoy the world and the premise, the characters are great and I think its a really interesting take on magic, and of course I love it because it's urban fantasy!
July 3, 2021
Garet chases Will to France and travels around to try to find a cure for his vampirism. Meanwhile we see the story of how Will became a vampire.
I felt very meh about it, and kept putting it down for another book.
I felt very meh about it, and kept putting it down for another book.
February 22, 2017
Celkom zábavné čítanie. Dobrá zmeska čohokoľvek, na čo si človek spomenie... a ten cliffhanger! :) Osud je občas sviňa.
May 24, 2017
Not as good as the first book ... feels like the story is getting lost in itself somewhere and I become less and less keen on the main character.
December 29, 2019
I didn’t enjoy book two as much as one but felt I needed to see it through, I’m hoping the final book will be a page turner like the first.
January 14, 2021
Quite pacy, although a little confusing at times.
August 28, 2021
Gothic nobel, spannend, goed geschreven
September 11, 2022
Honestly, these books are not that interesting. Very anticlimactic and rely on flowery writing more than anything.
April 25, 2024
Przeczytane polskie wydanie pod tytułem "Strażniczka".
November 9, 2012
Garet James is the last in a line of women "watchtowers" who protect humanity from evil--particularly the magic kind. In BLACK SWAN RISING she had to learn about her unknown powers and save New York City from destruction. She had the help of faries, goblins, as well as that of the rich and handsome vampire Will Hughes. But he has disappeared, leaving clues for Garet to follow.
If you remember my review for BLACK SWAN RISING (I had a hard time with the love story between Garet and Will. It was sudden and inexplicable and emotionless--it's hard for a romance to be believable when you don't understand why two characters love each other. So when the second book,
THE WATCHTOWER so depended on their love in order to explain Garet's motivation to follow Will...it didn't bode well.
Garet must travel to Paris and find the path to the Summer Country to find Will on his quest to cure himself of his vampirism. Those details are interesting and creative as Carroll draws out the history and lore surrounding the magic of the Fae and their lives in Paris. Carroll also does well painting a picture of Paris itself and its view from an up-close street level--much like was done successfully with New York City in SWAN.
Unfortunately, that's the best part of the book, and it's not enough to keep the reader interested. Instead, we get the love story of Will and Marguerite (Garet's grandmother+great I don't know how many times, it wasn't clear) of 400 years ago mixed in with Garet's present-day search. What's wrong with that, you ask? Carroll already told us how that particular story ends in SWAN. So I'm reading a story of a spoiled and emo 19-year-old Will falling in swooning love at first sight, and I already know what's going to happen...and, yeah. Had a hard time enjoying that. Add on the fact that Garet and Will spend the majority of the book apart, and when they're together I'm still not sure why they love each other.
If I had liked Will more, I might have been more interested in his origins, but he behaved so erratically and took Garet's stuff only to leave her behind in SWAN, so going into THE WATCHTOWER I would have been fine if she'd washed her hands of him. My other question is: Why name the book THE WATCHTOWER if Garet doesn't do watchtower-ish things? Sure she is clever and able to follow the clues, but she leaves the hard stuff for others in the end. Again. Maybe the book is about Marguerite the original watchtower? But we don't see Marguerite protect the world from evil, she just moons over Will. Now I understand where Garet gets it from. But I still don't understand why.
And then the Summer Country and time travel and magic watches and...I just got confused at where the story was taking me. Why the characters did the things they did. Why magic worked the way it did. By the end I just wanted it to be over. There will be a sequel. I don't plan on reading it.
Recommended Age: 16+
Language: Very little
Violence: Some, although without detail
Sex: One brief scene
If you remember my review for BLACK SWAN RISING (I had a hard time with the love story between Garet and Will. It was sudden and inexplicable and emotionless--it's hard for a romance to be believable when you don't understand why two characters love each other. So when the second book,
THE WATCHTOWER so depended on their love in order to explain Garet's motivation to follow Will...it didn't bode well.
Garet must travel to Paris and find the path to the Summer Country to find Will on his quest to cure himself of his vampirism. Those details are interesting and creative as Carroll draws out the history and lore surrounding the magic of the Fae and their lives in Paris. Carroll also does well painting a picture of Paris itself and its view from an up-close street level--much like was done successfully with New York City in SWAN.
Unfortunately, that's the best part of the book, and it's not enough to keep the reader interested. Instead, we get the love story of Will and Marguerite (Garet's grandmother+great I don't know how many times, it wasn't clear) of 400 years ago mixed in with Garet's present-day search. What's wrong with that, you ask? Carroll already told us how that particular story ends in SWAN. So I'm reading a story of a spoiled and emo 19-year-old Will falling in swooning love at first sight, and I already know what's going to happen...and, yeah. Had a hard time enjoying that. Add on the fact that Garet and Will spend the majority of the book apart, and when they're together I'm still not sure why they love each other.
If I had liked Will more, I might have been more interested in his origins, but he behaved so erratically and took Garet's stuff only to leave her behind in SWAN, so going into THE WATCHTOWER I would have been fine if she'd washed her hands of him. My other question is: Why name the book THE WATCHTOWER if Garet doesn't do watchtower-ish things? Sure she is clever and able to follow the clues, but she leaves the hard stuff for others in the end. Again. Maybe the book is about Marguerite the original watchtower? But we don't see Marguerite protect the world from evil, she just moons over Will. Now I understand where Garet gets it from. But I still don't understand why.
And then the Summer Country and time travel and magic watches and...I just got confused at where the story was taking me. Why the characters did the things they did. Why magic worked the way it did. By the end I just wanted it to be over. There will be a sequel. I don't plan on reading it.
Recommended Age: 16+
Language: Very little
Violence: Some, although without detail
Sex: One brief scene
October 1, 2011
Having read and enjoyed Black Swan Rising I blogged The Watchtower on my Wishlist. Sarah Broadhurst from Sarah’s Book Reviews http://sbroadhurstreviews.blogspot.com/ offered me to read her copy. This is my guest post on her blog.
Garet’s quest to find Will and find out more about herself starts in Paris. In Black Swan Rising Garet received what she thought was a sign which led her there. We are told again why she is waiting.
Garet finds her artistic inspiration and uses Horatio Durant’s workshop and tools to create her jewellery piece in which she incorporates the symbol of the Watchtower. Horatio was a friend to her late parents.
She doubts the obscure sign she received to follow Will but on the edge of giving up, she receives the sign that she is on the right path.
The following chapter tells us the story of Will (400 years ago) as he leaves his ancestral estate (Swan Hall) and falls in love with Marguerite. Marguerite is Garet’s ancestor.
What follows are alternating chapters. Garet’s written in the first person and is her quest to find Will in the Summer Country. Will’s chapters in the third person and his quest to become immortal. At one point the past and present overlap.
There are allusions to the important points in Black Swan Rising, very cleverly built in as we journey along on their quest. If you haven’t read the first, you are able to start reading The Watchtower and it still makes sense.
We find out a bit more about why The Watchtowers came into existence and why Marguerites’s descendents have the role they do. We also find out the connection of the alchemist John Dee.
Parts of the story are slow going but I found enough to hold my interest and keep me reading. I love fairy tales/mythical aspects. Any book that has fey and dryads in will pull me in. This was more about these mythical beings and much less about vampires. The alternating chapters as we follow the two different timelines also add interest and negate the slowness. The second book to me was more about Will’s story than Garet’s. I did enjoy ‘living’ in Elizabethan times as I accompanied Will during his late teens and after he had met Marguerite, despite their telling slowing the story down.
The ending – I did see it coming – but the cliffhanger leaves you with questions you want to have the answers to! I will be interested in finding out where the story will be taken in the final book in this trilogy. At the ending of Black Swan Rising I thought it would be quite a quest for Garet to find Will in the Summer Country (probably why I felt a little disappointed), at the ending of The Watchtower I really can’t see enough to fill the pages of a third book and I’m hoping it will hold more than the fight between evil (Marduk) and light (Garet and her Watchtower role).
I am rating The Watchtower as a two fairy read.
Garet’s quest to find Will and find out more about herself starts in Paris. In Black Swan Rising Garet received what she thought was a sign which led her there. We are told again why she is waiting.
Garet finds her artistic inspiration and uses Horatio Durant’s workshop and tools to create her jewellery piece in which she incorporates the symbol of the Watchtower. Horatio was a friend to her late parents.
She doubts the obscure sign she received to follow Will but on the edge of giving up, she receives the sign that she is on the right path.
The following chapter tells us the story of Will (400 years ago) as he leaves his ancestral estate (Swan Hall) and falls in love with Marguerite. Marguerite is Garet’s ancestor.
What follows are alternating chapters. Garet’s written in the first person and is her quest to find Will in the Summer Country. Will’s chapters in the third person and his quest to become immortal. At one point the past and present overlap.
There are allusions to the important points in Black Swan Rising, very cleverly built in as we journey along on their quest. If you haven’t read the first, you are able to start reading The Watchtower and it still makes sense.
We find out a bit more about why The Watchtowers came into existence and why Marguerites’s descendents have the role they do. We also find out the connection of the alchemist John Dee.
Parts of the story are slow going but I found enough to hold my interest and keep me reading. I love fairy tales/mythical aspects. Any book that has fey and dryads in will pull me in. This was more about these mythical beings and much less about vampires. The alternating chapters as we follow the two different timelines also add interest and negate the slowness. The second book to me was more about Will’s story than Garet’s. I did enjoy ‘living’ in Elizabethan times as I accompanied Will during his late teens and after he had met Marguerite, despite their telling slowing the story down.
The ending – I did see it coming – but the cliffhanger leaves you with questions you want to have the answers to! I will be interested in finding out where the story will be taken in the final book in this trilogy. At the ending of Black Swan Rising I thought it would be quite a quest for Garet to find Will in the Summer Country (probably why I felt a little disappointed), at the ending of The Watchtower I really can’t see enough to fill the pages of a third book and I’m hoping it will hold more than the fight between evil (Marduk) and light (Garet and her Watchtower role).
I am rating The Watchtower as a two fairy read.
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