Review : Jasmyn by Alex Bell

Title : Jasmyn

Author: Alex Bell

Rating: 4.75 out of 5 stars

About the book:

One day, without warning, Jasmyn’s husband died of an aneurysm.

Since then, everything has been different. Wrapped up in her grief, Jasmyn is trapped in a world without colour, without flavour – without Liam. But even through the haze of misery she begins to notice strange events. Even with Liam gone, things are not as they should be, and eventually Jasmyn begins to explore the mysteries that have sprung up after her husband’s death… and follow their trail back into the events of his life.

But the mysteries are deeper than Jasmyn expects, and are leading her in unexpected directions – into fairytales filled with swans, castles and bones; into a tale of a murder committed by a lake and a vicious battle between brothers; into a story of a lost past, and a stolen love. She’s entering a magical story.

Jasmyn’s story.

My Review:

‘Jasmyn’ by Alex Bell is a beautiful book. You have to read it!!
The story is not any kind of retelling, but it definitely revolves around a myth/fairytale, which I won’t disclose here as I am afraid, that will lead to spoilers.

Jasmyn is a widow of 27 year old and has recently lost her husband Liam. The story starts into action right from the first chapter. During Liam’s funeral, some black swans fall from the sky on the ground. Since then, one after the other, strange things start happening. She gets the feeling of being watched and followed by someone. One day, Liam’s dangerous friend who is unaware of Liam’s death shows up at her house and barges in to find Liam. Eventually she comes to know that Liam had lied about the places he said he had visited; instead he had gone somewhere else.

But one day, when Jasmyn goes to Liam’s study, she finds a book open to the last page in front of her. The page was detailing how to identify the devil’s familiars when they disguised themselves as animals and how  any black animal could be linked with the devil – black cats, clack dogs, black swans..
And there, she shudders at the mention of the swans.
With the help of her cold rude brother-in-law Ben, she starts unfolding mysteries behind all the strange happenings which take her to enchanted castles, mysterious lakes and into a strange world where every thing is magic!

This is a book that you would definitely want to finish in one sitting.
I loved Jasmyn. She is too real to accept. Everyone knows about this famous quote ‘Think before you act! ’; Well, Jasmyn definitely fits into it! The longing and the grief which Jasmyn faces after she looses her husband is been written excellently. Another thing, I googled the places mentioned in the book and they are real. I don’t want to write more about this book and spoil the fun for you. I would just say one thing. If you like myths, grown up fairy tells and fantasy, you would definitely enjoy ‘Jasmyn’ .Alex Bell takes you into an entirely different world from which you do not wish to return.  I am so happy that I read it.