Sunday 8 July 2012

The Curse of Fin Milton

3/5
by
Vivian Mayne


Amazon.UK
Amazon.com


The concept of the book is excellent: have you ever wondered what's happening inside your head when you fall in love? Why you can’t eat or sleep? Or why you can’t stop thinking of this one person? 


Then suddenly after loving this person for weeks, months, years, the person, overnight, acts as if you don't exist. He/she can't see you. Doesn't even have any memory of you. 


Then you find out you're a victim of a magical spell. A hex that rears its head every few years making that person, who you love desperately, forget everything about you only to re-remembers you years later. She/he is determined never to forget you this time - can't even believe she/he can forget you. But she/he does... and it begins all over again.


This is the theory for The Curse of Fin Milton: fantasy, magic and romance, and one that I was very excited to begin to read. But the multi points of view and many characters made it difficult to follow at times, hence me awarding it only three out of five. As this book is going to be the first of a series I wonder if readers would benefit from having a family tree at the beginning? I know the author does have a FB page dedicated to the story, but not every reader has a Facebook account.


Anyway, the premise of The Curse of Fin Milton is two families at war with the other, and the feud goes back years. Main character, Fin Milton, is in love with a woman who can only remember him every so often. He's determined to break the spell, and has to delve deep into his family's history. 


It's a packed book, and probably not for light-reading. The fantasy element means you have to keep an open mind, but I like how Vivian Mayne makes it all seem believable - even 'astral planing'. I'd not heard of that term before reading this book. It's a state of consciousness where a person's consciousness can travel anywhere in the world while his/her physical body is safely asleep. (I looked it up and apparently it CAN happen. I will remain sceptical though).


The characters in The Curse of Fin Milton are all fleshed out, and present as real people, and the scenery (especially Cornwall) is vivid, so I congratulate Vivian Mayne on that.

Blurb
Set in modern day London and Cornwall, England, this enchanting ghost story follows the quest of a young man who carries a curse that condemns him to a life without the woman he cares for most in the world. His quest to lift the curse threatens the lives of all those he cares for.

The couple first meet as children, but were predestined to suffer a supernatural romance as a consequence of a curse cast in days gone by. Aided by a beautiful and dangerous ally who herself has mystic gifts he has to ward off paranormal forces as he seeks to unshackle the restraints of the curse. The two lovers are constantly at the mercy of a ruthless family whose interests would be threatened if the the curse were lifted.