As soon as I read this was about alchemy I jumped at the chance to read it. I love all things alchemy and magical. It's kind of broken up into two parts the first part: takes you to 1585, to follow Edward Kelley and his "master" Dr. John Dee while they scrounge to try to heal countess Elizabeth Báthory. The second part follows Jackdaw Hammond as she (yes, she) tries her best to save a young girl named Sadie. It also follows occult Professor Felix Guichard.
One chapter would be in1585 and then the next would be in 2013. At first I liked the switch between past and present but after awhile I started to lose interest in Edwards story and was solely invested in Jack and Felix. Maybe I'll reread it sometime so I can try to be better invested in the whole book instead of just most of it.
Jack is a time borrow (or revenant) , it means she was destined to die but with a number of spells, potions and magic symbols (sigils) tattooed on her body, she is alive. It begins with Jack saving Sadie. Who, thanks to Jack, is now also a revenant. A revenant's blood can heal terminal illnesses, so they are very valuable. The only problem is if a new revenant leaves the safety of the magic circle (a circle filled with protective symbols) they will die in whatever way they were meant to die. (Jack would have died from a broken neck. Sadie would have died by drowning in her own vomit.)
When Carla, a girl Jack tried to save before Sadie, leaves the house, that is filled with the safety sigils, she is found dead from an overdose by the police. Felix is brought in to help identify all the odd symbols drawn all over her body, the symbols that was keeping her alive. It brought him to question Jack.
He ends up helping Jack to keep Sadie and herself alive. Getting himself in a mess of dangerous trouble also. When Sadie gets captured by the four hundred year old Elizabeth Báthory, Jack and Felix both realize how far they have to go to rescue her. Jack finds out that the old countess is just like her, a revenant. Unlike a normal revenant that only lives about twenty years after "dying" she is still alive. The countess tries to trick Jack into going with her but fails. In the end Sadie comes too close to death for comfort and Jack drinks Felix's blood for strength. Opening her up to becoming just like the evil countess.
I hated the ending of this book! As invested as I got into Jack and Felix's budding relationship it pretty much just fizzles out. I hate that! In my mind (my alternate ending) they realize how much they love each other and live happily ever after.
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Disclaimer: I received this book from Blogging for Books for this review.
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