BOOK REVIEW: The Cross Of Santiago by Evie Gaughan

BOOK REVIEW of The Cross of Santiago by Evie Gaughan

 

This was a hard one for me to place, because while I didn’t really enjoy it, I think that is more that the romance didn’t quite cut it for me and so the rest of the story fell flat.

“One cross will bind two couples across four centuries”

 An ancient love story, locked in the heart of a sunken treasure, is destined to find its happy ending... even if it takes four hundred years to do so.

Amanda Morrison does not believe in love or destiny, but when a long lost aunt leaves her a mysterious golden cross in her will, her uneventful life in Galway City is turned upside down. The arrival of Xavier, a charismatic yachtsman in search of treasure and adventure,

complicates life further, as their paths seem destined to cross.

While Amanda tries to uncover the truth about her family’s past, a strange series of events ensues involving hippy hypnosis, fiveaside football, scary sheep, and radical reincarnation. Though, not all in that order.

A time-slip novel, similar to Kate Mosse and Susanna Kearsley.

 

The writing is good, eloquent, it carries the story along nicely, but a little slowly. I was waiting for a part where things would kick in and nothing really did. Nothing stood out as a turning point for me. It was a lazy-days attitude that left me a tad bored even when the romance got going.

There was a lot of switching between dates, and I realise this is integral to the story-line, but it could have been done a little smoother. I had to read back in order to find the links that these flashes to the past were trying to connect me to. That being said, the links between the past and the present (when I found them) were researched and complete, no plot threads hanging loose, it all tied up neatly at the end.

The characters are very well rounded, a little irritating, and real. They felt human when I read them, even if I couldn’t particularly connect to them.

I like my romances to have some fire, some oomph and passion. I thought the Spanish stud would have done that for me, but this was too sweet for my tastes. If you like that, you’ll probably enjoy this story. It may have been less cheesy if their attraction wasn’t tied in with their pasts.

I recommend it to anyone looking for a holiday read. Maybe if you’re going to Spain ;)

I awarded this three Throbbing Hearts and a heat rating of Saintly Sweet.

 

Disclaimer: Received in exchange for honest review

Available from Amazon