The crusades are a rich and interesting time in our history. It’s a period in time that isn’t common amongst fiction writers (well not the ones I’ve read anyway).

Taking a little creative license, Kimberley adds a layer of the fantastical to an already intriguing and busy plot by adding demons.

The addition of demons to an already religion-charged story would always raise a few eyebrows, but despite there being a strong religious and spiritual backbone to the story, there were only a few times throughout that felt a trifle overwhelming. I expected there to be more instances of that.

The simple fact that a large chunk of this book is taken up by thousands of people walking thousands of miles, makes for a slow burn of a read.

Kimberley did well to intersperse the continuous travel with action and character development. But it’s not all roses.

I quite liked Suzan’s character, but felt like we only ever got half a look at her. She felt under developed and used as a crutch to carry the story.

Luca irritated me, Mattiolas was but a pawn to use to create drama and tension but little else, and don’t get me started on Serafina (she started out well but swiftly turned into a ditzy Princess who constantly needed to be saved!)

I also have concerns about how much negativity is heaped upon Suzan being the ‘ugly nun’ and how the men (and women) treated her with little more than open hostility. Is this book trying to talk to society’s trend of attributing goodness to beauty? If so, it doesn’t work. Instead, it feels forced and adds nothing to the story.

I did like Kimberley’s take on demons, particularly Thanatos and Percy. I’d have liked more on the demons, particularly more female characters that held their own.

I was left with some questions that I feel deserved more closure than they got. Luca’s father, Suzan’s mother and Thanatos just to name a few.

Overall, this held my interest but only just. I feel more could be done to engage the reader and build a stronger story. It has interesting ideas and a fantastic historical backdrop, but it drops the ball and doesn’t live up to that strong setting.

**Note: I received an electronic copy of this book through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.**

I have such a love/hate relationship with this book, it's not even funny. The cover was the thing that made me give this book a second look, cause it's gorgeous. The story sounded super interesting. It just didn't work for me at all.

I had the hardest time getting into this book, it wasn't the writing. It was the character. Luca. I just didn't care about him at all. Because of that, I only got into the story as soon as Suzan showed up. We get POV's from the both of them. As soon as the two of them met and the journey was told from the two of them, this is when things started to get really interesting for me. I still didn't care for Luca, tho. I'm so sorry. It hurts my soul to actually write it.

The world itself was super interesting. To have these historical events combined with the magical world of demons. But it kinda fell flat for me. Towards the end of the book, I just got bored (even though lots of things happened), I just didn't care enough about it anymore and had the hardest time picking this book up to read a few pages. Giving this a three star raiting, cause there were some parts that I really enjoyed and that I loved reading. Mostly when it came to Suzan. And later Serafina. Loved these two.

Intriguing from the start. This book had promise, great concept and potential to stand out. The time period and backdrop of the crusades was a smart choice, but could have been developed much more thoroughly. Overall, I had a hard time sticking with this one. There were parts that required so much more detail, but was wrapped up quickly. It had a disjointed feel that made it a bit of a roller coaster read. I give this one a 2.5, I really wanted to like it and there were a few sections that really had me, but overall was not one of my favorites, although, I will remember it for the unique concept and theme.

I really can't get through this one, it has sent me to sleep twice now. I think it's a case of it just not being for me but I can't make myself carry on any further than the beginning of chapter 3 at 11%

The cover is what drew me to this book. It is the story of a young man determined to join the pilgrimage and fight for what he believes in the Crusades, which is not usually the type of book I go for but this young man also sees demons so I gave it a shot. The story is interesting but I had issues with the pacing and found it a bit slow at times. I also found the language to be anachronistic at times.
Luca sees the demons attached to objects but pretends he does not to appear the worthy heir of the Conte de Falconi title. He lacks maturity at times and was not really my favorite character. Suzan lives with her mother but has to hide her gift as well as herself. There is magic and demons but I did not really feel like they were a main part of the story. The demons were always there but I felt like there was more to know and see of them. I was left wanting more details in the end. Three stars because overall the story is likable.

Not going to lie, I was really excited to read this but some of the reviews I have seen are just not good and I'd rather spend my time reviewing books I am interested in.

Greatly appreciate stories based on legends and mythology. However, I could not get into this YA story of demons. Therefore, I’m not the right reviewer for this book. This most likely will appeal to the audience it targets.

I liked the premise of this book, and at times, I did find myself quite immersed in it. The characters were funny, well-developed and believable. However, as someone who fences, I found the references to fencing very annoying, especially as they are incorrect, which in turn suggests the author didn't research historical context enough. It is not the same as weapons training for battle, which is actually what the MC is training to do. My housemate, who does archaeology, also picked up on several historical inaccuracies outside of this. While they weren't necessarily the be all and end all, they did make the book harder to get into. More than that though, it just wasn't that exciting. Nothing much happened, and I found myself struggling to turn the page in certain sections. I'd be tempted to reread this again at some point and see if my opinion changes, but I don't think I'll be buying it any time soon.

Another era that one doesn’t see as much of in Historical YA fiction, the Crusades. I suppose that may be because it wasn’t a very glamorous time. Say what you want about those Tudors, and I have, but you can’t say they weren’t elaborate. Very few people have written intriguing YA fiction about the Crusades, more often the story tend to focus on those left behind, and the struggles they have to overcome having their loved ones so far away. Robin Hood and the like are definitely what comes to mind when I think of that time period. Of course you have to remember that there were more than one Crusade and they all ended in different states of disarray for either sides.
Author Kimberley Starr has taken a unique approach to this book. The boy who sees demons has a unique voice that leaves the read almost uncomfortable and uneasy while at the same time drawing you in to see what sort of chaos this boy’s life will unwind to be. The female counterpoint has her own struggles and it leaves me torn between these broken children to see who I feel for more. The tone has a more defined change once these characters meet and their adventures unfold. The fantasy elements become more heavily added once they meet. Besides an annoying tendency towards unfounded jealousy, our lead characters are well thought out and play their roles to an excellent finish, though the Big Bad battle scene was smaller than I would prefer. I would recommend this book as an excellent starter towards Crusade historical fiction. With its fantasy elements distracting and at times almost excusing the actions of the Crusaders as simple possession, the story can get a bit gory and yet somehow it quickly moves on to new locations. Starr has done a great job of combining important historical characters with her own twist on history to create this fantasy rich tapestry of the past.
*This eBook was provided by NetGalley and Text Publishing in exchange for honest feedback**

I think that this book definitely has its place in YA. Like the Passion of Dolssa by Julie Berry this novel takes a piece of history that is not ever depicted in YA and makes it its own. Of course, this is where these two books similarities end and become their own stories.

The Book of Whispers is a book that uses the First Crusades as its backdrop and adds the element of fantasy to it. The main character can see demons and the majority of the story deal with this aspect instead of getting lost in the Crusades battle. This could be a good thing or a bad thing depending on what you're expecting from this book. Either way, I think that you should give it a try. It uses a unique piece of history to weave a story together and it is quite an interesting story!

Blurb:

Tuscany, 1096 AD. Luca, young heir to the title of Conte de Falconi, sees demons. Since no one else can see them, Luca must keep quiet about what he sees.

Luca also has dreams—dreams that sometimes predict the future. Luca sees his father murdered in one such dream and vows to stop it coming true. Even if he has to go against his father’s wishes and follow him on the great pilgrimage to capture the Holy Lands.

When Luca is given an ancient book that holds some inscrutable power, he knows he’s been thrown into an adventure that will lead to places beyond his understanding. But with the help of Suzan, the beautiful girl he rescues from the desert, he will realise his true quest: to defeat the forces of man and demon that wish to destroy the world.

Cover Review:

The cover looks simple, yet enchanting and would've made me pick the book right off the shelf! ❤️

Review:

Thanks to NetGalley for giving me an ARC of this book! 😃

I didn't know a lot about the crusades, so this book has left me shell-shocked!

The characters of Luca and Suzan, and the romance they share are all the sweetest things possible in the mayhem of the demons and all the evil that surrounds the pilgrims to Jerusalem.

There was history and there was fiction, there was comedy and there was romance. There was suspense and there was sarcasm.

So all in all, The Book Of Whispers was a power-packed, utterly interesting and awesome read!

Again, I won't be posting a full review of this, because I honestly just found it pretty boring.

I suppose I'll start with the characters. This is a fairly neutral element of the book. I didn't exactly hate or love any of the leads. I have to admit that I wasn't much a fan of Luca. His carelessness did put me off quite a lot - I've never liked when characters are awkward for plot reasons, and some of his actions were bordering on idiotic.

What took this down for me was the lack of history involved. I suppose I wanted some big grand meditation on the history of war and religion. I didn't feel Book of Whispers achieved that goal. Maybe that''s not the book's fault, but it was definitely a source of disappointment for me.

And then comes my big complaint. My biggest complaint of all. The lack of excitement. I really just. did. not. care. I couldn't bring myself to care about anything. It was flat, it was dry, it was boring, and I just couldn't care. I felt bad because I wanted to!!

The first 100 pages were the biggest struggle for me - from then to around page 200, I actually enjoyed the book a fair amount. This section allowed the author's style to flourish and made me anticipate some future goodness. But then the two main characters met, and somehow the book immediately went back downhill for me. I'm not quite sure why. But either way, I never did feel that spark. The ending was cool, but this was nothing really special in my eyes.

The premise of this book immediately intrigued me, and my expectations were not let down. The story is set in Italy and Turkey in the eleventh century, and the historical aspects might have been my favorite part. The author really builds an atmosphere and the setting is like another character. There is a good blend of magic interwoven into the story and the characters grabbed my attention. My only issue was that it moved fairly slowly in the beginning, though I am definitely glad I stuck with it, because the middle and ending really held my attention.

This was a pretty good book. There were some points where the plot moved a little slowly, but there were other points where I could barely put it down. I think it might have been nice if it had been a little clearer just who the Saracens are. I had to look it up.

Set in Tuscany, 1096 AD., Luca, heir to the title of Conte de Falconi, must use a mysterious book to save the world from the ruinous powers of man and demons. With the help of Suzan, an equally mysterious girl he rescues in the desert as she flees the convent she was raised within, they use a combination of talents and wit to overcome the power of evil.

This book was set during the crusades and not something I have a lot of experience reading in a fictional context. I walked away with both more knowledge of the crusades and a different perspective than I had previously held. The story made the gruesome violence of the crusades very real but in a way that could be accessed by young adult readers. The undertones of ethnic cleansing in this book resonate with real-world events today and could be an excellent tie in text for discussion of historical or current political events.

I found that this story took some energy to get into, but once in, I couldn't put it down. It is definitely worth the effort to acclimate oneself to the characters and their dialogue in order to take in the storyline once Luca and Suzan become acquainted and the action in the story hits its high notes.

Fun YA read about the Crusades. It has suspense and history which I really enjoy when they are together. I think it's quite apropos to learn about a religious war especially with the world today. It helps everyone understand the past better. Adventure and magic just together make for a great time and read!

DNF. No matter how much I tried, I just couldn't get into this story. I'm sure it's just me, as the premise really sounds great. I just couldn't get past the third chapter.

DNF @ 61%

There's a distinct oddness to this book. It's a YA book set during the crusades. We have a lead gal and guy from very different walks of life. I was really enjoying the demons and stories of our characters right up until they met each other (45% in). And then all of a sudden the magic was gone. Yet ironically the introduction of a lot of convenient magic shortly after that is what turned me off in the end.

I love fantasy, but magic needs to be used so as not to just set-up convenient ways to travel, time to change, items to only work for some, etc. It's like every magical thing that happens in this book is very convenient. As this is one of my biggest pet peeves ever I decided I was done with The Book of Whispers.

It may very well have an amazing and profound ending but getting there just got too difficult. The last couple days I've thought to read this book my response is very dull. Like I'm not really interested. Once I'm reading that improves but it's almost like this book is a slump in and of itself.

I am giving it two stars, even though I didn't finish it.
I have a few reasons for still liking much of it:
1) the writing is quite good. I would look forward to and read a future book by Kimberley Starr.
2) our two main characters are interesting people. They could use a bit more depth and emotion during their POV scenes but overall I didn't dislike either of them.
3) the demon concept is interesting and ties in very well to the time period. The crusades were a time of massive superstition, religious war and all around distrust. The setting is well chosen.

The main things that need improving:
1) as discussed above, not using magic as a convenient excuse for plot to happen
2) the adults surrounding our two teens need to have a bit more development to really add depth to the story.
3) historical facts are pretty few and far between in this. If you're going to use a famous time in history it's best to make sure you really understand why it happened.
4) there is excitement missing from this book. Lots of exciting things happen but somehow I didn't get excited during them. A great writer makes you feel what your characters feel and puts you in the scene and story.

Overall if you are very intrigued by the book blurb then check it out. But if you have hundreds of other books to read I'd skip this one. That said I would still read Starr again in the hopes that her writing improves. I think there is real potential for her and I hope to see more from her.

It had a very interesting premise, but I think this book may have just been not for me... I found the characters a bit naive and unconvincing and just didn't become emotionally invested at all. The writing was fine but something about it just didn't connect for me.

This book is steeped in Crusader history, starting off in Tuscany. The lead characters Luca and Suzan are brave and righteous as heroes should be, and together they fight against demons and corrupt priests on the path to Jerusalem. The author has done her research in regards to the Crusades and the bloody battles that ensued, and I thought it was an interesting concept to attach demons to relics and the seven deadly sins. I'd like to see whether there's another story to be told with Luca and Suzan, as this one was easy to read, knowledgeable and kept my interest throughout.