The Rose of Fire by Carlos Ruiz Zafon

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Title: The Rose of Fire

Author: Carlos Ruiz Zafon
Series: The Cemetery of Forgotten Books (Book #2.5)

Genre: Historical Fiction

Length: 35 pages

Published: 2012 (originally in 2011)

Publisher: HarperCollins

Brief Synopsis: (Taken from Goodreads) Set at the time of the Spanish Inquisition in the fifteenth century, “Rose of Fire” tells the story of the origins of the mysterious labyrinthine library, the Cemetery of Forgotten Books, which lies at the heart of Carlos Ruiz Zafón’s novels The Shadow of the Wind, The Angel’s Game, and now The Prisoner of Heaven.

My Review:

I give this book a 3 out of 5. 

While it was pretty cool to learn some of the origin of the Cemetery of Forgotten Books, I felt like the story was lacking. I loved the origin of the plans for the Cemetery, and how they came into the hands of an ancestor of Daniel Sempere. I would have loved to learn about who he found to help him make sense of the plans and build the Cemetery because that's what I thought this story was going to be about. It's free for Kindle on Amazon, so it is worth the read.

You can purchase The Rose of Fire through Amazon in Kindle format. 

Have you read The Rose of Fire? If so, leave a comment and let me know your thoughts! 

Please note: I was not compensated in any way for this review. It is strictly my opinion.

The Prisoner of Heaven by Carlos Ruiz Zafon

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Title: The Prisoner of Heaven

Author: Carlos Ruiz Zafon
Series: The Cemetery of Forgotten Books (Book #3)

Genre: Historical Fiction

Length: 279 pages

Published: 2012 (originally in 2011)

Publisher: HarperCollins

Brief Synopsis: (Taken from Goodreads) Barcelona,1957. It is Christmas, and Daniel Sempere and his wife Bea have much to celebrate. They have a beautiful new baby son named Julian, and their close friend Fermín Romero de Torres is about to be wed. But their joy is eclipsed when a mysterious stranger visits the Sempere bookshop and threatens to divulge a terrible secret that has been buried for two decades in the city's dark past. His appearance plunges Fermín and Daniel into a dangerous adventure that will take them back to the 1940's and the dark early days of Franco's dictatorship. The terrifying events of that time launch them on a journey fraught with jealousy, suspicion, vengeance, and lies, a search for the truth that will put into peril everything they love and ultimately transform their lives.

Full of intrigue and emotion, The Prisoner of Heaven is a majestic novel in which the threads of The Shadow of the Wind and The Angel's Game converge under the spell of literature and bring us toward the enigma of the mystery hidden at the heart of the Cemetery of Forgotten Books, a collection of lost treasures known only to its few initiates and the very core of Carlos Ruiz Zafón's enchanting fictional world.

My Review:

I give this book a 5 out of 5. 

This was roughly half the length of the previous two books, and the story moved quickly. Here we learn Fermin's story: how he was arrested and came to be hunted by Fumero, how he escaped prison, and how he met David Martin - the hero of The Angel's Game. The story also leaves off with the reader wondering if there is more to the story - and whether Zafon will write another installment in this series. I've already found that there is a Kindle e-book available which will give us the history on the Cemetery of Forgotten Books, called The Rose of Fire. I will be reading that in the next couple of days and will report back. 

You can purchase The Prisoner of Heaven through Amazon in hard copy or Kindle format. 

Have you read The Prisoner of Heaven? If so, leave a comment and let me know your thoughts! 

Please note: I was not compensated in any way for this review. It is strictly my opinion.

The Angel's Game by Carlos Ruiz Zafon

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Title: The Angel's Game

Author: Carlos Ruiz Zafon
Series: The Cemetery of Forgotten Books (Book #2)

Genre: Historical Fiction

Length: 531 pages

Published: 2009 (originally in 2008)

Publisher: Penguin Books

Brief Synopsis: (Taken from Goodreads) In an abandoned mansion at the heart of Barcelona, a young man, David Martin, makes his living by writing sensationalist novels under a pseudonym. The survivor of a troubled childhood, he has taken refuge in the world of books and spends his nights spinning baroque tales about the city's underworld. But perhaps his dark imaginings are not as strange as they seem, for in a locked room deep within the house lie photographs and letters hinting at the mysterious death of the previous owner. Like a slow poison, the history of the place seeps into his bones as he struggles with an impossible love. Close to despair, David receives a letter from a reclusive French editor, Andreas Corelli, who makes him the offer of a lifetime. He is to write a book unlike anything that has ever existed--a book with the power to change hearts and minds. In return, he will receive a fortune, and perhaps more. But as David begins the work, he realizes that there is a connection between his haunting book and the shadows that surround his home. 

Once again, Zafon takes us into a dark, gothic universe first seen in the "Shadow of the Wind" and creates a breathtaking adventure of intrigue, romance, and tragedy. Through a dizzingly constructed labyrinth of secrets, the magic of books, passion, and friendship blend into a masterful story.

My Review:

I give this book a 4 out of 5. 

This mainly gets a four because of how slow the book seemed to go. It took forever to get to the point of finally figuring out the mystery. Otherwise I fully enjoyed the story. It is worth the read if you have time to make it through some of the slower, boring parts. Probably the most frustrating part of it to me was that David finds the hole in the wall in the back room early on but doesn't bother to try to open it until near the very end - just has a bad feeling and tells Isabella to stay out of there. There's a surprisingly high death toll in this book, and even in the end the reader is left to wonder whether or not David is mad.

You can purchase The Angel's Game through Amazon in hard copy or Kindle format. 

Have you read The Angel's Game? If so, leave a comment and let me know your thoughts! 

Please note: I was not compensated in any way for this review. It is strictly my opinion.

The Shadow of the Wind by Carlos Ruiz Zafon

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Title: The Shadow of the Wind

Author: Carlos Ruiz Zafon
Series: The Cemetery of Forgotten Books (Book #1)

Genre: Historical Fiction

Length: 487 pages

Published: 2005 (originally in 2001)

Publisher: Penguin Books

Brief Synopsis: (Taken from Goodreads) Barcelona, 1945: A city slowly heals in the aftermath of the Spanish Civil War, and Daniel, an antiquarian book dealer’s son who mourns the loss of his mother, finds solace in a mysterious book entitled The Shadow of the Wind, by one Julián Carax. But when he sets out to find the author’s other works, he makes a shocking discovery: someone has been systematically destroying every copy of every book Carax has written. In fact, Daniel may have the last of Carax’s books in existence. Soon Daniel’s seemingly innocent quest opens a door into one of Barcelona’s darkest secrets--an epic story of murder, madness, and doomed love.

My Review:

I give this book a 5 out of 5. 

Bibliophiles will enjoy the mystery of The Shadow of the Wind. Centering around a young boy finding a book that no one seems to know about, this book tells a tale of growing up in post-war Barcelona while intermingling love, danger, and mystery. Daniel finds a book in what is named the Cemetery of Forgotten Books called The Shadow of the Wind, and written by a Julian Carax. When he falls in love with the book and starts looking for more novels by the author, he finds that someone has been systematically destroying the copies of Carax's books for years.

Together with a mysterious man who seems to be on the run from the sinister Inspector Fumero (and who becomes a very good friend), Daniel starts looking for information regarding Julian Carax and trying to find out what has happened to him. In the end nothing is as it seemed in the beginning and Daniel finally learns the truth, with nearly devastating results. 

This book is excellent. I'm getting ready to start reading the second book in the trilogy, The Angel's Game, and I can't wait to report back to you all on whether I enjoyed that one as much as the first. 

You can purchase The Shadow of the Wind through Amazon in hard copy or Kindle format. 

Have you read The Shadow of the Wind? If so, leave a comment and let me know your thoughts! 

Please note: I was not compensated in any way for this review. It is strictly my opinion.