Published Review:
When Sara was newborn her parents left her at the doorstep at Mr. and Mrs. Schneider’s house. When Sara was ten she discovered she was telekinetic. She began to move stuff around when she got angry just by her will alone. When Sara was twelve her real parents came for her and took her with them to live like the Gypsy that she was – or Romani as they like to call themselves. They told her she was going to fulfill a prophesy. That it was once said that out of the Romani people the greatest sorceress who had ever lived would be born. When Sara was thirteen she had a baby brother and when she was fourteen he got very sick with a strange illness. To save her baby-brother Sara sets off on a quest to find his cure – well knowing that it will cost her dearly. Soon Sara finds herself going through the Singing Cave, crossing Wild Witches Valley, talking to a ten foot giant snail, rescuing the Beads of Souls from the Hell-hounds, escaping a spell in Vamila, the Forest of Vanity, visiting the king at the City of Lights before she finally reaches the Black Castle where she is told the Eye of the Crystal Ball can tell her how to cure her brother’s strange illness. But nothing is free in this world - and as Sara soon will know - everything has a price.Review:
Sara was left on the doorstep belonging to the Schneiders, a couple who longed for a child but were unable to conceive. Taking the little girl in, they raised her with love and kindness. But as Sara grew, it became obvious that there was something different about her. It is when her biological parents come back to claim her that things start to make sense. The daughter of a strong Romani leader, Sara discovers that she was born to fulfill a destiny – to become the greatest sorceress the world had ever seen.Eventually, even though she has not come into her full powers yet, Sara makes a dangerous journey to find a way she can save her baby brother from a strange illness. Along the way, she meets magical creatures she had no idea even existed. Some are friendly and helpful, others are definitely not. For this reason, she is glad to have the company of a young Romani boy, Manolo with her. He guides her through both the easy parts of the journey and the scary places she would not have dared try on her own. He also has secrets he hasn’t shared with her.
The Eye of the Crystal Ball by T.P. Boje is a tale that gives the reader a taste of many things supernatural. Filled with gifted Romani, evil witches, giant arachnids and more, there is something for everyone who loves paranormal fiction. The story has a promising premise, one that the author can run with, following this book with sequels.
This being said, there were a few things that held me back from enjoying the book as much as I would have liked. For most of the first part of the book, and many parts after as it goes along, the story is told to the reader instead of letting the reader discover and experience the story through the eyes and voices of the characters. This makes it more difficult to keep the reader’s attention. There were some issues with Sara and her story, as well. The Schneiders, who had waited so long for their first child, easily let her go and Sara went off willingly with strangers claiming to be her parents. There was not a lot of detail about how she handled such a radical transition on a day to day basis. Long periods of time passed in a sentence or two without giving a good idea of the new day to day activities in her new life; what she liked and what she didn’t. Was she making friends in her tribe? Or were other children scared or jealous of here?
I must admit, I never really had a good feel for whether or not I liked Sara. I did enjoy that she was independent with a strong stubborn streak, but sometimes she simply came off as obstinate. In addition, the ability for several types of spells to easily catch her in their snares and not let go without Manolo’s help, gave the impression of weakness instead of the burgeoning abilities of the greatest sorceress of all times. I understand that she is supposed to be young, but as a reader, I had hoped that she would mature into more powers on her journey. Also, shouldn’t her parents have told her about some of these creatures so she could be prepared if she ever came across them? I have to say, T.P. Boje definitely did a good job with the magical creatures found along the way to the end of Sara’s journey. But, being bothered that Sara could hardly use her power to defend herself when needed, it took away some of the effect of having them in the story for me.
All in all, I found The Eye of the Crystal Ball to be a good story with lots of potential, but in need of more details and dialogue. I thank the author for providing me with a review copy and I give the book 3 stars.
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