Friday 4 July 2014

ARC Review: Of Metal and Wishes by Sarah Fine

Of Metal and WishesOf Metal and Wishes

Author: Sarah Fine
Series: -
Pages: 320
Publisher: Margaret K. McElderry Books
Release date: 5th August 2014

Synopsis. (Goodreads)

There are whispers of a ghost in the slaughterhouse where sixteen-year-old Wen assists her father in his medical clinic—a ghost who grants wishes to those who need them most. When one of the Noor, men hired as cheap factory labor, humiliates Wen, she makes an impulsive wish of her own, and the Ghost grants it. Brutally.

Guilt-ridden, Wen befriends the Noor, including their outspoken leader, a young man named Melik. At the same time, she is lured by the mystery of the Ghost and learns he has been watching her … for a very long time.

As deadly accidents fuel tensions within the factory, Wen must confront her growing feelings for Melik, who is enraged at the sadistic factory bosses and the prejudice faced by his people at the hand of Wen’s, and her need to appease the Ghost, who is determined to protect her against any threat—real or imagined. She must decide whom she can trust, because as her heart is torn, the factory is exploding around her … and she might go down with it.

Review: 3 ½ out of 5 stars

When I first heard that Of metal and Wishes was described as Phantom of the Opera set in a meat factory I was super excited to get hold of it and I’m pleased it lived up to my expectations.

Our main heroine is a sixteen year-old Itanyai girl, Wen who after the death of her mother now works as an assistant in her father’s medical clinic in a slaughterhouse in Gochan One far from the life of beauty and relative ease her mother had planned for her.

Wen wasn’t always the most likeable character, she was quite dreary, melodramatic and woe is me often so I couldn’t connect with her most of the time. I did like the way she was kind and compassionate to others, especially the mysterious Noor but she still wasn’t the sort of person I found myself really enjoying.

I have to admit, it took a little while for me to get into this book, it started off slowly as we learnt who were who and as the Noors were introduced, they were the cheap labour hired to help out at the slaughterhouse. When Wren is humiliated by one of them, she makes an offering and a wish to the towns’ mythical ghost and is surprised when it comes true – brutally.

Melik is a Noor, and different to the others; outspoken and able to communicate with Wen he was an interesting character but one I would have liked to have gotten to know better. There was a small amount of romance but it definitely didn’t take centre stage, it was done nicely.

This book at times with its descriptions was gruesome, there was death, pain and illness – it was all written very well. The story behind the ghost was also very interesting; I enjoyed this aspect of the book especially but I won’t reveal too much about this to avoid spoilers; the overall concept was creative and I liked the way the story played out.

Sarah Fine is a fabulous author, I am a huge fan of her Guards of the Shadowlands series and this was also written extremely well with the intricate details she gave and the industrial Asian setting.

Overall, this book had a lot of the elements I find myself enjoying - romance, mystery, a wonderful setting; written beautifully, it is a darkly haunting tale that kept me entertained throughout and ended in a way that was fitting for the story.

  

Sarah FineAbout the author: When I'm not writing, I'm psychologizing (really, I even get a paycheck for it). Sometimes I do both at the same time. The results are unpredictable. 

For extra information about the Guards of the Shadowlands series, including Malachi's personal journal entries, or to ask a question: http://guardsoftheshadowlands.tumblr....

I also write with Walter Jury under the name S.E. Fine.

16 comments:

  1. I would have totally picked-up this book after reading a description like "Phantom of the Opera set in a meat factory." Hehe However, I just got back from vacay and have TONS of catching up to do. Maybe I'll have time to tackle it later this summer. Great review Sharon!

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    1. Congrats Carmel! I hope your wedding/honeymoon was fabulous, that description certainly caught my attention.

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  2. I'll be reading this one soon, so I only skimmed your review, Sharon, but I'm excited to see that you enjoyed it overall despite the main character not always being likeable. The writing sounds gorgeous though so I'm looking forward to that.
    Lovely review! :)

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    1. Thanks Nick, have read a few books by this author now and I enjoy her writing. The concept for this was wonderful but the MC did annoy me at times. I look forward to hearing what you think.

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  3. This sounds dark, and I like the setting. Not sure I would connect with Wen though. Great review Sharon.

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    1. Wen did bother me at times but the setting and storyline was thoroughly enjoyable,

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  4. This one does sound dark and unique but I read books mostly for the characters. It sounds like I would have trouble connecting with the main character and that will certainly keep me from enjoying the book.
    Thanks for the great review though!

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    1. Thanks Alexa, I did struggle with Wen but I enjoyed this overall :-)

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  5. It does seem interesting but not for me. great review though.

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  6. Wow, I am a Phantom fan. With that being said, is this a book you would recommend? Did it really hold up that comparison?

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    1. It had a very dark feel to it and you could see the similarities but the Phantom will always be a fave for me and nothing really compares. I think I would have loved this a lot more if it had a stronger MC and more background history.

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  7. I'm not sur eif this is my kind of read but I'm glad to see you enjoyed it, overall.

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  8. Sounds fantastic, I love Phantom of the Opera and although it started off slowly, it sounds like you liked it overall. Lovely review!

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    1. Overall I enjoyed it, there were only a few aspects which let it down for me.

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