Kathleen C Perrin

This book was really good. I was a bit afraid it would be a bit preachy in the beginning when they started talking about the Bible and fallen angels. Nothing wrong with that, but I have kind of read a little too much theology that I need a break from it. But after a while my worry about it just melted way and I found myself really enjoying the story.

Katelyn Michaels is a wonderful character. She isn't perfect; she had problems adjusting to having travelled in time like any seventeen year old girl would have. Heck I would have had problems with that. But after a while she slowly starts to adapt, to mature and while she is stuck in the past trying to save Mont Saint Michel she also learns to forgive her father. In many ways, this trip to the past teaches this modern girl how to become a better person, less egocentric. It was interesting to read how Katelyn, Jean (the old Watchman, Nicholas teacher) and Nicholas worked together to save Mont Saint Michel, things that we take for granted, modern inventions can be really terrifying for people in the year 1424.

I was a bit torn about the Nicolas and Katelyns relationship. It started with loathing and ending with them falling in love. Not instalove perhaps, but it went very quickly. But even I'm, the world pickiest person when it comes to romance liked the couple towards the end.

I would have loved to know more about the medallion, how it came to be able to make someone travel in time. I wonder how it came to be for instance and have it ever been used before and why. Hopefully the next book will explain more about the origin of the medallion.

Kathleen C. Perrin has written a very wonderful book about a young girl whose destiny is so much grander than she ever could expect and I look forward to reading the next book in the series.

I received a copy from the publisher and france book tours in return for an honest review!

Review also posted on And Now for Something Completely Different and It's a Mad Mad World… (plus d'informations)

The Secret of the Abbey by Kathleen C. Perrin is a blend of historical fiction and fantasy that really immerses the reader in France, specifically in Mont St. Michel, that historic icon in northwestern France.
This is book 3 in The Watchmen Saga, and I hadn't read the previous two books, but plenty of details were included to help me catch up in this latest novel.
Although the book is told from various viewpoints, the main character is Katelyn, an 18-year-old American, who has been chosen by the Archangel Michael to be one of the Watchmen to protect an ancient secret hidden in Mont St. Michel.
And since Katelyn is chosen by the Archangel, things suddenly go her way. A French stranger dies and leaves her an exclusive inn on Mont St. Michel. Ahh, what a lovely fantasy. I can definitely get swept up in that.
But Katelyn's main conflict isn't in the present day, but with her fellow Watchman Nicolas. The two of them jump centuries, Nicolas from the 1400s and Katelyn from today to help save Mont St. Michel from the Catholic/Huguenot battles in the 16th century.
Sometimes the history is a bit dense, but overall I really enjoyed the suspense and the immersion into historical life. If I had the chance, I would definitely fit my key into the stone in Mont St. Michel and be transported back into time, just to see how it changes through the ages. The author did a wonderful job of capturing details so the reader can experience France throughout the centuries. It made me want to take another trip to Mont St. Michel.… (plus d'informations)

To be honest, minus certain elements that had to do with religion, I actually enjoyed reading the book and the story. It's also probably the first time travel book that I liked. (I'm not a fan of time travel books,) and at many points I was curious enough to want to read the previous two novels and to learn further adventures of Katelynn Michaels and her boyfriend/husband Nicolas. I did feel that although the story was written very well, it did not make a good stand-alone novel because the author does make one curious about Katelynn's previous adventures that are often eluded to. A lot of story elements are done well in the book, although I did find the main character, Katelynn, a bit annoying at times, but I could see the chemistry between her and Nicolas well.

I was given this book for an honest review… (plus d'informations)