Xaghra’s Revenge by Geoff Nelder begins with a family on a Maltese island circa fifteen hundreds that is torn apart by a barbaric pirate attack. The pirates take the island’s people captive, split up families and destroy lives in the process. I was pulled in by the fine historical detail and the emotional human experience. It starts as a historical fiction novel, but then you are catapulted into modern day where we follow two people; Zita and Reese. Paranormal forces bring these characters together and events they cannot control set them on a dangerous and thrilling journey that I enjoyed reading.

I enjoyed Zita and Reece’s characters. They were multifaceted and well developed. Their love story, although a bit contrived, is emotional and believable once events start to unfold. One thing that I really enjoyed about this novel, as I’m sure many historical fiction fans enjoy, is the depth of detail in the story’s setting and the experiences of those in the past. Reading about what happens to the captives is heartbreaking and really makes you feel as if they were real people, or at least these things could have happened to real people. I felt like I was reading a Dan Brown novel at times. The descriptions were exceptional and I felt like the author really did his homework and has the technical ability to transport me to exotic places without slowing the pace of the book. When I review books I try to take mental notes while reading, but I often got so caught up in this book that I forgot to, and found myself several chapters in before I remembered. The connection between the past and present is not immediately apparent, and lends to the overall mystery and enables some fascinating plot twists.

When the spirits of the past seek revenge, Zita and Reece are left with little choice, although they don’t know it. This novel was fun to read and getting swept away was easy. It’s hard to nail down this books genre; is it historical fiction, paranormal, romance, mystery? I think it does a magical job of blending all of them into one thrilling novel. I highly recommend this book as it has one of the more unique plots that I’ve read this year.

Pages: 360 | ASIN: B0746PHZKR