Twisted Kingdom

Book Description:

The award-winning author of The Mysteries returns with another captivating novel in which modern-day enigmas and age-old myths come together with spellbinding results. Here is an enchanting tale set in a land rich with folklore–and ripe for a rekindling of the old ways.

Nestled on the coast of Scotland, Appleton was once famous for its apples. Now, though the orchards are long gone, locals still dream of the town’s glory days, when an Apple Queen was crowned at the annual fair and good luck seemed a way of life. And outsiders are still drawn to the charming village, including three very different American women.

Enchanted by Appleton’s famously ornate, gold-domed library, divorcée Kathleen Mullaroy has left her cosmopolitan job to start anew as the town’s head librarian. Widowed Nell Westray hopes for a quiet life of gardening in the place where she and her husband spent their happiest moments. And young Ashley Kaldis has come to find her roots, and learns that the town’s fortunes turned when her grandmother was crowned Apple Queen–then mysteriously disappeared.

When a sudden landslide cuts Appleton off from the wider world–and the usual constraints of reality–the village reveals itself to be an extraordinary place, inhabited by legendary beings, secret rooms, and the blossoming of a rare fruit not seen in decades. Most unexpected is a handsome stranger who will draw all three women into an Otherworld in which luck and love will return to Appleton–if only one of them will believe.

Lush with the romance and allure of ancient traditions, The Silver Bough will propel you into a land where, as in Eden, the bite of a single apple can alter the whole course of reality.

I originally got this book at the end of 2006 during my reading lull. I got inspired to read it because of a review from another blogger. I am glad I read it. I had never heard of or read Lisa Tuttle before, so I was glad to try this out. It was a worthwhile read.

I seem to be on a fantasy kick lately. I really enjoyed this book. It was a bit of a fairy tale taking place during contemporary times. It is about a small town that most people are not even aware existed, Appleton. Suddenly, though, everything is about to change. Three Americans travel to the pennisula for very different reasons. Each woman tells her story, with the help of a few males, to explain what happened on Appleton to put it on the map.

I had some moments of deja vu reading this book. There was this scene that was very odd. The librarian, one of the main characters, went to visit the old librarian and she met all her ancient relatives. Considering how odd it was, I was surprised to feel like I had read a similar scene before. Kathleen was my favourite aspect of this book. By adding in the library, it added a large reading aspect to this novel. I have to also say that the library in this book sounds absolutely gorgeous! I would not mind visiting there.

Nell is hard to understand in the beginning. She has been living in Appleton for a while now, but she has become rather reclusive. It is not until she starts to explain her past that we understand her future. She is one of the key notes to this book, the safety of Appleton ends up in her hands because she is the only person on the famous island that still grows apples. the enconomy suffered and apples became unhelpful. Nell is resurrecting that age old tradition.

The young character is Ashley. She has traveled to Appleton to find out why her grandmother left Ireland and traveled to America. It was the family secret, and she feels the need to learn where she came from. Her grandmother's past is heavily involved in what her grandmother did years ago. She travels back at the time when her grandmothers past needs to be corrected.

Overall, this is an interesting book full of magic and make-believe. There are many other things happening, too. It is the sort of book where you have to believe in the unordinary, even if the characters in the book are having a hard time with it.

4/5