Title: City of Jasmine
Author: Deanna Raybourn
Publisher: Published February 1st 2014 by MIRA
ASIN: B00IADVDCS
Pages: ebook 368 pages
How I Read It: ARC
Genre: women’s
fiction, historical fiction, romance
Synopsis:
New York Times bestselling author Deanna Raybourn delivers the captivating tale set against the lush, exotic European colonial outposts of the 1920s...
Famed
aviatrix Evangeline Starke never expected to see her husband, adventurer
Gabriel Starke, ever again. They had been a golden couple, enjoying a whirlwind
courtship amid the backdrop of a glittering social set in pre-war London until
his sudden death with the sinking of the Lusitania. Five years later, beginning
to embrace life again, Evie embarks upon a flight around the world, collecting
fame and admirers along the way. In the midst of her triumphant tour, she is
shocked to receive a mysterious — and recent — photograph of Gabriel, which
brings her ambitious stunt to a screeching halt.
With
her eccentric aunt Dove in tow, Evie tracks the source of the photo to the
ancient City of Jasmine, Damascus. There she discovers that nothing is as it
seems. Danger lurks at every turn, and at stake is a priceless relic, an
artefact once lost to time and so valuable that criminals will stop at nothing
to acquire it — even murder. Leaving the jewelled city behind, Evie sets off
across the punishing sands of the desert to unearth the truth of Gabriel’s
disappearance and retrieve a relic straight from the pages of history.
Along the way, Evie must come to terms with the deception that parted her from Gabriel and the passion that will change her destiny forever...
Our thoughts:
First of all, we highly recommend reading the prequel
to this novel: Whisper of Jasmine. It details how Evie and Gabriel met, gives
good insight into the beginning of their relationship, and explains their
fondness for Peter Pan, which proves to be an underlying theme in the following
novel. (It also includes appearances by some of the characters from Spear of
Summer Grass, which readers of that book should enjoy. We certainly did!)
We started with the prequel and instantly fell in love
with the characters. Raybourn's writing is such a wonderful blend of
descriptive settings, mystery, humour and romance that you are immediately
drawn in. City of Jasmine is set five years after the events of Whisper of
Jasmine, and unlike in the prequel, Evie is no longer a naïve young girl. She
has grown up to be quite the strong, capable woman who can stand up for herself
and doesn't let anyone push her around. So when the photograph of her believed to
be dead husband surfaces, she goes in search of her ‘Lost Boy’, looking for
answers in order to finally put her past to rest. “It’s time to stop. Face down
your ghosts. Exorcise them once and for all. Forgive them, forgive yourself and
get on with the business of living.”
The story is set in Syria in 1920, and it’s very
interesting to read about a place not often the subject of tales. Raybourn
provides historical detail into a place rarely recalled and highlights the
subtle yet serious undertones of warfare in Northern Africa as well as the
fallout afterwards – issues not to be disregarded in this rollicking tale. Over
the course of the novel, Evie and Gabriel are thrown into lots of adventures
and come across a lot of suspicious and dangerous characters. The descriptions
of nomadic life in the desert are fascinating and seeing the area through Evie's eyes brought the country to life.
Not only were there in-depth main characters but some
wonderful secondary characters as well. Aunt Dove is a classic, “Is it very
wrong that I want to grow up to be your Aunt Dove?” (don’t we all!) They added
so much to the story and revealed the wonderful writer that Raybourn is, as
even the smaller characters were not glossed over in any way. The many fun and
feisty humorous moments in the story kept us giggling - “I do apologise Mr.
Halliday. My husband always did have a filthy temper and death hasn’t improved
it” - and provided delightful moments of levity.
We don't want to say too much more about this other
than there is lots of action, humour - “Good God, if your stomach roars any
louder they’ll be able to track us by the sound of it” - romance (the comedic
chemistry and bantering between Evie and Gabriel will put such a smile on your
face) and mystery. Raybourn's writing is truly something you need to pick up
for yourself and read, because you are going to love it. Her work always
transports you back in time, into another place, another world and another
lifetime. On this occasion we were reminded of the 1940s movie ‘Casablanca’ –
desert style, with a bit of Indiana Jones thrown in for good measure.
This was another book we just couldn't put down! Deanna Raybourn is fast
becoming one of our favourite historical authors. She keeps you eagerly
turning the pages to the very end. Yet for all the fun, there is an
admirable underlying tone: Don’t recall how the story ends? “Yes, you do. Peter
takes Wendy home. And he tells her to leave a window open for him. Because he
always comes back in the end.”
Our Rating
