Theresa M. Cole

Let me begin by explaining that I normally do not read historical fiction. Most of the historical fiction books that I have tried to read in the past were basically the same story told over and over again using different characters. THIS book… Quintspinner, is absolutely NOT your typical historical fiction! Combining romance, danger, history, and magic is probably not an easy thing to do well, but Diane Greenlay has created a wonderful work of art which I hope is only the beginning!

One of the things that I love about a good book is great characters. Characters that I can relate to and make mistakes just like I do. Diane has gone even further with her characters by making them likeable and interesting. At many points in the book, I found myself thinking that Tess and I must have been formed from the same mold. “Act first, think later” has always been one of my faults, and it was amazingly refreshing to find that Tess shared that with me. The supporting characters are also extremely well thought out, but never overbearing on Tess’s lead role.

What impressed me the most about Quintspinner was the incredibly imaginative and beautiful world building. Mrs. Greenlay has an amazing talent for describing the scenes so well that it feels that you can walk right into the book. When an author is talented enough to paint the picture without requiring much of the reader’s imagination, it’s truly impressive.

There was only one thing that I would like to have changed, and that is the length of the chapters. When I really get into a book, chapter changes force me back into reality a bit. Quintspinner’s chapters are very short, which I found to be a little annoying even though I completely understand the reasoning behind the chapter lengths.

All in all, I found this book to be very enjoyable and I highly recommend it to anyone. I know that it will be staying on my bookshelf for a future re-read, and that doesn’t happen very often.