The Perfect Tear by Connie Lansberg: A Review

BOOK TITLE: The Perfect Tear

AUTHOR: Connie Lansberg

ISBN/ASIN: ENTER ISBN

GENRE: YA fiction (Fairytale / Fantasy)

NUMBER OF PAGES: 324

FORMAT: Digital

HOW I GOT THIS BOOK: I thank iRead Book Tours for this review copy

SUMMARY:

Eleanor, a timid orphan, has no clue to her real purpose, but she also has no desire to become a subservient old maid, like the miserable nuns she is forced to with. Eleanor believes Edward, whom she loves, will save her from being forced to take vows. She knows Mother Superior has no intention of letting her leave–her songs are the only thing keeping the grey mist at bay. Her devastation is complete when she discovers Edward is a prince and heir to the throne, but it is the impetus she needs to leave the safety of the abbey and go in search of her long lost father.

She doesn’t get far before discovering her true destiny. With only her instincts to protect her, she must match wits with a powerful being intent on the destruction of her world. If she does not find The Perfect Tear and release its healing power into the land, she will become an accomplice in the destruction of all she loves.

FIRST IMPRESSION:

I have always tried to read books from different genres, having prior experience with finding my most favorite books from genres I thought were least possible to be from. Fantasy is one such genre. Some of my most favorite books have come from this, and some have made me wish I never picked them up. So when I got a chance to read 'The Perfect Tear', something told me it would be a well written book, with attention to detail and clearly of excellent lilting prose.

The book's cover was one of the most stunning pictures I had seen in recent times. It was a fantastic and tasteful image that set the mood and tone of the story well. The summary was quick, short and though it did not offer anything great or thrilling, it was good enough to hold my attention.

REVIEW:

There are two reasons why fantasy novels work.

• (a) They belong to an entirely different world, and can help keep the readers engrossed in them if written right
• (b) The author gets to have complete freedom with the way the world is designed. Five legged, thirteen eyed creatures can walk upside down with their telepathic abilities helping them move forward, and no one would really complain. The genre keeps the reader prepared to expect the unexpected.

But there are two places where fantasy novels might go wrong

• (a) The imaginary, creative world must NOT be beyond the reader's imagination and the more it veers away from what is considered normal, the more explanation it needs.
• (b) The author does not exercise the infinite power of writing the most unexpected of things, and instead assumes certain things they created are understood directly.

It is therefore essential for a fantasy novel to be well written, hold the readers' interest, manage to create a new and exciting world and bring a story to an exciting finish, while holding some moral values and having a message (optional). The Perfect Tear meets most of the above criteria. There definitely is an interesting story, there is a great finish, the world is new and exciting, and the novel is well written with good language that feels so soothing to read.

It is the tale of Eleanor, forced to live in an orphanage after being separated from her dad, who was supposed to teach her the ways when she was 16. Her songs have the power to keep the world from plunging into doom, and therefore she is expected to put aside her personal desires and strive for the betterment of the world she inhabits. Devastated by few events in her life, she sets out on a quest, having found out her real life purpose - find The Perfect Tear and release its healing power on the world or stand by and watch as it is destructed by a powerful foe. Whether or not Eleanor succeeds and how she manages to do it, if so, forms the rest of the story.

The main attractions in the book are the extremely well written chapters. Though it does shift between multiple points of view, it is easy for the reader to be completely engrossed, especially after the story of the 'main character' begins. The setting is gradual and evolving into perfection easily. The words are perfectly suited to the theme and genre, making it easier to read and thoroughly enjoy the story. The story falters in only two areas. The beginning is so abrupt, and kind of difficult to follow (but you do get used to it over time, as you get comfortable with the narrative). It is a bit hard to understand the talk about vibrations and frequencies and tones in the initial chapters. A little bit of description would have helped the story here. The second minor problem is that - it follows a path laid out by previous books of this genre. The story itself is lovingly unique, but it does tick off the main boxes for a book to be considered as fantasy as far as plot outlines go. I did expect some more twists for such a beautifully written novel.

Overall, The Perfect Tear is not a book you are likey to forget easily. It seeps through the mind, brilliantly holding the attention with its well crafted words and clean narrative that did not falter despite the focus shifting back and forth between the various characters. It is a good tale of good Vs Evil, with enough twists to keep it interesting and written with the right amount of all emotions thrown in. Go for this one, you will learn of a fantastic new world, in a story that would give some ideas about life, desires and sacrifices.

WHAT I LIKED:

• The cover, that will get the first mention because it is one of the best I have seen in recent times
• The songs at the end of the book. Helpful.
• The writing was really good, and kept me engrossed.

WHAT COULD HAVE BEEN BETTER:

• The book could have offered something new and exciting with the available world of twists
• It takes a little time to adjust to the new world, and the initial narrative does not help much
• Extra descriptions would have helped the story immensely in certain places, so they are easy to visualise.

VERDICT:

A well written fantasy novel that will linger in the mind long after reading.

RATING: 4.2/5

ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

Connie Lansberg is a singer/songwriter, scriptwriter and now author with the publication of her first book The Perfect Tear. Connie studied script writing at AFTR and has had songs placed in major Australian TV series. She has just complete an album of songs connected to the book and will be performing these live at her weekly jazz gig in Melbourne.

EDITIONS AVAILABLE: Kindle, Paperback

PRICE $2.93 for Kindle, $14.95 for Paperback

BOOK LINKS: Amazon/