Title: The Cross of Santiago
Author: Evie Gaughan
Genre: Historical Fiction / Time Travel
Rating: 4 stars
Purchase: Amazon
Review copy provided by Enchanted Book Promotions in exchange for an honest review.
“One cross will bind two couples across four centuries”
An ancient love story, locked in the heart of a sunken treasure, is destined to find its happy ending… even if it takes four hundred years to do so.
Amanda Morrison does not believe in love or destiny, but when a longlost aunt leaves her a mysterious golden cross in her will, her uneventful life in Galway City is turned upside down. The arrival of Xavier, a charismatic yachtsman in search of treasure and adventure, complicates life further, as their paths seem destined to cross. While Amanda tries to uncover the truth about her family’s past, a strange series of events ensues involving hippy hypnosis, fiveaside football, scary sheep, and radical reincarnation. Though, not all in that order.
The Cross of Santiago is a heart-warming, astonishing novel of love and destiny. Even though it’s more than 350 pages, I finished it in just a few hours. The writing really pulls you in from the start, and it doesn’t take long before you start to care about the characters and the adventures they find themselves in.
Amanda Morrison longs for something more than her current life. After a series of failed relationships, she’s long lost her belief in true love. She’s dating a man named Connor, but he’s egotistical and full of self-importance. Xavier is an adventurer and traveller, the kind of guy who can’t commit to anything else and does what he wants whenever he wants to. At first, it seems like the two of them are miles apart, both in view on life, and in position on the planet.
But when Amanda’s aunt, who she didn’t really know, leaves her a mysterious golden cross in her will, Amanda’s life is turned upside down. She crosses paths with Xavier, and it’s like a piece of destiny unfolds. Amanda goes on a journey to discover the truth about her family’s past, and Xavier decides to tag along, but no journey is without strange adventures. The kind of things Amanda and Xavier encounter are as amazing and creative as the Odyssey. Really. Half of those things, I hadn’t seen coming at all.
The book is a bit complicated because of the time jumps at the start, from summer 2010 to autumn 2009 to spring 2010, etc. I wish the start of the book would’ve been told in a chronological order. It would’ve made more sense, and it wouldn’t have slowed down the pace that much. Now I had to pause, rewind, and then rematch the pieces of the story.
Amanda was an interesting character. She didn’t show a lot of spine at first, and she put up with Connor’s crap, which was a stupid idea to begin with, since he was an arrogant prick. But as the story progressed and she discovered more about her family’s past, it was like she discovered herself as well, and she was a lot stronger than she gave herself credit for.
I also liked the time slip, and the historical setting. All settings were well-described, and I got the sense I was really there.
The book starts out a bit slow, but really picks up the pace after the opening chapters. It’s well-written, with a complicated, mesmerizing plot and characters you’ll root for. If you’re in the mood for something a little out of the box, then The Cross of Santiago is a good option.
Giveaway
The Cross of Santiago releases today! To celebrate it’s release, the author is giving away an eBook copy of the book. Good luck!
Win an ebook copy of The Cross of Santiago to celebrate the release day!
a Rafflecopter giveaway
