Rose of Fire by Carlos Ruiz Zafon

Title: Rose of Fire (Cemetery of Forgotten Books #0.5)

Author: Carlos Ruiz Zafon

Publisher: HarperCollins 2012

Genre: Historical Fiction

Pages: 20

Rating: 5/5 stars

Reading Challenges: Paranormal -- Dragons; Mount TBR; 52 Books -- Week 43; Fall into Reading

How I Got It: I own it!

Set at the time of the Spanish Inquisition in the fifteenth century, "Rose of Fire" tells the story of the origins of the mysterious labyrinthine library, the Cemetery of Forgotten Books, which lies at the heart of Carlos Ruiz Zafon's novels The Shadow of the Wind, The Angel's Game, and now The Prisoner of Heaven.

This is a super short story and I wish it was longer.  But it includes the same beautiful language from Zafon.  Plus we get a bit of insight into how the Cemetery of Forgotten Books came to be. Zafon crafts a fantastical story to that's more outright fantasy than the books in the series, but I always suspected that the Cemetery had a fantastical origin.  Nice little free story to get me ready to read the latest book The Prisoner of Heaven.

Cemetery of Forgotten Books

• 0.5 The Rose of Fire
• 1. The Shadow of the Wind
• 2. The Angel's Game
• 3. The Prisoner of Heaven

The Angel's Game by Carlos Ruiz Zafon

Title: The Angel's Game (Cemetery of Forgotten Books #2)

Author: Carlos Ruiz Zafon

Publisher: Anchor 2010

Genre: Historical Fiction

Pages: 544

Rating: 5/5 stars

Reading Challenges: Sub-Genre -- Historical Mystery; Mount TBR; Dusty Bookshelf; Fall into Reading; 52 Books -- W42

How I Got It: I own it!

In this powerful, labyrinthian thriller, David Martín is a pulp fiction writer struggling to stay afloat. Holed up in a haunting abandoned mansion in the heart of Barcelona, he furiously taps out story after story, becoming increasingly desperate and frustrated. Thus, when he is approached by a mysterious publisher offering a book deal that seems almost too good to be real, David leaps at the chance. But as he begins the work, and after a visit to the Cemetery of Forgotten Books, he realizes that there is a connection between his book and the shadows that surround his dilapidated home and that the publisher may be hiding a few troubling secrets of his own. Once again, Ruiz Zafón takes us into a dark, gothic Barcelona and creates a breathtaking tale of intrigue, romance, and tragedy

The next amazing book in Zafon's series focusing on his love of literature.  Just like the first book, this one starts out normal.  We assume that the story will progress and the main character will continue on his journey to write the great pieces of literature he has always wanted. And then things start to get weird.  I love the little bits of weird.  Zafon crafts an intriguing mystery that you don't even realize until you're halfway through the book.  It's a great mystery, full of deceitful characters and a city that seems like a character unto itself.  It took me forever to read this book due to have a baby in the middle of it, but I enjoyed every page of it.  I can't wait to pick up the third book in the series, but first I am going to read the prequel.

Cemetery of Forgotten Books

• 0.5 The Rose of Fire
• 1. The Shadow of the Wind
• 2. The Angel's Game
• 3. The Prisoner of Heaven

The Shadow of the Wind by Carlos Ruiz Zafon

Title: The Shadow of the Wind (Cemetery of Forgotten Books #1)

Author: Carlos Ruiz Zafon

Publisher: Penguin 2005

Genre: Historical Fiction

Pages: 487

Rating: 5/5 stars

Reading Challenges: Historical Fiction; Mount TBR; My Years

How I Got It: I own it

“A secret’s worth depends on the people from whom it must be kept,” begins Carlos Ruiz Zafón’s astounding novel of postwar Barcelona. But more than four years after its initial paperback publication, the secret is out—the novel remains a favorite of booksellers and readers alike.

Gorgeous...  That's the word that kept coming to mind as I was reading.  Gorgeous.  The writing is gorgeous.  The characters are gorgeous.  The setting and descriptions are gorgeous.  The storyline is gorgeous.  The reader is treated to a gorgeous novel that sucks you in within the first few pages.  I took days to read this novel because I kept wanting to reread beautiful written paragraphs.  I savored the language (translated from the original Spanish).  It has a lyrical quality.  I wanted to read the paragraphs out loud and often did to anyone within earshot.

The story itself presents a fairly simple mystery that grows as the novel progresses.  We meet new characters.  We discover things about known characters.  We run the gamut of emotions with Daniel on his journey.  The Barcelona of the book is a wondrously dangerous place and I want to visit.  I want to join Daniel on his quest to find Julian Carax.  I want to listen Clara play piano badly.  I want to havea meal with Fermin.  I want to help all escape Inspector Fumero's grasp.  But above all, I want to visit the Cemetery of Forgotten Books.

Cemetery of Forgotten Books

• #0.5 Rose of Fire
• #1 The Shadow of the Wind
• #2 The Angel's Game
• #3 The Prisoner of Heaven