Blog Tour / Book Musings - The Wish Rider by Barbara Casey

Blurb :

Seventeen-year-old Dara Roux and her two best friends, Mackenzie Yarborough and Jennifer Torres, the three collectively referred to as the F.I.G.'s (Females of Intellectual Genius) because each has an intelligence quotient in the genius range, have just returned from Frascati, Italy. It was there that their much loved teacher and mentor, Carolina Lovel, discovered that her birth parents were gypsies, and that she had a connection to the Voynich Manuscript, the most mysterious document in the world.

Now, with graduation from Wood Rose Orphanage and Academy for Young Women behind them, Dara asks her friends to help her locate her birth mother when she learns that she might be living in New York City. Relying on Dara’s gift for speaking and understanding foreign languages, the black and white images that stir musical cadences in Jennifer’s mind, and Mackenzie’s mathematical calculations that normally provide numerical solutions and answers to life’s most difficult questions, the determined young women tirelessly go from one address to another in search of Dara’s mother.

Their determination turns to desperation, however, as they encounter a dark hidden society more dangerous and terrifying than they could have imagined. It is there that

Dara hopes to find out why she was abandoned in a candy store all those years ago.

Buy the book: Amazon ~ Barnes & Noble

My Musings : 

I received a free copy in exchange for an honest review.

This book takes off right where the Cadence of Gypsies ended. The flow of the story connecting the two books isn't disturbed even a bit. The only annoying part was the repetitiveness of facts. This might be good for a person reading this book as a standalone.But it seriously gets on the nerve when you are reading as a series. The repetition could have been reduced a lot.

The tale is a great continuation.The characters are similar and different. The same characters are expanded on more especially FIGs. They were kind of immature in the previous book. They have matured a lot into their roles and I loved the further look into their lives.I admit I wasn't impressed by them in Cadence but I am glad I stuck with them. They do have their strengths. I was actually reluctant at first because of their reappearance but I got it over it fast.

The secondary set of characters, new and old, are all worderful in their element and they give good support to the main protagonists and the tale. I believe the gypsy part of the story was increased on in this book. I have always been intrigued by gypsies so the increased emphasis on them made this an intriguing read for me.

Another part which the author has given credibility is the emotional journey of Dara. Most of the story is her journey to find her mother. It forms an integral part of the tale. The pain endured by Dara was realistic and artfully penned by the author. It was very believable and it touched my heart.

I for one liked this book better than Cadence inspite of repetitions. It was a splendid look into one of the FIGs and I hope there are other books for the other FIGs soon.

My rating : 4/5


Author's Bio:

Barbara Casey is a partner in Strategic Media Books, and president of the Barbara Casey Agency, representing authors throughout the United States, Great Britain, Canada, and Japan. She is also a manuscript consultant and the author of numerous articles, poems, and short stories.

Her award-winning novels have received national recognition, including the Independent Publishers Book Award. Her novel, The House of Kane, was considered for a Pulitzer nomination, and The Gospel According to Prissy, also a contemporary adult novel received several awards including the prestigious IPPY Award for Best Regional Fiction. Her most recent young adult novel, The Cadence of Gypsies, received the Independent Publishers Living Now Award and was reviewed by the Smithsonian for its list of Best Books.

Ms. Casey makes her home on the top of a mountain in northwest Georgia with her husband and three dogs who adopted her: Benton, a hound-mix, Fitz, a miniature dachshund, and Gert, a Jack Russel terrier of sorts.

Connect with the author: Website

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