Official Review: A Cynical American's Guide to British Myth

[rspinelli]

[Following is the official OnlineBookClub.org review of "A Cynical American's Guide to British Myth" by Ann Kenney.]

---

3 out of 4 stars

---

Share This Review

---

A Cynical American’s Guide to British Myth by Ann Kenney is an eclectic collection of myths and legends that extends from suspenseful tales of underground horrors to lighter folklore involving shape shifting sea creatures. Each tale has its own message which follows one of the usual themes of fables such as loyalty, preserving nature, or the pitfalls of greed.

The novel is broken up into several mini-stories that follow main characters Lydia, a whimsical British English teacher, and Jensen, a cynical American author, on their journey together across the British countryside in search of myths for Jensen to disprove in his latest book. Lydia and Jensen are complete opposites in everything, and the duo approach each myth with a completely different outlook from each other and a stubborn desire to prove the other wrong. Each encounter with the supernatural forms their relationship as they ponder over the veracity of each legend or the possibility of a reasonable explanation behind any suspect incidents.

The narration jumps smoothly from present day to the tales from the past either told to Lydia and Jensen in person or read by them from a diary. The author’s descriptions guide the imagination on each adventure the characters have. She does an excellent job of weaving the past, present, fantasy and reality together to create a pleasant read.

I thoroughly enjoyed reading through each myth and legend from the moment the characters stumbled on it until its resolution. Despite some small clichés, I found myself pleasantly surprised by the turn of events for each one, and I spent more than one night with the light on all night after I finished a particularly thrilling tale. At some points I did find the development of the relationship between Lydia and Jensen to be a bit wanting. Although the timing of the novel takes place across several months, their interactions as the book progressed lacked any indications of a pair that spent so long together in close quarters.

Overall, I would rate this book 3 out of 4 stars. I was engaged the whole time by the well-crafted plot, but the story lost a star over some minor pronoun mix ups and the lack of character development. I would still definitely recommend this book to anyone with a penchant for the romantic or an interest in legends. Ann Kenney has a wonderful gift for illustrating folklore, and if she chooses to write another novel exploring legends of another region, I would definitely read it!

******
A Cynical American's Guide to British Myth
View: on Bookshelves | on Amazon | on iTunes | on Smashwords

Like rspinelli's review? Post a comment saying so!

[ravenswoodpublishing]

Thank you so much for this review! I'll be sure and let the author know how much you enjoyed the book. She'll be thrilled. Ann is a truly wonderful lady. Have a great day!

Kitty

[bluemel4]

Great review. I am adding this book to my to-read list.

[Keith80]

I liked this review. I'm a new member and it gives me a good idea of what a respectable review should contain. Thank you.

[gali]

Sounds good! Thank you for the nice review!

[chytach18-]

I`m not so sure about the romantic but legends are appealing. Nice review, rspinelli.

[rspinelli]

Thank you all for your kind thoughts! That was actually my first review so I'm glad it was helpful!

[LivreAmour217]

Great review! This sounds like a wonderful book with a captivating story, and perhaps a little bit of actual knowledge on British myths and legends?