Book Review: Rory (The Ghosts of Palladino #1) by Ciye Cho

Who #1: Ciye Cho

Who#2: N/A

What: Rory (The Ghosts of Palladino #1)

When: August 10th 2013

Where: Goodreads – Amazon

Why: I adored the pretty cover, and the synopsis sounded like something I would like.

How: A copy of this novel was provided by the author in exchange for an honest review.

Far beyond heaven, earth and hell is a city known as Palladino, a place ruled by ghosts and filled with demons, magic, and all sorts of darkly beautiful things. A city where no one can ever escape.

Eighteen-year-old Rory is a cake decorator who makes stunning confections. But no amount of frosting or miracles can save her when a demon kidnaps her—and carries her to Palladino. Here, Rory ends up in a deadly charm school where young women are forced to become companions for the Ghost Lords. And for her to survive, Rory must become everything that she isn’t: graceful, elegant… and perfect.

But nothing is what it seems in Palladino. Not the magic. Not the ghosts. And definitely not Martin Marius, the bizarre Ghost Lord-slash-inventor who is drawn to Rory. For amid a thousand machines and a hundred cats, Martin holds a secret that could change everything. A secret that could either free Rory… or destroy her.

The first time I noticed Rory was when reading someone’s review. I cannot remember who, or if they even liked the book. I was just in love with the cover. The pretty pink of it all, the rainbow of colours on the title, and Rory’s dress itself. I thought it looked so beautiful, and I wanted to see if the words inside matched the beautiful cover.

And then Ciye emailed me about a review request, and I accepted. I loved the sound of the story, and I really wanted to see if it was something that I would like. And I am happy to say that I did indeed like Rory.

The thing I loved most about Rory was the world building. It was beautiful. When Rory finds herself in Palladino, everything is different to earth. And I think that Cho portrayed that wonderfully. I had no trouble imagining the pink marble of Lady Cavendish’s castle, or the bedrooms where the girls are kept. It was easy to imagine the amber walkway leading to the fountain in the heart of the city. Jade Castle was clear as day in my mind, and well as Lord Moreno’s gates. It was all brilliant, and I felt like I was in Palladino myself. I cannot praise Cho’s world building, and scene setting enough.

The characters were also very vivid in Rory. Rory herself was interesting to read about. I liked her thought processes, the feelings she portrayed, and her attitude towards her predicament. But most of all I loved her kindness. I loved that, no matter how people treated her, she always found it in her heart to help them. I think it was an admirable quality, and I thoroughly enjoyed reading about it.

The other characters that I really liked included Manny (a demon with coloured glass wings), Cookie (a talking ghost cat who is too adorable to even begin to describe), and Marius. Marius is this dark, broody, but total softy at heart ghost who lives in Jade Castle. He’s an inventor, and cat lover, and uber mysterious. I, for one, am a fan of Marius (I simply cannot bring myself to call him Martin), and really hope that we get to learn even more about him in the next book in The Ghosts of Palladino series.

Rory kind of reminded me a little of Beauty and the Beast. I cannot tell you too much as to why it reminds of the classic fairytale, as it would ruin some things, but it really did. A castle, a prisoner, a girl taken from her home, a broody owner of the castle, things that talk that shouldn’t, an evil guy who wants the girl. Don’t get me wrong, I loved that it reminded me of my favourite fairytale – it made it an even bigger joy to read.

All in all, I really enjoyed reading Rory, and cannot wait to read more of Rory’s story in the rest of this series.

© 2014, Chiara @ Books for a Delicate Eternity. All rights reserved.