Summary:
Owen Rhys, the sin eater, has been shunned by the local villagers all his life--except for Andras Maddock, the local physician. In love with the one man he believes will never return that love, Owen is shocked when Andras saves him from death at the hands of a vampire.
Dagan, Dark Lord of the Underworld, vows to avenge his father’s death and obtain the Prince of Wales’s mystic sword from Andras. The claymore’s power holds an immunity the vampires have coveted for centuries.
Star-crossed love, sorcery, and bloodlust collide on a vengeful path where only one side will remain victorious
Reviewer: White Daisy
The year is 1842, a time of great superstition in Pembrokeshire, Southwest Wales.
Owen is a sin eater and due to his mother's early death, he never experienced a gentle touch or pleasure of a sibling's companionship. He was raised by his father, who was a sin eater himself. Owen's existence is to help people in their darkest moments, although the act of absorbing a dying person’s sins so their soul is free to go to heaven makes him unholy and shunned by the village. He is always alone. As the story opens, Owen is awakened with a premonition of someone's death.
Andras Maddock and the young lass Carys, are the only humans who are kind and friendly with Owen. This morning Carys comes to Owen for a pint of goat milk for a small infant. She asks Owen to return to the village with her as the doctor Andras expects him. In my opinion, Owen had a gift to see other people’s spirits and he is the one who escorts the souls to rest. It is in a way like Owen is eating the sin from a dying person, so their souls can pass on with a clear conscience. He is to me a kind of a priest. Why Owen as a sin eater is shunned in this story is illogical.
Owen is dazzled with Andras. Even more, Owen can’t understand the physician's kindness toward him. At twenty-five years of age Owen hides his attraction toward Andras, not knowing Andras feels the same pull toward Owen. The morning after Carys goes home, Owen travels to Maddock Manor, to where Andras lives. Owen suspects that Andras is a vampire. He has a deeper feeling that Andras is deadly dangerous, but even so, Owen can’t change how he feels. After Owen does what is expected from him as a sin eater, he decides to return to his lonesome home, even if Andras asks him to sleep in the Manor and return to his home in the morning. But Owen hungers for Andras, vampire or no, and Owen can’t stay in Andras company. While walking home through the night, Owen is attacked by a new vampire, Traherne, and saved by Andras. Traherne is a powerful vampire and Andras can save Owen only with his sword, the Price of Wales's claymore. Andras must hide his sword from the other vampire clans because it is a powerful tool: it gives vampires the power to walk in the sun.
The storyline wasn't as interesting from this point on. People in the village start to die and villagers decided blindly it is Owen fault because he is a sin eater. The villagers behave crazily. As a reader, I didn't enjoy such characters. The romance between Andras and Owen was enjoyable, but nothing special. I'm giving this 3 stars.
Publisher: Keta Diablo
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