The Door in the Mountain by Caitlin Sweet Book Review

Overview: The Door in the Mountain gives us a fresh take of how life had been to Asterion as told in the eyes of his half-sister Ariadne in an alternate story of the Greek mythological creature, Minotaur. It is crisp and gritty but dragging at first. All characters are all-too-familiar if you know the famous Minoan Mythology. The author was quite good especially in her liberty of reshaping Ariadne's character as someone you would love to hate. If you love your Greek mythology, then prepare to see the Minotaur (as in the handsome man Asterion) in a different light. I never thought I'd enjoy it.

Genre: Fantasy
Author: Caitlin Sweet
Series: The Door in the Mountain #1
Date Published: October 21, 2014
Publisher: Chizine Publications
Size: 300
Edition: ebook (ARC)
ISBN: 1771481927

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Lost in time, shrouded in dark myths of blood and magic, The Door in the Mountain leads to the world of ancient Crete: a place where a beautiful, bitter young princess named Ariadne schemes to imprison her godmarked half-brother deep in the heart of a mountain maze, where a boy named Icarus tries, and fails, to fly—and where a slave girl changes the paths of all their lives forever.

Review:
The book is divided into three parts. The first two by the scheming and selfish brat Ariadne and the last by Asterion's love interest, Chara, daughter of a household slave and his childhood friend.

In this book, aside from being born into the royalty, one earns his favor from others' eyes when he is marked by the gods. The godmark shows at random moments depending on what the person is doing or capable of doing and who among the gods marks him. Ariadne was unmarked and so she grows into this one vehement jealous girl desperate for attention from her king father Minos. She's jealous of everyone apart from herself that it's as if she doesn't recognize her family. She witnessed her queen mother Pasiphae giving birth to a younger brother who was then named Asterion and whom the queen believes is a god after doing a rite with a priest at the command of Poseidon.

My head ached reading the first chapter of this book. It's just very hard to read. I just couldn't follow the sentences. The descriptions were hard to picture. I remember The Fellowship of the Ring with very long descriptions and yet I enjoy reading that book even when I was still a kid that time. But this one, I just find it hard to wrap my brain around the narration. The narration is just so stiff.

Eight chapters later, I have finally gotten used to the way the author narrates and I've gotten the hang of the story. It actually surprised me to find myself quite enjoying the book. I find it funny every time when someone shows his transformation, the exhibition of a godmark. Some glow at random moments just before being marked by a god and yet, Ariadne is growing old and still the gods pay no attention.

Oh, how I love the third book with its twists and turns. If I haven't paid attention (note: being patient) enough, I wouldn't have appreciated all that had happened there. This third book was a sweet surprise to me. But what more way to surprise with a bang than by ending the book with such a cliffhanger. Now I'm waiting for the 2nd book.