Protected by the Falcon: The Ancestor's Secrets Book 1 by Erika Szabo

This book was interesting on several levels. I enjoyed the look into another culture, though how much of what was portrayed was real, and how much was a product of the author's imagination, I can't say. That seamless blending is the mark of a good writer. As I have no interest in researching Hungarian culture and beliefs, I will simply say that the touching of their birthmarks (pure Hun marks?) and morning prayers were given simply and eloquently.

Because of her heritage, only Ilona's (deceased) mother could have explained everything she was going through on and after her twenty-ninth birthday. Anyone else attempting to explain something she didn't know was stricken with debilitating pain until they quite trying. This was an unexpected treat. The secrecy about Ilona's gifts, purpose and calling added a delightful twist to what could have otherwise been an average story.

The language of flowers is brought into the story at the beginning of each chapter, although I'm still a bit confused as to how that figures into everything. The story itself is told from each characters point of view as entries into their daily journals. I've not seen this particular treatment of multiple POV's before. I enjoy seeing something new offered in my books. Of course, that everyone was keeping a journal played large in the overall book since this was how the villain kept track of what everyone was doing, feeling, and thinking. Another brilliant move on Szabo's part. The circumstances of the villain(s) are another curveball of Szabo's that I enjoyed.

Initially, I struggled to get into the story. I picked it up and started reading several times, only to set it down again. However, by page twenty, I was hooked and everything started falling into place and making sense. I found the story to be very well written, and flowed quite well. Unfortunately, the editing was not as thorough as it could have been. There are places where a word is missing from a sentence or the word choice could have been better. While these problems did create minor hiccups in my reading, they were not severe enough, nor numerous enough to reduce the rating.

I was gifted this book in exchange for an honest review. 3 stars

This book is available at: Amazon (US, UK, CA, AU), Barnes & Noble, and Smashwords