Guardian of the Dead by Karen Healy

If you’re looking for something to read that is very different from your run of the mill paranormal, then you should check out “Guardian of the Dead” by Karen Healy. This book takes place in New Zealand and is full of beautiful descriptions of the lush landscape and unique cultures. A lot of the book revolves around Maori myths, which I found fascinating. I’m not familiar with this culture at all, so I loved learning their different origin myths. Despite its refreshingly unique setting, I found this book tedious to read.

Here is part of the description from Goodreads.com:
Set in New Zealand, Ellie's main concerns at her boarding school are hanging out with her best friend Kevin, her crush on the mysterious Mark, and her paper deadline. That is, until a mysterious older woman seems to set her sights on Kevin, who is Maori, and has more than just romantic plans for him. In an effort to save him, Ellie is thrown into the world of Maori lore, and eventually finds herself in an all-out war with mist dwelling Maori fairy people called the patupaiarehe who need human lives to gain immortality.

My problems with this book:

• Overwhelming - This applies to the cast of characters, the overall plot line (by the time I got ⅔ through, I just felt enough was enough!), the amount of myths being thrown at me, you name it. This book is overwhelming and it left me feeling agitated throughout reading it.
• Romance - It kind of fizzled out for me after a lot of the mystery is revealed and I didn’t like the way it ended.
• Boarding school - I am tired of this plot device.

Despite its faults, it is an interesting read that many people seemed to really enjoy. Perhaps if I didn’t have a bunch of other books waiting for me that I am dying to read, I would have enjoyed this book more. By the time I finished, I was just happy to be done so I could move on to something else.

I received a copy of “Guardian of the Dead” from the publisher, Little Brown. It was just released on paperback this month.