At 16, she completely exposed herself in front of strangers, and has been tabloid fodder with her drunken, naked, attention-seeking antics ever since.

She is the definition of entitled, spoiled little wild-child rich girl.

Her parents have gotten so sick of her embarrassing antics that they've shipped her off to Dòchas in the impending event of her brother's wedding to a politician's daughter so she won't be able to embarrass her family any further. She is a notorious heiress and socialite in New York City, despite her young age of 18.

2013 is but a distant dream to the people living on Dòchas.Įnter Annabel Leighton, the book's version of Paris Hilton. The villagers (literally) form lynch mobs to burn/kill off whom they believe to be demons and witches. They have no justice system a man can kill or beat his wife and get away with it. They force their daughters to marry at age 14. They believe in the bean sidhe, Na Fir Ghorm, Cailleach (washer-woman), selkies, Otherworlders. They believe Liam is a demon they believe that he killed his mother at his birth. The people living there firmly believe in mythical creatures. In Dòchas, the calendar is firmly entrenched in the 19th century. It doesn't feel like 2013, not on the island of Dòchas. The problem is that it can't make up its mind when the hell it wants to be. The setting certainly does live up to its 'gothic' advertisement. And make no mistake, I am no big fan of the Beautiful Creatures series. In the book, the main character Liam constantly refers to his love, Annabel Leighton as his 'beautiful creature,' though there may be no relation between this work and Edgar Allan Poe's, I can see very clearly a definite parallel between this book and the Beautiful Creatures franchise. There is an overwhelmingly Celtic feel to this book than there is anything remotely Poe-related. I hate thin premises that promise more than they ever intend to deliver. And mark my words, every single fucking chapter starts off with a quotation from a piece of Edgar Allan Poe's writing. It pisses me off, because it feels like the author uses the famed author's name and quotes his works as more of a selling point than any actual relation or tribute to the author himself. And I mean, suckered, since this book is a hot mess with a microscopic connection to Edgar Allan Poe's works. The premise of the story being based on the poem suckered me in.

I absolutely love his writing, particularly his poetry, and Annabel Lee is among my favorite poem among his wide repertoire. I am a proud, card-bearing member of the Edgar Allan Poe bandwagon. This book starts off with a text of Edgar Allan Poe's beloved poem, Annabel Lee.

Ashes on the Waves by Mary Lindsey