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The Splendor Falls

by Rosemary Clement-Moore (Goodreads Author)

3.84 · rating details · 1,914 ratings · 349 reviews

Can love last beyond the grave?

Sylvie Davis is a ballerina who can’t dance. A broken leg ended her career, but Sylvie’s pain runs deeper. What broke her heart was her father’s death, and what’s breaking her spirit is her mother’s remarriage—a union that’s only driven an even deeper wedge into their already tenuous relationship.

Uprooting her from her Manhattan apartment an...more

Library Binding, 300 pages

Published September 8th 2009 by Delacorte Books for Young Readers (first published August 22nd 2009)

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Aug 02, 2010

Bry rated it

· review of another edition

Shelves: 2010, young-adult, urban-fantasy, mystery

Overall 4.5 stars!

The Splendor Falls centers around Sylvie, a retired principal ballerina. A career that means she is an extremely skinny person much to the chagrin of her Southern relatives who want to feed her mercilessly. She even claims at one point that another character Clara "feeds her like [she's:] and underweight turkey in September"! LOL! Now that her career is over due to an injury she is in a funk as she is having to replan her once determined future. Her m...moreOverall 4.5 stars!

The Splendor Falls centers around Sylvie, a retired principal ballerina. A career that means she is an extremely skinny person much to the chagrin of her Southern relatives who want to feed her mercilessly. She even claims at one point that another character Clara "feeds her like [she's:] and underweight turkey in September"! LOL! Now that her career is over due to an injury she is in a funk as she is having to replan her once determined future. Her mother has also just married and is going on her honeymoon so Sylvie is shipped off to Alabama to regroup so to speak. And that's when everything goes wonky, crazy, and creepy! Oh and she meets the oh so handsome Rhys with his Welsh accent and Shawn with his good ole boy charm. The triangle between the 3 was entertaining but was very obvious from the start who the winner would be.

The first half of this book has an extremely slow start. I kept turning the pages less from suspense of the plot and more from the idea that eventually something had to happen. Sadly though it isn't until about 1/2 way through the book that things pick up a bit. The beginning could really benefit from some MAJOR condensing and editing.

The second half of the book though was fast paced, eerie, creepy, mysterious, everything enticing you to read faster and longer until you could discover what the hell was really going on right alongside Sylvie. The very end of the book wrapped things up just a little too nicely, everyone gets their come-up-ins in a way, which was a bit convenient, but I do love closure so it still worked for me,

And not that I have anything against little toy dogs (hell I have 2 Yorkshire terriers, one of them only 4lbs and the other 8) but they can be extremely annoying. Gigi though was all of the adorable and insanely cute things about toy dogs rolled into one with none of the annoying drawbacks like yipping and chewing all your stilettos into oblivion. And she always contributes to a scene. For example, Sylvie is walking off in a huff after yet another argument/misunderstanding/whatever with Rhys in the following scene:

For the second day in a row, I left him standing in the garden. Though I suspect the majesty of my departure was undermined by the Chihuahua prancing at my heels.

Just fabulous! That little dog acts as an ice breaker, a comedic relief, a friend, a comforter, and a savior. That's a lot of responsibility for a 6 lb long haired Chihuahua to shoulder yet she does it while prancing!

Overall the first half needed to be like 50 pages condensed and the second half could have had another 20 pages added on, thus minus 1/2 a star, but still awesome and highly recommended! I am actually sad that this is not a series because I would love to spend more time with Sylvie and GiGi! (less)

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Sep 22, 2011

Book Chick City rated it

· review of another edition

Shelves: arc, young-adult, fiction, book-list-2010, 2010-january, reviews, books-for-review-full-list, books-i-own, paranormal

Firstly, I will say that I did enjoy The Splendour Falls. It is an interesting and intriguing read, with paranormal and romance elements combined with a little mystery. One of the things I liked most was Sylvie, the main protagonist.

Sylvie's character is great. She is quite a refreshing change to the many young girls who fall at the feet of male suiters. Sylvie is a very mature seventeen year old and I really liked the way she went about things for a girl her age. Being smitten...more
Firstly, I will say that I did enjoy The Splendour Falls. It is an interesting and intriguing read, with paranormal and romance elements combined with a little mystery. One of the things I liked most was Sylvie, the main protagonist.

Sylvie's character is great. She is quite a refreshing change to the many young girls who fall at the feet of male suiters. Sylvie is a very mature seventeen year old and I really liked the way she went about things for a girl her age. Being smitten with two guys didn't reduce her to a girl who is unable function if they didn't look at her that day, instead she is bright, witty and intelligent and very much her own person. Sylvie definitely knows what she wants and that's to dance. To hone her ballet skills she has to train for hours and hours each day, which requires motivation, dedication and above all no distractions and to do this there has to be total focus. This shows Sylvie's strength of character. And although she may never dance again due to breaking her leg, she doesn't give up, instead she focuses her attention on finding information about her deceased father and her newly found family history.

Sylvie is definitely the main focus of this book and although there are other characters involved, we don't really get to know them. Her dog Gigi plays a bigger part than the two guys, Rhys and Shawn, who are Sylvie's love interests. At times it did feel as though it was the Sylvie & Gigi show. With that being said I loved Gigi, so utterly adorable. It's just a shame that the other characters weren't given the same attention. There is little in the way of romance in The Splendour Falls but it is alluded to. Obviously Sylve is attracted to Rhys, but the relationship didn't develop quickly enough or as much as I would have liked it to. There are a lot of smart retorts, hand brushing and skin tingling but not a lot else.

The beginning of the book starts off really well and is very easy to get into with Sylvie's character being instantly likable. But after around a hundred and fifty pages it plateaus and doesn't seem to go anywhere. What follows is a lot of repetition consisting of Sylvie waking up, going to breakfast, walking the dog, going to the garden, sneaking Gigi upstairs to her room, feeling as though she is being watched, checking it out, freaking out and thinking she is crazy. Then going to sleep just for it to happen again the next day. Of course this isn't all that happens. Some of her day is delving into her past and trying to learn about her family's history and trying to understand the ghosts she is seeing. Unfortunately, the story is lost in too much padding. I also feel as though the book goes on for far too long. There isn't enough story to warrant the five hundred plus pages, if it had been shorter it would have giving a more tightly packed story and therefore a more enjoyable read.

However, I was impressed with the writing as it flowed really well even when the story dragged a little and the quality of writing didn't diminish. Towards the latter part of the novel it did pick up pace and become quite exciting as all the pieces of the puzzle began to come together and my interest in the book and in Sylvie piqued again as I was pulled along with the story until the last page. At the end everything is wrapped up nicely and all the questions are answered. This is by no means an easy or quick read, but it's one I would recommend.

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Feb 04, 2011

Jean rated it

· review of another edition

- - Spoilers - -

I usually try to list the positive aspects to a novel in my review
However, in this case it was hard to do.

Splendor Falls is really a Novella encased in a longer story of Gigi, the pet Chihuahua dog.

I think that the Author should go back to the 'Drawing Board' or in this case,
the Writing Board.

Sylvie Davis is a ballerina that has had an accident and who's career has ended.
With her father’s death and mother’s...more

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Mar 31, 2010

Amy rated it

· review of another edition

Shelves: titles-i-love, 2nd-favorites

After a devastatingly embarrassing and crippling accident onstage that handicaps her leg and permanently throws her plans of being a prima ballerina astray (who's ever heard of a one-legged ballerina, anyways?), Sylvie Davis is at a loss in regards to what to make of the rest of her life. When she accidentally gets drunk at a wedding (her mindset being: what the heck, I'm crippled and my life sucks so why not drink a bit and oopsies-) and sees things that shouldn't be there (which, by the way, w...moreAfter a devastatingly embarrassing and crippling accident onstage that handicaps her leg and permanently throws her plans of being a prima ballerina astray (who's ever heard of a one-legged ballerina, anyways?), Sylvie Davis is at a loss in regards to what to make of the rest of her life. When she accidentally gets drunk at a wedding (her mindset being: what the heck, I'm crippled and my life sucks so why not drink a bit and oopsies-) and sees things that shouldn't be there (which, by the way, was a very cool thing that she sees, historical freak that I am!), her mom and stepfather-to-be sends her to the deep South (Alabama, to her dad's family's old plantation-turned-bed & breakfast, to be exact) to "dry out". But dry out she does not. Instead, she is faced with a situation more dire than anything that might have happened had she stayed in New York, one that invokes terrifying chills and things that go bump at night. Once arrived at Bluestone Hill, the old family home, she is faced with a plethora of mysteries. Of what kind, you ask? All kinds! Boys, ghosts, and century-old questions.

THE SPLENDOR FALLS has got to be one of my favorite books ever. It's definitely a slow read at first, but I found it enchanting to read about the workings of a small Southern town and a Manhattan trust-fund girl like Sylvie trying to find her place in such a setting. People, there are food descriptions in this book. Good, mouth-watering Southern dishes that made my stomach rumble in envy as I read. And aside from the delectable foods, Clement-Moore sprinkles in perfect helpings of romance and love-triangle dilemma and bone-chilling ghosties. The chapters alternate between idyllic and heart-pounding--there were several chapters interspersed throughout the story that were downright creepy. I could imagine the ghosts and eerie whispers of things long past as Sylvie experienced them, leaving me jumpy at the slightest noise and nervously checking over my shoulder every so often to assure my paranoid self that no, there were no sinister ghosts lurking in the shadowy corners of my room (unlike Sylvie's room...). Brrr.

The two probable love interests are the right amounts of charming and infuriating; I enjoyed Sylvie's interactions with both of them, in part because thankfully Sylvie does not act like a love-smitten fool in their presence, as a great deal of YA female characters are inclined to do these days. Sylvie, the main character, felt like a truly fleshed-out character- cynical, perhaps, and grumpy at times- but I'd like to think that is the mark of a true teenager. Clement-Moore does such a good job establishing her person that I felt like she was a real human, someone who I could understand and relate to being a teenager myself. Each and every character had a distinctly unique personality, so I had no trouble distinguishing them. Like I previously mentioned, the book starts out at a stately pace, but in the last approximate 25% of the book, the speed picks up and it's nonstop action after confrontation after action!

The only complaint-and a small one at that-that I have with this book is that Clement-Moore puts a little too much emphasis on Sylvie's dog, Gigi, than I'd like. There was an overdose of dog-related occurrences that worked as a plot device and no doubt will appeal to dog lovers, but alas, being a non-dog-owner myself, I found to be a bit tiring after a while. But don't let that detract you from the book- it is a real gem!

Overall, a supremely wonderful, well-researched, and fantastically developed book. I really didn't want it to end, but it did...that was the only bad part of the book.(less)

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Aug 06, 2010

Miriam rated it

· review of another edition

Shelves: fantasy, ya

After her father dies and her mother marries her therapist, former ballerina Sylvie is sent to stay with unknown relatives in a small town in the South, where she discovers that her family has an ancestral mansion and a long local history. Are some of their secrets supernatural?

If this storyline sounds familiar, that's because it is. Clement-Moore does some original things with it, but the strongest aspect is Sylvie's vivid voice. Without that I would have given up halfway through, a...more

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Oct 25, 2009

CLM rated it

· review of another edition

Recommends it for: Laurie, Elizabeth

Shelves: ya, 21st-century

Devastated by an injury that broke her leg and destroyed her career as a ballerina, 17 year old Sylvie Davis reluctantly goes to visit a cousin in Alabama. There, for the first time, she sees the imposing family home, now being turned into a B&B by Cousin Paula, and Sylvie begins to wonder why her recently deceased father never returned or even mentioned Bluestone Hill. While investigating secrets of the past and present that threaten her life and possibly her sanity, Sylvie is also faced with ...more

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Apr 23, 2011

Lily added it · review of another edition

The Splendor falls by Rosemary Clement-Moore
Reviewed by Moirae the fates book reviews

Sylvie Davis is a ballerina who can’t dance. A broken leg ended her career, but Sylvie’s pain runs deeper. What broke her heart was her father’s death, and what’s breaking her spirit is her mother’s remarriage—a union that’s only driven an even deeper wedge into their already tenuous relationship.

Uprooting her from her Manhattan apartment and shipping her to Alabama is her mother’s...moreThe Splendor falls by Rosemary Clement-Moore
Reviewed by Moirae the fates book reviews

Sylvie Davis is a ballerina who can’t dance. A broken leg ended her career, but Sylvie’s pain runs deeper. What broke her heart was her father’s death, and what’s breaking her spirit is her mother’s remarriage—a union that’s only driven an even deeper wedge into their already tenuous relationship.

Uprooting her from her Manhattan apartment and shipping her to Alabama is her mother’s solution for Sylvie’s unhappiness. Her father’s cousin is restoring a family home in a town rich with her family’s history. And that’s where things start to get shady. As it turns out, her family has a lot more history than Sylvie ever knew. More unnerving, though, are the two guys that she can’t stop thinking about. Shawn Maddox, the resident golden boy, seems to be perfect in every way. But Rhys—a handsome, mysterious foreign guest of her cousin’s—has a hold on her that she doesn’t quite understand.

Then she starts seeing things. Sylvie’s lost nearly everything—is she starting to lose her mind as well? (Synopsis provided by goodreads)

When I first heard about this book I just had to read it. As an avid reader and an ex-ballerina I couldn’t pass this one up! I was not disappointed, this book delivered. I loved the southern setting of the book and the eerie feel of the whole story.

It’s difficult not to give away anything in this book there is so much that happens! It’s non-stop and packed with twists and turns that kept me glued to the book all day. I really enjoyed the character of Sylvie, she was such a welcome change from the heroins of teen books that are popping up everywhere. She was different. She was strong and she had flaws. I loved that!

I would recommend this book to anyone who likes darker romances and anyone who is or has been a ballerina.

Overall rating ***** 5 out of 5 stars
Cover art the new art for the paperback is simply beautiful.
Obtained I was sent a copy by the author for review thank you!
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Jan 26, 2012

Nicole rated it

· review of another edition

The Splendour Falls was a beautiful story about pain and loss. But it was also about healing and redemption, and how we can find rays of light even in the most hopeless of situations.

The main character, Sylvie, has many of the usual characteristics we can find in YA heroines. She has a tendency to whine (although I guess I'm whining about her whining right now), is very pretty, has two boys pining after her, and has a great number of talents that she has yet to uncover. However...moreThe Splendour Falls was a beautiful story about pain and loss. But it was also about healing and redemption, and how we can find rays of light even in the most hopeless of situations.

The main character, Sylvie, has many of the usual characteristics we can find in YA heroines. She has a tendency to whine (although I guess I'm whining about her whining right now), is very pretty, has two boys pining after her, and has a great number of talents that she has yet to uncover. However, the author has perfected the art of narrating a whiny character yet making her extremely loveable at the same time. And I guess part of the reason for the whining not being annoying at all is because Sylvie is, as the synopsis on my book jacket says, broken. She's lost so much already, and I truly felt sorry for her. I was able to sympathise with her. She was also so real--she didn't babble on about guys, she didn't think about ballet all of the time, and she felt like a character I could truly relate to. She had a passion and she had dreams and she had bad days that weren't just bad hair days. This is the sort of character I want to see more of.

One of the biggest problems with this book is that it's a 200 and something-paged story with stuffing in a 518-page body. The story moved incredibly slowly for the first half of the book and then far too fast for my liking in the last chapter or two. By removing most of the meaningless interactions in the first part of the story, the author would've created a more fast-paced and better work. (Nicole's law of editing: If it's not necessary for plot development, it doesn't need to be there.)

Another thing that I felt was completely unnecessary was Adie. She seemed to be there just because of the unspoken YA novel rule: there needs to be a mean girl. Adie seemed to have no personality, she didn't change or grow as a character as far as I could see, and I really didn't know the purpose for her existence.

The synopsis states--very clearly--that the Sylvie-Rhys-Shawn love triangle plays an instrumental part in the story, but it never annoyed me at all because of the way it was written. Sylvie doesn't think about the boys 24/7 and actually has a life of her own other than stalking them. I don't think the author quite nailed the romance scenes--at least they weren't quite what I was looking for after reading Die for Me and Clockwork Prince--but were still good nonetheless, despite being few and far between.

(view spoiler)

Despite that, I thought the author's writing was excellent. It flowed so smoothly and I barely noticed the virtually plot-less writing in the first few hundred pages until I put it down and actually thought about what I was reading.

Overview: The Splendour Falls was a beautiful read with excellent writing, amazing characterisation and a truly realistic feel. There were some rather minor flaws such as an overload of unnecessary descriptions and conversations in the first part of the book, but I don't feel that that is a reason to undermine the brilliance of this book as a whole. It is something I would recommend to many of my friends and look forward to re-reading.(less)

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Nov 06, 2011

The Sweet Bookshelf rated it

· review of another edition

I picked up this book because the back said there was a romance that would take my breath away. I'm all about the romance.

This story starts out slow, and goes slow the whole way through. There is nothing wrong with that, it is very detailed and you get a sense of living in Alabama. Yet, I had a question mark over my mind the whole book. What was really happening? There weren't many clues. I felt in the dark for the first 450 pages. I still read the book in 2 sittings, so I obviously th...more

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Oct 25, 2011

Meghan rated it

· review of another edition

Shelves: fiction, ya-literature

Sylvie Davis was poised to be a huge star in the world of ballet, when an accident during her debut pulled her from the world of dance forever. Her mom gets remarried and after an embarrassing incident at the wedding where Sylvie mixes alcohol and painkillers, her mother decides Sylvie can’t be left alone while her mother and new husband go on their honeymoon. Sylvie gets shipped off to Alabama to stay with her father’s cousin Paula, and once she arrives at Bluestone Hill, her family’s estate, w...more

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May 13, 2011

Jessica rated it

· review of another edition

In this book we meet Sylvie Davis, Manhattenite and an accomplished ballerina whose life has fallen to bits. A career ending injury leaves her not only unable to dance but with no direction for her life to travel in. After drinking herself into oblivion on her mothers wedding night the "Stepshrink" convinces her mother that Sylvie is too fragile and should not be left alone while they are on their honey moon. She finds herself on a plane from her familiar New York to back sticks Alabam...more

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Jan 26, 2011

Lisa rated it

· review of another edition

Very interesting book. I love that there is a little of history and lore in this book.

I had a hard time liking Sylvie in the beginning of this book. She just seemed like a stuck up girl who while yes had a horrible accident was just rotten. It did not take me long to see that she was just hiding her pain that that she really was likable. I really like Rhys right from the beginning. I love that he didn't put with with Sylvie's attitude. There was always the air of ...more

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Oct 07, 2010

Jennie rated it

· review of another edition

Shelves: 2010-reading-list

I have a thing for the Southern Gothic, YA, and mysteries. Oh, and I like novels about really talented people (in the arts) who either continue on in their talent, or have it taken away from them and have to deal. So in essence, this book was just what I wanted.

My problem with the book was that it was very slow moving at first. There's a lot of set-up. It takes awhile for the plot to get moving, because it's just hinted at. I would have really liked to know more about the family...more

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Apr 20, 2010

Allison rated it

· review of another edition

Sylvie Davis is a ballet prodigy who is forced to retire at age 17 by a horrible injury. She struggles with losing her dream and her future, and after months of recovery and depression gets sent to her deceased fathers family home in rural Alabama. She struggles to adapt to the southern way of life (Meat! Desserts! Pickup trucks! Y'all!), but she discovers a connection to her dad in the place he spent his childhood summers, and also comes face to face with things she always thought were myth. Al...more

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Apr 14, 2010

Book Angel Emma rated it

· review of another edition

Taken from my blog asamum.blogspot.com

Before I start my in depth review I have to tell you that I am completely biased where this book is concerned; 1. It has a hot welsh male protagonist 2. It weaves welsh mythology beautifully into the storyline. 3. I am a Davies!!! OK I have warned you!
Written in first person narrative (as much as I adore 1st person narrative I never seem to picture myself as the protagonist) with adorable use of vocabulary 'snafu' is such a cute word.
...more

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Mar 08, 2010

Susan rated it

· review of another edition

Shelves: read_and_review, ya_fantasy

Sylvie is totally unmoored when her mother ships her from New York to Alabama to stay with her father's cousin. Her father died recently and she just suffered an accident that ended her promising career as a soloist with the American Ballet Company. Sylvie's father never talked about his family, so she knows nothing about Bluestone Hall or the importance of the Davis family to the surrounding towns. Investigating local history and restoring the garden are ways she hopes to connect to her fath...more

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Mar 08, 2010

Sammee (I Want to Read That) rated it

· review of another edition

I found myself immersed in this story from the first page. I really enjoyed the character Sylvie and found myself connecting to her straight away. I really liked her voice - she came across as strong yet vulnerable and I loved the fact she questioned everything that happening, including her sanity! I also found myself really drawn to Rhys - I even missed him when he wasn't in the story And I completely adored her dog Gigi!

The story itself is an intriguing one. There was a lot of deta...more

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Mar 07, 2010

Amber Skye rated it

· review of another edition

My overall reaction to this books was just okay. I picked it up with low expectations, so at least I wasn't really disappointed. I wouldn't say that I didn't like the book, but it wasn't one of my favorites.

The quality of the writing was very good. The author includes vivid descriptions, and the readers are really exposed to Sylvie's pain after what she titles "The Accident". As a former dancer, I can relate somewhat to Sylvie's love for dance. This was definitely so...more

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Feb 20, 2010

Emma rated it

· review of another edition

This was recommended if you liked paranormal romance etc.

I was very interested in the blurb on the back - your usualy good boy and bad boy and the different storyline with Sylvie the main character breaking her leg and destroying her ballet career.

I wanted to like this book so much, but I felt it was too long - situations were dragged out for much longer than necessary most notably Sylvie and Rhys and telling each other what was happening. A lot of the time I felt it plo...more

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Feb 16, 2010

Shelley rated it

· review of another edition

Recommends it for: Gothic/old magic fans, possibly also fans of Shadowed Summer

Shelves: fantasy, youth

How's this for praise: 500 page book with a mystery and I wasn't even tempted to read the ending ahead of time, like I do for practically every book. I read the first 250 pages in one sitting, was so annoyed to have to put it down to go to bed close to midnight. So of course I had to finish it tonight. Props on atmosphere - I was sufficiently creeped out by the blend of evil and foreboding to be nervous about continuing, but so hooked on the story and characters that I couldn't stop. (Of course,...more

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Feb 08, 2010

Wicked Walker rated it

· review of another edition

Wow. This book wrapped me in and I stayed up until 3 am to finish it!! Sylvie was a pretty likable character even if a little self absorbed at times. She was unhappy to say the least when she was sent off to Alabama to a cousin she had met once while her mom and new "step-shrink" went on their honeymoon. As she gets there she meets two guys that she has totally different reactions to...not to mention starts seeing ghosts and hearing sounds!

This book is like an old ...more

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Jan 20, 2010

Black Star rated it

· review of another edition

Shelves: supernatural, romance, single

Sylvie Davis is a ballerina who can’t dance. A broken leg ended her career, but Sylvie’s pain runs deeper. What broke her heart was her father’s death, and what’s breaking her spirit is her mother’s remarriage—a union that’s only driven an even deeper wedge into their already tenuous relationship.

Uprooting her from her Manhattan apartment and shipping her to Alabama is her mother’s solution for Sylvie’s unhappiness. Her father’s cousin is restoring a family home in a town rich with he...more

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Jan 08, 2010

Rachel rated it

· review of another edition

Shelves: ya-books

I thoroughly enjoyed the journey of this book and ended up chucking my ToDo List for the day in order to finish it. The heroine is funny, snarky, and real. It is well written and the mystery kept me engaged.

Sylvie is a seventeen year old ex-superstar ballerina. She shattered her leg onstage and her mother has shipped her off to distant relatives in rural Alabama to figure out what to do with the rest of her life. Immediately odd things start happening: She feels this weird con...more

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Oct 23, 2009

Katie rated it

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Shelves: own

Sylvie’s dreams of being a ballerina were shattered by a broken leg just as she had reached the top of her career. After mixing some pain pills and champagne, Sylvie gets shipped off to Alabama to work through her problems. What she didn’t count on was the mystery of her town, two cute boys vying for her attention (and infuriating her at the same time), and a crazy Southern family.

This book is so hard to sum up in my normal summary section because it has so much going on. It’s a slow a...moreSylvie’s dreams of being a ballerina were shattered by a broken leg just as she had reached the top of her career. After mixing some pain pills and champagne, Sylvie gets shipped off to Alabama to work through her problems. What she didn’t count on was the mystery of her town, two cute boys vying for her attention (and infuriating her at the same time), and a crazy Southern family.

This book is so hard to sum up in my normal summary section because it has so much going on. It’s a slow and steady read, keeping readers interested but with a smooth, quiet build. There’s mystery, history, romance, and a bit of the supernatural. Really, something that almost any teen could find interesting in one book. The different elements are blended well, the book is only the stronger for the mixture.

Sylvie is an excellent character, well-developed, with flaws and strengths. She really worked for me as a leading lady — her heartache over not being able to dance really hit home for me (as a violinist, I had a serious wrist injury in 9th grade…long story, long time ago). I also thought that her family situation was very realistic and that a lot of teens (and maybe myself a bit) could relate.

The history of the novel is well researched and explained throughout the book, but not in an information dump way. The explanations come naturally through a professor and other town members. The supernatural elements in the book might surprise some readers, but there are clues along the way that some may pick up on.

And that brings me to Rhys. Of which I can only basically drool in response. (I’m having a hard time trying to figure out if I like him or Justin [from the Maggie Quinn: Girl Vs. Evil series by the same author] better…)

Only complaints are the cover — I’m still not sure what a purple rose has to do with the book…Sylvie does some gardening, but other than that? And the overuse of Gigi (Sylvie’s dog) as a plot device.

Bottom line? Probably a YA book for older or more patient teens, but a welcome addition to public library collections.

Four and a half stars.

http://readwhatyouknow.wordpress.com/200...(less)

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Jun 01, 2010

Allison (The Allure of Books) rated it

· review of another edition

Shelves: other-ya-fantasy, 2010

From the beginning, Sylvie has a very strong voice.

It's funny how so much can hinge on one missed step. Not funny ha-ha. Funny that the moment that should have been the pinnacle of my seventeen years on this planet ends up making me famous for the entirely wrong reason. So I really don't mean funny so much as tragically ironic.

That is an early passage from the book that illustrates what a strong and perceptive personality she has. She also has a wonderful sense of humor, ...moreFrom the beginning, Sylvie has a very strong voice.

It's funny how so much can hinge on one missed step. Not funny ha-ha. Funny that the moment that should have been the pinnacle of my seventeen years on this planet ends up making me famous for the entirely wrong reason. So I really don't mean funny so much as tragically ironic.

That is an early passage from the book that illustrates what a strong and perceptive personality she has. She also has a wonderful sense of humor, using phrases like the toes of my right foot were swollen like fat pink cocktail weenies and she feeds me like I'm an underweight turkey in September. There were so many little clever descriptions and asides like that, I could keep quoting for a long time. She is by far the most developed and fleshed out character, most of the other characters suffer from being slightly to extremely one-dimensional.

Anyway, back to the star of the show. She was more than a little petulant at first, but I found it more amusing than annoying. The fact that she had so many misconceptions and assumptions about the South made me laugh. The thought of her relatives opening an inn that would be at least two hours away from the closest airport was unbelievable. The fact that the people that stayed there would come for such mundane and hopelessly rural activities such as antique shopping and hunting? Frightening!

I have experience with this type of attitude being from Oklahoma. I’ve been asked everything from “Have you ever seen a tumbleweed?” to “Wow, Oklahoma huh? So do people really live in teepees?” (By the way: yes I have, and no we don't.)

The irresistable South (and the irresistable leading man) quickly grow on her though, and she starts embracing her roots and discovering things about her ancestors. I don't want to give anything away on the supernatural end, because the story is pretty slow for awhile as it slowly builds up and Sylvie discovers what is going on. If I explained it, you would be pretty bored for awhile. That is the only gripe I have with the book actually, it just moved too slow. For about the first two hundred pages I didn't mind, because I loved being in the South. But it was the middle section that really lagged for me. Don't let that stop you from reading this though, because if you stick with it the story overall really is very good.

So, as far as the leading man -Rhys- goes...I definitely enjoyed his part in the book. Like I mentioned before, his character wasn't as well developed as Sylvie's, but he still definitely had a voice of his own. As to his name-that is pronounced "Reese" right? Because saying it "rice?" Not sexy. Just sayin'. Anyway, he is mysterious and Welsh and pretty darn wonderful.

Far and away the best thing about this book is the writing. Rosemary Clement-Moore is a wonderful descriptive writer, and she brings the South to life in a wonderful way. It is one of my favorite settings and she does it proud. She was also great at writing tension and chemistry between the characters. Not only Sylvie and Rhys, but just the all the characters' interactions in general.

So, overall I definitely recommend giving this a read if you'd like to escape to Alabama for awhile.(less)

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May 07, 2010

Shauna rated it

· review of another edition

Recommended to Shauna by: Michaela

Shelves: beautiful-covers, 2010, gothic, i-own-a-copy, rosemary-clement-moore

The Splendor Falls has a lovely, dream-like quality to it, or nightmare quality if you are the main character, Sylvie. She is a star ballet dancer, but her world comes crashing down around her, literally when she breaks her leg and can't dance anymore.

After an incident with Vicodin and champagne in Central Park she is sent to stay with her cousin Paula in Alabama. That's when she starts seeing ghosts. And hears crying at night. And causes a bit of a stir with the menfolk. Namely Shaw...more

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Apr 10, 2010

Iman rated it

· review of another edition

So, I took this out of the library a few weeks ago. I was a bit dubious at first because it's quite a long book (528 pages) and I thought it'd be really slow-paced and boring. But although it was a bit slow-paced, it wasn't boring at all!

I enjoyed the plot and the setting. The author took the city girl moves to the countryside storyline but added a supernatural element, a (mostly) likable cast and a romantic, historic setting which made the story dark, gothic, and a wonderful read. T...moreSo, I took this out of the library a few weeks ago. I was a bit dubious at first because it's quite a long book (528 pages) and I thought it'd be really slow-paced and boring. But although it was a bit slow-paced, it wasn't boring at all!

I enjoyed the plot and the setting. The author took the city girl moves to the countryside storyline but added a supernatural element, a (mostly) likable cast and a romantic, historic setting which made the story dark, gothic, and a wonderful read. The romance was the best aspect of the book and I absolutely loved Rhys. He was so mysterious which just made him more appealing, and his whole persona made him one of the most intriguing male characters I've read in a long time.

However, I did feel the story dragged on quite a lot. Everything Sylvie did was described, even the most mundane things like eating breakfast, walking the dog, sneaking the dog upstairs, going to the garden. The dog was cute but mentioned way too much, in my opinion. Although it was refreshing to read about a female lead with a pet, the pet didn't really have to be mentioned in every other sentence. It didn't stop me from reading on, but I think the book would have been a lot more enjoyable if it was shorter and contained less description of the day-to-day aspects of Sylvie's life at Bluestone Hill.

It is an extremely well-written book though. The characters were well developed to the point I felt so much frustration for one of them (Shawn), I just wanted him to be killed off. The descriptions were maybe too long but so vivid that I could picture Sylvie and Gigi walking around the town, and the garden etc.

The history and supernatural stuff mixed in well with the plot, although at times it could be a bit confusing. I would've like to learn more about the American Civil War and the ancient Welsh backstory, but I felt Clement-Moore included just the right amount of mystery and magic surrounding the town.

I would recommend it to fans of gothic romances, love triangles, slow-moving (but still enjoyable) reads and well-developed characters. The mixture of mystery, romance, history and ghosts made The Splendor Falls a book I wouldn't mind purchasing in the future.(less)

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Jan 25, 2010

Adele rated it

· review of another edition

The Splendour Falls is another title that has dipped me into the murky and magical world of the South. Secrets, spells and family legacies are aspects that immediately capture my attention and this book was no different. However, at 512 pages, much of this intrigued was diluted and negatively impacted the pacing of the book. At times I was wondering how much more I could read about a dog barking or performing weird antics.

The strength of this novel is the mystery that swirls around Syl...more

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Dec 03, 2011

Chiara (Oscuro y Seductor Romance) rated it

· review of another edition

Shelves: read-2011

Es un libro de intriga y misterio que va desenredando la historia muy poco a poco de la mano de una niña de 17 años. Le habría puesto un cinco si no fuera porque la autora se ha extendido bastante para contar una historia en la que le sobran 100 páginas mínimo.

Me gusta como se desarrolla la trama de una joven bailarina que termina lesionada y es obligada a pasar el verano en la casa familiar de su padre (fallecido) mientras su madre está de luna de miel. Sylvie irá descubriendo cosas...more

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Oct 07, 2011

Beth_Adele rated it

· review of another edition

Shelves: ya

This could have been an awesome YA novel instead it's a YA novel that had so much potential and just fell slightly short.

Thing is, I kind of get what Clement-Moore was going for...it just didn't quite work. Building the story slowly, then having everything climax and happen at once may sound good in theory, but really, the climax was a little more anti than climatic. The protagonist was just a little too clueless before all the secrets came pouring out at her. (Is the flood supp...more

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“Screw you, John.
Sorry, Sylvie. Can't—they frown on that kind of thing between step-siblings.” — 16 people liked it

“She was the only creature in the world who would really care if something happened to me, even if it was only because I was the bringer of kibble.” — 16 people liked it

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