In the fourth installment of C.S. Lakin’s “Gates of Heaven” series of fairy tales, various powers cross, collide, create, and unravel—powers of love and jealousy, magic and knowledge, justice and compassion, music and stitching, and above all, of words.
The Unraveling of Wentwater centers around Teralyn, a beautiful young woman with a mysterious past who—unknown to herself—is destined to cause the undoing of the village of Wentwater and its superstitious inhabitants. As is usual with prophecies, the unraveling does indeed come, but not in a way that anyone expects. And when it does, it will be up to Teralyn to stitch the town back into existence—and with it, the young man she loves.
Jealousy and lust are major driving forces in this story, making it more slightly more adult than The Land of Darkness—this installment is back in Wolf of Tebron territory. But it’s an appropriate read for all ages, entertaining with a classic fairy-tale feel that would be comfortable in a Disney film. Although the story is ostensibly about the power of words, I found its more subtle treatment of the need for grace most compelling of the book’s many themes.
Fans of the Gates of Heaven will find this a worthy addition to the series.
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