The Second Sight of Zachary Cloudesley: The spellbinding BBC Between the Covers book club pick

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Zachary was a wonderful character, (as was Abel), but I didn't think he shone as much as I was hoping. Then a near-fatal accident causes his father to doubt his parenting skills further and to flee to Constantinople and nver return. Can Zachary ever discover what happened to the only parent he has left?

The Second Sight of Zachary Cloudesley by Sean Lusk | Goodreads The Second Sight of Zachary Cloudesley by Sean Lusk | Goodreads

All manner of adventures ensue, including spying on the sultan, infiltrating the harem, and forming helpful alliances against terrifying opponents. We follow Zachary Cloudesley from his birth to his return to England after a journey to Constantinople to rescue his father sent on an espionage mission. Please feel free to leave a comment to this book review below. Or even leave your own review if you like.Zachary's mother dies whilst giving birth to him, which gives him a guilty complex and without his mother an aunt has a great influence on his life, I couldn't help thinking of Bertie Wooster at this point. I liked how when a new character appeared, so did a description of them. It cemented each one in my mind straight away. The story isn’t just set in England, it travels much further through a perilous Europe. The weeks and months that it took kept me rooted in the 1700s. These days we forget just how big the world is. His father will have to make a journey to Constantinople that he will never return from" which is not entirely true and doesn't happen until just over the halfway point in the book. "And, years later, only Zachary can find out what happened." but the readers find out well before Zachary does.

The Second Sight of Zachary Cloudesley - Bookerworm Book Reviews The Second Sight of Zachary Cloudesley - Bookerworm Book Reviews

A beautifully written fairy tale, I loved every wonderful word in this book and found myself in stunned silence throughout. He is also the bearer of an extraordinary gift; at the touch of a hand, Zachary can see into the hearts and minds of the people he meets. But then a near-fatal accident will take Zachary away from the workshop and his family. His father will have to make a journey that he will never return from. And, years later, only Zachary can find out what happened.The prose is very well written, and it is genuinely funny, but the plot wasn't strong enough to hold attention. The father-son relationship is one of the book's strongest features, and I very much felt for Abel's plight. I was attracted by the cover and title of the book. I also found the description inviting enough to want to read the book. As Zachary grows it is clear there is something out of the orginary about him, not least his abiltity to see into the future and the past.

The Second Sight of Zachary Cloudesley - Goodreads The Second Sight of Zachary Cloudesley - Goodreads

I enjoyed reading it till about half way through and then for some reason I got bored of it. I did read on to the end, but didn't find much enjoyment in it and I cannot tell why. Perhaps the magic of it disappeared after the initial stages of the book, I'm not sure. Abel Cloudesley, knowing his son to be well-cared for takes on a dangerous job in Constantinople, which is going to change his life and that of his son. Zachary] is also the bearer of an extraordinary gift; at the touch of a hand, Zachary can see into the hearts and minds of the people he meets." This plays actually less of a role than you'd think given it is mentioned in the short description. The actual time in the book this would have been useful to him its not working and that's sort of briefly hummed over and then not again. I don't want to put anyone off reading the book, but by the same token do not feel in a position to recommend it to anyone.I enjoyed Abel's portion of the book, and wished we stayed with him more, but found, despite being the titular character, I didn't much like Zachary, and, as other reviewers have mentioned, his "second sight" wasn't capitalised. The other characters were not entirely likeable either, and at 76%, I am still left unsure about Mrs Morely and Lady Peake-Barnes. Zachary is a gifted, brilliant little boy, the kind of child who will read anything he can find and probably remember most of it. The publicity for the story reveals that Zachary later loses the sight in one eye and develops a kind of clairvoyance, although he never seems quite certain what is true or not.