Title: Listen with Your Eyes
Author: Jennie Lea
Publisher: XlibrisUS
ISBN: 978-1-5434-0052-6
Pages: 276
Genre: Fiction
Reviewed by: Candace L. Barr
Listen with Your Eyes is a sort of coming of age novel that combines elements of romance, mystery, and the paranormal in a package fit for adult readers who are looking for a book that is on the light side. The main character, Mary, travels to Ireland from Australia alone and unsure, thrust into the adult world of estates and property management after her aunt’s death. It is a wonder she can remain focused on the property she has inherited when the matter of the baby buried in a grave marked with Mary’s name is still under investigation. Then there are her nightmares and frightening flashbacks. To top it all off, unbeknownst to her, there is an odd figure who is watching her from the woods. Mary needs to piece together the strange events surrounding her late parents’ deaths and figure out why so many locals refuse to work at the manor, let alone live there.
Author Jennie Lea has a way with words in that her descriptions are vivid and detailed, so readers can easily imagine the splendor of the old Irish manor and its gardens. To fill the scenes, she uses characters who are easy to like, especially the family that maintains the manor and introduces Mary to life in Ireland. Tess and Eamon quickly step into parental roles for their new boss, and their daughter Ashling takes to Mary quickly, forming a sisterly bond. Mary could easily have been annoying with a sheltered teenager’s naiveté coupled with the attention she receives from all directions, but she comes across as genuine and willing to learn – even when what she’s bound to learn could challenge everything she thought she knew about herself and her beloved aunt. However, there is one character who could have used more development to make his shocking turn at the end of the novel more believable yet still surprising. Finn, a strange and mystical character, could also have used more exposition and development in his scenes, especially since the later revelation about him comes as little surprise.
Listen with Your Eyes combines an interesting plot, affable characters, shocking revelations, and wonderful descriptions, yet there are enough errors to distract readers from all the other elements of the novel and hinder reader immersion, even when we are being treated to those dazzling room descriptions. That said, there is still much temptation to read the next book in the series to see what happens to Mary after the cliffhanger. Hopefully the next one will address these editing problems to further showcase the wonderful style of Jennie Lea’s writing.
