"July 2005. In the Pyrenees mountains near Carcassonne, Alice, a volunteer at an archaeological dig, stumbles into a cave and makes a startling discovery-two crumbling skeletons, strange writings on the walls, and the pattern of a labyrinth.

Eight hundred years earlier, on the eve of a brutal crusade that will rip apart southern France, a young woman named Alais is given a ring and a mysterious book for safekeeping by her father. The book, he says, contains the secret of the true Grail, and the ring, inscribed with a labyrinth, will identify a guardian of the Grail. Now, as crusading armies gather outside the city walls of Carcassonne, it will take a tremendous sacrifice to keep the secret of the labyrinth safe."

Currently reading this via audiobook. Saw this paperback copy at Goodwill, so picked it up in the hopes that someone else might be interested.

Hmmm....after all is said & done, I think I was disappointed in this one. I loved the first chapter -- it was very effective in sucking me in at the start. But I just didn't feel like it kept my interest the rest of the way through. Indeed it is a long book, and I think that's part of its downfall -- it's TOO long. The premise of the story is good. In fact, I think if the book had been cut down to about 1/3 of its size, it would've been more effective. I did enjoy the format, but I found some of the detail excessive & unnecessary. And now I have to admit something: I read the audiobook version, since it was available at the library & I knew I'd get to it quicker that way. And honestly I do think, had I read the actual written book, I would've gotten more out of it. I apparently must've missed some important details in my listening, because I kept finding myself thinking, "Wait...what just happened there? Did I just miss something?!" And I had a lot of trouble keeping track of names & who was who, and I think had I been actually looking at the written pages, that wouldn't have been as much of an issue for me. The actual book also has some nice symbols & a glossary at the back, which my audio version obviously did not. Plus, I just love the cover of this book for some reason. Very intriguing-looking.

A wishlist book off to corry000, via relay. Happy travels & happy reading! :')

Thanks so much indygo88!!