Rating: 
Summary: A Lasting Impression
Review: I was first introducted to Anne Rice through the Vampire Chronicles and since then have made it a point to read all of her books. I read Cry to Heaven several years ago and LOVED IT! In my opinion, it is still the most powerful book she has written to date. I love all of her books, but this is the one that I would have to say is my favorite above all others. Anne writes beautifully and with the same sensuality that is found in the Vampire Chronicles until you feel you know the characters intimately... I couldn't put it down. This book should be on everyone's shelf!
Rating: 
Summary: Takes a lot to hold your attention.
Review: Until now I thought I'd found my all-time favourite author......I've been reading Anne Rice's Vampire chronicles and thought this would be equally satisfying but I was rather disappointed that the book was unable to hold my attention at several points. It took me nearly a month to finish reading it compared to my usual 3 day read with Anne Rice's vampire novels. You can tell she's done a very good research (as usual) on eighteenth century castrati but I found the story lacking Anne's usual mystic touch of the dark. Tonio Treschi's sexuality is very muddled, some of his erotic scenes gave my stomache a wierd churning sensation. A man together with another man is not natural! And then to be able to go back to sharing his bed with another woman before settling for both???!!!All in all a good before bed read, but other than that you need to be really bored to pick up this book!
Rating:
Summary: You will fall in love with Tonio Treschi
Review: He will break your heart as you watch him endure a heinous betrayal and one challenge after another on his quest to live and love on his own terms. This novel represents Anne Rice at the pinnacle of her abilities. It has moved me beyond my ability to explain.
Rating:
Summary: Very enjoyable read.
Review: This book kept me turning the pages. I had to know what the character was going to do next. I found myself wanting to hurry from work just so I could read more. Very well written as is all of her books.
Rating:
Summary: Excellent
Review: This book seriously kicks ass I really enjoyed this book and I learned a lot about the opera that i thought i would never find interesting. This book has it all it has sex, love, hatred, jealousy, and revenge. This book has it all and I strongly recommend that you read this book.
Rating:
Summary: If I could give it 20 stars, I would!
Review: This is the best Anne Rice book I have read so far, nothing compares
Rating:
Summary: The best since Interview with a Vampire!
Review: I was immediately captivated and drawn into this world. Very beautiful, very real characters and even the story seems like it's real. I was sorry to finish the last page. I may even like this better than Interview.
Rating:
Summary: Definately one of the best books ever written ...
Review: This book totally blew me away. I picked this book up idly off a friend's bookshelf and within the first page was unable to put it down until I finished the entire book. She weaves a story so powerfully tight, so enthralling that you fall in love with the characters. A knife slices into your heart... and each decision the characters make twists that knife until she finally deigns to grant your freedom with the close of the book. When I finished this book, I actually shed tears because I could not know these characters beyond the pages of this book. Cry to Heaven is a MUST HAVE!
Rating:
Summary: Magnificent chronicle, beautifully written!
Review: "And Guido perceived that when the woman is taken out of an entire realm of life that must need to imitate the world itself, then some substitute for that woman is inevitable. Something must rise to take the place of what is feminine. Something must rise to be feminine. And the castrati were not mere singers, players, anomalies; they had become woman herself." -Anne Rice Set in Venice, Naples, Rome, and Florence during the time of Vivaldi, this exquisitely written work is the story of Marc Antonio Treschi, a castrato. A Venetian nobleman, Tonio was blessed with many things -- a beautiful mother, a fine family, a gentlemanly upbringing, and not least of all, a beautiful singing voice. Tonio led a very sheltered early life, and as he begins the journey to manhood, he starts to discover some dark secrets of the House of Treschi. A word to the wise: This author does not shy away from taboo subjects. Music was the passion and preoccupation of many people in Europe during this time. In the name of producing great music, mutilations were routinely done during these times to little boys from poor families -- boys with voices which showed promise. How Tonio came to his experience with the knife will best be discovered by reading this wonderful book, and spoiling the experience by detailing the plot is something which will not be done in this review. This book is a compelling adventure, and it is written by a masterful writer. Anne Rice excels in transporting her reader to magical times & places, and introducing them to interesting people, who then spring to life. She takes her readers on a mystical journey, always choosing the perfect word. Simply, magically, elegantly, she weaves a tapestry of wonder, and through it all, holds one spellbound. She can describe a walk through a grand old square in Italy, and everything she has outlined can be envisioned, right down to the smells and sounds. Rice's characters are larger than life, they are compelling, and they are detailed down to their fingernails and the texture of their hair. Their thoughts are perfectly articulated, and they are set forth in extremely beautiful prose. If one contemplates a "Cry to Heaven," one could think of many things that could conjure up such a cry: Religion, Remorse, Regret, Angst, Guilt, Pain, Sorrow, Love, Rapture, Longing, Esctacy, and of course, Great Music! All of these are found in this work. Highly, Highly Recommended!!!
Rating:
Summary: Historically Interesting & Occasionally Moving
Review: This was a well-written story about the lives of the castrati in 18th century Italy, a dazzlingly clever story of revenge, it's patient execution and corruption. The non-consensual sex scenes between old men and young boys popped up a bit more frequently than historical accuracy would require, and some of the peripheral characters entered and faded without reason, but overall this was a good read.
| 
