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brideshead's review against another edition
4.0
3.5... no... 3.7... maybe a solid 4? I'm conflicted.
I think a more accurate rating would be along the lines of:
First 70 pages: D
Last 50 pages, C
Everything in between: YOU GET AN A, YOU GET AN A, EVERYONE GETS AN AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA! Or maybe an A-.
Review to come (like I ever mean that). If I have time. And once I've caught up on sleep.
I think a more accurate rating would be along the lines of:
First 70 pages: D
Last 50 pages, C
Everything in between: YOU GET AN A, YOU GET AN A, EVERYONE GETS AN AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA! Or maybe an A-.
Review to come (like I ever mean that). If I have time. And once I've caught up on sleep.
ginnikin's review against another edition
2.0
Removed 1 star for casual rape reference. So very not necessary. Otherwise, I enjoyed it.
scribesprite's review against another edition
5.0
Finished this book in one day around 3:30 in the morning. Closed the cover, sighed with a smile and felt all gooey inside. Haven't read a romance like this in so long if ever, and the adventure had me turning page after page into the night.
Sydelle is a girl who is chosen by a young wizard to accompany him to Provincia and carry a message that might save their kingdom from a disastrous war. Having little choice in the matter Sydelle goes but not without some resentment. Having never left her small town of Cliffton she is in for the journey of her life. Full of adventure, magic, romance, and terrible curses. It's a perfect recipe for a great read.
Sydelle as a character is rash and stubborn but in a way that is good. She is very into doing the right thing (being noble I guess) and not being a burden of any sort. If I were her and North told me to stay behind while he did something dangerous I would say "Okey dokey" and have some lemonade but Sydelle isn't like that, and if she were then the book would definitely not be as exciting with her just sitting pretty. The pacing of the story was good with a wizard duel and some near misses with the bad guy. I guessed at what Sydelle’s powers were about halfway through but you don’t get the full picture until later on.
The romance in the story was excellent and I was pleasantly surprised at how much was in it. I could just feel myself get all warm and fuzzy as I read some of the parts where they are together. Wayland North does not make a good first impression on Sydelle but that is overturned eventually. And they don’t say over the top cheesy lines all the time either. Okay maybe a few borderline ones. The writing flowed simply and easily, no trouble to follow. It didn’t do a ton of description or background but that didn’t bother me. Some fantasy authors do a whole lot of description and background to the point where it feels like a textbook to me. Some people like it but it’s not something I gravitate towards.
There could possibly be a sequel to this book and I would probably read it but I think it could stand on its own just fine. Just as a side note North is supposed to stink because he doesn’t bathe very much troughout the story apparently. Now I need sanitizer when someone does not wash his hands after going to the restroom, so in my mind he is nice and clean by the end. Nowhere was it put that he still stinks so…
Would definitely read again.
Sydelle is a girl who is chosen by a young wizard to accompany him to Provincia and carry a message that might save their kingdom from a disastrous war. Having little choice in the matter Sydelle goes but not without some resentment. Having never left her small town of Cliffton she is in for the journey of her life. Full of adventure, magic, romance, and terrible curses. It's a perfect recipe for a great read.
Sydelle as a character is rash and stubborn but in a way that is good. She is very into doing the right thing (being noble I guess) and not being a burden of any sort. If I were her and North told me to stay behind while he did something dangerous I would say "Okey dokey" and have some lemonade but Sydelle isn't like that, and if she were then the book would definitely not be as exciting with her just sitting pretty. The pacing of the story was good with a wizard duel and some near misses with the bad guy. I guessed at what Sydelle’s powers were about halfway through but you don’t get the full picture until later on.
The romance in the story was excellent and I was pleasantly surprised at how much was in it. I could just feel myself get all warm and fuzzy as I read some of the parts where they are together. Wayland North does not make a good first impression on Sydelle but that is overturned eventually. And they don’t say over the top cheesy lines all the time either. Okay maybe a few borderline ones. The writing flowed simply and easily, no trouble to follow. It didn’t do a ton of description or background but that didn’t bother me. Some fantasy authors do a whole lot of description and background to the point where it feels like a textbook to me. Some people like it but it’s not something I gravitate towards.
There could possibly be a sequel to this book and I would probably read it but I think it could stand on its own just fine. Just as a side note North is supposed to stink because he doesn’t bathe very much troughout the story apparently. Now I need sanitizer when someone does not wash his hands after going to the restroom, so in my mind he is nice and clean by the end. Nowhere was it put that he still stinks so…
Would definitely read again.
lumos_libros's review against another edition
5.0
That cover is just marvelous honestly. Just one look at it made me so excited to read this book. I mean the detail in it is just on point. The reflection of lightning on her face, you can just feel the magic already. You just know (and hope) that what's inside will give you as much of a thrill.
Sydelle Mirabil has lived in Cliffton her whole life, but has always felt she needed to get out to see what lies out of her little town. She gets that opportunity sooner than expected when a young wizard, Wayland North, comes to town in a whirlwind of much needed rain. The town had been in a drought for years and to show their gratitude Sydelle's father tells North he can have anything he wants for his great service to the town. Strangely he choses that Sydelle accompany on his journey to the capitol to stop the oncoming war. But why her? Well you are going to have to read it to find out.
I was so wrapped up into this journey that Syd and North were on, my mind would wander to their story while I'd be doing other things. I'd imagine the book sitting where I left it just begging to be picked up again. Well, I of course couldn't resist. I had lots of nostalgia reading this book because it reminded of books that I use to love to devour. Tons of action, peril, mishaps and nice moments between the two main characters. I liked the take on wizards, though I would have liked if it had been explored more and if there is a sequel I think it would be. What sealed the deal was the romance, which is really the core of the book.
I see other reviewers seem kind of disappointed with the book and I was wondering why. I'm guessing they had certain expectations. This really isn't geared toward hard core fantasy fans that love world building and feeling immeresed in a totally new world. Don't get me wrong I did get a good sense of the world, but it didn't have dictionaries of words or list of character names. I love those kind of books too, but for this story I was glad it wasn't bogged down with all that. It kept true to the growth of the characters and the events happening around them be important catalyst, but not overshadow them.
So go ahead and get trapped into this book's trance of colors, power, magic and most of all sense of adventure with traces of real human warmth that oddly come from wizards too.
Sydelle Mirabil has lived in Cliffton her whole life, but has always felt she needed to get out to see what lies out of her little town. She gets that opportunity sooner than expected when a young wizard, Wayland North, comes to town in a whirlwind of much needed rain. The town had been in a drought for years and to show their gratitude Sydelle's father tells North he can have anything he wants for his great service to the town. Strangely he choses that Sydelle accompany on his journey to the capitol to stop the oncoming war. But why her? Well you are going to have to read it to find out.
I was so wrapped up into this journey that Syd and North were on, my mind would wander to their story while I'd be doing other things. I'd imagine the book sitting where I left it just begging to be picked up again. Well, I of course couldn't resist. I had lots of nostalgia reading this book because it reminded of books that I use to love to devour. Tons of action, peril, mishaps and nice moments between the two main characters. I liked the take on wizards, though I would have liked if it had been explored more and if there is a sequel I think it would be. What sealed the deal was the romance, which is really the core of the book.
I see other reviewers seem kind of disappointed with the book and I was wondering why. I'm guessing they had certain expectations. This really isn't geared toward hard core fantasy fans that love world building and feeling immeresed in a totally new world. Don't get me wrong I did get a good sense of the world, but it didn't have dictionaries of words or list of character names. I love those kind of books too, but for this story I was glad it wasn't bogged down with all that. It kept true to the growth of the characters and the events happening around them be important catalyst, but not overshadow them.
So go ahead and get trapped into this book's trance of colors, power, magic and most of all sense of adventure with traces of real human warmth that oddly come from wizards too.
belles_bookshelves's review against another edition
4.0
Wow, I’ve waited way too long to write a review for this. From the very beginning I was beyond excited to read this. It was even compared to Howl's Moving Castle! So I couldn't wait to finally get my hands on this. Plus the cover looks so cool.
Quick Overview: Sydelle's small village has been plagued with a seven year drought. Then one day, out of nowhere, the rain comes. Along with the rain comes a young wizard named Wayland North. Sydelle's father, the village elder, offers him anything he asks for as thanks for bringing the rain. North chooses Sydelle. She serves as North's assistant on his journey to deliver a message of the coming war. Sydelle is not happy about how North seems to be keeping secrets from her, about both himself and about why other wizards seem to have a strange interest in her.
I think most of the negative reviews for this book are because of all the hype that was revolving around it. Sometimes it can be good, but then sometimes it makes you have unfair expectations. In reality I am rating this a 3.5, but I just saw so much potential in this. It could be that there was too much editing, but I think what was most lacking in this book was further description, mostly with transitions between scenes. A lot of times you had to catch up with what was happening in the story. Characters would do something and you had to go through some thinking to understand the characters thought process. Sometimes you would be in climax mode when some action would happen and then before you know it things are already resolved. It’s bit like a roller coaster. I seriously think that if some description of the places and characters thinking were added then this would have been gold.
I really liked that the story was so easy to read. A lot of times fantasy books will be spiced up with some formal medieval-esque language, or with their own lingo which requires handy little dictionary in the back. North is such a funny character even if he does have his overly mature moments (never thought I’d be saying that about a boy). Sydelle is sometimes so hard headed that it turns into being plain stupid, but I have to admire that she doesn’t take anything lying down. Plus, I don’t want to give anything away but I really appreciate the fact that any possible love triangle is dealt with minimal drama and tears. I HATE and don’t understand the need to make big drawn out soap-opera-esque tear fests out of love triangles. A major (MAJOR!) plus.
This was a good and mostly quick read. With a little more description it would’ve been easy for me to get sucked into the story. As it is though it’s still a really interesting and action filled story with a good dose of romance. I’ll definitely be looking out for a sequel (please!) and other books by this author.
Quick Overview: Sydelle's small village has been plagued with a seven year drought. Then one day, out of nowhere, the rain comes. Along with the rain comes a young wizard named Wayland North. Sydelle's father, the village elder, offers him anything he asks for as thanks for bringing the rain. North chooses Sydelle. She serves as North's assistant on his journey to deliver a message of the coming war. Sydelle is not happy about how North seems to be keeping secrets from her, about both himself and about why other wizards seem to have a strange interest in her.
I think most of the negative reviews for this book are because of all the hype that was revolving around it. Sometimes it can be good, but then sometimes it makes you have unfair expectations. In reality I am rating this a 3.5, but I just saw so much potential in this. It could be that there was too much editing, but I think what was most lacking in this book was further description, mostly with transitions between scenes. A lot of times you had to catch up with what was happening in the story. Characters would do something and you had to go through some thinking to understand the characters thought process. Sometimes you would be in climax mode when some action would happen and then before you know it things are already resolved. It’s bit like a roller coaster. I seriously think that if some description of the places and characters thinking were added then this would have been gold.
I really liked that the story was so easy to read. A lot of times fantasy books will be spiced up with some formal medieval-esque language, or with their own lingo which requires handy little dictionary in the back. North is such a funny character even if he does have his overly mature moments (never thought I’d be saying that about a boy). Sydelle is sometimes so hard headed that it turns into being plain stupid, but I have to admire that she doesn’t take anything lying down. Plus, I don’t want to give anything away but I really appreciate the fact that any possible love triangle is dealt with minimal drama and tears. I HATE and don’t understand the need to make big drawn out soap-opera-esque tear fests out of love triangles. A major (MAJOR!) plus.
This was a good and mostly quick read. With a little more description it would’ve been easy for me to get sucked into the story. As it is though it’s still a really interesting and action filled story with a good dose of romance. I’ll definitely be looking out for a sequel (please!) and other books by this author.
madz2023's review against another edition
5.0
I feel that I should start off with an apology to this book. I actually passed it over 3 times before I finally decided to read it because i was desperate. I should have just read it the first time because IT WAS AMAZING!!! So Brightly Woven is the story of Sydelle (Syd to North). She grew up in a small village far from the King's Palace, where the droughts were horrible. For years there was no water so the King set up a water trade between Syd's village and one close by, but then the king was killed by a mysterious poison. Now a neighboring territory has come in to take over Aurelia (I think thats the name). Syd is unaware of this until one day a wizard comes riding into her town and brings the rains. Syd's father, the Headman of the village, offers the Wizard anything he wants. Well North Wayland chooses Sydelle. Now Syd has no choice but to accompany North to the King's City and tell the people who really killed the king. Unfortunately only North and now Syd know that a rogue Hedge Witch names Doran is the culprit. Along their journey their relationship changes for the better, but i don't want to give anything away. Finding out why North actually chose Syd at the beginning was not a huge revelation because they were building up to it, but in the end it added a great part to the story. These 2 characters are hilarious together and the world Braken creates is one full of magic, mystery, battles, and stubborn characters. I absolutely loved it and recommend it to every fantasy lover out there.
greylandreviews's review against another edition
2.0
2 stars
I remember reading this the first time when it came out never thought the author of this book would write one of my favorite dystopians trilogy. The blurb on the front compared this to Graceling and Song of the Lioness series no honey. This book is not. More like contemporary with a splash of magic. They just added a map in here and mystical stuff and called it fantasy. Mrs. Bracken just stay with dystopian.
Greyland Reviews
I remember reading this the first time when it came out never thought the author of this book would write one of my favorite dystopians trilogy. The blurb on the front compared this to Graceling and Song of the Lioness series no honey. This book is not. More like contemporary with a splash of magic. They just added a map in here and mystical stuff and called it fantasy. Mrs. Bracken just stay with dystopian.
Greyland Reviews
missprint_'s review against another edition
5.0
The day the rains finally come to Cliffton, Sydelle Mirabil doesn't know her life is about to change. She has no idea foreign soldiers are preparing to invade her small village. She doesn't know that her country is on the precipice of war. She certainly don't know anything about wizards.
All of that changes with the rain.
Wayland North does know all of those things. When the town offers the young wizard a reward for bringing the much-needed rains he also knows exactly what he needs: the young weaver named Sydelle.
Sydelle has no choice but to accompany the wizard on his long journey to the capital. Much as she detests being tied to him she knows they have to get to the capital if the war is to be avoided. Plagued by foul weather, Sydelle's temper and North's black mood, the trip is not easy. Wayward wizards and dangerous secrets threaten to derail their journey long before they reach the capital.
As the pair make their way across the country Sydelle begins to understand there may be more to North than his vague statements and mercurial temperment. There might even be more to Sydelle herself. Like any good weaving, it is going to take Sydelle many layers to see the full picture in Brightly Woven (2010) by Alexandra Bracken.
Brightly Woven is Bracken's first novel.
While the story could have used slightly more resolution in some areas, Bracken has created an appealing fantasy here. Sydelle's narration is lyrical and Wayland North is one charming mess of a wizard. In a story where the two main characters are mostly crossing varied terrain, Bracken's ability to build drama and maintain tension is impressive.
Without giving away too much, the weaving aspect of the story added a nice dimension to the story. The combination of textiles and magic makes the premise of the story unique. Sydelle's focus on weaving also fleshed out her character and only helped to enhance the narrative.
Brightly Woven has everything readers hope to find in a traditional fantasy. Beautifully written, this novel evokes not only the physical landscape of Sydelle's world but the culture as well. Sydelle and North are wonderfully rendered characters that are dimensional, funny and completely captivating. In other words Brightly Woven is absolutely a must read for fantasy lovers and Bracken herself is definitely an author to watch.
Possible Pairings: Ella Enchanted by Gail Carson Levine, Graceling by Kristin Cashore, Magic Under Glass by Jaclyn Dolamore, Warped by Maurissa Guibord, Howl's Moving Castle by Diana Wynne Jones, Hourglass by Myra McEntire, Once a Witch by Carolyn MacCullough, Song of the Sparrow by Lisa Ann Sandell
All of that changes with the rain.
Wayland North does know all of those things. When the town offers the young wizard a reward for bringing the much-needed rains he also knows exactly what he needs: the young weaver named Sydelle.
Sydelle has no choice but to accompany the wizard on his long journey to the capital. Much as she detests being tied to him she knows they have to get to the capital if the war is to be avoided. Plagued by foul weather, Sydelle's temper and North's black mood, the trip is not easy. Wayward wizards and dangerous secrets threaten to derail their journey long before they reach the capital.
As the pair make their way across the country Sydelle begins to understand there may be more to North than his vague statements and mercurial temperment. There might even be more to Sydelle herself. Like any good weaving, it is going to take Sydelle many layers to see the full picture in Brightly Woven (2010) by Alexandra Bracken.
Brightly Woven is Bracken's first novel.
While the story could have used slightly more resolution in some areas, Bracken has created an appealing fantasy here. Sydelle's narration is lyrical and Wayland North is one charming mess of a wizard. In a story where the two main characters are mostly crossing varied terrain, Bracken's ability to build drama and maintain tension is impressive.
Without giving away too much, the weaving aspect of the story added a nice dimension to the story. The combination of textiles and magic makes the premise of the story unique. Sydelle's focus on weaving also fleshed out her character and only helped to enhance the narrative.
Brightly Woven has everything readers hope to find in a traditional fantasy. Beautifully written, this novel evokes not only the physical landscape of Sydelle's world but the culture as well. Sydelle and North are wonderfully rendered characters that are dimensional, funny and completely captivating. In other words Brightly Woven is absolutely a must read for fantasy lovers and Bracken herself is definitely an author to watch.
Possible Pairings: Ella Enchanted by Gail Carson Levine, Graceling by Kristin Cashore, Magic Under Glass by Jaclyn Dolamore, Warped by Maurissa Guibord, Howl's Moving Castle by Diana Wynne Jones, Hourglass by Myra McEntire, Once a Witch by Carolyn MacCullough, Song of the Sparrow by Lisa Ann Sandell
alina21x's review against another edition
adventurous
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.0
indywonder05's review against another edition
3.0
I am going to complain yet again that I wish I could give 1/2 stars, I would have given it 2 1/2 stars instead of three. (Really what do stars mean anyway?)
Ok moving on. I liked the idea of this book. I liked the characters and I even liked the story. I thought Syd was strong but not obnoxiously so. I thought her constant questioning was well questionable but then really if I was being dragged half way across my world by a wizard I guess I would have a lot of questions too. I liked North, perfectly flawed. I did not like his lack of confidence towards the end I am guessing there is a sequel in the works but I still felt he should have been more sure of himself. He is an amazing wizard after all. The timing was a bit off for me. Sometimes I felt like things were really, really slow and then amazing moments went by way too fast. I felt that the author found her pacing towards the end. Overall I would recommend this book to romance/fantasy readers who want something that is not patently romance.
Ok moving on. I liked the idea of this book. I liked the characters and I even liked the story. I thought Syd was strong but not obnoxiously so. I thought her constant questioning was well questionable but then really if I was being dragged half way across my world by a wizard I guess I would have a lot of questions too. I liked North, perfectly flawed. I did not like his lack of confidence towards the end I am guessing there is a sequel in the works but I still felt he should have been more sure of himself. He is an amazing wizard after all. The timing was a bit off for me. Sometimes I felt like things were really, really slow and then amazing moments went by way too fast. I felt that the author found her pacing towards the end. Overall I would recommend this book to romance/fantasy readers who want something that is not patently romance.