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greenbeanteenqueen's review against another edition
4.0
About the Book: When wizard Wayland North shows up in Sydelle Mirabil's town and brings with him the long missing rain, he's offered a reward-and chooses Sydelle to accompany him on his journey. A cursed wizard, a looming war, and powerful storms brewing wherever they go, Sydelle is whisked off on an adventure she had only dreamed about before meeting North.
GreenBeanTeenQueen: I've never been a big fan of high fantasy, so I wasn't sure if I would really enjoy Brightly Woven. Turns out, Alexandra Bracken has what it takes to make me enjoy fantasy!
The book starts off quickly, which I loved (I've mentioned before how I hate when the summary mentions part of plot that doesn't occur until halfway through the book). That's not the case here-the adventure is off and running from the start. One of the reason's I'm not typically a fan of fantasy is that I find the worlds and magic and rules somewhat difficult to follow. But the world set up in Brightly Woven wasn't overly complicated. It still took some time for me to understand everything-things are revealed throughout the novel, so you discover the world and how magic works in pieces.
There were a few plots that I felt could have been developed more. I felt the relationship between Sydelle and her childhood friend could have used some more background. But there are some brilliant moments of storytelling and plot twists that made up for that and the last few chapters of the book were fast paced and full of adventure-I couldn't put the book down once I reached a certain "gasp" moment in the book (if you've read it, I'm sure you know what I'm talking about it!) It really took me by surprise and I had to hand it to Ms. Bracken for such a clever surprise. Well played indeed. (I also loved that fact that when North started calling Sydelle "Syd" early on, she was annoyed at him and told him not to call her by a nickname-he hardly knew her! I loved this since early nicknames are one of my pet peeves in books.)
This is Ms. Bracken's debut novel and I thought it read like a first novel-the story could have been a little tighter in places and some of the characters developed more. But I do think Ms. Bracken is a writer to watch and I think she has a great future as a fantasy writer ahead of her. I also like the fact that the book ended in a place that I'm happy to have it end-no major cliffhanger, still room for a sequel, but I'd be ok as a reader if there's not. I would be interested to see another story set in this world, since I really enjoyed Ms. Bracken's take on how magic worked.
I do have to mention that one of my teens at the library borrowed my copy and when she finished it told me that it was amazing and she loved it and she couldn't wait for a sequel. So this one should have high teen appeal and I'm sure your fantasy readers will love it.
GreenBeanTeenQueen: I've never been a big fan of high fantasy, so I wasn't sure if I would really enjoy Brightly Woven. Turns out, Alexandra Bracken has what it takes to make me enjoy fantasy!
The book starts off quickly, which I loved (I've mentioned before how I hate when the summary mentions part of plot that doesn't occur until halfway through the book). That's not the case here-the adventure is off and running from the start. One of the reason's I'm not typically a fan of fantasy is that I find the worlds and magic and rules somewhat difficult to follow. But the world set up in Brightly Woven wasn't overly complicated. It still took some time for me to understand everything-things are revealed throughout the novel, so you discover the world and how magic works in pieces.
There were a few plots that I felt could have been developed more. I felt the relationship between Sydelle and her childhood friend could have used some more background. But there are some brilliant moments of storytelling and plot twists that made up for that and the last few chapters of the book were fast paced and full of adventure-I couldn't put the book down once I reached a certain "gasp" moment in the book (if you've read it, I'm sure you know what I'm talking about it!) It really took me by surprise and I had to hand it to Ms. Bracken for such a clever surprise. Well played indeed. (I also loved that fact that when North started calling Sydelle "Syd" early on, she was annoyed at him and told him not to call her by a nickname-he hardly knew her! I loved this since early nicknames are one of my pet peeves in books.)
This is Ms. Bracken's debut novel and I thought it read like a first novel-the story could have been a little tighter in places and some of the characters developed more. But I do think Ms. Bracken is a writer to watch and I think she has a great future as a fantasy writer ahead of her. I also like the fact that the book ended in a place that I'm happy to have it end-no major cliffhanger, still room for a sequel, but I'd be ok as a reader if there's not. I would be interested to see another story set in this world, since I really enjoyed Ms. Bracken's take on how magic worked.
I do have to mention that one of my teens at the library borrowed my copy and when she finished it told me that it was amazing and she loved it and she couldn't wait for a sequel. So this one should have high teen appeal and I'm sure your fantasy readers will love it.
booksandpops4000's review against another edition
4.0
Strong book. I loved the world building but i wish it was stronger at points. I loved the characters but it really did feel like the start to a new series and not a stand alone. I enjoyed reading alex first book :)
alexisneuville's review against another edition
4.0
REVIEW: http://theliteraturelion.blogspot.com/2013/01/oldies-but-goodies.html
This was part of the Oldies But Goodies post in which I do mini-reviews for books that haven't been published in the past two years.
Brightly Woven was recommended to me many times by multiple bloggers, so I knew I had to pick it up. I'm not really one for high fantasy, but I've slowly been finding myself drawn to it. I finally picked this one up, and I was pleasantly surprised! The high fantasy plot was okay, but I loved the ADVENTURE! It was exciting and rich and what made it that way was the characters! Sybelle and North were wonderful characters and I'm glad I got to follow them on this journey!
This was part of the Oldies But Goodies post in which I do mini-reviews for books that haven't been published in the past two years.
Brightly Woven was recommended to me many times by multiple bloggers, so I knew I had to pick it up. I'm not really one for high fantasy, but I've slowly been finding myself drawn to it. I finally picked this one up, and I was pleasantly surprised! The high fantasy plot was okay, but I loved the ADVENTURE! It was exciting and rich and what made it that way was the characters! Sybelle and North were wonderful characters and I'm glad I got to follow them on this journey!
simply_sam's review against another edition
4.0
I read this a few years back. It was the first Alexandra Bracken novel I'd ever read. I remember enjoying it enough to want to read more of her works. In fact, reading it is what encouraged me to pick up The Darkest Mind. It's a light, fluffy fantasy. If that's your shtick then this may be worth a shot.
bellatora's review against another edition
2.0
When I saw the author's picture, I knew I was in trouble. She just looks really young and while that doesn't necessarily mean anything, in my experience it's usually a bad sign.
So I was pleasantly surprised when I started the book. No purple prose, lots of potential. Country on the brink of war. Mysterious, young wizard shows up and whisks away a young, seemingly normal girl to be his assistant and help save her village. Best of all, the names are normal. I basically breathed fantasy when I was younger and I began to get really tired of all the Ae'threl'rens or whatever out there. But here you've got Wayland North (the wizard) and Sydelle Mirabel (the girl). There's a Henry and an Oliver and an Owain. Thank you, Bracken. You used interesting names without making them brain-breakingly strange.
I was enjoying the story until I got to the part where North runs off to fight a dragon. Aren't they on a limited schedule here? You know, country to save from a devastating war? Sydelle's village in a state of occupation? But, nope, off goes North to slay a dragon in an afternoon. And from then on the sense of urgency in the novel kind of died and it all became a confusing, jumbled mess. I honestly didn't know what was going on half the time. North kept running off and characters kept popping in and out and people's motivations became murky. I found myself not caring anymore, which is not a good sign.
I had been liking the North/Sydelle potential but then I stopped caring, especially since the romance plotline just jumped to They like each other. No, I'm not going to develop this anymore. Just go with it, okay? And then childhood friend Henry popped up randomly to create a love triangle. I honestly thought Henry was Sydelle's brother (her much younger brother) until she started talking about him as if he had romantic potential. It was like Bracken felt there should be an obligatory love triangle, no matter how lame, so she just threw it in there.
Plus, Sydelle was a weaver. A weaver who had an (almost magically!) portable, unbreakable travel loom. Who had massive magic weaving skillz. And magic keeps getting described as having "threads." This obvious plotpoint is never fully explored. I kept expecting Sydelle to weave her magic. This doesn't happen (or maybe it does and I spaced out, which is very possible).
I think Bracken could be a writer worth reading in the future. The beginning showed real potential. But this was a story that definitely should've been shelved and returned to later to fix and make the plot more coherent and the characters more fully fleshed out.
So I was pleasantly surprised when I started the book. No purple prose, lots of potential. Country on the brink of war. Mysterious, young wizard shows up and whisks away a young, seemingly normal girl to be his assistant and help save her village. Best of all, the names are normal. I basically breathed fantasy when I was younger and I began to get really tired of all the Ae'threl'rens or whatever out there. But here you've got Wayland North (the wizard) and Sydelle Mirabel (the girl). There's a Henry and an Oliver and an Owain. Thank you, Bracken. You used interesting names without making them brain-breakingly strange.
I was enjoying the story until I got to the part where North runs off to fight a dragon. Aren't they on a limited schedule here? You know, country to save from a devastating war? Sydelle's village in a state of occupation? But, nope, off goes North to slay a dragon in an afternoon. And from then on the sense of urgency in the novel kind of died and it all became a confusing, jumbled mess. I honestly didn't know what was going on half the time. North kept running off and characters kept popping in and out and people's motivations became murky. I found myself not caring anymore, which is not a good sign.
I had been liking the North/Sydelle potential but then I stopped caring, especially since the romance plotline just jumped to They like each other. No, I'm not going to develop this anymore. Just go with it, okay? And then childhood friend Henry popped up randomly to create a love triangle. I honestly thought Henry was Sydelle's brother (her much younger brother) until she started talking about him as if he had romantic potential. It was like Bracken felt there should be an obligatory love triangle, no matter how lame, so she just threw it in there.
Plus, Sydelle was a weaver. A weaver who had an (almost magically!) portable, unbreakable travel loom. Who had massive magic weaving skillz. And magic keeps getting described as having "threads." This obvious plotpoint is never fully explored. I kept expecting Sydelle to weave her magic. This doesn't happen (or maybe it does and I spaced out, which is very possible).
I think Bracken could be a writer worth reading in the future. The beginning showed real potential. But this was a story that definitely should've been shelved and returned to later to fix and make the plot more coherent and the characters more fully fleshed out.
orangesloth1's review against another edition
3.0
My favorite part was that the romance wasn't overly dramatized and that the book ended on a happy note. I feel authors are sometimes trying to be more edgier with their books when they end in a note of suspense or turmoil. A happyish ending it much appreciated.
charlottea295's review
funny
hopeful
mysterious
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
hollylynna's review against another edition
3.0
Not since Howl in Howl's Moving Castle have a wizard as much as I liked Wayland North. Part adventure, part romance, and whole lot of surprises, I would recommend this fantasy to teens and tweens who like Tamora Pierce. Alexandra Bracken..keep 'em coming!
cosmicwillow's review against another edition
4.0
A few plot holes, the ending left me wanting more (it's definitely open for a sequel, but Alex Bracken already covered that, saying that it would be hard to capture Sydelle's voice after all these years. Understandable.) Overall, quite enjoyable!
jennythereader's review against another edition
5.0
I really enjoyed this book! Although I had a few issues with it, it was really easy to get lost in the story and the world Alexandra Bracken created. I loved the way magic was dealt with and I loved the romance aspects of the book as well. Overall it was a great book to curl up and read!