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3.75 AVERAGE
3.75 AVERAGE
adventurous
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
adventurous
dark
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
😦😶🫩
adventurous
dark
emotional
hopeful
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
Really poorly written. Couldn’t stand all the italicized words.
adventurous
dark
mysterious
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Author and Title: The Lady of Steel and Straw by Erica Ivy Rodgers
Summary: Charlotte Sand was born with the innate ability to soothe the tormented spirits of the deceased. A new religion, The Silent Gods, has made her kind of magic less popular. Her family's Guardian has been asleep since Charoltte's father's death. The Order of the Guardians was once mighty and now are exiled politically, but Spirits are beginning to stir and turn into deathly wraiths. A devout servant of The Silent God religion has arrived at Charlotte's house to collect the magic sleeping heart of her Guardian, causing the old God to be purged from the kingdom forever. Charlotte's refusal incites conflict in the realm.
The story has very descriptive writing that hits all your senses. The herbal magic is something new I have not experienced in a story before. It is nice to have a fantasy story that has humorous banter. Charlotte and Worth's interactions and relationship were better than Charlotte and Luc's. I could have been fine without them being each other's love interest. I needed help connecting with the characters, which made it hard for them to resonate with me. I did enjoy the idea of the scarecrow guardians. It's not enough to make me forget about the lack of good world-building in the storyline. The pacing was fine; it just did not grip me.
This is my honest review based on an ARC copy of the ebook from Netgalley and Peachtree Teen. Thank you for the opportunity.
Summary: Charlotte Sand was born with the innate ability to soothe the tormented spirits of the deceased. A new religion, The Silent Gods, has made her kind of magic less popular. Her family's Guardian has been asleep since Charoltte's father's death. The Order of the Guardians was once mighty and now are exiled politically, but Spirits are beginning to stir and turn into deathly wraiths. A devout servant of The Silent God religion has arrived at Charlotte's house to collect the magic sleeping heart of her Guardian, causing the old God to be purged from the kingdom forever. Charlotte's refusal incites conflict in the realm.
The story has very descriptive writing that hits all your senses. The herbal magic is something new I have not experienced in a story before. It is nice to have a fantasy story that has humorous banter. Charlotte and Worth's interactions and relationship were better than Charlotte and Luc's. I could have been fine without them being each other's love interest. I needed help connecting with the characters, which made it hard for them to resonate with me. I did enjoy the idea of the scarecrow guardians. It's not enough to make me forget about the lack of good world-building in the storyline. The pacing was fine; it just did not grip me.
This is my honest review based on an ARC copy of the ebook from Netgalley and Peachtree Teen. Thank you for the opportunity.
adventurous
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
adventurous
mysterious
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
N/A
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Lady of Steel and Straw by Erica Ivy Rodgers is an engrossing, sprawling fantasy that combines elements of magic, intrigue, and personal redemption against a vividly imagined world. While I have never actually read Alexandre Dumas's The Three Musketeers, the inspiration here fairly leaps from the page and quite piqued my interest in finding the original classic. This fresh perspective allowed me to fully appreciate the unique elements of Erica Ivy Rodgers' novel.
.
This story is set in a world where guardians—spirit-infused scarecrows—are the protectors of humanity against wraiths. It all begins with tragedy when Charlotte's father is an honored guardian wrongfully accused and executed. The rest of the guardians are taken into custody; thus, the kingdom is in danger until Charlotte takes up her father's mantle after her brother's untimely demise.
.
Rodgers does nice world-building. She vividly sets the scene in which old gods, their powers, political intrigue, and personal strife all combine. I found the magic system—when it got down to the guardians fighting the vengeful spirits—to be quite fresh and interesting. The only thing is that I have the impression that it would have been much more interesting with extra depth in lore about the gods and character backgrounds to enhance the narrative.
.
One can trace very well Charlotte's growth from protective sister to guardian. She is supported by a team of guardians, all of whom are so interesting and have distinct diverse personalities. There is a nice romantic subplot with Captain Luc Montaigne that also brings tension and further complication, but there is still much to be revealed where his inner conflict and motives are concerned.
.
Lady of Steel and Straw is able to blend fantasy with action, even with pacing issues, keeping me wanting more in the next installment. The creativity in magic use, character relationships, and many other plot ideas make it a really interesting read among YA fantasies.
.
.
This story is set in a world where guardians—spirit-infused scarecrows—are the protectors of humanity against wraiths. It all begins with tragedy when Charlotte's father is an honored guardian wrongfully accused and executed. The rest of the guardians are taken into custody; thus, the kingdom is in danger until Charlotte takes up her father's mantle after her brother's untimely demise.
.
Rodgers does nice world-building. She vividly sets the scene in which old gods, their powers, political intrigue, and personal strife all combine. I found the magic system—when it got down to the guardians fighting the vengeful spirits—to be quite fresh and interesting. The only thing is that I have the impression that it would have been much more interesting with extra depth in lore about the gods and character backgrounds to enhance the narrative.
.
One can trace very well Charlotte's growth from protective sister to guardian. She is supported by a team of guardians, all of whom are so interesting and have distinct diverse personalities. There is a nice romantic subplot with Captain Luc Montaigne that also brings tension and further complication, but there is still much to be revealed where his inner conflict and motives are concerned.
.
Lady of Steel and Straw is able to blend fantasy with action, even with pacing issues, keeping me wanting more in the next installment. The creativity in magic use, character relationships, and many other plot ideas make it a really interesting read among YA fantasies.
.