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onelemonylime's review
4.0
4 Stars. Recommend. May be some time before I read it again, but who knows?
Summary: Meet the King's Mystic: Senneth, a 34-year-old woman with strong powers and a colorful past. Used to wandering alone from one adventure to the next, she finds herself traveling with a set of unlikely companions across the kingdom. There is her former student, Kirra—a free-spirited noblewoman who can change shape and heal. There is Kirra's companion, quiet but fiercely loyal Donnal, who shares Kirra's ability to shapeshift. There are two King's Riders, hot-headed Justin and wary Tayse, who have grudgingly sworn to protect Senneth on her mission. And there is Cammon, a teenage boy rescued from a life of slavery when Senneth discovers that he is a dormant mystic, with powers yet unexplored.
These are dark times for the group to travel. A new religious order is slowly taking hold in the kingdom of Gillengaria—a religious order that condemns all mystics to death. Bolstering it are whispers that the king himself has fallen prey to a mystic wife, a mysterious woman few have seen. The people are growing restless, and Senneth senses that there is much violence ahead. However, if she hopes to save the kingdom she loves, she must learn to rely on her new companions and face the ghosts of her past.
Overall: The telling of the story starts some time after the journey has begun, with most of the company already formed. Yet the leisurely pace of the plot gives the reader plenty of time to grow familiar with the characters and to piece together what each knows about the other. Despite various escapades and misadventures, there is something rather comfortable about the story. Senneth is not out to save her kingdom—at least, not right away; rather, her journey is rather one of discovery: of the kingdom, and of herself. So, mounting stakes notwithstanding, the whole book reads more like a character study than anything else.
And I liked the characters. Each felt unique, and as the events unfolded, their relationships to one another shifted and solidified in alternating turns, making them feel indeed like an extended dysfunctional family. I loved Kirra's ease at taking different guises, her vanity and yet her clear affection for Senneth. Justin's hotheadedness made me smile, just as his unwavering loyalty to Tayse was sweet and heartwarming. Perhaps Tayse was a little bit of a stick in the mud, but he always acted according to his internal code of honor, and cannot be blamed for some unnecessary pigheadedness. And Senneth, who is unwaveringly loyal and steady and fierce and strong, never once comes across as dully perfect.
I was attracted to the idea of a steadily developed romance, and "Mystic and Rider" certainly delivered. It creeps up on you, subtle and almost forgotten, until Tayse begrudgingly does something nice. Until Senneth draws a little too close, surveys her companion a little too long. It really picks up toward the end, and while I'm not sure Shinn wasn't just a little heavy-handed in creating conflict, it nevertheless achieved the desired effect of making the final conclusion all the more worthwhile.
This book is not for everyone, or every mood. Another day, this read might have bored me out of my mind with the pacing. But for my mood yesterday, this read was just right. While there are many more to this series, I am perfectly content with how this story ended.
Reminds me of... Kristin Cashore's Graceling series, such as "Graceling" or "Fire".
Summary: Meet the King's Mystic: Senneth, a 34-year-old woman with strong powers and a colorful past. Used to wandering alone from one adventure to the next, she finds herself traveling with a set of unlikely companions across the kingdom. There is her former student, Kirra—a free-spirited noblewoman who can change shape and heal. There is Kirra's companion, quiet but fiercely loyal Donnal, who shares Kirra's ability to shapeshift. There are two King's Riders, hot-headed Justin and wary Tayse, who have grudgingly sworn to protect Senneth on her mission. And there is Cammon, a teenage boy rescued from a life of slavery when Senneth discovers that he is a dormant mystic, with powers yet unexplored.
These are dark times for the group to travel. A new religious order is slowly taking hold in the kingdom of Gillengaria—a religious order that condemns all mystics to death. Bolstering it are whispers that the king himself has fallen prey to a mystic wife, a mysterious woman few have seen. The people are growing restless, and Senneth senses that there is much violence ahead. However, if she hopes to save the kingdom she loves, she must learn to rely on her new companions and face the ghosts of her past.
Overall: The telling of the story starts some time after the journey has begun, with most of the company already formed. Yet the leisurely pace of the plot gives the reader plenty of time to grow familiar with the characters and to piece together what each knows about the other. Despite various escapades and misadventures, there is something rather comfortable about the story. Senneth is not out to save her kingdom—at least, not right away; rather, her journey is rather one of discovery: of the kingdom, and of herself. So, mounting stakes notwithstanding, the whole book reads more like a character study than anything else.
And I liked the characters. Each felt unique, and as the events unfolded, their relationships to one another shifted and solidified in alternating turns, making them feel indeed like an extended dysfunctional family. I loved Kirra's ease at taking different guises, her vanity and yet her clear affection for Senneth. Justin's hotheadedness made me smile, just as his unwavering loyalty to Tayse was sweet and heartwarming. Perhaps Tayse was a little bit of a stick in the mud, but he always acted according to his internal code of honor, and cannot be blamed for some unnecessary pigheadedness. And Senneth, who is unwaveringly loyal and steady and fierce and strong, never once comes across as dully perfect.
I was attracted to the idea of a steadily developed romance, and "Mystic and Rider" certainly delivered. It creeps up on you, subtle and almost forgotten, until Tayse begrudgingly does something nice. Until Senneth draws a little too close, surveys her companion a little too long. It really picks up toward the end, and while I'm not sure Shinn wasn't just a little heavy-handed in creating conflict, it nevertheless achieved the desired effect of making the final conclusion all the more worthwhile.
This book is not for everyone, or every mood. Another day, this read might have bored me out of my mind with the pacing. But for my mood yesterday, this read was just right. While there are many more to this series, I am perfectly content with how this story ended.
Reminds me of... Kristin Cashore's Graceling series, such as "Graceling" or "Fire".
milabeille's review
4.0
I found a new serie to love!
I already love Sharon Shinn's serie Elemental Blessings, so I'm happy to have found a new serie of hers that might be just as great, I'm still in the "wait and see" phase but I'm exicted to find out :)
I already love Sharon Shinn's serie Elemental Blessings, so I'm happy to have found a new serie of hers that might be just as great, I'm still in the "wait and see" phase but I'm exicted to find out :)
blueshadow's review
4.0
Wonderful adventure story, with well-developed, unique, likeable characters and plenty of banter.
A minor quibble, the conflicts seemed to be conveniently and easily resolved, but it is YA after all.
There still was plenty of action to keep the story moving, and the writing was good enough to sustain interest on its own. Very enjoyable.
A minor quibble, the conflicts seemed to be conveniently and easily resolved, but it is YA after all.
There still was plenty of action to keep the story moving, and the writing was good enough to sustain interest on its own. Very enjoyable.
veronica87's review against another edition
3.0
This is what I'd call light fantasy...like, really, really light fantasy. It's a good pick for readers new to the genre or for those who don't typically like fantasy stories as a whole. But for fantasy reading veterans, I'd skip this. There's room for a deep dive but the author chose to only skim the surface.
charlotekerstenauthor's review
“You say I have the power to break you- well, you have changed me, and I did not think I was capable of changing again. I only hope you will not abandon me, so altered and strange to myself, because you think I am too proud to accept your love. I would hate for my life to go on like that, empty of you. I think I would be the one to finally break, after that.”
So What’s It About?
There are stirrings of discontent in the southern Houses of Gillengaria, rumors of growing power and terrible acts committed against magic users. The King dispatches the talented mystic Senneth to travel the twelve Houses of the kingdom and assess the true level of danger to the throne. A number of unlikely allies accompany her: two of the most esteemed King’s Riders, Tayse and Justin, the noble and well-connected mystic Kirra and her loyal companion Donnal, and an enslaved mystic boy that they free early in their quest, Cammon. As they travel they grow closer and realize that this closeness may be the only thing that will keep them alive through their increasingly dangerous journey.
What Did I Think?
There really is absolutely nothing like a found family, is there? I live for those motley collections of oddballs who bicker and squabble with the ease that comes with familiarity, who gradually come to share more of who they are and love each other is spite of and because of their differences. When Mystic and Rider starts there are very clear demarcations of loyalty between members of the traveling party – Tayse and Justin are a guarded, almost-hostile unit, Kirra and Donnal are another unit, albeit much friendlier, and Cammon and Senneth are the loners. Through a gradual and delicate process throughout the story these demarcations blur and ease until the whole is much greater than its parts. Senneth is at the heart of this process and a great deal of her growth comes from gradually realizing that she can let her walls down and trust others. As the gang travels with company of soldiers at the end of their journey, it is apparent how true this is, and how much the others have come to care for her:
“Everyone was civil to her, though completely indifferent; she thought, if she wanted, she could slip away entirely.
Except that , on the day she was feeling most glum about her near-invisibility, Cammon sought her out to reside beside her for two solid hours. Except that, over nearly every meal as she was being most outrageous, Kirra would send a look and a smile her way. Except that, when a Rider accidentally bumped Senneth on horseback, Justin was instantly beside her, calling the young man by all sorts of furious names and making sure that Senneth was entirely unhurt.
Except that, every night as he made his circuit around the campfire, Tayse looked first for her.”
I said that the whole is greater than the sum of its parts, but it should be clear that those individual parts are also very special. Each member of the group is a well-drawn and dimensional individual- Senneth is calm, serene and steady, Kirra is delightfully charming and warm, Donnal is long-suffering and single-mindedly devoted to Kirra, Justin is surly and defensive, Tayse is guarded but steadfast and rational, and Cammon is both shy and eager to learn. I want to talk about Justin and Kirra in a little more detail, as they were the standout members of the cast to me.
When the story begins, Justin is easily the most hostile character- he is fiercely devoted to Tayse but has nothing but contempt for the rest of the group. As the story progresses, it gradually becomes clear that a great deal of this comes from the manner in which Tayse rescued him from a life of deprivation and violence. When Tayse is kidnapped, Justin shows more vulnerability than he has at any other point in the story and must learn to trust the other members of the group. The following is my favorite moment in the book, so you’ll have to excuse the long quote:
“Let go of me!” he cried. “He is-Tayse is- I have to go to him! Stay here if you want-all of you-but I must find him! He is-he is-“
And he stood there in the middle of the road, that sneering, cynical boy, and began to weep with grief.
“Justin-Justin.” Senneth exclaimed, pulling him back to her with one hand on his arm, putting her other hand up to his cheek. “Justin, listen to me, we will get him back. Justin, do yo hear me?”…
He tried desperately to stop his crying and made an effort to turn away from her, humiliated and terrified and paralyzed with helplessness…
“We will go after him. But we have to have a plan. Are you with me, Justin? Will you trust me? I can do this. But you have to help.”
Finally he looked at her, his eyes swollen, his face blotched with tears and terror. For a moment she way the boy Tayse must have seen so long ago on the streets of Ghosenhall-fighting for his life knowing it was such an easy thing to lose. She put her hands again to both sides of his face and drew him closer so that his forehead rested against hers. “I trust you,” he whispered. “What do you want me to do?”
What a beautiful moment, right? It shows so much of Senneth’s strength and kindness, and so much of the fear and devotion that Justin carries with him in equal measure.
I was also delighted by Kirra, who is just this exuberant, charming beam of light and goodness. I have an incredible soft spot for the type of character that she is- I lovr charming and warm and possibly-slightly-spoiled female characters who may be written off as superficial by some people but have secret hidden depths of insight and strength. To level with you, most of my notes for this review were just passages involving Kirra being an absolute revelation:
Kirra gestured. “Our room-his room-empty except for the two of you. Surely you can think of ways to mend your differences.”
Senneth groaned and slid down on the bed, pulling one of the pillows over her face. ‘Go. Out. Leave before I set you on fire.”
“Other people you could be enflaming tonight,” Kirra said, and hastily departed.
Or:
“…all of them were losing pretty handily to Donnal.
“I think he’s cheating,” Justin said at last. “I think he’s changing the cards as he holds them in his hands.”
“That’s what I’m doing, but it doesn’t seem to be doing me any good,” Kirra said.
Absolutely delightful. The close friendship between Kirra and Senneth is also wonderful, and oftentimes it is with Senneth that Kirra reveals her more serious and genuine side:
“If terrible things are coming, you probably cannot avert them,” Kirra said softly. “And if they come, it will not be up to you alone to stop them. Why do you always think that? Why do you always believe there is no one nearby to help you?”
To summarize: Kirra!!!!!!!!!
As the entire group of travelers grows into a group of friends, Senneth and Tayse gradually fall in love with each other, and it is the relationship between the two that gives the book its name. As with almost everything in the book, their romance is a deliberate, gentle development. There is a tiny bit of angst over one particular revelation but overall it’s an incredibly mature romance in the sense that it is more or less just two rational, kind people gradually overcoming justified distrust and finding that they truly respect and care for each other. As such, its extremely refreshing.
My main struggle with Mystic and Rider has to do with the use of magic as an oppression metaphor. I’ve thought a lot about this in terms of one of my favorite game series, Dragon Age, and I think some of same considerations apply here. With any form of real world oppression, the oppressor’s justifications for their violence are not backed up by any kind of verity, but when mages are oppressed in a fantasy setting there is oftentimes a very valid basis for fear. There is a difference between the nature of the oppressive narratives that just doesn’t track well with me: if a misogynist states that men are superior to women because they are innately more intelligent and capable of leadership than women, there is no basis to that belief other than prejudice. But Senneth actually can fucking light anyone or anything ablaze at any given moment!! I would say that a certain level of caution is justified!! I am not trying to say that the kind of mass paranoia and mob violence seen in Mystic and Rider would ever be justified in response to fear, but to me it does change the narrative when that fear is actually somewhat based upon the fact that the feared group has a massively destructive kind of power that no one else possesses, as opposed to being based solely and entirely upon lies and mechanisms of othering propagated by oppressive forces.
One final note is that poor Donnal seems to get much less characterization than the rest of the gang, He spends 90% of the time standing guard in one animal form or another, and the other 10% of his time is essentially spend silently and devotedly traipsing after Kirra like a lovesick puppy. I wish he had been given the same amount of attention that the others were. This is a minor quibble, however, and I nonetheless leave Mystic and Rider with a full heart and a sense of deep contentment.
So What’s It About?
There are stirrings of discontent in the southern Houses of Gillengaria, rumors of growing power and terrible acts committed against magic users. The King dispatches the talented mystic Senneth to travel the twelve Houses of the kingdom and assess the true level of danger to the throne. A number of unlikely allies accompany her: two of the most esteemed King’s Riders, Tayse and Justin, the noble and well-connected mystic Kirra and her loyal companion Donnal, and an enslaved mystic boy that they free early in their quest, Cammon. As they travel they grow closer and realize that this closeness may be the only thing that will keep them alive through their increasingly dangerous journey.
What Did I Think?
There really is absolutely nothing like a found family, is there? I live for those motley collections of oddballs who bicker and squabble with the ease that comes with familiarity, who gradually come to share more of who they are and love each other is spite of and because of their differences. When Mystic and Rider starts there are very clear demarcations of loyalty between members of the traveling party – Tayse and Justin are a guarded, almost-hostile unit, Kirra and Donnal are another unit, albeit much friendlier, and Cammon and Senneth are the loners. Through a gradual and delicate process throughout the story these demarcations blur and ease until the whole is much greater than its parts. Senneth is at the heart of this process and a great deal of her growth comes from gradually realizing that she can let her walls down and trust others. As the gang travels with company of soldiers at the end of their journey, it is apparent how true this is, and how much the others have come to care for her:
“Everyone was civil to her, though completely indifferent; she thought, if she wanted, she could slip away entirely.
Except that , on the day she was feeling most glum about her near-invisibility, Cammon sought her out to reside beside her for two solid hours. Except that, over nearly every meal as she was being most outrageous, Kirra would send a look and a smile her way. Except that, when a Rider accidentally bumped Senneth on horseback, Justin was instantly beside her, calling the young man by all sorts of furious names and making sure that Senneth was entirely unhurt.
Except that, every night as he made his circuit around the campfire, Tayse looked first for her.”
I said that the whole is greater than the sum of its parts, but it should be clear that those individual parts are also very special. Each member of the group is a well-drawn and dimensional individual- Senneth is calm, serene and steady, Kirra is delightfully charming and warm, Donnal is long-suffering and single-mindedly devoted to Kirra, Justin is surly and defensive, Tayse is guarded but steadfast and rational, and Cammon is both shy and eager to learn. I want to talk about Justin and Kirra in a little more detail, as they were the standout members of the cast to me.
When the story begins, Justin is easily the most hostile character- he is fiercely devoted to Tayse but has nothing but contempt for the rest of the group. As the story progresses, it gradually becomes clear that a great deal of this comes from the manner in which Tayse rescued him from a life of deprivation and violence. When Tayse is kidnapped, Justin shows more vulnerability than he has at any other point in the story and must learn to trust the other members of the group. The following is my favorite moment in the book, so you’ll have to excuse the long quote:
“Let go of me!” he cried. “He is-Tayse is- I have to go to him! Stay here if you want-all of you-but I must find him! He is-he is-“
And he stood there in the middle of the road, that sneering, cynical boy, and began to weep with grief.
“Justin-Justin.” Senneth exclaimed, pulling him back to her with one hand on his arm, putting her other hand up to his cheek. “Justin, listen to me, we will get him back. Justin, do yo hear me?”…
He tried desperately to stop his crying and made an effort to turn away from her, humiliated and terrified and paralyzed with helplessness…
“We will go after him. But we have to have a plan. Are you with me, Justin? Will you trust me? I can do this. But you have to help.”
Finally he looked at her, his eyes swollen, his face blotched with tears and terror. For a moment she way the boy Tayse must have seen so long ago on the streets of Ghosenhall-fighting for his life knowing it was such an easy thing to lose. She put her hands again to both sides of his face and drew him closer so that his forehead rested against hers. “I trust you,” he whispered. “What do you want me to do?”
What a beautiful moment, right? It shows so much of Senneth’s strength and kindness, and so much of the fear and devotion that Justin carries with him in equal measure.
I was also delighted by Kirra, who is just this exuberant, charming beam of light and goodness. I have an incredible soft spot for the type of character that she is- I lovr charming and warm and possibly-slightly-spoiled female characters who may be written off as superficial by some people but have secret hidden depths of insight and strength. To level with you, most of my notes for this review were just passages involving Kirra being an absolute revelation:
Kirra gestured. “Our room-his room-empty except for the two of you. Surely you can think of ways to mend your differences.”
Senneth groaned and slid down on the bed, pulling one of the pillows over her face. ‘Go. Out. Leave before I set you on fire.”
“Other people you could be enflaming tonight,” Kirra said, and hastily departed.
Or:
“…all of them were losing pretty handily to Donnal.
“I think he’s cheating,” Justin said at last. “I think he’s changing the cards as he holds them in his hands.”
“That’s what I’m doing, but it doesn’t seem to be doing me any good,” Kirra said.
Absolutely delightful. The close friendship between Kirra and Senneth is also wonderful, and oftentimes it is with Senneth that Kirra reveals her more serious and genuine side:
“If terrible things are coming, you probably cannot avert them,” Kirra said softly. “And if they come, it will not be up to you alone to stop them. Why do you always think that? Why do you always believe there is no one nearby to help you?”
To summarize: Kirra!!!!!!!!!
As the entire group of travelers grows into a group of friends, Senneth and Tayse gradually fall in love with each other, and it is the relationship between the two that gives the book its name. As with almost everything in the book, their romance is a deliberate, gentle development. There is a tiny bit of angst over one particular revelation but overall it’s an incredibly mature romance in the sense that it is more or less just two rational, kind people gradually overcoming justified distrust and finding that they truly respect and care for each other. As such, its extremely refreshing.
My main struggle with Mystic and Rider has to do with the use of magic as an oppression metaphor. I’ve thought a lot about this in terms of one of my favorite game series, Dragon Age, and I think some of same considerations apply here. With any form of real world oppression, the oppressor’s justifications for their violence are not backed up by any kind of verity, but when mages are oppressed in a fantasy setting there is oftentimes a very valid basis for fear. There is a difference between the nature of the oppressive narratives that just doesn’t track well with me: if a misogynist states that men are superior to women because they are innately more intelligent and capable of leadership than women, there is no basis to that belief other than prejudice. But Senneth actually can fucking light anyone or anything ablaze at any given moment!! I would say that a certain level of caution is justified!! I am not trying to say that the kind of mass paranoia and mob violence seen in Mystic and Rider would ever be justified in response to fear, but to me it does change the narrative when that fear is actually somewhat based upon the fact that the feared group has a massively destructive kind of power that no one else possesses, as opposed to being based solely and entirely upon lies and mechanisms of othering propagated by oppressive forces.
One final note is that poor Donnal seems to get much less characterization than the rest of the gang, He spends 90% of the time standing guard in one animal form or another, and the other 10% of his time is essentially spend silently and devotedly traipsing after Kirra like a lovesick puppy. I wish he had been given the same amount of attention that the others were. This is a minor quibble, however, and I nonetheless leave Mystic and Rider with a full heart and a sense of deep contentment.
wellactjoally's review
adventurous
emotional
funny
hopeful
reflective
tense
medium-paced
5.0
An epic saga with a romance! A journey brings together six dissimilar people and a mystical cat. Crazy nuns, political intrigue, sword fighting.
eososray's review
4.0
I loved this book! The writing was superb, the style engaging and the characters fascinating. I adore Senneth and her indomitable spirit, the way she always does what she sees as right and her strength and independance. Starting out the story when the mission was already started and learning about the characters and their goals as the story progressed made it all the more interesting.
We follow a small group of riders, some are mystics and some are soldiers, through the kingdom on a mission for the King to determine the atmosphere in the far reaches of the nation. As they learn more about each other and the issues that may affect the realm they come to trust and look out for each other. Oh, and there's a bit of a love story too.
We follow a small group of riders, some are mystics and some are soldiers, through the kingdom on a mission for the King to determine the atmosphere in the far reaches of the nation. As they learn more about each other and the issues that may affect the realm they come to trust and look out for each other. Oh, and there's a bit of a love story too.
aoife_k's review against another edition
adventurous
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.5
I liked the journey, and enjoyed the fact that we got to see the characters interacting with each other in their down time. We got to see them making camp and dealing with each other.
However I felt like there wasn't really an overall goal, or rather that it was too vague, so the ending felt rather disatisfying. I was only interested enough to read the synopsis of the next book to see whether I'd continue, as while I don't regret reading this book, it didn't leave me wanting more.
However I felt like there wasn't really an overall goal, or rather that it was too vague, so the ending felt rather disatisfying. I was only interested enough to read the synopsis of the next book to see whether I'd continue, as while I don't regret reading this book, it didn't leave me wanting more.
annestef1a's review
5.0
Now, when people ask me who's my favorite heroine ever, I can now answer them something–and that's gotta be Senneth from Mystic and Rider. No words can express how I love this heroine.