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3.39 AVERAGE
3.39 AVERAGE
If I hadn't read so many fantasy books over the years and was 5 years younger, maybe I would have enjoyed The Last of the Firedrakes. The story takes place in a generic and dull fantasy setting with characters that are either good or bad - no room for complexity here! Our main character, Aurora, is as bland as they come (and acts sometimes like an imbecile - but then I guess we, as readers, wouldn't get exposition otherwise). While it did not work for me, I'm sure a younger reader would enjoy the book.
The cover's pretty though.
The cover's pretty though.
I was given this book in exchange for an honest review.
This book was a fun and fast read, great for pre-teens and teens. The author has developed great characters in this book, especially Aurora and Rafe. Aurora is such a fun character. I love that the author makes her so realistic. Many times in books authors will make teen characters a little over the top; either super complacent (which teens just aren't) or so bratty you can't stand them (which luckily most aren't). Aurora is just the right mix, a little snarky and head-strong but an overall good kid. And then there is Rafe! So many readers of the female persuasion are completely captivated by what we refer to as our 'book boyfriends'. There is just something girls love about great male characters that sweep the female lead off their feet and Rafe is a great example of this. A man of mystery, amazing fighter and totally committed to Aurora. If only it were that simple! Not giving anything away though so read the book! There are only a few things about this book that I didn’t like. First, Aurora’s stint at the magic school was a bit reminiscent of Harry Potter. So I know that the plot line is completely different but I just couldn't help but get that Harry Potter vibe when Aurora enrolls in the magic school. It could be that I would feel the same way about any book featuring a magic school since I loved all the Harry Potter books. Who knows? Second thing I didn’t like was the lack of depth in the story. The plot is great and the writer is amazing but I wished that there had been a little more depth to the story. It almost had more of a novella or serial feel (which for the record I do not enjoy) instead of a novel. The author skimmed over so much potential story, especially with Aurora's time at school. I like to really get in to the character's heads and understand the reasons behind what they do in the story and I just didn't get that in this book. Overall this book was wonderful and is definitely one that I will be encouraging my kids (and everyone else) to read.
This book was a fun and fast read, great for pre-teens and teens. The author has developed great characters in this book, especially Aurora and Rafe. Aurora is such a fun character. I love that the author makes her so realistic. Many times in books authors will make teen characters a little over the top; either super complacent (which teens just aren't) or so bratty you can't stand them (which luckily most aren't). Aurora is just the right mix, a little snarky and head-strong but an overall good kid. And then there is Rafe! So many readers of the female persuasion are completely captivated by what we refer to as our 'book boyfriends'. There is just something girls love about great male characters that sweep the female lead off their feet and Rafe is a great example of this. A man of mystery, amazing fighter and totally committed to Aurora. If only it were that simple! Not giving anything away though so read the book! There are only a few things about this book that I didn’t like. First, Aurora’s stint at the magic school was a bit reminiscent of Harry Potter. So I know that the plot line is completely different but I just couldn't help but get that Harry Potter vibe when Aurora enrolls in the magic school. It could be that I would feel the same way about any book featuring a magic school since I loved all the Harry Potter books. Who knows? Second thing I didn’t like was the lack of depth in the story. The plot is great and the writer is amazing but I wished that there had been a little more depth to the story. It almost had more of a novella or serial feel (which for the record I do not enjoy) instead of a novel. The author skimmed over so much potential story, especially with Aurora's time at school. I like to really get in to the character's heads and understand the reasons behind what they do in the story and I just didn't get that in this book. Overall this book was wonderful and is definitely one that I will be encouraging my kids (and everyone else) to read.
This review is posted on my blog
I received this book as an advanced reading copy through Netgally from Wise Ink Creative Publishing and before I say anything I would like to say a big thank you to them for allowing me to read this book.
The long asked question of 'what to read after Harry Potter' has been answered, as long as you don't mind a bit of déjà vu. I thoroughly enjoyed Oomerbhoy's masterpiece, from the stunning cover, to the cliff hanger at the end, and all the wonderfulness between. It took me a bit to get going, but once I did I couldn't put it down!
I was initially a little put off by the similarities in the plot to the Harry Potter series, it felt like someone chopped the books into chapter sized hunks, mixed them up and stripped away the details, then put them back together and filled in with a new story. As the book went on, however, the comparisons lessened and it grew in it's own right, blooming into a very compelling story. It still puts you in mind of Dursleys, Hogwarts, and a certain blonde would-be villain, but it has a flavor all it's own.
I was very impressed with Aurora's character. She was flawed, and young, but she was very likable. I don't always love main characters, but she felt very real to me. She was not obnoxiously over confident, but she also did not float about putting herself down so others would praise her. I liked that she has dark hair, and that she loves her dark hair. This stuck with me for some reason, and I started to picture her like princess Jasmine from Disney's Aladdin!
There was a romantic side to this book, and again, I must say it was beautifully written. I am normally left on the outside of romances looking in thinking 'good, she is happy,' or 'they want to be together' but that was not the case here. There is a point in this book, where Aurora and Rafe's inevitable romance just hits me! Not only did I want it to work out, but Oomerbhoy paints such a beautiful picture of longing that it leaks out of the page and you can feel it.
Rafe was probably my favorite, and I couldn't help but picture him as a cross between Flynn Rider, and Aladdin! He put me in mind of a Robin Hood character immediately and I loved the depth his character has! I really feel for him in his current mess he find's himself in, and I can't wait to see how he fixes it!
I think the biggest drawback to this book was that there were places that the plot similarities did become a bit overwhelming, mainly in the begining of the book, so if you are someone who is bothered by that you may not enjoy this book as much as you should. But the similarities are less as you go, so I have high hopes for the next book. No word on when the next book will be out, but I'll be here waiting when it does!
This book is set to be published on August 15, 2015 hop on over to Amazon right now and pre-order your copy!
I received this book as an advanced reading copy through Netgally from Wise Ink Creative Publishing and before I say anything I would like to say a big thank you to them for allowing me to read this book.
The long asked question of 'what to read after Harry Potter' has been answered, as long as you don't mind a bit of déjà vu. I thoroughly enjoyed Oomerbhoy's masterpiece, from the stunning cover, to the cliff hanger at the end, and all the wonderfulness between. It took me a bit to get going, but once I did I couldn't put it down!
I was initially a little put off by the similarities in the plot to the Harry Potter series, it felt like someone chopped the books into chapter sized hunks, mixed them up and stripped away the details, then put them back together and filled in with a new story. As the book went on, however, the comparisons lessened and it grew in it's own right, blooming into a very compelling story. It still puts you in mind of Dursleys, Hogwarts, and a certain blonde would-be villain, but it has a flavor all it's own.
I was very impressed with Aurora's character. She was flawed, and young, but she was very likable. I don't always love main characters, but she felt very real to me. She was not obnoxiously over confident, but she also did not float about putting herself down so others would praise her. I liked that she has dark hair, and that she loves her dark hair. This stuck with me for some reason, and I started to picture her like princess Jasmine from Disney's Aladdin!
There was a romantic side to this book, and again, I must say it was beautifully written. I am normally left on the outside of romances looking in thinking 'good, she is happy,' or 'they want to be together' but that was not the case here. There is a point in this book, where Aurora and Rafe's inevitable romance just hits me! Not only did I want it to work out, but Oomerbhoy paints such a beautiful picture of longing that it leaks out of the page and you can feel it.
Rafe was probably my favorite, and I couldn't help but picture him as a cross between Flynn Rider, and Aladdin! He put me in mind of a Robin Hood character immediately and I loved the depth his character has! I really feel for him in his current mess he find's himself in, and I can't wait to see how he fixes it!
I think the biggest drawback to this book was that there were places that the plot similarities did become a bit overwhelming, mainly in the begining of the book, so if you are someone who is bothered by that you may not enjoy this book as much as you should. But the similarities are less as you go, so I have high hopes for the next book. No word on when the next book will be out, but I'll be here waiting when it does!
This book is set to be published on August 15, 2015 hop on over to Amazon right now and pre-order your copy!
I loved this one. This fantasy series, unlike the usual all perfect heroes and heroines in most of the fantasies, the story has a heroine who takes wrong decisions at times impulsively. She is kind-hearted, deft, hardworking and willful. The thoughts seems immatured and natural as any 16-year old girl. But her wrong decisions sometimes leads to some unintended disasters and it makes life miserable, but more adventurous.
Thinks I liked:
*thrilling, creative, fast paced.
*not all perfect, but little immatured, impulsive heroine as we would expect from any ordinary 16-year old
Things I didn't like much:
*Predictive
*Little too fast in the beginning, but then balanced
*Some places, the heroine seems extra-ordinary, like catching up with the magic world at jet speed even after living in non-magic world, which seemed little difficult to digest
Thinks I liked:
*thrilling, creative, fast paced.
*not all perfect, but little immatured, impulsive heroine as we would expect from any ordinary 16-year old
Things I didn't like much:
*Predictive
*Little too fast in the beginning, but then balanced
*Some places, the heroine seems extra-ordinary, like catching up with the magic world at jet speed even after living in non-magic world, which seemed little difficult to digest
The world building is vivid and extensive. Some of that detail and development could have been applied to characters. I really wanted Vivienne, for instance, to be three-dimensional (and I'm more interested in this female friendship than in the heteronormative romance).
This book is sometimes really hard to put down—especially from the time that she goes through the magic portal to the time that she's about to start taking magic lessons. That section especially—and that's a long section—felt like an old-fashioned fantasy novel, like the Oz books or something by Lord Dunsany.
Other times... the protagonist's foolish choices makes me want to throw it across the room.
The London scenes reminded me of Harry Potter: an orphan and foundling living with abusive relatives (though here they're only related to her adoptive parents). Also a kid who's extremely unpopular and bullied... turns out to be a very special person in another world (which is a big part of why HP was such a hit).
When you start hearing about a demon kingdom and how the previous fae-mage killed the demon king, it reminds me of Hindu mythology. But it continues to mostly remind me of fairy tales and old-fashioned fantasy (including Narnia).
As for its similarities to Narnia, I dislike her demonization of witches—that's unfeminist. In my writing and books I love, you get to meet good witches.
The book needed another round of revision.
An example: When Aurora is about to tell her story to Vivienne, she asks her to promise to have an open mind... but she doesn't ask her to promise not to tell anyone! After she tells her story, she hopes Vivienne doesn't tell anyone. This made no sense to me.
Also, it could have used more "show, don't tell." And... some sentences and redundant phrases should have been deleted before publication. Ditto a few details (do we really need to know every time we first see a library that the books are "leather-bound"?).
The protagonist's foolhardiness gets annoying, especially at the end. Basically, everyone who says she needs to know more about fae magic and demon magic before rescuing her mother is correct.
That said, it's very entertaining. The descriptions sometimes remind me of Caraval—mainly the posh shopping district. The costumes, decor, and architecture are gorgeous. The fight scenes are well-written.
I don't intend to read the rest of the series. Just... no. I have sooo many other books to read.
See my blog tour post on Books and Ladders
I thought this one was okay. It started off kind of slow and picked up a bit of pace as we went through the story. But I did think it had some hiccups along the way. Including the romance and the mid-break for "training."
I'm not even going to touch on the human world to fantasy land stuff with the abusive family because I wasn't a fan of it. It was jarring and unsettling (and very familiar...).
So first, let me start off by saying that I love fantasy books, especially ones where we get to see the person train and learn magic and they aren't extremely good at it but learn it over time. But it was a little odd to me that Aurora would be this important Princess and start being trained by her uncle only to then go onto a magical academy. And have no one recognize her. And the staff knows about her but doesn't give her extra lessons until after she "proves" herself? No there is no way that would happen. She is a princess, she should have been given those extra lessons right away. I also thought that it was just awkwardly placed in the story. There was no flow between being in one place to the next except that the author obviously wanted the story to go some place else.
I liked some of the characters though. I am intrigued with the side characters more than the main characters, but I am also glad that there doesn't seem to be a love triangle yet. I do hope that there isn't one. But the romance portion was just okay. I like Rafe and think he is a good character, well written. However, he isn't swoonworthy in my opinion. But maybe that is because I never really felt a connection to Aurora. I thought she was kind of bratty and stuck up and we never really bonded.
What redeemed this for me was the world building and the magic. The world is HUGE and I am so glad that a map was included because there are so many places and people that get discussed without ever really being introduced. We meet so many different people throughout the novel, especially at the Ball, and I was having a hard time keeping them straight. But the politics was thoroughly explained and I found myself wanting to know more about the ruling of the land and how the areas all intertwined. I also thought that a lot of this was well explained without having too many info-dumps. And the magic was well written. I mean, of course, Aurora has incredible magic that is far superior than everyone else, but I am excited to see how fae magic works. I am a sucker for well written magic, and I do think this was up there in terms of well written magic. Better than some that I have read.
Overall: 3/5 stars. The pacing was off, the romance was meh, and it was pretty predictable. But it was still okay.
I thought this one was okay. It started off kind of slow and picked up a bit of pace as we went through the story. But I did think it had some hiccups along the way. Including the romance and the mid-break for "training."
I'm not even going to touch on the human world to fantasy land stuff with the abusive family because I wasn't a fan of it. It was jarring and unsettling (and very familiar...).
So first, let me start off by saying that I love fantasy books, especially ones where we get to see the person train and learn magic and they aren't extremely good at it but learn it over time. But it was a little odd to me that Aurora would be this important Princess and start being trained by her uncle only to then go onto a magical academy. And have no one recognize her. And the staff knows about her but doesn't give her extra lessons until after she "proves" herself? No there is no way that would happen. She is a princess, she should have been given those extra lessons right away. I also thought that it was just awkwardly placed in the story. There was no flow between being in one place to the next except that the author obviously wanted the story to go some place else.
I liked some of the characters though. I am intrigued with the side characters more than the main characters, but I am also glad that there doesn't seem to be a love triangle yet. I do hope that there isn't one. But the romance portion was just okay. I like Rafe and think he is a good character, well written. However, he isn't swoonworthy in my opinion. But maybe that is because I never really felt a connection to Aurora. I thought she was kind of bratty and stuck up and we never really bonded.
What redeemed this for me was the world building and the magic. The world is HUGE and I am so glad that a map was included because there are so many places and people that get discussed without ever really being introduced. We meet so many different people throughout the novel, especially at the Ball, and I was having a hard time keeping them straight. But the politics was thoroughly explained and I found myself wanting to know more about the ruling of the land and how the areas all intertwined. I also thought that a lot of this was well explained without having too many info-dumps. And the magic was well written. I mean, of course, Aurora has incredible magic that is far superior than everyone else, but I am excited to see how fae magic works. I am a sucker for well written magic, and I do think this was up there in terms of well written magic. Better than some that I have read.
Overall: 3/5 stars. The pacing was off, the romance was meh, and it was pretty predictable. But it was still okay.
This review appears in full on What Am I Reading?
Rate: 2.75
I received a copy of this book via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.
What I Liked
Rafe: My feelings for Rafe remind me of that pen commercial where the guy isn't doing anything, but the girls still fawn over him. Rafe doesn't do much in the story other than safe Aurora and yet I love his character. I love that he's always there to save Aurora in the nick of time (like a superhero) and expresses his emotions in the most boy-like way (telling Aurora not to get into trouble while he's away). Even though Rafe doesn't play a large role in the story, just having him in Aurora's life made Aurora do things that made me laugh. (Most readers probably won't find the story funny, but I stopped taking Aurora seriously early on.)
The end: At the 65/70% mark, the story begins to pick up. This is because the latter part of the book has a "big reveal," the confrontation/fight scene, and details that set up the next book. However, if, like me, you pick up on the clues presented at the beginning of the story, the ending is pretty predictable. I think the only thing that drove me to finish the story was my desire to see my predictions come true. Additionally, the ending was good because it seemed to be a faster pace than the rest of the book. It doesn't deviate far from the Aurora gets in trouble, is saved, gets scolded cycle, but it seems more interesting and slightly faster. Plus, the details that set up the next book have me waiting in anticipation.
What I Disliked
Aurora: For the first 10-15% of the story, Aurora spends most of the time crying. Sure, there are parts that warrant a few tears. But she'd start crying at the drop of a dime, which became annoying quickly. The rest of the book Aurora spent her time making bad decisions that I just knew were going to blow up in her face. Again, once I stopped taking the story seriously the story became funnier because it was just a matter of waiting to see what went wrong next. Aurora's behavior and actions are what caused the predictable cycle of the story. Besides continuously getting into trouble, I didn't like Aurora simply because she didn't give me a reason to like her. Every time she vowed to take responsibility and behave like the queen people needed, she would action in a way similar to before she promised to improve thus showing no improvement in her character.
Writing style: My feelings about the writing style are all over the place. This is partly because the writing seems to change a lot. Therefore, instead of trying to write a coherent paragraph detailing what bothered me, I'm going to use bullet points to hopefully get my point across.
~ Cliches: From holding a forgotten breath to miniscule pieces of time feeling like chunks of time to stereotypical physical descriptions, this book is riddled with cliches. Writing isn't easy, but for once, can the protagonist keep breathing? Can seconds just feel like seconds? Does plain have to mean brown hair and brown eyes? (The last one is just me being picky because I have dark brown eyes and dark brown/black hair and I don't want to think of myself as plain.)
~ Tone: Aurora goes from a modern universe where smartphones and social media rule to an old-fashion realm where there's no electricity and multiple kingdoms yet linguistically she transitions effortlessly. She has some trouble remembering the different statuses, but rarely is Aurora ever called out on talking differently.She credits some of her knowledge on previous internet research, but I think a more accurate portrayal of someone going through Aurora's journey is someone who repeatedly stumbles over his/her speech as s/he picks up on that realms mannerisms. Again I'm being picky, but I just feel like the transition went too smoothly. I would have been totally freaking out and in withdrawal once it fully clicked that I couldn't watch my favorite YouTubers or check my email anymore.
Overall, The Last of the Firedrakes isn't a terrible story, but it's the ending that has me wanting to continue with the trilogy. If not for that, I would give up on Aurora, the cliches, and the predictability.
Rate: 2.75
I received a copy of this book via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.
What I Liked
Rafe: My feelings for Rafe remind me of that pen commercial where the guy isn't doing anything, but the girls still fawn over him. Rafe doesn't do much in the story other than safe Aurora and yet I love his character. I love that he's always there to save Aurora in the nick of time (like a superhero) and expresses his emotions in the most boy-like way (telling Aurora not to get into trouble while he's away). Even though Rafe doesn't play a large role in the story, just having him in Aurora's life made Aurora do things that made me laugh. (Most readers probably won't find the story funny, but I stopped taking Aurora seriously early on.)
The end: At the 65/70% mark, the story begins to pick up. This is because the latter part of the book has a "big reveal," the confrontation/fight scene, and details that set up the next book. However, if, like me, you pick up on the clues presented at the beginning of the story, the ending is pretty predictable. I think the only thing that drove me to finish the story was my desire to see my predictions come true. Additionally, the ending was good because it seemed to be a faster pace than the rest of the book. It doesn't deviate far from the Aurora gets in trouble, is saved, gets scolded cycle, but it seems more interesting and slightly faster. Plus, the details that set up the next book have me waiting in anticipation.
What I Disliked
Aurora: For the first 10-15% of the story, Aurora spends most of the time crying. Sure, there are parts that warrant a few tears. But she'd start crying at the drop of a dime, which became annoying quickly. The rest of the book Aurora spent her time making bad decisions that I just knew were going to blow up in her face. Again, once I stopped taking the story seriously the story became funnier because it was just a matter of waiting to see what went wrong next. Aurora's behavior and actions are what caused the predictable cycle of the story. Besides continuously getting into trouble, I didn't like Aurora simply because she didn't give me a reason to like her. Every time she vowed to take responsibility and behave like the queen people needed, she would action in a way similar to before she promised to improve thus showing no improvement in her character.
Writing style: My feelings about the writing style are all over the place. This is partly because the writing seems to change a lot. Therefore, instead of trying to write a coherent paragraph detailing what bothered me, I'm going to use bullet points to hopefully get my point across.
~ Cliches: From holding a forgotten breath to miniscule pieces of time feeling like chunks of time to stereotypical physical descriptions, this book is riddled with cliches. Writing isn't easy, but for once, can the protagonist keep breathing? Can seconds just feel like seconds? Does plain have to mean brown hair and brown eyes? (The last one is just me being picky because I have dark brown eyes and dark brown/black hair and I don't want to think of myself as plain.)
~ Tone: Aurora goes from a modern universe where smartphones and social media rule to an old-fashion realm where there's no electricity and multiple kingdoms yet linguistically she transitions effortlessly. She has some trouble remembering the different statuses, but rarely is Aurora ever called out on talking differently.She credits some of her knowledge on previous internet research, but I think a more accurate portrayal of someone going through Aurora's journey is someone who repeatedly stumbles over his/her speech as s/he picks up on that realms mannerisms. Again I'm being picky, but I just feel like the transition went too smoothly. I would have been totally freaking out and in withdrawal once it fully clicked that I couldn't watch my favorite YouTubers or check my email anymore.
Overall, The Last of the Firedrakes isn't a terrible story, but it's the ending that has me wanting to continue with the trilogy. If not for that, I would give up on Aurora, the cliches, and the predictability.
I received this book in exchange for an honest review.
This book really gave me mixed feelings. On one hand, I really loved the concept and the story. Nothing earth shatteringly different, and the school parts in particular were very Harry Potter-esque, but they were fun and well written. On the other hand, there weren’t too many surprises and Aurora was a hot headed idiot on the regular, and doesn’t seem able to keep a secret if her life depended on it. Guess what, honey?? It does!! Lol.
However, it really did keep me reading, it’s a very more-ish story. And it had quite a bit of pace, things kept moving along. I did have an issue with the amount of it in some ways - we have the “real” world, kidnapped fairy world, family, school, fight. That’s quite a lot of stuff going on for one book. As much as I loved the bits at the school, they were my favourite, they also felt the most unnecessary. They were the most fun though, and we got a lot of background to the world which was great.
Aurora also suffers from insta love boy obsession. Ugh. Dnw. Oh well.
The other niggle I had was that Aurora is supposed to be British, at a British school etc. And it didn’t read that way at all - I suspect it was inspired by American high school tv shows. It’s a minor niggle, but it was pretty obvious to me as I am British 😂.
I wanted more background on her family from both worlds - especially the adopted one. Maybe that comes in a later book, but I’m not sure why it would now, as that’s all done with it seems.
I love the Silverthorne’s though, and it’s always nice to have a supportive family around a main character, even if they are a new family and she ignore everything they tell her... 😂😂
I also love Snow. Can I have a Pegasus please??
And the ending of the fight was pretty awesome. That was probably the most surprising bit. I’m looking forward to reading the next one - I’m definitely intrigued as to what happens next. 3.5 stars.
This book really gave me mixed feelings. On one hand, I really loved the concept and the story. Nothing earth shatteringly different, and the school parts in particular were very Harry Potter-esque, but they were fun and well written. On the other hand, there weren’t too many surprises and Aurora was a hot headed idiot on the regular, and doesn’t seem able to keep a secret if her life depended on it. Guess what, honey?? It does!! Lol.
However, it really did keep me reading, it’s a very more-ish story. And it had quite a bit of pace, things kept moving along. I did have an issue with the amount of it in some ways - we have the “real” world, kidnapped fairy world, family, school, fight. That’s quite a lot of stuff going on for one book. As much as I loved the bits at the school, they were my favourite, they also felt the most unnecessary. They were the most fun though, and we got a lot of background to the world which was great.
Aurora also suffers from insta love boy obsession. Ugh. Dnw. Oh well.
The other niggle I had was that Aurora is supposed to be British, at a British school etc. And it didn’t read that way at all - I suspect it was inspired by American high school tv shows. It’s a minor niggle, but it was pretty obvious to me as I am British 😂.
I wanted more background on her family from both worlds - especially the adopted one. Maybe that comes in a later book, but I’m not sure why it would now, as that’s all done with it seems.
I love the Silverthorne’s though, and it’s always nice to have a supportive family around a main character, even if they are a new family and she ignore everything they tell her... 😂😂
I also love Snow. Can I have a Pegasus please??
And the ending of the fight was pretty awesome. That was probably the most surprising bit. I’m looking forward to reading the next one - I’m definitely intrigued as to what happens next. 3.5 stars.
Dieses Buch liest sich wie die erste Fanfiction einer Dreizehnjährigen, die zum ersten Mal auf Word losgelassen wurde. Die Story ist plump und der Schreibstil bietet weniger Finesse als Ice Planet Barbarians. Stümperhafter könnte es kaum sein.
Die Charaktere sind lächerliche Karrikaturen ihrer selbst und ihre Dialoge könnten kaum schablonenhafter geschrieben worden sein. Ich würde hier einen Vergleich zu Videospielen und NPC Info-Dumps ziehen, allerdings sind NPCs informativer und wiederholen sich nicht gar so häufig wie die Charaktere in diesem Buch, selbst wenn mann dauerhaft A drückt.
Wer ein Mysterium sucht oder ein Buch, das einen mental herausfordert, sollte schleunigst ein anderes suchen, denn hier ist man so falsch wie ein Schneemann am Sommerstrand. Jedes kleinste wundersame Element, das angesprochen wird, wird im nächsten Paragraphen aufgelöst. Wie ist der Pegasus da hin gekommen? Hier ist direkt seine Lebensgeschichte. Wer ist die böse Königin, warum ist sie böse, wie ist sie an die Macht gekommen? Keine Sorge, komisches Mädchen, das sagt sie sei eine Prinzessin und der jeder sofort vertraut, hier ist deine Antwort. Und um ganz sicher zu sein: hier ist auch dein eigener Stammbaum und alle magischen Fähigkeiten, die du später freischalten wirst. Wird diese Info von einem wichtigen Charakter überbracht? Ist es emotional? Nein, das kommt alles von der ersten Dorfschrulle, der wir begegnen. Wieso weiß sie das? Keine Ahnung, vielleicht hatte sie mal ein unverplantes Wochenende und hing auf Fey-Wikipedia ab.
Wenn wir schon beim Thema Fey sind: Es gubt keinen Unterschied zwischen Fey und Menschen bzw. Magiern in Kultur, uhrer Rede oder ähnliches. Ich würde sagen, dass sie auch lügen können, allerdings lügt eh nie einer der Charaktere, also kann ich das nicht bestimmen. Wenn man nicht informiert werden würde, welcher Charakter "Feenohren" hat und welcher nicht, könnte man das Buch lesen, ohne je jemand als Fey zu identifizieren.
Die Umgebung wechselt so schnell wie ich meine Kleidung, wenn ich im Winter mal wieder zu dick geworden bin und in nichts reinpasse. Man könnte sich fragen, ob die Autorin Angst hatte, sie würde ihre Geschichte nicht schnell genug erzählen können. Oder vielleicht wollte sie einfach die Szenerie für die Puppentheater ähnelnden Gespräche aufmischen, da man sonst merken könnte, dass nichts wichtiges gesagt wird. Durch das Gehetze von einer Szenen zur nächsten lässt sie sich allerdings auch nicht die Zeit, die Gegenden zu beschreiben und neben Dingen wie einem Haus im einen Kapitel, einem Marktplatzstand im anderen sowie einem Baum im darauffolgenden verbleibt der Hintergrund als gähnendes Nichts.
Laut Biographie besitzt die Autorin einen Masterabschluss in englischer Literatur, was mich zuerst schockierte. Vor allem, da sie doch in der Lage sein sollte, eine so schlechte Leistung zu erkennen. Das brachte mich allerdings auch auf die Idee, dass dieses Werk vielleicht eine parodistische Leistung darstellen sollte. Seitdem lässt mich dieser Gedanke nicht mehr los.
Ob man dieses Buch nun als furchtbarer Versuch eines ernsten Fantasyromans oder als kunstvoll gelungene Parodie auffasst, gilt nichtsdestotrotz, dass es sehr unterhaltsam ist. Siehe die aufgeführten Gründe.
Das wäre das Ende meiner Rezension, wenn dieses Buch 100 Seiten lang wäre. Leider ist es das nicht und somit muss man sehr viel mehr Papierverschwendung ertragen als mir lieb wäre.
Ortsbeschreibungen und Szeneriewechsel pendeln sich ein, wenn auch plötzliche Wechsel bestehen bleiben. Das liegt allerdings daran, dass das Buch ab der Hälfte ein einschläfernd langweiliger Harry Potter Abklatsch samt Malfoy und Gang ist. Die Beschreibungen des Unterrichts sind grauenvoll dröhnend uns bringen am Ende keine wichtigen Informationen noch Worldbuilding. Es wird allerdings als Grund genommen, der Protagonistin noch mehr Wissen zuzusprechen, welches sie nicht besitzen sollte. Wenn man ein magisches schulzentriertes Buch lesen will, würde ich weder das hier noch Harry Potter empfehlen. Allerdings erscheint letzteres hiergegen facettenreich in seinen moralischen Werten. Zumindest verratten Professoren da auch nicht sofort wenn man den Namen der bösen Königin sagt wichtigste Details zu Gegenständen, die unter höchstem Schutz versteckt werden und vertraut daraufhin 3 Teenagern, die er nicht kennt, was Geheimhaltung angeht.
Der romantische Subplot war so vorhersehbar wie die Existenz von Gebäuden in einer Großstadt und die geheime Identität des Crushes war von Anfang an klar. Ich konnte nichts investieren und alle Versuche dies zu tun scheiterten daran, dass alle Charaktere gleich klangen und auch von der Wortwahl her klangen wie ein 16 jähriges Mädchen. Somit gab es keinen Grund überhaupt auf Loveinterest und Protagonistin einzugehen.
Der Endkampf war der langweiligste Endkampf, den ich je gelesen habe, und Überraschungsbösewicht Lilith war genauso wenig eine Überraschung wie der Loveinterest. Unorigineller als Lilith geht es nicht mehr, wenn man eine Ex-Ehefrau einbauen will. An diesem Punkt hätte es mich aber such gewundert, wenn die Autorin einen originellen Gedanken fassen könnte. Natürlich gab es auch einen Bösewichtmonolog am Ende mit einer Einbindung zum nächsten Buch.
Mein Interesse an diesem hält sich in Grenzen.
Die Charaktere sind lächerliche Karrikaturen ihrer selbst und ihre Dialoge könnten kaum schablonenhafter geschrieben worden sein. Ich würde hier einen Vergleich zu Videospielen und NPC Info-Dumps ziehen, allerdings sind NPCs informativer und wiederholen sich nicht gar so häufig wie die Charaktere in diesem Buch, selbst wenn mann dauerhaft A drückt.
Wer ein Mysterium sucht oder ein Buch, das einen mental herausfordert, sollte schleunigst ein anderes suchen, denn hier ist man so falsch wie ein Schneemann am Sommerstrand. Jedes kleinste wundersame Element, das angesprochen wird, wird im nächsten Paragraphen aufgelöst. Wie ist der Pegasus da hin gekommen? Hier ist direkt seine Lebensgeschichte. Wer ist die böse Königin, warum ist sie böse, wie ist sie an die Macht gekommen? Keine Sorge, komisches Mädchen, das sagt sie sei eine Prinzessin und der jeder sofort vertraut, hier ist deine Antwort. Und um ganz sicher zu sein: hier ist auch dein eigener Stammbaum und alle magischen Fähigkeiten, die du später freischalten wirst. Wird diese Info von einem wichtigen Charakter überbracht? Ist es emotional? Nein, das kommt alles von der ersten Dorfschrulle, der wir begegnen. Wieso weiß sie das? Keine Ahnung, vielleicht hatte sie mal ein unverplantes Wochenende und hing auf Fey-Wikipedia ab.
Wenn wir schon beim Thema Fey sind: Es gubt keinen Unterschied zwischen Fey und Menschen bzw. Magiern in Kultur, uhrer Rede oder ähnliches. Ich würde sagen, dass sie auch lügen können, allerdings lügt eh nie einer der Charaktere, also kann ich das nicht bestimmen. Wenn man nicht informiert werden würde, welcher Charakter "Feenohren" hat und welcher nicht, könnte man das Buch lesen, ohne je jemand als Fey zu identifizieren.
Die Umgebung wechselt so schnell wie ich meine Kleidung, wenn ich im Winter mal wieder zu dick geworden bin und in nichts reinpasse. Man könnte sich fragen, ob die Autorin Angst hatte, sie würde ihre Geschichte nicht schnell genug erzählen können. Oder vielleicht wollte sie einfach die Szenerie für die Puppentheater ähnelnden Gespräche aufmischen, da man sonst merken könnte, dass nichts wichtiges gesagt wird. Durch das Gehetze von einer Szenen zur nächsten lässt sie sich allerdings auch nicht die Zeit, die Gegenden zu beschreiben und neben Dingen wie einem Haus im einen Kapitel, einem Marktplatzstand im anderen sowie einem Baum im darauffolgenden verbleibt der Hintergrund als gähnendes Nichts.
Laut Biographie besitzt die Autorin einen Masterabschluss in englischer Literatur, was mich zuerst schockierte. Vor allem, da sie doch in der Lage sein sollte, eine so schlechte Leistung zu erkennen. Das brachte mich allerdings auch auf die Idee, dass dieses Werk vielleicht eine parodistische Leistung darstellen sollte. Seitdem lässt mich dieser Gedanke nicht mehr los.
Ob man dieses Buch nun als furchtbarer Versuch eines ernsten Fantasyromans oder als kunstvoll gelungene Parodie auffasst, gilt nichtsdestotrotz, dass es sehr unterhaltsam ist. Siehe die aufgeführten Gründe.
Das wäre das Ende meiner Rezension, wenn dieses Buch 100 Seiten lang wäre. Leider ist es das nicht und somit muss man sehr viel mehr Papierverschwendung ertragen als mir lieb wäre.
Ortsbeschreibungen und Szeneriewechsel pendeln sich ein, wenn auch plötzliche Wechsel bestehen bleiben. Das liegt allerdings daran, dass das Buch ab der Hälfte ein einschläfernd langweiliger Harry Potter Abklatsch samt Malfoy und Gang ist. Die Beschreibungen des Unterrichts sind grauenvoll dröhnend uns bringen am Ende keine wichtigen Informationen noch Worldbuilding. Es wird allerdings als Grund genommen, der Protagonistin noch mehr Wissen zuzusprechen, welches sie nicht besitzen sollte. Wenn man ein magisches schulzentriertes Buch lesen will, würde ich weder das hier noch Harry Potter empfehlen. Allerdings erscheint letzteres hiergegen facettenreich in seinen moralischen Werten. Zumindest verratten Professoren da auch nicht sofort wenn man den Namen der bösen Königin sagt wichtigste Details zu Gegenständen, die unter höchstem Schutz versteckt werden und vertraut daraufhin 3 Teenagern, die er nicht kennt, was Geheimhaltung angeht.
Der romantische Subplot war so vorhersehbar wie die Existenz von Gebäuden in einer Großstadt und die geheime Identität des Crushes war von Anfang an klar. Ich konnte nichts investieren und alle Versuche dies zu tun scheiterten daran, dass alle Charaktere gleich klangen und auch von der Wortwahl her klangen wie ein 16 jähriges Mädchen. Somit gab es keinen Grund überhaupt auf Loveinterest und Protagonistin einzugehen.
Der Endkampf war der langweiligste Endkampf, den ich je gelesen habe, und Überraschungsbösewicht Lilith war genauso wenig eine Überraschung wie der Loveinterest. Unorigineller als Lilith geht es nicht mehr, wenn man eine Ex-Ehefrau einbauen will. An diesem Punkt hätte es mich aber such gewundert, wenn die Autorin einen originellen Gedanken fassen könnte. Natürlich gab es auch einen Bösewichtmonolog am Ende mit einer Einbindung zum nächsten Buch.
Mein Interesse an diesem hält sich in Grenzen.