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4.0 AVERAGE
4.0 AVERAGE
Avry of Kazan - a healer on the run ever since the Plague started three years ago and the people turned against those with the power to heal. After an incident lands Avry in a jail cell and a date with her death in the morning, a stranger offers Avry a choice. She can come with him and save his friend or keep her appointment with the gallows.
Taking Kerrick of Alga up on his deal, Avry joins his warriors as they make their way though many of the Fifteen Realms facing assassins and magicians on an adventure Avry never saw coming.
This book is the kind of adventure fantasy book that I adore. There's action and drama. Despite the time frame of this novel taking months and there being down time in between deathly feats, there was never a boring moment during the entire book.
Avry is a kick arse heroine. She's strong in spirit and can hold her own against Kerrick and his bunch of merry men but she knows how to follow orders when completely necessary. The Monkeys (Quain and Loren), Papa Bear (Belen) and Flea are absolutely fantastic. They provide much necessary comic relief - not only to the reader but also to the other characters.
The magic in this book is fascinating. The eleven different types and the magicians who control them are well thought out. I thought the mages were especially intriguing. Jael, Tohon, Sepp and the others are characters that I loved reading about not just for their personalities but for their powers and how they worked.
There's so much going on in this book - the current political power struggle, magic, the back story between the royals of the Realms, healers and the Plague - but Synder managed to write it all in such a way that made perfect sense. There were times when I felt like Kerrick's group were wandering mindlessly for a while before something new happened and they had new purpose but for the most part I loved how everything come together.
Taking Kerrick of Alga up on his deal, Avry joins his warriors as they make their way though many of the Fifteen Realms facing assassins and magicians on an adventure Avry never saw coming.
This book is the kind of adventure fantasy book that I adore. There's action and drama. Despite the time frame of this novel taking months and there being down time in between deathly feats, there was never a boring moment during the entire book.
Avry is a kick arse heroine. She's strong in spirit and can hold her own against Kerrick and his bunch of merry men but she knows how to follow orders when completely necessary. The Monkeys (Quain and Loren), Papa Bear (Belen) and Flea are absolutely fantastic. They provide much necessary comic relief - not only to the reader but also to the other characters.
The magic in this book is fascinating. The eleven different types and the magicians who control them are well thought out. I thought the mages were especially intriguing. Jael, Tohon, Sepp and the others are characters that I loved reading about not just for their personalities but for their powers and how they worked.
There's so much going on in this book - the current political power struggle, magic, the back story between the royals of the Realms, healers and the Plague - but Synder managed to write it all in such a way that made perfect sense. There were times when I felt like Kerrick's group were wandering mindlessly for a while before something new happened and they had new purpose but for the most part I loved how everything come together.
I read TOP back in 2011 when it was first published. I had recently rediscovered my love of reading & found this book to be intriguing, entertaining & difficult to put down. This time around, nearly ten years later, it was still all of those things, however, I did notice that it was somewhat lacking in character development. The trade off was that, I still found it heavy {in a good way} on the world-building {it even has a map!} & it did add an element of mystery to some of the main characters that I enjoyed. I think it sets up a great foundation to further build the characters on & I look forward to continuing the rest of the series in the near future.
adventurous
slow-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
Its hard to say what it is but the story is just missing something. Maybe its a lack of world building ability.
adventurous
inspiring
mysterious
fast-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:
No
This was not what I was expecting. It's published by Mira, a division of Harlequin, so I was expecting it to be a romance. For it to be in the romance genre, the developing romantic relationship has to be central to the plot. The whole story should revolve around it. Instead, the plot is much more a sort of mix of fantasy, adventure, and medical mystery. Not bad, but not what I expected.
Första gången läst 2013 - 4 stjärnor
Andra gången läst 2022 - 3 stjärnor
Andra gången läst 2022 - 3 stjärnor
*also includes facts about some of Maria’s other books*
Well, I binge-read that.
Okay, let’s get the bad stuff out of the way. And the only reason I gave this book four stars was because of the predictability. Shall I explain further?
1. Kerrick. From literally the first time he stepped into Avry’s life, I knew he was going to be the love interest. Especially since Avry spent quite a bit of time describing his smell - I think his smell was described quite a bit more than his other features (spring sunshine and living green). And there’s the fact that I spent a lot of time simping over him. So, yeah. Unlike Maria’s other books, I saw the Kerrick-Avry relationship coming from a mile away. (In the Eyes of Tamburah, I didn’t sense any romantic feelings about Rendor at all coming from Shyla. and in Poison Study, I didn’t know WHERE Yelena and Valek were going.)
2. Sepp. I knew he was going to betray them. I knew he was working for Tohon. I was not at all surprised when he DID betray them. He’s not very subtle, and I think Avry should have been paying closer attention. Props to Kerrick for not trusting him.
3. Tohon. *sighs with exasperation* Tohon, honey, you’re my favourite type of antagonist, but you, too, are predictable. (I shall not be yelled at for swooning over Tohon, I myself would probably make a good antagonist, given the chance.) I sensed him wanting Avry from a mile away.
4. The lilies. I knew they were in some way connected to the plague. And I also had a daydream in which the Peace Lilies actually did something, so I guess I predicted that, too. (Also, I think the Lilies were one of my favourite characters, I like how they had personalityx despite being a plant.
5. Flea’s death. I think he died too soon. I didn’t have time to form a connection to him, and therefore didn’t really care when he died. At the end of the book, when Avry was dying, I was sobbing... though maybe that’s because Kerrick was crying too.
Right... I think that’s my criticism? Now onto the good things...
1. Seven hells, I love the boys. Love them, love them, love them.
2. Looks like Kerrick’s making this list, too. He’s honestly one of my types. (My other type consists of more sociopathic people, but that’s a story for another time.)
3. Ryne. For the majority of the book, I didn’t like him too much, but I was also seeing him through Avry’s eyes. When we finally MET him, though, I instantly liked him. A lot. Platonically.
4. Oh, look, Tohon’s on this list too. Good antagonist, though he’s not very subtle about his manipulation. Good things about him... um... charming? Good-looking? Sense of humour (albeit warped)?
5. MAGICCCCC. I want to be a life magician. It sounds like fun. Death magicians seem kind of useless (offence meant to Sepp, I don’t like you and I think you’d have lots of B.O.).
Alright, I’m going to take a nap now, then start reading the second book!
First Time Reading: January 2021
Well, I binge-read that.
Okay, let’s get the bad stuff out of the way. And the only reason I gave this book four stars was because of the predictability. Shall I explain further?
1. Kerrick. From literally the first time he stepped into Avry’s life, I knew he was going to be the love interest. Especially since Avry spent quite a bit of time describing his smell - I think his smell was described quite a bit more than his other features (spring sunshine and living green). And there’s the fact that I spent a lot of time simping over him. So, yeah. Unlike Maria’s other books, I saw the Kerrick-Avry relationship coming from a mile away. (In the Eyes of Tamburah, I didn’t sense any romantic feelings about Rendor at all coming from Shyla. and in Poison Study, I didn’t know WHERE Yelena and Valek were going.)
2. Sepp. I knew he was going to betray them. I knew he was working for Tohon. I was not at all surprised when he DID betray them. He’s not very subtle, and I think Avry should have been paying closer attention. Props to Kerrick for not trusting him.
3. Tohon. *sighs with exasperation* Tohon, honey, you’re my favourite type of antagonist, but you, too, are predictable. (I shall not be yelled at for swooning over Tohon, I myself would probably make a good antagonist, given the chance.) I sensed him wanting Avry from a mile away.
4. The lilies. I knew they were in some way connected to the plague. And I also had a daydream in which the Peace Lilies actually did something, so I guess I predicted that, too. (Also, I think the Lilies were one of my favourite characters, I like how they had personalityx despite being a plant.
5. Flea’s death. I think he died too soon. I didn’t have time to form a connection to him, and therefore didn’t really care when he died. At the end of the book, when Avry was dying, I was sobbing... though maybe that’s because Kerrick was crying too.
Right... I think that’s my criticism? Now onto the good things...
1. Seven hells, I love the boys. Love them, love them, love them.
2. Looks like Kerrick’s making this list, too. He’s honestly one of my types. (My other type consists of more sociopathic people, but that’s a story for another time.)
3. Ryne. For the majority of the book, I didn’t like him too much, but I was also seeing him through Avry’s eyes. When we finally MET him, though, I instantly liked him. A lot. Platonically.
4. Oh, look, Tohon’s on this list too. Good antagonist, though he’s not very subtle about his manipulation. Good things about him... um... charming? Good-looking? Sense of humour (albeit warped)?
5. MAGICCCCC. I want to be a life magician. It sounds like fun. Death magicians seem kind of useless (offence meant to Sepp, I don’t like you and I think you’d have lots of B.O.).
Alright, I’m going to take a nap now, then start reading the second book!
First Time Reading: January 2021
Avry has the power to magically heal people by assuming their wounds. When a plague breaks out and kills 2/3 of the population, people turn against the healers and hunt them down. This logical leap isn't explained until almost all the way through the novel, so I just spent the majority of the time wondering why people were being such idiots. Anyway, Avry is captured by a group of freedom fighters who want her to heal their prince so he can try to piece the world back together again.
Do you have one of those friends who always just assumes people know what they are thinking? They'll say something like, "But how will we pull it off???" and get pissed when you have no idea what they are talking about? I feel like that happens several times throughout the novel with this author. The narrator will just randomly state things without any proper set-up or background.It seemed like Synder had the whole story in her mind but forgot to let readers in on it.
Hands down, the thing I found most interesting about this novel were the narrative possibilities of a fantasy world suddenly missing 2/3 of its population. Snyder is semi-successful in exploring a few of these. I essentially liked the character of Avry after I reconciled with the fact she's supposed to be twenty, but her romantic connection with Kerrick felt soulless. The love interest and all the secondary characters were very two-dimensional and puerile. Their personalities were all essentially interchangeable.
The narrative stakes were quite good and engaging... until they were dismissed with a really stupid deus ex machina.
Do you have one of those friends who always just assumes people know what they are thinking? They'll say something like, "But how will we pull it off???" and get pissed when you have no idea what they are talking about? I feel like that happens several times throughout the novel with this author. The narrator will just randomly state things without any proper set-up or background.It seemed like Synder had the whole story in her mind but forgot to let readers in on it.
Hands down, the thing I found most interesting about this novel were the narrative possibilities of a fantasy world suddenly missing 2/3 of its population. Snyder is semi-successful in exploring a few of these. I essentially liked the character of Avry after I reconciled with the fact she's supposed to be twenty, but her romantic connection with Kerrick felt soulless. The love interest and all the secondary characters were very two-dimensional and puerile. Their personalities were all essentially interchangeable.
The narrative stakes were quite good and engaging... until they were dismissed with a really stupid deus ex machina.