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3.23 AVERAGE
3.23 AVERAGE
Frey confused me. The storyline jumped from place to place to place and I had no idea of what was going on half the time. It all seemed a bit flat and non-existent to me.
I'm not sure - I hovered between a 2 and a 3 star for this one.
Just as I began to feel like I couldn't finish the book - I pushed on and would some how find the rhythm of the story again. This happened on and off throughout this book. There was even a time where I was having to flick back to locate what year it was as the chapters tend to go back and forth in time. Very confusing. The strongest part of the book would have to be the concept of magic. The weakest point was the character development. I found the 'twist' very clever which makes the whole storyline make sense but just maybe it is too little too late for most readers.
Just as I began to feel like I couldn't finish the book - I pushed on and would some how find the rhythm of the story again. This happened on and off throughout this book. There was even a time where I was having to flick back to locate what year it was as the chapters tend to go back and forth in time. Very confusing. The strongest part of the book would have to be the concept of magic. The weakest point was the character development. I found the 'twist' very clever which makes the whole storyline make sense but just maybe it is too little too late for most readers.
adventurous
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Content Warnings
Minor: Physical abuse, Violence
Frustrating read. Commas all over the place. Awkwardly composed sentences and paragraphs. Solid story concept, but builds extremely slowly. Told completely in main character's pov, but would have been a much more enjoyable read if the reader weren't kept completely in the dark about goings on and more development of supporting characters would have been really great. Was a nice, easy read for juvenile literature, but not compelling enough to make me want to read further installments of the story.
The main problem with this book is the protagonist. Frey is extremely passive and lacks agency, just going along with the instructions of others even though they never explain themselves and even though she thinks they're her enemies. Pretty much her only independent act is to steal a diary that turns out to conveniently have everything she needs to know in it.
I downloaded this book for free, thinking it looked interesting. The summary said there had been lots of 5 star ratings on Goodreads, and in reality, the book is up my alley. However, it was just dull. I found the characters to be 2 dimensional and for the majority of the book I had no idea what was happening.
It consisted of the main character hiding, running away, sleeping and asking the other characters what was happening, them refusing to tell her, repeat. This was literally most of the book.
I felt no sympathy or connection to any of the characters, and really couldn't have cared less about any of them.
The reason this received 2 stars and not 1 is because I did feel it had some potential, and the twist at the end was interesting enough. However, not interesting enough to continue with the series.
It consisted of the main character hiding, running away, sleeping and asking the other characters what was happening, them refusing to tell her, repeat. This was literally most of the book.
I felt no sympathy or connection to any of the characters, and really couldn't have cared less about any of them.
The reason this received 2 stars and not 1 is because I did feel it had some potential, and the twist at the end was interesting enough. However, not interesting enough to continue with the series.
adventurous
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
N/A
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
N/A
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
This book used an excessive amount of "suddenly" and "I realized". It was very distracting. I would have preferred a more active showing voice.
Sitting down to write this review, I struggled to succinctly put into words just what this novel about. We meet Frey who in her words is pretty much a brat, she is struggling to do basic magic set before her but she has recently gotten mad with someone and hurt them using magic. Frey appears before the Council, she escapes, she travels with a group of people, has a couple of fights, does a lot of training, expands her powers, loses her powers, gets into a possible love triangle and there is a big revelation at the end.
Telling the story from Frey’s point of view, really has hamstrung this book. As Frey spends most of her time whining about all the injustices of her life, how she can trust no one and how she just might be attracted to a couple of guys. Through snippets of overhead conversations, we learn that Frey has some special powers that everyone is aware of her background but nobody bothers to tell her and she never bothers to seek out the truth. The major revelations do not come from Frey seeking out the truth but by her becoming engrossed in reading a diary. As we are limited to Frey’s POV we never get to understand why she is considered so dangerous by the Council and why they are so committed to binding her powers. As a reader, you do feel that you are being kept away from some really juicy elements of the story.
There is some clever world-building here with the Council and the powers they exert, the difference between the elf groups and the political games that are occurring. These are but fleeting and it would have been nice to see these teased out more to give greater depth to the story.
Telling the story from Frey’s point of view, really has hamstrung this book. As Frey spends most of her time whining about all the injustices of her life, how she can trust no one and how she just might be attracted to a couple of guys. Through snippets of overhead conversations, we learn that Frey has some special powers that everyone is aware of her background but nobody bothers to tell her and she never bothers to seek out the truth. The major revelations do not come from Frey seeking out the truth but by her becoming engrossed in reading a diary. As we are limited to Frey’s POV we never get to understand why she is considered so dangerous by the Council and why they are so committed to binding her powers. As a reader, you do feel that you are being kept away from some really juicy elements of the story.
There is some clever world-building here with the Council and the powers they exert, the difference between the elf groups and the political games that are occurring. These are but fleeting and it would have been nice to see these teased out more to give greater depth to the story.
This book is so good! I really enjoyed it amd I can't wait to read the sequels!