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2.99 AVERAGE
2.99 AVERAGE
Good YA start for my favorite author Philippa Gregory. A young priest charged with going out to record events about the end days in 1453 meets up with a young lady cheated out of her inheritance by a ruthless brother and forced into a nunnery. They inevitably join forces each with their servant/companion. The companions Freise (sp? I listened so unsure how to spell) and Ishtak are the more interesting of the characters in my opinion. Looking forward to reading the rest of this series.
I suspect this was intended to set up for a series, because there were a lot of things mentioned that were never delivered on within the confines of the pages here. The title itself, Changeling has very limited explanation to it, and the tantalizing bits dangled early on in the book don't return later.
The supernatural references advertised in the description are at some points embraced and at other points pushed away, and the focus shifts onto introducing the four people who seem to be intended to be the main characters. It's possible that the story could have been stronger if lengthened to include more beyond the set-up, so I may still check out the second book to see if it picks up.
The supernatural references advertised in the description are at some points embraced and at other points pushed away, and the focus shifts onto introducing the four people who seem to be intended to be the main characters. It's possible that the story could have been stronger if lengthened to include more beyond the set-up, so I may still check out the second book to see if it picks up.
This was a different kind of novel. I loved reading about this time period in history. It was a bit of a romance story and a bit of a mystery. There are suppose to be more novels coming in this series, not sure yet though if I would read them too.
4 white chocolate macadamia nut cookies.
Cover Love: Yes. The model used for Luca is seriously the reason I picked up this book.
Why I Wanted to Read This: My students like medieval fantasy stuff so I thought I would give this one a try. Plus, the cover.
Read the rest of this review here.
Cover Love: Yes. The model used for Luca is seriously the reason I picked up this book.
Why I Wanted to Read This: My students like medieval fantasy stuff so I thought I would give this one a try. Plus, the cover.
Read the rest of this review here.
I got to page 24 and couldn’t continue anymore.
The quality/story-not even close to her other books but a quick fun read for the beach
While I liked the main characters and certainly like the notion of following an intelligent group of teens around 15th-century Europe, this novel suffers from sloppy editing and an oversimplified style. Gregory is a master of historical fiction, but in writing for the YA audience, she seems to be talking down to her readers, and has also allowed a few anachronisms to creep in. The situations are improbable, the escapes and surprises overly telegraphed, and the dialogue veers between being overly casual and stilted. The novel also suffers from "trilogy-itis" -- it's very brief and only just sets up the adventures; it's actually more a novella made of two short stories than a novel. I can't help feeling that somewhere in this book and the two that will follow is a more polished version of the nice, big, well-written novel that could have been.
An overall disappointment with a few decent scenes. If I didn't own the second book and feel obligated to read it, I wouldn't have finished this.
To be honest, I went into this book expecting the worst: I had read plenty of not so positive reviews of Changeling, and I feared I would be tremendously disappointed. Maybe because I had such low expectations, I ended up thinking Changeling was quite an entertaining novel. Not without faults, but still a book I enjoyed.
I mentioned faults, and I feel like getting them out of the way right away. The main one, for me, was the lack of depth of the main characters. We get to know enough about their past and what led them each to this particular place at this particular time, but that’s pretty much it. We don’t learn much about their personalities, and so both Isolde and Luca feel quite bland and predictable. And while each of their best friend/slave seem to have more personality, the villains are very one-dimensional.
There’s another flaw I noticed while reading Changeling and it is a fault I see many authors of adult fiction do when they switch to YA : rather than writing with passion an eloquent story about two young characters, I felt like the author mostly “simplified” her usual writing. I’ve read Gregory only twice before (The Other Boleyn Girl and Wideacre) so my sample for comparison is limited, but that’s a feeling I had many times while reading the book. She does mention in her afterword that she wanted to make something more fun, less based on facts, so that may have played into it. I felt the book could have had more depth and detail while retaining it’s entertaining quality, but that’s just me.
Enough about the bad, let’s talk about the good! I love books set in Italy and I love historical fiction, and the experience I had of reading this one was exactly what I was looking for when I cracked it open : something historical and fun, that wouldn’t take itself too seriously without being about parties and dresses (even though I do enjoy those from time to time!), with a good mystery and some supernatural elements. Here I should write a warning of some sort; if you read the publisher’s summary thinking there’ll be witches and werewolves all around, you’ll be disappointed. But if you think of Luca as an investigator solving mysteries that appear to be supernatural, then you’ll know what you’re in for. I’m not saying whether or not there’s magic and all, just saying that it’s not a central element.
What Gregory excels at, in my opinion, is writing with enough detail that I never forgot it all took place some 500 years ago. Sometimes it’s in the little details (a piece of clothing, a certain vocabulary) and sometimes it’s little things in the scenes (like Isolde using, gasp! a fork!). The heavy presence of religion is also very indicative of the time and setting. It really felt medieval, and while the author chose to give herself some creative freedom by using fictional characters, her knowledge of history really showed.
The interior of Changeling is filled with gorgeous detailing (click on the picture for a better view).
I also appreciated that Luca and Isolde didn’t immediately fell in love and renounced to their personal quests for each other. Oh, there are definitely signs of a romance, and more of them as the story progresses. But the two keep their heads on their shoulders, and I liked that. I appreciated even more how they confided in and trusted their best friends/acolytes/slaves. I felt that the secondary characters weren’t there just to quip some funny lines (although Freize certainly does that a lot!), but to play each their own part in the story. And I liked Ishraq a lot; I would gladly read a novel all about her!
The book really had two small stories that worked themselves into the bigger adventure; the one that brought Luca and Isolde together, and the one they encounter later on their way to their next destination. Was I able to foresee what happened and who did it? Somewhat. I had a few surprises, which is always pleasant, but it is not written to be a puzzling book, so you can really sit, read it, and enjoy.
In the end, I really liked Changeling. The book itself is gorgeous and it is quick enough to be read in one sitting. The book is supposedly the first in a series, but I have no idea when the sequel will be published; I only know that, had I had said sequel on my shelves, I would have read it right after finishing this one!
I mentioned faults, and I feel like getting them out of the way right away. The main one, for me, was the lack of depth of the main characters. We get to know enough about their past and what led them each to this particular place at this particular time, but that’s pretty much it. We don’t learn much about their personalities, and so both Isolde and Luca feel quite bland and predictable. And while each of their best friend/slave seem to have more personality, the villains are very one-dimensional.
There’s another flaw I noticed while reading Changeling and it is a fault I see many authors of adult fiction do when they switch to YA : rather than writing with passion an eloquent story about two young characters, I felt like the author mostly “simplified” her usual writing. I’ve read Gregory only twice before (The Other Boleyn Girl and Wideacre) so my sample for comparison is limited, but that’s a feeling I had many times while reading the book. She does mention in her afterword that she wanted to make something more fun, less based on facts, so that may have played into it. I felt the book could have had more depth and detail while retaining it’s entertaining quality, but that’s just me.
Enough about the bad, let’s talk about the good! I love books set in Italy and I love historical fiction, and the experience I had of reading this one was exactly what I was looking for when I cracked it open : something historical and fun, that wouldn’t take itself too seriously without being about parties and dresses (even though I do enjoy those from time to time!), with a good mystery and some supernatural elements. Here I should write a warning of some sort; if you read the publisher’s summary thinking there’ll be witches and werewolves all around, you’ll be disappointed. But if you think of Luca as an investigator solving mysteries that appear to be supernatural, then you’ll know what you’re in for. I’m not saying whether or not there’s magic and all, just saying that it’s not a central element.
What Gregory excels at, in my opinion, is writing with enough detail that I never forgot it all took place some 500 years ago. Sometimes it’s in the little details (a piece of clothing, a certain vocabulary) and sometimes it’s little things in the scenes (like Isolde using, gasp! a fork!). The heavy presence of religion is also very indicative of the time and setting. It really felt medieval, and while the author chose to give herself some creative freedom by using fictional characters, her knowledge of history really showed.
The interior of Changeling is filled with gorgeous detailing (click on the picture for a better view).
I also appreciated that Luca and Isolde didn’t immediately fell in love and renounced to their personal quests for each other. Oh, there are definitely signs of a romance, and more of them as the story progresses. But the two keep their heads on their shoulders, and I liked that. I appreciated even more how they confided in and trusted their best friends/acolytes/slaves. I felt that the secondary characters weren’t there just to quip some funny lines (although Freize certainly does that a lot!), but to play each their own part in the story. And I liked Ishraq a lot; I would gladly read a novel all about her!
The book really had two small stories that worked themselves into the bigger adventure; the one that brought Luca and Isolde together, and the one they encounter later on their way to their next destination. Was I able to foresee what happened and who did it? Somewhat. I had a few surprises, which is always pleasant, but it is not written to be a puzzling book, so you can really sit, read it, and enjoy.
In the end, I really liked Changeling. The book itself is gorgeous and it is quick enough to be read in one sitting. The book is supposedly the first in a series, but I have no idea when the sequel will be published; I only know that, had I had said sequel on my shelves, I would have read it right after finishing this one!