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3.87 AVERAGE
3.87 AVERAGE
adventurous
mysterious
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
Overall this book falls flat. I’m not sure what happened - maybe the overall plot line would have been more believable had it not been a young adult short book, and ideas were fully fleshed out.
Even the elements of suspense and danger don’t really draw you in since the heroine kind of glides through the whole book, navigating all roadblocks with ease.
This may have not been an issue if the heroine, Brienna, were specifically trained and prepared for it. However, we’re supposed to believe a sheltered, young woman who spent her childhood taking art, music, history, and drama classes can suddenly become the mastermind behind a plan of rebellion (that largely hinged on her success) and infiltrate a dangerous country, navigating precarious situations with nary a scratch. Did I mention she also rides into battle and somehow doesn’t get killed after only learning how to handle a sword for a couple weeks??
Not to mention the unnecessary and disturbing romance between her and her teacher. He met her as a child and basically fell in love while teaching her from when she was 15-18 or so. It was just icky and unnecessary for me.
Even the elements of suspense and danger don’t really draw you in since the heroine kind of glides through the whole book, navigating all roadblocks with ease.
This may have not been an issue if the heroine, Brienna, were specifically trained and prepared for it. However, we’re supposed to believe a sheltered, young woman who spent her childhood taking art, music, history, and drama classes can suddenly become the mastermind behind a plan of rebellion (that largely hinged on her success) and infiltrate a dangerous country, navigating precarious situations with nary a scratch. Did I mention she also rides into battle and somehow doesn’t get killed after only learning how to handle a sword for a couple weeks??
Not to mention the unnecessary and disturbing romance between her and her teacher. He met her as a child and basically fell in love while teaching her from when she was 15-18 or so. It was just icky and unnecessary for me.
slow-paced
adventurous
medium-paced
I feel like a pretty awful person for not liking this one. Everyone else seems to really like it. I've gotten all kinds of side eyes from people asking about it and being surprised when I indicate my disinterest. So, maybe it's me. I'm an awful reader. Don't listen to me.
But. Honestly, I found myself rather bored the whole time. It doesn't usually take me this long to read a book, especially not a teen novel, but I never found myself driven to read any more of it, at least not until the last quarter or so of it.
I dislike how the book is two tales pushed together. The first half, at the school, sets up some wonderful friendships and the potential for a really interesting world, but all the school stuff plays very little into the second half. Mostly there are just coincidences here and there as characters that shouldn't be around come back for Reasons. It feels floppy and insubstantial.
There's no real urgency or drive to the story. It sparks up a bit in the last quarter when we see the evil king doing evil things and our spunky protagonist being threatened in a variety of ways, but up to that point it feels too slow and soft, and once she successfully gets the stone (and pretty easily at that), all the drive we built up dripped away again and we just kept...moseying along in our plot grooves, I guess. I don't understand Bri's motivation. She's not good at any passions, except for this knowledge one, I guess. But I don't fully get what that does for her except as acting as a platform for worldbuilding exposition. It's not like it actually has any real relevance to the plot, her knowing history--her magic flashbacks would have happened were she into music or knowledge regardless, so, whatever. You could argue for a Disney-Hercules-Type "Where do I belong" plot, but she finds her adopted family by the midway point and is quite content with that, so the drive there falters despite Ross attempting to psyche you out with the Real Family subplot. I don't know. It feels underbaked, somehow, because I never feel like the main character has any particular arc or goal that completes the narrative.
All these foreign raised kids suddenly becoming queen. Yep, sensible, great for the kingdom. (Yes, better than the tyrant, but let's be real, the two countries, ostensibly France and Scotland, have very little in similarities so a foreign born queen still doesn't seem quite right.) Also, does her real dad just like...take her back no questions asked? Really? Random kid who you haven't seen in 18 years and you just trust that she won't stab you in the back? Cool.
I'm never a fan of Mentor/Student Romance--the power dynamics inherent in such a relationship sort of squick me out, so the romance between her and her professor was doomed to be disliked, even if I had even a slightest trace of romantic inclination in my soul in the first place (which...I don't).
The way Ross writes is very pleasant--some of her sentences are frankly gorgeous and imaginative (if leaning slightly purple, but I like some lavender to my fantasy, so I don't mind). And the landscapes are pretty to look at.
But the characters feel too one note, and the drive is underwhelming, and I'm not sure I understand the point of the magic. Feel free to argue about it, but I just felt sleepy and disinterested the whole time, and little sparks of interest weren't enough to bring me around. It doesn't feel memorable to me, and I already feel it melting back into the slurry of teen fantasy novels I've read.
But. Honestly, I found myself rather bored the whole time. It doesn't usually take me this long to read a book, especially not a teen novel, but I never found myself driven to read any more of it, at least not until the last quarter or so of it.
I dislike how the book is two tales pushed together. The first half, at the school, sets up some wonderful friendships and the potential for a really interesting world, but all the school stuff plays very little into the second half. Mostly there are just coincidences here and there as characters that shouldn't be around come back for Reasons. It feels floppy and insubstantial.
There's no real urgency or drive to the story. It sparks up a bit in the last quarter when we see the evil king doing evil things and our spunky protagonist being threatened in a variety of ways, but up to that point it feels too slow and soft, and once she successfully gets the stone (and pretty easily at that), all the drive we built up dripped away again and we just kept...moseying along in our plot grooves, I guess. I don't understand Bri's motivation. She's not good at any passions, except for this knowledge one, I guess. But I don't fully get what that does for her except as acting as a platform for worldbuilding exposition. It's not like it actually has any real relevance to the plot, her knowing history--her magic flashbacks would have happened were she into music or knowledge regardless, so, whatever. You could argue for a Disney-Hercules-Type "Where do I belong" plot, but she finds her adopted family by the midway point and is quite content with that, so the drive there falters despite Ross attempting to psyche you out with the Real Family subplot. I don't know. It feels underbaked, somehow, because I never feel like the main character has any particular arc or goal that completes the narrative.
All these foreign raised kids suddenly becoming queen. Yep, sensible, great for the kingdom. (Yes, better than the tyrant, but let's be real, the two countries, ostensibly France and Scotland, have very little in similarities so a foreign born queen still doesn't seem quite right.) Also, does her real dad just like...take her back no questions asked? Really? Random kid who you haven't seen in 18 years and you just trust that she won't stab you in the back? Cool.
I'm never a fan of Mentor/Student Romance--the power dynamics inherent in such a relationship sort of squick me out, so the romance between her and her professor was doomed to be disliked, even if I had even a slightest trace of romantic inclination in my soul in the first place (which...I don't).
The way Ross writes is very pleasant--some of her sentences are frankly gorgeous and imaginative (if leaning slightly purple, but I like some lavender to my fantasy, so I don't mind). And the landscapes are pretty to look at.
But the characters feel too one note, and the drive is underwhelming, and I'm not sure I understand the point of the magic. Feel free to argue about it, but I just felt sleepy and disinterested the whole time, and little sparks of interest weren't enough to bring me around. It doesn't feel memorable to me, and I already feel it melting back into the slurry of teen fantasy novels I've read.
adventurous
emotional
mysterious
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
adventurous
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
adventurous
inspiring
fast-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
adventurous
medium-paced
adventurous
inspiring
mysterious
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
The writing of Rebecca Ross resonates with my whole being, loved everything about this book!