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eososray's review against another edition
1.0
I found this book in a used book store and as soon as I finished it it went straight back. The plot was fairly original, but the characters were unmemorable and the writing style long-winded and boring. The climax was anti-climactic and the end of the book was just drawn out and unnecessary. It wasn't the worst fantasy I've ever read, but it was close.
adularia25's review against another edition
5.0
This book has everything I love in a good story: characters that truly suffer, fantasy setting with just enough Medieval influences to seem like it was a part of history, magic, gods, an epic quest.
One thing I love about the book is that there are four main deities, all based on the seasons and on the Medieval Wheel of Fortune. This is nothing like the game show. The Wheel of Fortune was the wheel of your life, the seemingly random ups and downs - the belief that good things come to those who deserve it, and happen to those who don't to make them stronger. If you want to read more about the Medieval view of Fortune's Wheel, I highly recommend reading "The Consolation of Philosophy" by Boethius. Yes, that book was written long before Medieval times, but it was extremely influential to Medieval thought.
Now, getting back to this book - the use of actual Medieval philosophy made this book seem so much more real than a great many other Medieval fantasy tales. You know the type - those tales that give lip-service to the Medieval times by having the clothing and the buildings, but not a true idea of what people really thought back then. This book excels at having that thought.
My only issue with the book is the ending.
One thing I love about the book is that there are four main deities, all based on the seasons and on the Medieval Wheel of Fortune. This is nothing like the game show. The Wheel of Fortune was the wheel of your life, the seemingly random ups and downs - the belief that good things come to those who deserve it, and happen to those who don't to make them stronger. If you want to read more about the Medieval view of Fortune's Wheel, I highly recommend reading "The Consolation of Philosophy" by Boethius. Yes, that book was written long before Medieval times, but it was extremely influential to Medieval thought.
Now, getting back to this book - the use of actual Medieval philosophy made this book seem so much more real than a great many other Medieval fantasy tales. You know the type - those tales that give lip-service to the Medieval times by having the clothing and the buildings, but not a true idea of what people really thought back then. This book excels at having that thought.
My only issue with the book is the ending.
Spoiler
It ends too happy for me (perhaps showing more of my problems than any problems with the book). Everything seems to work out in the end, where I felt a more bittersweet ending would really bring home the message of the story.thejosh2099's review against another edition
1.0
DNFing this.
I do want to say, this is not a bad book by any objective metric. It just isn't for me, at least at the moment.
I do want to say, this is not a bad book by any objective metric. It just isn't for me, at least at the moment.
casimiera's review
adventurous
mysterious
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.75
reginaexmachina's review against another edition
I just couldn't get into this book even though I'd heard good things about it and it had some interesting elements to it. Just one of those things :P
sarahconnor89757's review against another edition
5.0
I love romances where the characters are emotionally crippled or physically disfigured (Ya, call me a romantic), and this story had both.
ann_aguirre's review against another edition
5.0
This is the most underrated / unknown fantasy novel of the decade. It is, quite simply, astonishingly beautiful. When was the last time I read an epic fantasy that felt truly epic? When was the last time a book like that reached into my chest, grabbed hold of my heart, and squeezed until I laughed, smiled, wept, and utterly forgot the world? I cannot recall, to be honest.
Rarely, after I read something, I’m left just aching. This is one of those books. I have to write about it; I have to try to articulate what it was that has left me feeling shaken and wholly inadequate. This book is… miraculous. It’s perfect. At one point, I was sobbing so hard, I had to stop and blow my nose, and yet I had a fine, bright kernel of hope in me that the author wouldn’t let it end like that. I believed in her — and oh, she did not let me down. Like the rest of the book, it was flawless, wrung to the last note of pathos and precision and heartbreaking rightness.
The writing is… beyond lovely. And the romance? You will never, ever read anything that touches you more. I am struggling for words that will not give away too much of the beauty because I want all you to experience it, just as I did: hopeful that you will like it, but not expecting the breadth or scope or depth of its wonder. You simply cannot imagine its beauty until you experience it for yourself.
So if you like romantic fantasy of epic scope, with heartbreak and sacrifice and true love, layered with rich mythos, complex world-building, and tender symbolism, then this is the book for you.
Rarely, after I read something, I’m left just aching. This is one of those books. I have to write about it; I have to try to articulate what it was that has left me feeling shaken and wholly inadequate. This book is… miraculous. It’s perfect. At one point, I was sobbing so hard, I had to stop and blow my nose, and yet I had a fine, bright kernel of hope in me that the author wouldn’t let it end like that. I believed in her — and oh, she did not let me down. Like the rest of the book, it was flawless, wrung to the last note of pathos and precision and heartbreaking rightness.
The writing is… beyond lovely. And the romance? You will never, ever read anything that touches you more. I am struggling for words that will not give away too much of the beauty because I want all you to experience it, just as I did: hopeful that you will like it, but not expecting the breadth or scope or depth of its wonder. You simply cannot imagine its beauty until you experience it for yourself.
So if you like romantic fantasy of epic scope, with heartbreak and sacrifice and true love, layered with rich mythos, complex world-building, and tender symbolism, then this is the book for you.
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