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3.63 AVERAGE
3.63 AVERAGE
5/5 stars
"Let me be clear: I never intended to raise my brother from his grave, though he may claim otherwise."
HOLY SMOKES BATMAN
This novel sucked me in and kept me breathless while I read the night away when I should have been sleeping. I loved this book, like dying for the sequel, L-O-V-E, loved it.
At first, I was a little confused. There are a few pages in each chapter that are italicized and it took me a little while to determine who was who, what was going on, and how it related to the rest of the chapter. However, once I had pieced it together, I really enjoyed the added perspective of Tea's thoughts on her own actions later on.
Tea is a young girl from a back water village in Odalia. Her life is simple until the death of her beloved brother, Fox. She is so distraught at his burial that magic she was unaware of surfaces and she resurrects her brother. Tea is a bone witch. Tea is terrified of the knowledge that she can raise the dead, bone witches are reviled in her small village and in most of the world.
Tea's magic is detected by Lady Mikaela, a dark asha (bone witch), who comes to take Tea to Ankyon, a city where asha are trained. Tea must learn to control her powers for the dark magic she wields is filled with temptation, and to draw too much of her magic could cost her everything. As a dark asha, Tea is one of the very few asha that can harness the Dark. She can control only Dark runes, while other asha control elemental runes, fire, earth, wind, water, and metal, but not Dark runes.
Dark asha are crucial even though they are despised. They put down the daeva when they reawaken. Daeva are ancient demons that can be killed only by asha or deathseekers and are resurrected after a certain number of years to wreak havoc. Tea must maneuver her training as a dark asha while learning to master her power before it masters her, for one day it will be her duty to put down the daeva.
“You can be the most powerful witch in the land, but you will always have a weakness, and that will always make you believe you have no power when someone exploits it. There is no greater strength than the ability to understand and accept your own flaws.”
The characters are so multifaceted and they grow on you and become your friends and enemies too. Tea is so intelligent and strong willed, but she is REAL. She can act selfish and impulsive as well as kind and compassionate, like a normal person. She's not a Mary Poppins, "practically perfect in every way." Lady Mikaela, Lady Polaire, and Lady Althy are incredible! They have so much personality and they are all so different. Zoya and Princess Maeve,whom I never could have liked to begin with due to her name... Thanks, SJMaas..., are cruel. However they are cruel for different reasons and in different ways. I appreciate that Chupeco was able to make so many different characters with different motives, personalities, and strengths.
The character development is incredible and we are really able to get to know each character, even minor ones such as Zoya. The world building is so rich too, I loved the descriptions of the asha's attire and how each hua is designed in a way that fits the asha in every need complementing strength and hiding weaknesses. Chupeco even managed to slip in some characters who definitely don't fit their molds, and some definite LGBT representation. She also comes up with some pretty awesome concepts.
Each person wears a heartglass, a necklace that show's the wearers moods and powers based on the color. Tea's heartglass turned silver after she resurrected her brother. They can also indicate whether the wearer is ill by becoming various shades of green. There is even a tradition of literally giving your heart away by swapping your heartglass with your lover. Lose your heartglass though, and you may suffer serious consequences. Heartglass imparts strength to the wearer and if found by someone with bad intentions, can be used to cast dark magic upon the owner. Heartglass are forged by the Heartforger and are made with memories and heartglass for different people require different combinations of memories. This concept is so unique and SO important to the entirety of the story and I really find it fascinating.
My only true dislike about this book was how the past and future story lines didn't truly converge. We see Tea's future actions, a result of the story she is telling, but we don't get to see WHY she is doing the things she asked the bard to witness. I found it so incredibly frustrating. I realize that the point was dark foreshadowing, but it was more jarring to move from past to future and try to puzzle out what she did before in relation to her actions now.
All-in-all, this is a very solid and entertaining novel. Few flaws aside, I cannot wait to read the sequel and I am literally counting down the days.
"Let me be clear: I never intended to raise my brother from his grave, though he may claim otherwise."
HOLY SMOKES BATMAN
This novel sucked me in and kept me breathless while I read the night away when I should have been sleeping. I loved this book, like dying for the sequel, L-O-V-E, loved it.
At first, I was a little confused. There are a few pages in each chapter that are italicized and it took me a little while to determine who was who, what was going on, and how it related to the rest of the chapter.
Spoiler
Tea is telling a bard her story after the fact, the italicized portions are her speaking to the bard and the rest of the chapter is her story.Tea is a young girl from a back water village in Odalia. Her life is simple until the death of her beloved brother, Fox. She is so distraught at his burial that magic she was unaware of surfaces and she resurrects her brother. Tea is a bone witch. Tea is terrified of the knowledge that she can raise the dead, bone witches are reviled in her small village and in most of the world.
Tea's magic is detected by Lady Mikaela, a dark asha (bone witch), who comes to take Tea to Ankyon, a city where asha are trained. Tea must learn to control her powers for the dark magic she wields is filled with temptation, and to draw too much of her magic could cost her everything. As a dark asha, Tea is one of the very few asha that can harness the Dark. She can control only Dark runes, while other asha control elemental runes, fire, earth, wind, water, and metal, but not Dark runes.
Dark asha are crucial even though they are despised. They put down the daeva when they reawaken. Daeva are ancient demons that can be killed only by asha or deathseekers and are resurrected after a certain number of years to wreak havoc. Tea must maneuver her training as a dark asha while learning to master her power before it masters her, for one day it will be her duty to put down the daeva.
“You can be the most powerful witch in the land, but you will always have a weakness, and that will always make you believe you have no power when someone exploits it. There is no greater strength than the ability to understand and accept your own flaws.”
The characters are so multifaceted and they grow on you and become your friends and enemies too. Tea is so intelligent and strong willed, but she is REAL. She can act selfish and impulsive as well as kind and compassionate, like a normal person. She's not a Mary Poppins, "practically perfect in every way." Lady Mikaela, Lady Polaire, and Lady Althy are incredible! They have so much personality and they are all so different. Zoya and Princess Maeve,
The character development is incredible and we are really able to get to know each character, even minor ones such as Zoya. The world building is so rich too, I loved the descriptions of the asha's attire and how each hua is designed in a way that fits the asha in every need complementing strength and hiding weaknesses. Chupeco even managed to slip in some characters who definitely don't fit their molds, and some definite LGBT representation. She also comes up with some pretty awesome concepts.
Each person wears a heartglass, a necklace that show's the wearers moods and powers based on the color. Tea's heartglass turned silver after she resurrected her brother. They can also indicate whether the wearer is ill by becoming various shades of green. There is even a tradition of literally giving your heart away by swapping your heartglass with your lover. Lose your heartglass though, and you may suffer serious consequences. Heartglass imparts strength to the wearer and if found by someone with bad intentions, can be used to cast dark magic upon the owner. Heartglass are forged by the Heartforger and are made with memories and heartglass for different people require different combinations of memories. This concept is so unique and SO important to the entirety of the story and I really find it fascinating.
My only true dislike about this book was how the past and future story lines didn't truly converge. We see Tea's future actions, a result of the story she is telling, but we don't get to see WHY she is doing the things she asked the bard to witness. I found it so incredibly frustrating. I realize that the point was dark foreshadowing, but it was more jarring to move from past to future and try to puzzle out what she did before in relation to her actions now.
All-in-all, this is a very solid and entertaining novel. Few flaws aside, I cannot wait to read the sequel and I am literally counting down the days.
adventurous
dark
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
dark
mysterious
sad
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
adventurous
dark
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
The narration killed it for me. A couple of the voices were way over the top and terribly annoying.
adventurous
dark
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
adventurous
dark
mysterious
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
I called it. I won’t say what, but I did.
Personally, I like the trope/technique of a story teller drawing out their story so you don’t find out until the end, but I know it’s not everyone’s bag.
There was a long gap for me between reading the first half and the second half, so some of the parts of the ending confused me a bit, so I may need to read a summary before starting the second, but I am looking forward to it.
Personally, I like the trope/technique of a story teller drawing out their story so you don’t find out until the end, but I know it’s not everyone’s bag.
There was a long gap for me between reading the first half and the second half, so some of the parts of the ending confused me a bit, so I may need to read a summary before starting the second, but I am looking forward to it.
fast-paced
dark
emotional
sad
tense
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
N/A
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
dark
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:
Yes