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studiomikarts's review
I don't give up on books lightly, and I feel unusually guilty this time because I bought this book directly from the author when she was doing a signing event, but it's been six years (nearly to the day) since I last picked this book up, and the thought of trying to finish it now makes reading feel like a chore rather than a joy. I'm currently doing a KonMari Tidying Festival in my studio, which includes my personal library, so that's why it's finally time to say goodbye. I do want to say that I have a higher opinion of this book than most on my DNF list. There were things I really liked about it! But it needed the heavy hand of an experienced editor. I'm going to put my copy in the nearby Little Free Library that I walk by every evening. I hope it finds its way to a reader who can give it the love it deserves!
shay23's review against another edition
4.0
What to say? I thoroughly enjoyed this book. It's not quite what I thought it was going to be, I don't know why but I was thinking more like modern times and I don't know but either way it's pretty freakin awesome.
Dislikes -
-My main dislike is that it is nearly 600 pages long. The thing is it's broken into 3 parts and each part consists of basically a full book in it's own right, so that you feel like you are reading 3 books rather than 1. I honestly think it would have been better to be separated into three separate books or at least call it what it is an omnibus of THREE books, not one extremely long book. While I don't mind long books personally when the first book in a series or of a new debut author is that long it kinda turns me off because I'm thinking what if this sucks and I waste all this time to read this super long book and don't like it. That's not the case with this book I really enjoyed it but still.
- Corren - I didn't hate him but he was definitely one of my least favorite characters.
- It's long and detailed and sometimes I got bored. I would read one or two good interesting intoxicating chapters and then I would find myself skimming chapters. This also has to do with POVs I found myself enjoying some allot more than others, again I didn't like Corren very much and part of this was because his chapters were boring for the most part even when mildly interesting things were going on.
- The stones - I'm sorry but I kept imagining big round cartoonish stones like from old video games and I don't know especially in the first part of the book I couldn't take it seriously.
-Insta love - Okay there is a slight case of insta love in this book but again I want to point out that if you dislike a book and it's characters you hate insta love but occasionally, in my opinion, when you love a book and the character the insta love doesn't bother you as much, you know?
- Weird magical words.
Likes -
-Nicolai and Marcellus- I can't choose between them! I loved them both equally and I really really loved them. They are just awesome characters and gah I just loved them.
- The world - There is definitely some great world building in this book even if at some points it's a little excessive. I loved the mid-evil feel, you know me I love knights and kings and sword fighting all that good stuff and magic so my favorite books always have both and this book does. Not to mention the whole Phoenix part, I love fantasy books that have the Phoenix they are so magical and awesome and I love that this book was kinda all about that. Also they're are faeries and imps and plenty of other magical creatures so it's definitely good in the fantasy aspect!
- All the fantasy - This has pretty much everything I look for in a fantasy book, seriously.
- The plot - Again I just loved the plot of this book and while it was long and dragged in places it was still good and interesting and I never considered stopping or quitting I always still wanting to continue with the story.
-The writing - While it is a bit slow and descriptive there are also gems of some really beautiful writing in their. I don't mean that the rest is bad it's perfectly fine I'm just saying some of it is really really good, okay?
Overall - It was really good, I feel like it could have been great it almost was but in my opinion the length of it kinda turned me off from the beginning. If you love fantasy and the myth of the phoenix it is definitely worth the read, in a way it's kinda everything I wanted Falling Kingdoms to be, you know?
Recommended for - Fans of fantasy. Fans of Falling Kingdoms and Cinda Williams Chima.
I took part in the blog tour here! - http://www.the-story-goes.com/2014/04/blog-tour-gift-of-pheonix-by.html
Dislikes -
-My main dislike is that it is nearly 600 pages long. The thing is it's broken into 3 parts and each part consists of basically a full book in it's own right, so that you feel like you are reading 3 books rather than 1. I honestly think it would have been better to be separated into three separate books or at least call it what it is an omnibus of THREE books, not one extremely long book. While I don't mind long books personally when the first book in a series or of a new debut author is that long it kinda turns me off because I'm thinking what if this sucks and I waste all this time to read this super long book and don't like it. That's not the case with this book I really enjoyed it but still.
- Corren - I didn't hate him but he was definitely one of my least favorite characters.
- It's long and detailed and sometimes I got bored. I would read one or two good interesting intoxicating chapters and then I would find myself skimming chapters. This also has to do with POVs I found myself enjoying some allot more than others, again I didn't like Corren very much and part of this was because his chapters were boring for the most part even when mildly interesting things were going on.
- The stones - I'm sorry but I kept imagining big round cartoonish stones like from old video games and I don't know especially in the first part of the book I couldn't take it seriously.
-Insta love - Okay there is a slight case of insta love in this book but again I want to point out that if you dislike a book and it's characters you hate insta love but occasionally, in my opinion, when you love a book and the character the insta love doesn't bother you as much, you know?
- Weird magical words.
Likes -
-Nicolai and Marcellus- I can't choose between them! I loved them both equally and I really really loved them. They are just awesome characters and gah I just loved them.
- The world - There is definitely some great world building in this book even if at some points it's a little excessive. I loved the mid-evil feel, you know me I love knights and kings and sword fighting all that good stuff and magic so my favorite books always have both and this book does. Not to mention the whole Phoenix part, I love fantasy books that have the Phoenix they are so magical and awesome and I love that this book was kinda all about that. Also they're are faeries and imps and plenty of other magical creatures so it's definitely good in the fantasy aspect!
- All the fantasy - This has pretty much everything I look for in a fantasy book, seriously.
- The plot - Again I just loved the plot of this book and while it was long and dragged in places it was still good and interesting and I never considered stopping or quitting I always still wanting to continue with the story.
-The writing - While it is a bit slow and descriptive there are also gems of some really beautiful writing in their. I don't mean that the rest is bad it's perfectly fine I'm just saying some of it is really really good, okay?
Overall - It was really good, I feel like it could have been great it almost was but in my opinion the length of it kinda turned me off from the beginning. If you love fantasy and the myth of the phoenix it is definitely worth the read, in a way it's kinda everything I wanted Falling Kingdoms to be, you know?
Recommended for - Fans of fantasy. Fans of Falling Kingdoms and Cinda Williams Chima.
I took part in the blog tour here! - http://www.the-story-goes.com/2014/04/blog-tour-gift-of-pheonix-by.html
kittyg's review
4.0
This was one of the books I had to read for #SPFBO and I am super happy I got the chance to read this one. It's a very classic style of fantasy, with magic being a major part of the story, and three young men having a coming-of-age adventure. However, with that said, it's also a brilliant fun book which (although slow to start) kept me fully entertained for quite some time.
This follows Nicolai, Corran and Marcellus. Three young men who do not know one another at first, but they soon end up meeting when they realise they each possess a rather magical item. The three of them must come together and find ways to work with one another (and not against as they may be tempted to) in order to save their realm from a cataclysmic evil if the Phoenix's magic is not allowed to return. Someone else is working against the three, and time is running out for them to find out who and how to stop them...
What I really enjoyed about this was the classic fun feeling and also the magic itself. I often read fantasy which has a complex system of magic or which feels new and different, but this one had the feeling of returning to the fantasy I love. We have a magician, a knight and a prince, all in training and all hoping to be the best they can be and prove themselves in the world. Then this magic item is thrust upon each of them and they are thrown into chaos beyond their wildest dreams.
There are flying human-birds, Fey, magical stones, magical bridges, magical staffs and even magical councils in this story, and it all felt very epic and fun to me. I thoroughly enjoyed experiencing this world, and I look forward to going onto the second on in the series in due course too (as I bought it myself after reading this one!)
I would highly recommend this book and will no doubt be singing its praises in a video review soon. 4.25*s
This follows Nicolai, Corran and Marcellus. Three young men who do not know one another at first, but they soon end up meeting when they realise they each possess a rather magical item. The three of them must come together and find ways to work with one another (and not against as they may be tempted to) in order to save their realm from a cataclysmic evil if the Phoenix's magic is not allowed to return. Someone else is working against the three, and time is running out for them to find out who and how to stop them...
What I really enjoyed about this was the classic fun feeling and also the magic itself. I often read fantasy which has a complex system of magic or which feels new and different, but this one had the feeling of returning to the fantasy I love. We have a magician, a knight and a prince, all in training and all hoping to be the best they can be and prove themselves in the world. Then this magic item is thrust upon each of them and they are thrown into chaos beyond their wildest dreams.
There are flying human-birds, Fey, magical stones, magical bridges, magical staffs and even magical councils in this story, and it all felt very epic and fun to me. I thoroughly enjoyed experiencing this world, and I look forward to going onto the second on in the series in due course too (as I bought it myself after reading this one!)
I would highly recommend this book and will no doubt be singing its praises in a video review soon. 4.25*s
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