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3.61 AVERAGE
3.61 AVERAGE
Anhaga was a really nice, sweet, MM fantasy novel (I believe the first) by what I consider THE queen of MM, Lisa Henry.
Was it one of my favourites of hers? No.
If there was one thing that I wish Anhaga had, is a second POV. If Kaz had his own chapters, the book would have been elevated to another level. As it was now, I felt like I didn't know Kaz at all and I didn't really feel the connection between him and Min, eliminating the romance aspect completely for me.
Henry is a master in character development and it was so disappointing that she didn't do what she does best. So instead of giving me two solid characters and great story telling, she gave me only one semi solid (!) character, and a numerous of other secondary ones, plus Kaz, who was supposed to be a main character, but wasn't really. By not getting to know Kaz, he came across as quite unremarkable to me and not someone that streets smarts Min would risk his life saving and falling in love with. I wholeheartedly believed that Min did love him, but I just couldn't see it. And because the romance totally eluded me, I didn't particularly enjoy their love making scene-it was pretty awkward, considering that Kaz was a demure 19 year old virgin and the fact that there was almost no chemistry between them. Min has tons of chemistry with Harry though. That would have been fun, Min and Harry. But yeah, obviously it didn't happen.
The story was a very light fantasy tale without any intricate or complex world building, lacking the charged atmosphere that is a Lisa Henry trademark. Also, I found the ending to be inexcusably unfair to Min, him having to always wait for Kaz while he lived an entirely different life elsewhere, it seemed way out of character for sly, cunning Min.
I so wanted to fall in love with Anhaga but I didn't. Don't get me wrong, it's still a very well written, enjoyable book. However, after being super spoiled by Henry's past masterpieces, I had very high expectations which unfortunately weren't met.
Was it one of my favourites of hers? No.
If there was one thing that I wish Anhaga had, is a second POV. If Kaz had his own chapters, the book would have been elevated to another level. As it was now, I felt like I didn't know Kaz at all and I didn't really feel the connection between him and Min, eliminating the romance aspect completely for me.
Henry is a master in character development and it was so disappointing that she didn't do what she does best. So instead of giving me two solid characters and great story telling, she gave me only one semi solid (!) character, and a numerous of other secondary ones, plus Kaz, who was supposed to be a main character, but wasn't really. By not getting to know Kaz, he came across as quite unremarkable to me and not someone that streets smarts Min would risk his life saving and falling in love with. I wholeheartedly believed that Min did love him, but I just couldn't see it. And because the romance totally eluded me, I didn't particularly enjoy their love making scene-it was pretty awkward, considering that Kaz was a demure 19 year old virgin and the fact that there was almost no chemistry between them. Min has tons of chemistry with Harry though. That would have been fun, Min and Harry. But yeah, obviously it didn't happen.
The story was a very light fantasy tale without any intricate or complex world building, lacking the charged atmosphere that is a Lisa Henry trademark. Also, I found the ending to be inexcusably unfair to Min, him having to always wait for Kaz while he lived an entirely different life elsewhere, it seemed way out of character for sly, cunning Min.
I so wanted to fall in love with Anhaga but I didn't. Don't get me wrong, it's still a very well written, enjoyable book. However, after being super spoiled by Henry's past masterpieces, I had very high expectations which unfortunately weren't met.
3.5 stars. Min is a classic scoundrel who discovers his conscience and steals the reader's heart from the first scene. But the romance didn't work for me at all. Kaz may be more than he seems on the surface, but he's still a very young man, a virgin and at Min's mercy for most of the book. Min doesn't really have a choice about kidnapping Kaz and bringing him back to his family if he wants to save his nephew Harry from a death curse, but Kaz falling in love with his captor while wearing an iron collar to prevent him from using his magic was more sad than romantic to me. The age difference is never clearly stated but it feels significant, and having an MC refer to his prospective lover as "that impossible boy" and "sweeting" never works for me. (YMMV if you don't mind the age/power differential.)
Which is a shame, because Lisa Henry sure can write. Min's personality jumps off the page, and Henry can craft a scene that wraps together humor, horror and poignancy. She's created an interesting fantasy world in which there are various levels of Gifted individuals with magical powers, but everyone fears the dangerous mysterious fae, and homosexuality is fully accepted (Min is charged with bringing Kaz back so he can wed his uncle - the fact that it's incest is horrifying but the fact that it's a man is NBD). I wouldn't mind reading another book set in this world, but I'd prefer one with a different set of MCs.
Which is a shame, because Lisa Henry sure can write. Min's personality jumps off the page, and Henry can craft a scene that wraps together humor, horror and poignancy. She's created an interesting fantasy world in which there are various levels of Gifted individuals with magical powers, but everyone fears the dangerous mysterious fae, and homosexuality is fully accepted (Min is charged with bringing Kaz back so he can wed his uncle - the fact that it's incest is horrifying but the fact that it's a man is NBD). I wouldn't mind reading another book set in this world, but I'd prefer one with a different set of MCs.