A review by whisper88
Briarheart by Mercedes Lackey

Did not finish book. Stopped at 25%.
This is my third go at this and I still can't get into it. Tamora Pierce and Robin McKinley have already dominated the niche this book is trying to fill.  I'm a mega ML fan, but this has none of her signature robust and lovable characters; here is minimal conflict- which is confusing.
I feel like ML was targeting middle-grade/YA readers, but this would probably have been more successful with illustrations and made into read-aloud/bedtime story series for elementary readers. Alternatively, it could have been just a little more gritty to be a true YA novel.
However, I still haven't made it half-way and didn't bother to peak at the ending, so I could (most likely) be completely wrong on all counts.