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A review by raven168
Reliquary by Sarah Fine
3.0
I really enjoyed this author's Shadowlands series so I was hoping for another good one here. But I just didn't get into it quite as much. At least not until the end. The beginning was slow and I really did not like Mattie. I mean, how stupid can a person really be? However, I did think that the whole magical underworld was great and the different types of people/magic was definitely interesting.
In the beginning Mattie really annoyed me. She was always doing stupid things at places she didn't know or understand. She never seemed to even think about what the consequences could be, just jumping in head first. As the story progressed and she traveled with Asa, she didn't rub me the wrong way as much anymore. She did what she had to do and endured things that most probably wouldn't have as well. And despite being completely terrified at times, she was able to trust that Asa would pull her thru and was able to deal with things that she never normally would have been able to.
As for Asa, I really quite liked him and he was my favorite part of the book. Yes, he was an asshole for most of it but it really seems like it was either his wall to protect himself or just how he needs to be to survive in that world. Considering what he deals with on a daily basis by being a sensor, it's hard not to blame the guy for being so moody. Though I still don't understand the reason for Asa's unique diet which came up all the time....
Mattie literally has a perfect life. And it's soon only going to get better when she marries the even more perfect Ben. That is until she wakes one morning to find that Ben has been kidnapped. The police are no help what so ever, but they do let her know about how deep in debt Ben is. But that's not the first shock she's going to get over the secrets he's been keeping from her. Desperate to find him, she ends up venturing to dangerous and unknown places where anything could have happened to her without thinking things thru. It's during her excursions into this new world that she meets Ben's estranged brother, Asa. And when yet another stupid move by Mattie has Asa learning that she is Reliquary, she ends up getting pulled into his world of magic and danger.
Asa has every reason to hate Ben, but even so, when he finds out that Ben was kidnapped by one of the magic world's bosses he was going to see what he could do to get him back. Finding Mattie and using her determination to save his brother serve as a useful cover to his own actions. Together they travel to different places around the world, encountering all sorts of people and constantly running for their lives. Despite his crude and hard attitude, as well as the situations she finds herself in with him that she is ill prepared for, Mattie can't help but feel that Asa will keep her safe no matter what happens. She also has a hard time forgetting the occasional softness he shows. Which make her feel so conflicted about her confusing feelings for him and her love for his brother.
In the end they manage to outrun all those trying to kill them and complete the job they were "hired" to do in exchange for Ben's life. They part ways with Asa disappearing and Mattie going home with Ben. But her experience with Asa has changed her and all that Ben kept secret from her and did to her with magic still weighs on her mind. Even so, she thinks she still wants the simple happy life with Ben instead of in the world of magic, but it's going to take work to get back to where they used to be.
If I didn't already have the next book, I'm really not sure I would be too excited to continue this. It just didn't pull me in enough. As I do though, I'm hoping it only gets better. After all, that ending was pretty great and definitely the most exciting part.
Copy provided by publisher via Netgalley.
In the beginning Mattie really annoyed me. She was always doing stupid things at places she didn't know or understand. She never seemed to even think about what the consequences could be, just jumping in head first. As the story progressed and she traveled with Asa, she didn't rub me the wrong way as much anymore. She did what she had to do and endured things that most probably wouldn't have as well. And despite being completely terrified at times, she was able to trust that Asa would pull her thru and was able to deal with things that she never normally would have been able to.
As for Asa, I really quite liked him and he was my favorite part of the book. Yes, he was an asshole for most of it but it really seems like it was either his wall to protect himself or just how he needs to be to survive in that world. Considering what he deals with on a daily basis by being a sensor, it's hard not to blame the guy for being so moody. Though I still don't understand the reason for Asa's unique diet which came up all the time....
Mattie literally has a perfect life. And it's soon only going to get better when she marries the even more perfect Ben. That is until she wakes one morning to find that Ben has been kidnapped. The police are no help what so ever, but they do let her know about how deep in debt Ben is. But that's not the first shock she's going to get over the secrets he's been keeping from her. Desperate to find him, she ends up venturing to dangerous and unknown places where anything could have happened to her without thinking things thru. It's during her excursions into this new world that she meets Ben's estranged brother, Asa. And when yet another stupid move by Mattie has Asa learning that she is Reliquary, she ends up getting pulled into his world of magic and danger.
Asa has every reason to hate Ben, but even so, when he finds out that Ben was kidnapped by one of the magic world's bosses he was going to see what he could do to get him back. Finding Mattie and using her determination to save his brother serve as a useful cover to his own actions. Together they travel to different places around the world, encountering all sorts of people and constantly running for their lives. Despite his crude and hard attitude, as well as the situations she finds herself in with him that she is ill prepared for, Mattie can't help but feel that Asa will keep her safe no matter what happens. She also has a hard time forgetting the occasional softness he shows. Which make her feel so conflicted about her confusing feelings for him and her love for his brother.
In the end they manage to outrun all those trying to kill them and complete the job they were "hired" to do in exchange for Ben's life. They part ways with Asa disappearing and Mattie going home with Ben. But her experience with Asa has changed her and all that Ben kept secret from her and did to her with magic still weighs on her mind. Even so, she thinks she still wants the simple happy life with Ben instead of in the world of magic, but it's going to take work to get back to where they used to be.
If I didn't already have the next book, I'm really not sure I would be too excited to continue this. It just didn't pull me in enough. As I do though, I'm hoping it only gets better. After all, that ending was pretty great and definitely the most exciting part.
Copy provided by publisher via Netgalley.