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amykeeley 's review for:
The Realms of the Gods
by Tamora Pierce
My rating is really more like two and a half stars. Bumped it to three because Numair is so amazing in this book.
To start, I think this should have been two books.
I know that sounds crazy because hardly anything happens in the first half. But maybe if it had been two books, there would have been time to really explore the world Pierce built and watch some conflict come out of the geography. Not to mention there would have been time to explain what the heck was going on better.
This book has a number of things that either disappointed me or didn't work at all for me.
First, the plot. There really isn't one. So much is happening in so many different areas that, without lengthening the story, it's difficult to track. If this had been two books, I think more development in other areas would have improved.
The realms of the gods wasn't nearly as dangerous as it seemed, and they just kind of walk from place to place with only outside interference from a single antagonist now and then. Outside of the romance (more on that later) nothing really happens as she and Numair travel.
Next, Pierce really should have let go of Daine's point of view more often. I hoped she would when she briefly entered Numair's head at the beginning (and withheld the obvious information that he now knew he was in love with Daine). I hoped she would alternate between Numair, Daine, and some other third character so we could have a clear view of the battle in the mortal realms. This book really needed that for many reasons.
One of those reasons is the romance between Daine and Numair (more later) but also because stuffing that many events into one book means you can't focus on emotions and conflict as well. Though the dreams were useful, I kept feeling like the narrative was cold.
Also, because we weren't really in Daine's head either, she came across as stupid and immature more often than I liked.
The thing that burned me the most is that this shouldn't be a children's book, and yet that's how it's written. Rape is referenced at one point when Daine is in danger, and then it's like the author remembered she was writing a children's book so we never get closure on that fear. Everyone just kind of ignores it and goes about their business. Even Bella in Twilight was more shaken up than Daine, and no, I don't think that points to her being a stronger character.
Because this is supposedly a children's book, the issues between Daine and Numair are never resolved.
See, Numair is thirty by this point in the series, and Daine is sixteen. (Could be ick, but because Numair is a gentleman, it's not.) Now, it's made clear in a previous book that society in her culture expects her to start exploring her sexuality at this age and that she can get married if she chooses. And Daine does experiment some with kissing a few of the local boys. It's nice, but no big deal.
Because we don't see her changing from girl to woman, because we don't see her deep love for Numair clearly add the element of attraction, their romance loses a lot of the build-up that would make the moment when she discovers Numair wants her less of a disappointment. The kiss is described well, and his actions before and after it are fantastic, but afterward, I think she acts too much like a little kid who's found a new toy.
He even points out the difference in their ages, and his fear that one day she'll wake up to discover she's with an old man. This is a valid fear. Thankfully, we get to see her fear that he'll wake up one day and discover he married a baby.
Given the way she acts in this volume, that's an extremely valid fear.
However, none of that is resolved by the end except that she decides she loves him, too, and they get a happy ending.
If this had been split into two books, I wonder if the romance would have had the time it needed to transition adequately.
But then, this is a children's book.
It's still a joy to watch when they're together, though. And Numair is never weakened so that Daine can shine. They save each other, they help each other, and they work together so seamlessly that even one of the immortals comments on it.
Overall, the book is a little better than okay. I think older teens would be bored by it (the problems I have with it are the reason I switched to grown-up romance novels when I was sixteen) but younger teens might really enjoy the culmination of the romance more than this old woman did. And, in my opinion, a good romance is (almost) always worth a bad plot.
To start, I think this should have been two books.
I know that sounds crazy because hardly anything happens in the first half. But maybe if it had been two books, there would have been time to really explore the world Pierce built and watch some conflict come out of the geography. Not to mention there would have been time to explain what the heck was going on better.
This book has a number of things that either disappointed me or didn't work at all for me.
First, the plot. There really isn't one. So much is happening in so many different areas that, without lengthening the story, it's difficult to track. If this had been two books, I think more development in other areas would have improved.
The realms of the gods wasn't nearly as dangerous as it seemed, and they just kind of walk from place to place with only outside interference from a single antagonist now and then. Outside of the romance (more on that later) nothing really happens as she and Numair travel.
Next, Pierce really should have let go of Daine's point of view more often. I hoped she would when she briefly entered Numair's head at the beginning (and withheld the obvious information that he now knew he was in love with Daine). I hoped she would alternate between Numair, Daine, and some other third character so we could have a clear view of the battle in the mortal realms. This book really needed that for many reasons.
One of those reasons is the romance between Daine and Numair (more later) but also because stuffing that many events into one book means you can't focus on emotions and conflict as well. Though the dreams were useful, I kept feeling like the narrative was cold.
Also, because we weren't really in Daine's head either, she came across as stupid and immature more often than I liked.
The thing that burned me the most is that this shouldn't be a children's book, and yet that's how it's written. Rape is referenced at one point when Daine is in danger, and then it's like the author remembered she was writing a children's book so we never get closure on that fear. Everyone just kind of ignores it and goes about their business. Even Bella in Twilight was more shaken up than Daine, and no, I don't think that points to her being a stronger character.
Because this is supposedly a children's book, the issues between Daine and Numair are never resolved.
See, Numair is thirty by this point in the series, and Daine is sixteen. (Could be ick, but because Numair is a gentleman, it's not.) Now, it's made clear in a previous book that society in her culture expects her to start exploring her sexuality at this age and that she can get married if she chooses. And Daine does experiment some with kissing a few of the local boys. It's nice, but no big deal.
Because we don't see her changing from girl to woman, because we don't see her deep love for Numair clearly add the element of attraction, their romance loses a lot of the build-up that would make the moment when she discovers Numair wants her less of a disappointment. The kiss is described well, and his actions before and after it are fantastic, but afterward, I think she acts too much like a little kid who's found a new toy.
He even points out the difference in their ages, and his fear that one day she'll wake up to discover she's with an old man. This is a valid fear. Thankfully, we get to see her fear that he'll wake up one day and discover he married a baby.
Given the way she acts in this volume, that's an extremely valid fear.
However, none of that is resolved by the end except that she decides she loves him, too, and they get a happy ending.
If this had been split into two books, I wonder if the romance would have had the time it needed to transition adequately.
But then, this is a children's book.
It's still a joy to watch when they're together, though. And Numair is never weakened so that Daine can shine. They save each other, they help each other, and they work together so seamlessly that even one of the immortals comments on it.
Overall, the book is a little better than okay. I think older teens would be bored by it (the problems I have with it are the reason I switched to grown-up romance novels when I was sixteen) but younger teens might really enjoy the culmination of the romance more than this old woman did. And, in my opinion, a good romance is (almost) always worth a bad plot.