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A review by scribesprite
Brightly Woven by Alexandra Bracken
5.0
Finished this book in one day around 3:30 in the morning. Closed the cover, sighed with a smile and felt all gooey inside. Haven't read a romance like this in so long if ever, and the adventure had me turning page after page into the night.
Sydelle is a girl who is chosen by a young wizard to accompany him to Provincia and carry a message that might save their kingdom from a disastrous war. Having little choice in the matter Sydelle goes but not without some resentment. Having never left her small town of Cliffton she is in for the journey of her life. Full of adventure, magic, romance, and terrible curses. It's a perfect recipe for a great read.
Sydelle as a character is rash and stubborn but in a way that is good. She is very into doing the right thing (being noble I guess) and not being a burden of any sort. If I were her and North told me to stay behind while he did something dangerous I would say "Okey dokey" and have some lemonade but Sydelle isn't like that, and if she were then the book would definitely not be as exciting with her just sitting pretty. The pacing of the story was good with a wizard duel and some near misses with the bad guy. I guessed at what Sydelle’s powers were about halfway through but you don’t get the full picture until later on.
The romance in the story was excellent and I was pleasantly surprised at how much was in it. I could just feel myself get all warm and fuzzy as I read some of the parts where they are together. Wayland North does not make a good first impression on Sydelle but that is overturned eventually. And they don’t say over the top cheesy lines all the time either. Okay maybe a few borderline ones. The writing flowed simply and easily, no trouble to follow. It didn’t do a ton of description or background but that didn’t bother me. Some fantasy authors do a whole lot of description and background to the point where it feels like a textbook to me. Some people like it but it’s not something I gravitate towards.
There could possibly be a sequel to this book and I would probably read it but I think it could stand on its own just fine. Just as a side note North is supposed to stink because he doesn’t bathe very much troughout the story apparently. Now I need sanitizer when someone does not wash his hands after going to the restroom, so in my mind he is nice and clean by the end. Nowhere was it put that he still stinks so…
Would definitely read again.
Sydelle is a girl who is chosen by a young wizard to accompany him to Provincia and carry a message that might save their kingdom from a disastrous war. Having little choice in the matter Sydelle goes but not without some resentment. Having never left her small town of Cliffton she is in for the journey of her life. Full of adventure, magic, romance, and terrible curses. It's a perfect recipe for a great read.
Sydelle as a character is rash and stubborn but in a way that is good. She is very into doing the right thing (being noble I guess) and not being a burden of any sort. If I were her and North told me to stay behind while he did something dangerous I would say "Okey dokey" and have some lemonade but Sydelle isn't like that, and if she were then the book would definitely not be as exciting with her just sitting pretty. The pacing of the story was good with a wizard duel and some near misses with the bad guy. I guessed at what Sydelle’s powers were about halfway through but you don’t get the full picture until later on.
The romance in the story was excellent and I was pleasantly surprised at how much was in it. I could just feel myself get all warm and fuzzy as I read some of the parts where they are together. Wayland North does not make a good first impression on Sydelle but that is overturned eventually. And they don’t say over the top cheesy lines all the time either. Okay maybe a few borderline ones. The writing flowed simply and easily, no trouble to follow. It didn’t do a ton of description or background but that didn’t bother me. Some fantasy authors do a whole lot of description and background to the point where it feels like a textbook to me. Some people like it but it’s not something I gravitate towards.
There could possibly be a sequel to this book and I would probably read it but I think it could stand on its own just fine. Just as a side note North is supposed to stink because he doesn’t bathe very much troughout the story apparently. Now I need sanitizer when someone does not wash his hands after going to the restroom, so in my mind he is nice and clean by the end. Nowhere was it put that he still stinks so…
Would definitely read again.