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morganameridius 's review for:
Flamecaster
by Cinda Williams Chima
3.5 stars. Facebook informed me that I finished The Crimson Crown 3 years ago today so that is pretty nuts! I was really excited about Flamecaster the moment it was announced and I really liked it for the most part. It did start slow for me; her books are so weird in that regard, personally. There is a lot of action, and I love the stories and the characters but The Demon King and The Exiled Queen also started slow for me, until I finally finished half the book in a day. Same thing here; took me a week to read 180 pages (never wanted to DNF, was just taking it slow) and then I read 350 pages last night.
I haven't read the Seven Realms books in three years but it feels so good to be back in this world. And to have a handle on the terms/magic/countries/etc. It does help! There are fewer familiar characters than I was expecting but many of them are referenced often and I REALLY liked the new characters. All of them! Ash was my favorite, but I'm also very intrigued by Destin, as well as Lila. Jenna was probably my least favorite but I still liked her character and I'm really curious to see how she fits into everything; a lot of the plot revolves around a mystery surrounding her.
In fact, there are a LOT of mysteries, and double agents, secret agents, gray characters mixed in with the obviously good (Ash) and obviously evil (King Gerard). I only wish we got a few more answers in this installment. I know it's the first book in a four book series, but I just wanted to know a liiiiittle bit more! It makes me very excited for the next book at least; characters have shifted, interesting players have come to the surface (also dragons!!), and it looks like we might get to explore somewhere outside of the Seven Realms. I am intrigued!
So, minor spoiler: I really disliked something that happens very early on to a character to drive the plot forward. It felt shocking and cheap for the sake of being shocking, which I hate. Yes, it was a huge catalyst but I can't help feeling the story could have jumpstarted in another way.
My other problem was the romance. It was pretty romance-free for about half the book and then all of a sudden these two characters are in love. I'm not opposed to the two of them being together at all, but I wish they hadn't labeled it love so quickly. It seems naive and fast, and bothers me even though their attraction and physical relationship doesn't bother me. I also have about 3 different ships right now between 4 characters, so. Haha. We'll see how things shake out! No triangles right now though.
Overall, I liked Flamecaster a lot and I think fans of the Seven Realms series will too. I can't wait to see where the story goes!
I haven't read the Seven Realms books in three years but it feels so good to be back in this world. And to have a handle on the terms/magic/countries/etc. It does help! There are fewer familiar characters than I was expecting but many of them are referenced often and I REALLY liked the new characters. All of them! Ash was my favorite, but I'm also very intrigued by Destin, as well as Lila. Jenna was probably my least favorite but I still liked her character and I'm really curious to see how she fits into everything; a lot of the plot revolves around a mystery surrounding her.
In fact, there are a LOT of mysteries, and double agents, secret agents, gray characters mixed in with the obviously good (Ash) and obviously evil (King Gerard). I only wish we got a few more answers in this installment. I know it's the first book in a four book series, but I just wanted to know a liiiiittle bit more! It makes me very excited for the next book at least; characters have shifted, interesting players have come to the surface (also dragons!!), and it looks like we might get to explore somewhere outside of the Seven Realms. I am intrigued!
So, minor spoiler: I really disliked something that happens very early on to a character to drive the plot forward. It felt shocking and cheap for the sake of being shocking, which I hate. Yes, it was a huge catalyst but I can't help feeling the story could have jumpstarted in another way.
My other problem was the romance. It was pretty romance-free for about half the book and then all of a sudden these two characters are in love. I'm not opposed to the two of them being together at all, but I wish they hadn't labeled it love so quickly. It seems naive and fast, and bothers me even though their attraction and physical relationship doesn't bother me. I also have about 3 different ships right now between 4 characters, so. Haha. We'll see how things shake out! No triangles right now though.
Overall, I liked Flamecaster a lot and I think fans of the Seven Realms series will too. I can't wait to see where the story goes!