Mr. GreenBeanSexyMan has a goal to read more YA-yay! So here he his with his review of the first YA he read this year!
You can also check out his blog: http://writingmyselfcrazy.blogspot.com/ if you want to see what else he is up to when he is not doing guest posts for me.
Rating: 3.5/5 Stars
Genre: Fantasy
Release Date: October 6, 2009
Publisher: Disney-Hyperion
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Well, I am back with another review. This book has been on my TBR pile for quite a while but I could never quite bring myself to dive into it. Finally, after months of listening to the recommendations of GreenBeanTeenQueen and her library teens that I read it, I finally gave in and picked it back up. I just finished it yesterday so here are my thoughts.
About the book: The story focuses on two main characters, the headstrong princess Raisa and a teenage former thief and gang leader named Han. Set in an area of the Seven Realms called The Fells and in its capitol Fellsmarch, Han must learn how to provide for his mother and sister after giving up the leadership of a street gang which had previously been his means for provision. Meanwhile, Raisa is quickly approaching her 16th birthday at which time she will be eligible to be married. Raisa desperately wishes to escape the meaningless confines of fashion, propriety, petty court intrigue, and marriage to learn useful skills that will help her become a good and wise queen like her heroine Hanalea, the warrior queen who defeated the Demon King and saved the world. After a powerful magical item is stolen and the High Wizard begins to grow in influence with the Queen, Han and Raisa each begin adventures that could change the future for everyone in the Realms.
Mr. GreenBeanSexyMan says: I am not entirely sure what to say about this book. I did enjoy it, but I don't think it is something that will I come back to after I finish the trilogy. The characters are likeable enough and the series seems to have a very strong story arc overall, but I felt that this first book was little more than a setup for the rest of the series. I thought it was fairly obvious what was going to happen by the end of the book after reading the first few chapters. On the other hand I was very impressed that Ms. Chima did not seem to give much away about what would happen in the rest of the series. But since this review is about the book itself and not about the series as a whole I have to give it 3.5 stars. I did like the writing, I did not have any major problems with the character developement, but I thought the plot was a little predictable. Perhaps I am judging this book too harshly, but I had been hearing how great it was supposed to be for over a year. I came in expecting so much that perhaps there was no way that this book could live up to the hype. I will continue reading the series because the overall story arc has me engaged and the characters are interesting. I just cannot give it the rave review that I was hoping to give when I started the book.
Full Disclosure: Reviewed partly from ARC copies of the book and partly from audiobook copies from the library
You can also check out his blog: http://writingmyselfcrazy.blogspot.com/ if you want to see what else he is up to when he is not doing guest posts for me.
Rating: 3.5/5 StarsGenre: Fantasy
Release Date: October 6, 2009
Publisher: Disney-Hyperion
Add to Goodreads
Well, I am back with another review. This book has been on my TBR pile for quite a while but I could never quite bring myself to dive into it. Finally, after months of listening to the recommendations of GreenBeanTeenQueen and her library teens that I read it, I finally gave in and picked it back up. I just finished it yesterday so here are my thoughts.
About the book: The story focuses on two main characters, the headstrong princess Raisa and a teenage former thief and gang leader named Han. Set in an area of the Seven Realms called The Fells and in its capitol Fellsmarch, Han must learn how to provide for his mother and sister after giving up the leadership of a street gang which had previously been his means for provision. Meanwhile, Raisa is quickly approaching her 16th birthday at which time she will be eligible to be married. Raisa desperately wishes to escape the meaningless confines of fashion, propriety, petty court intrigue, and marriage to learn useful skills that will help her become a good and wise queen like her heroine Hanalea, the warrior queen who defeated the Demon King and saved the world. After a powerful magical item is stolen and the High Wizard begins to grow in influence with the Queen, Han and Raisa each begin adventures that could change the future for everyone in the Realms.
Mr. GreenBeanSexyMan says: I am not entirely sure what to say about this book. I did enjoy it, but I don't think it is something that will I come back to after I finish the trilogy. The characters are likeable enough and the series seems to have a very strong story arc overall, but I felt that this first book was little more than a setup for the rest of the series. I thought it was fairly obvious what was going to happen by the end of the book after reading the first few chapters. On the other hand I was very impressed that Ms. Chima did not seem to give much away about what would happen in the rest of the series. But since this review is about the book itself and not about the series as a whole I have to give it 3.5 stars. I did like the writing, I did not have any major problems with the character developement, but I thought the plot was a little predictable. Perhaps I am judging this book too harshly, but I had been hearing how great it was supposed to be for over a year. I came in expecting so much that perhaps there was no way that this book could live up to the hype. I will continue reading the series because the overall story arc has me engaged and the characters are interesting. I just cannot give it the rave review that I was hoping to give when I started the book.
Full Disclosure: Reviewed partly from ARC copies of the book and partly from audiobook copies from the library
Thanks for the review. I really liked it, but I love high fantasy. I also loved Cinda's prior series and met her at a conference. She is an awesome speaker and so nice. Glad you made a guest review.
ReplyDeleteThis one isn't one I would pick up but I agree that I'm not a fan of a series where the first book is comprised more of set up than plot and character development. You have to have tha happy medium that makes me want to even pick up the second book.
ReplyDelete