Shami Stovall

This was a unique book, and took the reader on an interesting journey. The characters were intriguing, and I loved Artemisia, her inner fire (no pun intended). She had such fight in her, but still felt human too. In a world where no one dares challenge the God-King for fear of suffering the curse, and the cursed are feared and hated, Artemisia was unique, with her own brand of magic. The world was well-developed, as were the main characters, although I didn't think any were as memorable as the heroine. I easily lost myself for hours within the pages, my only real complaint is that the story didn't move a little quicker in the beginning, although Stovall did a great job of building up the tension. Definitely recommend for fantasy lovers.… (más)

4.5

Book source ~ Tour

Volke Savan is the Isle of Ruma’s gravedigger apprentice and so his is adopted sister Illia. Taken in by the Gravekeeper William Savan when they were very young they were destined to dig graves until they died. However, Volke and Illia have other plans. They want to be arcanists, someone who bonds with a magical mystical creature who could then wield magic themselves. Arcanists are looked up to and they are powerful and Volke wants to be powerful. More importantly he wants to be able to help people, people like himself and Illia who were dealt crappy hands in life. When he wasn’t able to bond with one of the only two phoenixes on the island, Illia has an idea. She has heard there are some shipwrecked mystical creatures stuck out in the Endless Mire and she’s going to find one for herself and one for Volke. So, off they go and the adventure begins.

Whew doggie! This is a wonderful exciting tale from beginning to end! Volke is the centerpiece of the story, told entirely from his POV. He’s a flawed, but wonderful character. Stubborn as all get out which is good because he needs all the stubbornness he can manage. Since his eldrin is a knightmare AND he’s second-bonded his magical connection is harder to manage than those who bond for the 1st (and usually only) time. It’s unusual for a mystical creature to bond a 2nd time since they almost always die when their arcanist dies. Or they go mad. But Luthair is determined to kill the arcanist who murdered his arcanist and he chooses to bond with Volke to do it. Secondary characters shine and I couldn’t decide who the actual villain was until nearly the very end. The world is fantastic and full and I can’t wait to join more adventures with Volke, Illia, and their friends. If you like your young adult fantasy to have magic, mystery, danger, and plenty of action then look no further. This is the one for you!… (más)

Weak

The writing was mostly clean; no proofreading errors. And that’s the best thing about this novel.

The world building was weak to non-existent. Marty-Stu MC somehow knows how to use a plasma rifle, a shower, and fly a ‘star fighter ’ even though he grew up in a barely functional space station with little to no education. The descriptions of his home area do not lend credence to his thought processes and likes/dislikes.

At one point, after his ‘arrest’, his escort says, “This is it. This is the conference room.” And I couldn’t figure out why. It *was* the conference room, but the MC wouldn’t have a frame of reference for the concept of ‘conference room’ and it was irrelevant to the action. “This door”, “turn here”, “inside” are all sufficient to convey what he needs to know.

The narrative did not establish a flow or a direction. Things just happened.

Hard pass.… (más)