Review courtesy of Dark Faerie Tales

Quick & Dirty: A thoroughly enjoyable read about thwarting death using the magic of fabrication.

Opening Sentence: Dust tickled the side of Kettle’s nose, but he did not bother to scratch it.

The Review:

The basis of this fantasy is that everyone’s threads are woven into a giant life tapestry. Even when a single thread is altered, entire lives can be affected. But what is torn can be mended, if you have the right tool at hand.

“Uh-huh,” Nels said. “You’re an odd old man, you know that?”
“A few weaves short of a basket, perhaps – but still useful.”

I found it very easy to get sucked into this book. Nels is the perfect protagonist; a poor boy brought up by one overprotective mother. Nels is the golden boy of the village, always rescuing people, and it’s his dream, but his mother’s worst nightmare, to become a knight of Avërand. We soon discover that the reason his mum despises the royal family and anyone associated is because Nels’ father died in service to the king and she doesn’t want the same for her son.

“What’s with your mother? She’s so prim and proper-she never lets you do anything.” Jilia scrunched her small nose. “My father lets me do whatever I want, and I turned out fine!”

Nels’ love/hate relationship with the princess was funny and sweet at times, but it was characters like Ickabosh the eccentric tailor, and the goat-witch that made this story a delight to read. Ickabosh’s odd and cryptic personality introduced the element of magic seamlessly (pun intended). If someone had told me that magic relied on one’s ability to sew, I would have thought they were delusional, but Bosh made it all seem so real that I didn’t doubt the magic of fabrication at all! This quote perfectly describes my thoughts:

Magic based on the fundamentals of sewing and weaving? Nels never would have imagined such a thing.
At the same time, it made a great deal of sense.
“Would you understand if I called myself a sorcerer?”
Tyra scoffed as she folded her arms. “And everyone’s calling me mad.” She looked at each of them in turn. “FIrst a ghost, and now a sorcerer. How do I find you people?”
“We often fund what we seek when we do not search for it,” Bosh said.

Rasmus was an excellent villain and so crafty that I feared his master plans would succeed, especially since the weapon they were all looking for (a giant magical needle!) was virtually impossible to locate. Without giving too much away, this is a happily-ever-after story, but there are so many narrow escapes with the characters slipping into the realms of death and back.

This was my first fun read of 2016 and I’m looking forward to many more from Michael Jensen and David Powers King.

Notable Scene:

Threadbare cleared his throat. “Everyone is equal in death, Princess.”

FTC Advisory: Scholastic Press provided me with a copy of Woven. No goody bags, sponsorships, “material connections,” or bribes were exchanged for my review. ( )

This book is part of my Just Hatched feature where I read the first chapter and give my thoughts. Check out more on the blog:

4.5/5 Stars

A unique story that has the nostalgic feeling of a beloved fairytale. I was immediately sunk into this book from page one. There is comedy, romance, adventure, action, magic, ghosts, what's not to love? If that doesn't sound like a great book to you, you are dead wrong. I read it so fast that it felt short but it's a decent size novel. I just fell so in love with the plot and the characters, I just wasn't ready for it to be over. It's amazing. There was never a dull moment, and I don't mean it was wall-to-wall action, I mean that in 344 pages I never got bored. I guess what I'm saying is that I love this book and I would highly recommend it to all of you.

Full Review: http://brittanysbookrambles.blogspot.com/2015/01/woven-by-michael-jensen-david-p... ( )

Two unlikely allies must journey across a kingdom in the hopes of thwarting death itself.

All his life, Nels has wanted to be a knight of the kingdom of Avërand. Tall and strong, and with a knack for helping those in need, the people of his sleepy little village have even taken to calling him the Knight of Cobblestown.

But that was before Nels died, murdered outside his home by a mysterious figure.

Now the young hero has awoken as a ghost, invisible to all around him save one person -- his only hope for understanding what happened to him -- the kingdom's heir, Princess Tyra. At first the spoiled royal wants nothing to do with Nels, but as the mystery of his death unravels, the two find themselves linked by a secret, and an enemy who could be hiding behind any face.

Nels and Tyra have no choice but to abscond from the castle, charting a hidden world of tangled magic and forlorn phantoms. They must seek out an ancient needle with the power to mend what has been torn, and they have to move fast. Because soon Nels will disappear forever.