Review: The Snow Queen

The Snow Queen by Mercedes Lackey

My rating: 2 of 5 stars



I'm leaning more towards a 2.5, but I can't muster up enough like to give it 3 stars outright.

As I have already mentioned in two status updates, this story started off extremely slow. The central conflict and the main adventure didn't even get underway until about halfway through the story. For some books, maybe this formula works, but if we're going to spend 50% of the book doing world building and story set up, I would have at least liked for it to be worth while.

While I enjoyed the parts concerning Godmother Aleksia and how her life runs as the Snow Queen, Ice Fairy, I got pretty tired of the Sammi and of Annukka and Kaari pretty quickly. There was nothing about either of the two women, or even of Veikko, to make me really care about what happens to them or him if the Snow Queen got her way. There was little to no mention of Veikko, himself, or of Lemminkal or Ilmari for me to really care about them either. Between all the main Sammi characters in this adventure, it felt almost as if the story was trying to introduce key players, but cut short their significance.

Once again, I honestly just didn't care enough about the characters themselves (save for Aleksia) to really put much stake in the final resolution of this story.

The other thing that bugged me a lot were the oh-so-convenient resolutions lain in the right places. It didn't take long for me to predict how the entire story was going to end based, not only on how The Tradition works magic, but also on how typical story boards play out. Every conflict had such a prettily packaged solution that it actually started getting a little irritating. Conflict in this book was merely conflict carefully placed in the proper progression to propel the story forward. I was not amused nor was I awed by anything that happened.

Nonetheless, it wasn't like I completely hated this book. The prose and the concepts and the background lore of the world of Five Hundred Kingdoms still really entices me. I honestly like the magic in this world and I like the world itself. Had this adventure been written a little better, I might have enjoyed the story itself, but ultimately, the two stars really came to be because of the Five Hundred Kingdoms world on its own. The including half a star is given to Aleksia who is quite the spunky Snow Queen Godmother whom I enjoyed following along with.

Other than that, I've got nothing else to say about this book. It wasn't terrible by my standards, but I could have passed on it any day if I didn't like the world it's set it so much.



View all my reviews

Review: Hard Evidence

Hard Evidence by Pamela Clare

My rating: 5 of 5 stars



Either I've easily settled into the world of the I-Team story board or I have more of a thing for a thrilling action-packed police case with intrigue, suspense, and hot undercover broody FBI agent who muscles his way through investigation and interrogations (as well as into our main female character's life). It could also be because I really liked the intense unfolding of the angsty romance between Tessa and Julian (I know the "Forced Living Conditions" plot device is ALWAYS a winner in my book). It wasn't that the first book was any less stimulating than or any less intriguing than Hard Evidence (you know, if we had to do a comparison and all), but somehow I managed to find this second book so much more alluring and exciting all at the same time.

To be fair, sometimes a first book in a series gets that whole "Strange New Territory" cautious once-over from me. I have trouble starting a series if there are multiple books to them, and unless they grab my attention immediately with something outrageous, things get a bit bumpy (thus the lower rating I had given Extreme Exposure). And so there's a very distinctly obvious bias towards Hard Evidence which has nothing to do with Extreme Exposure's ability to weave an awesome story and churn out outstanding characters and plot development.

In the simplest form: I became very comfortable with the setting, the characters, and the author's writing style as well as the entire I-Team world through the first book. By the time I picked up Hard Evidence, I was already in love with everything about the series' base world.

It also helped that I found Tessa Novak to be extremely charming and every bit the type of kickass strong female heroine I love to follow along and read about. Strong at all the right times, but possessing a more realistic presentation of her emotions and misgivings, as well as the right amount of control over her own ability to drive her own life forward... Unlike a lot of other strong female main leads in the fictional world, Tessa hit every factor that makes her such a memorable, wonderful female main character.

It wasn't that I didn't like Kara McMillan from the first book in this series, but in a very reluctant comparison, I lean more towards Tessa in my favoritism right now. I don't know why, but then again it could have maybe had to do with this girl's crazy devotion to her investigation to a point of stupidly putting her life in danger, not truly realizing the consequences of her frustrating, yet admirably professional hardcore actions. There were a lot of moments where I stood on the same side as Chief Irving and Julian, wanting Tessa to just stay put and keep her information to herself long enough for them to finish up their case. And then as soon as my frustration was there, it was replaced by an impressing admiration for her dedication to her job as well as that overwhelming need to fight through her own demons as well as do SOMETHING to help the poor girl she'd watched die in front of her eyes. I also liked the sweet sarcasm in her tone whenever she thought it necessary to put "kill them with kindness" into it's most useful moments when she tries to get her point across to any jerk-hole giving her a hard time.

The entirety of Hard Evidence was filled with tension from the very first tragic moment when Tessa watched a desperate teenage girl murdered, to the moment when Tessa's life is put into jeopardy, all the way to the ending when the case and the investigation is wrapped up and concluded. Every moment had me flipping through pages with that same "one more chapter then I'll stop and get some sleep" mantra; before I knew it, I was halfway through the book (so much for one or two chapters a day to keep a steady pace). And then after a long needed three hour nap, I dove right back into the book and finished it up with a few trips to the bathroom, one trip to the fridge, and a heck of a lot of anticipation for what would come next after each and every scene.

Character-wise, this book did not disappoint. Julian Darcangelo... *sigh*... While Senator Reece Sheridan was "Perfection on a Silver Platter" (what with his gentlemanly ways, his idealistic views on his profession, and his perfect body), Julian was pretty much the "Guilty Pleasure of Broody Darkness and Hotness served up with a box of yummy Chocolates" that all women wish they could have. There's that right amount of edge to him to satisfy that desire for adrenaline-induced excitement knowing that he's a dangerous man with a heart of gold and protective instincts like the best of them. If it's one thing Pamela Clare knows, it's how to write desirable men without making them too overbearing. Case in point, they're definite alpha-males, but they know how to appreciate their women and respect them at the same time.

As much as I hate seeing perfect men all the time (hot and sexy, perfect, well-managed bodies, heart of gold, strong and protective, caring and loving...), there is at least enough of that needed character flaw that allows me to not despise them a hundred percent. It also helps that these perfect men are matched with a respective kickass woman to balance out the pairing and add enough equilibrium and sizzle to the romance to make it seem worthwhile.

So yeah... Julian Darcangelo, hot special agent, dark and broody, protective and caring... I've found a new story book hero to obsess over.

As far as character creation goes in this book, we've introduced some new faces: Lissy and Will were in the short side story Heaven Can't Wait that I read for a dose of guilty pleasure romance and sizzle. But then there was also the introduction of Katherine James -- and I swear, with just one line from her first character appearance in combination with her stoic personality, I'm already anticipating her story in the 4th book. The appearance of Tessa's mother at the end of the book is also a pleasant welcome and surprise as well. And I'm glad that Kara and Reece are still a part of the ongoing lives of the rest of the I-Team girls.

In short: I loved this book! I loved the setting, I loved the intensity of the telling, I loved the development of the investigation, I love how the issues addressed hit a chord with one of the few things that are wrong with this world. I'm thinking I may have found a new favorite series, with Hard Evidence taking residence as my favorite book from the I-Team Series as of present. And I also find myself in a bit of a regretful frustration that I've met my book spending quota for this month already and will have to either wait it out or forgo my budgeting for the next book in this series.

And so now I just sigh and sit here in frustration as I tell myself I have plenty of other books that need to be finished -- books that I've already paid for an own and are just mocking me.





View all my reviews

Review: Extreme Exposure

Extreme Exposure by Pamela Clare

My rating: 4 of 5 stars



4.5 stars

I stumbled into this book not really expecting much but a cute romance with some story line tossed around it and I got so much more. I'm typically the type who would blow off books that are based off of romance/erotica as nothing but "trashy romance novels" that have no significance other than making two hot and sexy strangers fall in love. I mean, don't get me wrong, I'm a sucker for romance and will pick up a romance (rom-com, drama with romance, etc...) just for the fluff factors. But I usually don't take them seriously. I enjoy them for their guilty pleasure values and if written well, I enjoy them even more. If written with lovable characters and a good sense of wit, they rank pretty high on my list of loves. But I still don't really take them seriously, only really caring that they fulfill my fluff desires for the time being.

Yeah, I know; I'm kind of a judgmental bitch about things like this. Romances are in abundance out on the market and you can only rehash the same cliched tellings so many times before they become trite. And with a lot of books based around romance, more times than not you just get the romance with a sprinkling of story so that the book has SOMETHING to get into when it's not really even necessary. I'm fine with those too, if they're written well with enough wit and charm; otherwise, it's just another love story with different character names and setting and could become pretty bland pretty quickly and I find myself flipping through pages without really reading lines. It happens.

This book, however, lives up to its multiple high ratings and reviews and so I'm glad I didn't just blow it off as just some random romance piece with forced story -- that kind of a description doesn't even give Extreme Exposure any justice. I don't need to admit my biases, but it's out on the table and so I will also admit my wrongly placed biases. This book was pretty awesome and the lives and characters created around it were... well, pretty damn awesome.

I thoroughly enjoyed every minute of Extreme Exposure and found it to be written well and very detailed concerning the plot that it surrounded. Investigative reporting was never so intriguing to me before (I learned a lot about the whole process), and to be totally honest, the idea of politics kind of turns me off, but I didn't feel bored by the goings-on of the scenes revolving around Senator Reece Sheridan. They were pretty interesting... well, as interesting as I'll ever find political activities.

I liked that we don't spend too much time with a "setting information dump" to set up the series or the general story; we get right into the action and fill in the holes along the way. For a book series revolving around investigative reporters, you almost expect the usual boring text book explanations of what you'd expect to see... so I'm more than happy that the author doesn't feel the need to treat readers as a group who is less than capable of picking up the jargon and explanations as they are revealed.

The crime mystery was pretty intense, though I must say that by a certain point, I kind of figured out the mastermind and some of the secret key players behind the crime. There wasn't much surprise about the conclusion, and the suspense leading up to it might have been a bit flat for my liking; nonetheless, it was still a genuinely great set-up from the moment that Kara began her investigation with the anonymous tip, up to the wrap-up of investigation.

Characters do a lot for a story, in my opinion, and so I place a lot of stake on the main female character whenever I read books that narrate heavily from the female main character's point of view. While I also place a lot of stake on every character created, it's normally the female lead who either makes or breaks my love for a book. So seeing and following Kara in her kickass glory... I loved it. I mean, she wasn't a hundred percent perfect, but that's usually what I appreciate about a lot of main characters -- that despite their kickass potential, they still have flaws and breaks in their armor, and they know where their limits are rather than trying to out-stubborn themselves into remaining the strongest for their own benefit. Kara is a strong, loving, justice-seeking single mother who tries to take on the world all by herself, but who understands that she can't always take on the world without a little help every now and then. She's got a good head on her shoulders.

I loved the characters (even Tom the editor despite his ass-holery); the newsroom staff and journalist brought so much life to the story. They could have their own stories and didn't seem to just float around in the background like stage props; you've got to admire any author who can bring in significance of supporting and cameo characters even if the current story isn't about that person. Reece was like perfection on a silver platter which both made me love him and loathe him; I get tired of perfect men in most story lines, though at least he wasn't an arrogant jerk who knew he was desirable and hot. Reece Sheridan is a good man and, whoa was he open about his intentions and desires. I guess it beats being perfection on a silver platter with a side dish of macho arrogance; at least he was down-to-earth and knew when to let Kara do her own thing without smothering her with caveman ideals.

On that note, I truly am looking forward to reading the rest of the series about the rest of the I-Team members. This book sets up a good relation for the readers to jump into the next girl's story, because of what I've already read of Tessa Novak, I already love her. So I'm moving right into Hard Evidence as soon as I get some needed sleep after this long all-night reading.



View all my reviews

Review: Chosen

Chosen by Denise Grover Swank

My rating: 3 of 5 stars



Seeing as how this book seems to be so well liked, I'm probably going to be of the minority here in my rating as well as my opinions. So if you don't like negativity, I would suggest not reading this opinionated post.

To be totally honest, while I DID enjoy reading this book and I DID get caught up in the suspense, the action, and the story line and the mysterious "What makes Emma so special?" and "Who are these strange men and what are they after?" plot device... a lot of things seemed to fall flat for me. I cared for the characters enough to follow through with them to their final destination, but at the same time, I feel like I followed through more on curiosity than actually liking what was going on.

I like Will enough: the smarmy, smartass with his dark past and possible daddy issues and personal demons. He was resourceful, he was charming when he needed to be, and he was definitely a hero, as much as he tried to brand himself an anti-hero. People with flaws who know how to deal with them usually help in my favoritism of them. Will isn't a bad man as much as he likes to think; he just has a lot of issues that he needs to learn to overcome. But with his level-headedness and his flexibility as well as that hidden heart of gold, it would only be a matter of time until he becomes every woman's ideal hero in that action/fantasy/suspense adventure that we'd all love to fall in love with.

I also liked Emma... to an extent. She was pretty kickass in the beginning as she did what she needed to do in order to protect her son. She was smart and fast on the uptake and quick to react. After the second half of the book got underway, I sort of started getting irritated with her. She became kind of whiny and frustrating. I mean, I understood a lot of why she acted the way she did, and I agree with her paranoia from the beginning of the book. But there was a point where she hit that "damsel in distress" mode with an added streak of bratty princess in the mix. Or maybe I was just reading it wrong, but there were several points in the second half of this first book where I physically rolled my eyes and said, "Okay, you're just getting annoying now," to something that Emma either said, did or thought.

On a side note, I'm not sure if it's because I'm female, but I place a lot of stake on the female lead swaying my love of a book. The female lead can be annoying to an extent before I start seething with frustration. It's not like I need her to be kickass 100% of the time, but damn if Emma didn't flip her switch from one extreme to the next overnight.

No matter. I'm still contemplating reading the rest of this series because I'm curious enough to follow it the rest of the way and see how the world will turn out. I'm curious enough to find out what happened to Jake, and what will happen to Will and Emma. And honestly, I kind of like Will even if we seem to keep trying to paint him as the asshole anti-hero. I think he's doing quite fine as Emma's protector as well as the guy trying to solve all the problems now that he's been dragged into them by fate.

I'm also curious about all of this prophecy stuff and how it'll turn out.

In the end, I still have to admit that I liked the concept of the story, I liked the fast-paced, no nonsense narration, and the book definitely kept me interested until a certain point nearing the end. (Somewhere around the last two or three chapters I started to get that dreaded "Oh good, it's almost over" feeling and that usually doesn't bode well. And believe me, I don't like feeling that with a book I've been enjoying as much as I'm sure people hate hearing about it. I don't do it on purpose you know.)

But anyway, overall, still enjoyable and I'll end up finishing the entire series anyway when I get around to it. For the time being, I'm trying to clean up my reading list by actually reading books I already own rather than buying anything new. Granted, this series seems to be on the cheaper side of pricing, I'm still weighing my options since I'm trying to scale back my book shopping addiction... at least for these next two months.



View all my reviews

Review: Stormdancer

Stormdancer by Jay Kristoff

My rating: 4 of 5 stars



This is actually a 4.5 because of the last half of the book which merited a 5 star rating. The beginning kind of caught me inattentive, which brought upon the lower rating which almost bounced back save for certain things. I don't know if I will express any further opinions on this book since it is 3 AM and I'm fairly sleepy after crunching the last hundred and fifty pages. But I DO know that after I finally got past what seemed like a slow start to the story, I dove right into the rest of it with this thought: "I physically NEED to finish this book... right now!" Which is always a good thing in terms of how much I ended up loving the story and progression and most importantly the characters both main and supporting.

Because a lot of the slow start may have been my own fault, just being unable to focus for reasons other than because of the way the book was written, I wanted really badly to give it a full out five star rating. This was an excellent book, written well, progressed magnificently, awesome characters created with a nicely planned dystopian society of Japanese steampunk fantasy glory. Unfortunately, before I finally DID get hooked into the story with its kickass heroine, crazy-awesome adventure, and selectively random humor that really DID make me giggle aloud several times... well, I still have to point out that the beginning somehow had a lot of awkwardness in the way it was narrated. True, I grew used to it and didn't care for the awkward dialogue and narration, but it still bugged me enough to start the book once a few months ago, set it aside because I wasn't getting into it, then try to start it up again and being unable to get into it once again until the adventure with the thunder tiger hunt officially began.

Anyway, aside from that, I have little to complain about. I know there's a large fanbase out there of readers who love this book to smithereens and any rating less than a five could be called blasphemous. But to me, maybe this is just a case of "It's not you, it's me," and it was really my fault that I had trouble getting through the first 20%; however, after getting over that hurdle, there is no doubt that the story from there on out held my attention unwavering.

For now, this is just a brief opinion about my thoughts on the book and I apologize that this small post doesn't offer more about whatever else there may be reason to love this book.



View all my reviews

Review: Splintered

Splintered by A.G. Howard

My rating: 4 of 5 stars



This book was highly enjoyable. And I had no problem relating with Alyssa throughout her adventure. And I also liked Jeb... to an extent. and Morpheus..., well, with Morpheus I'm conflicted, because I had a problem with jumping back and forth: I liked him, but he was an arrogant ass-hat; then he was sweet and noble, but he was an arrogant ass-hat; then he seemed to be the ally you didn't want to lose because he was dependable, but he was an arrogant ass-hat... I also hated that he was mostly right about everything he told Alyssa.

For the past two days of reading this book, I had a very conflicting love-hate relationship with him. It was irritating, because I wanted to like him, but then again, I was also rooting for Jeb at moments -- other moments, I just wanted him to quit getting in the way because Alyssa had a mission to accomplish and he just didn't seem to get it. Between Jeb and Morpheus, I just didn't really have a preference for one guy or the other to win Alyssa's heart -- besides, it was a given at some point already who the OTP would be.

And so, not for the first time, this hopeless romantic actually didn't care if Alyssa ended up attached to someone in the end. I almost wanted the romance angle to get dashed. I mean, I really liked Alyssa -- she's spunky, she stubborn, she's resourceful, she strong, she determined... I like that she didn't just sit back and wait for people to come save her. This book was all around about how one girl could overcome anything thrown at her with enough will power and heart. I enjoyed the adventure she took on, and she proves more than anything that she is capable of taking on the world by herself. But for once while reading a young adult novel, I could have cared less about the romance angle. And I'm not quite sure why.

This book was written really well with a lot of great creations -- even for a story trying to re-hash all the crazy Alice in Wonderland elements that drove me up a wall just reading the original. I thoroughly enjoyed this one. However, I couldn't help but to feel a little disappointed that there was just something this story wasn't doing for me -- and I can't even quite put my finger on it. There were so many things that I really loved about this book... but something always seemed to fall short.

In a way, I kind of want to bump this rating up to a 4.5 rather than just a dinky little 4 by itself. Because at the very least, I was hooked and I'm looking forward to what the author could possibly come up with for the next book. I mean, as far as the story goes in Splintered, this book wrapped up rather conclusively that it could stand on it's own without any further additions to it.

This is a book I WOULD recommend though. It was definitely a great read.



View all my reviews

Review: Siege and Storm

Siege and Storm by Leigh Bardugo

My rating: n/a



I'm glancing at all the raving and the five stars and the first line of reviews that I don't want to read yet...

I NEED THIS BOOK NOW! Counting down until it's official release in June... Can I whimper?



View all my reviews

Review: Red

Red by Kait Nolan

My rating: 5 of 5 stars



The actual rating is a 4.5 instead of a full out 5, but it borders so close to five that I decided to just give it a full out full stars. I loved this book and hate that I didn't finish reading it the first time I started. But there were still a few "hmm" factors that didn't quite hit it with me, except that I can't exactly pinpoint what it was.

I'm no good with reviews, so this will be short and sweet as I wax poetic about what I loved about this story.

First of all, I'm big on characters: their creation, their description, how well I can empathize with them from book start to finish, and the character interactions. The writing style and the plot could be mediocre and I'd still be drawn in if the characters were created and developed wonderfully. And to be honest, while at first I was uncertain about both Sawyer and Elodie, by the time I was 25% into the book, I was living both their plights and loving both of their tellings. Granted, I'm not one for first person POVs -- I much rather prefer third person. Of course, the majority of the young adult novels I've read have been first person, so I set aside my bias and went with it. In this case, there were TWO sets of first person POVs which took a little adjusting to; both voices were done rather well so that I could tell the difference between Elodie and Sawyer when it mattered. Overall, I devoured this one and kept telling myself that I needed to finish this book because I desperately wanted to know how things would turn out for Elodie. This is one of those times when I want to finish this book because I can't put it down and it's a good thing. Other times it's not so great if I keep wondering WHEN the book will be finished -- with Red, I hadn't even realized I was so far through it until I had no choice but to put the book down.

As much as I loved this story, however, I was rather frustrated with certain parts, such as the entire: "I'm a werewolf and I've fallen for a human and we can't be together" two-sided-ness of the entire situation. It was intriguing and first and quite necessary to show both sides of the story and the anxiety and angst, but then it went on for a while and I just wanted them to find out about each other and get on with the mating, snuggly, smoochy romance stuff.

But aside from that, which was probably my own personal irritation anyway, because it didn't take away from the overall book itself, I really DID enjoy Red a lot. I loved that Sawyer was such a great boyfriend in his domineering, alpha-male, stubborn way needing to protect Elodie. But I also loved that Elodie was also completely capable of taking care of herself just fine; the two made up for each other's weaknesses on a very subtle level. I mean, Elodie is a sixteen year old Search and Rescue team member with better survival skills in a wild life arena than most teenagers in a small city could even muster. I think that's pretty awesome in itself. She doesn't need a man to come to her rescue, because she'd be the one leading them out of a dense forest when they get lost.

At the very least (and I giggled a little bit) the "creepy stalker" vibes that Sawyer was giving off got addressed by both parties and acknowledged that: No, stalking and creeping around the girl's house to watch her is in NO way appropriate and borders on repulsion rather than romantic or charming. But in this case, I give Sawyer a bit of leeway because he was doing it out of concern for Elodie's safety... not just, say, watching her sleep in her bedroom just because he could. At least Sawyer feels bad about spying on her and he KNOWS it's creepy, even if he couldn't help himself with his alpha-wolf protective instincts and all.

At least he more than makes up for it by sticking to her side for better or for worse... oh yea, and he takes a bullet for her. I'm on board with this romance.

This has been a rather inelegant review... but I've been awake for nearing twenty hours (not just reading this book, but for other stuff like working eight hours), so I apologize for anything that doesn't really make much sense. Or sounds trite.



View all my reviews

Review: Just One Wish

Just One Wish by Janette Rallison

My rating: 4 of 5 stars



This was extremely addicting and enjoyable for a book I normally would brush off as cute teen fluff. Don't get me wrong, the reason I read it was because it sounded light and fluffy. Who doesn't like good fluff after all? But I thoroughly devoured the entire book once I had a chance to sit down and read it starting on chapter two. I like to give myself teasers through chapter one to see how things may start off. I hadn't expected myself to become so engrossed in this short and sweet little story.

Some things didn't happen as I had thought they would and the ending felt kind of abrupt, but overall, I really did like this book. Annika is one heck of a spunky kickass heroine for a modern age teen girl. I give most of the credit of my enjoyment of this book to her character: crazy, passionate, resourceful, and just the right amount of manipulative to get what she wants, but not too much to seem spoiled or irrational.

This book was tons of fun and I'm even trying to picture what Steve Raleigh actually looks like in green Robin Hood tights and tunic. Not having much luck though, but it'll probably come around at some point.



View all my reviews

Review: Palace of Stone

Palace of Stone by Shannon Hale

My rating: 4 of 5 stars



The first thought in my head is that I LOVE Shannon Hale. Ever since I first picked up a book written by her on a whim, I had decided that she was one of my favorite authors. Her attention to detail, her character creation, her ability to build such an intricate world and culture in each of her books is enough to make me a fan for life.

And of course, Palace of Stone does not fall short from her usual splendor. My only regret is that I hadn't read the darn thing all those months ago when it was first released. I got into it, but my mind ended up being elsewhere. Then, last night before heading off to work, I made the resolved to finally pick it back up and read it. I started from the beginning and in less than twenty-four hours, I'm completely finished.

I base my love of certain books on mostly on how reluctant I am to quit reading -- of course, a fast-paced read doesn't always indicate that I "couldn't put the book down" due to interest. In the case of Palace of Stone, I was hooked almost immediately and still can't fathom why I had set it down in the first place when I last started reading it.

Anyway, as I'm not exactly the best at writing proper reviews, I will simply mention a few things on my mind.

The rich culture and world of the Princess Academy story line itself was what kept me so keen on following Miri's journey. Because as I had mentioned in a blog post sometime last year, despite the story following Miri's narrative, there is so much more going on in the background, and all of it stands out individually as if you could just pick a random detail, a random side character and STILL be able to coax an entire back story out. This is one of the reasons why I love reading Shannon Hale stories.

Palace of Stone itself was no exception, and I enjoyed every little moment of it. There was a point towards the middle of the story where I DID become exceedingly frustrated with Miri. From my recollection, Miri was a strong, witty, and decisive girl who became the top student at the princess academy and saved all of her Mount Eskel friends from bandits. But there were some moments where she seemed to have lost a lot of that spunk in the middle of her wonderment of being in Asland and feeling insignificant all over again. For some reasons, it works since Miri has always had that belittlement complex and still needed to discover herself. A little bit of conflict stirs up a good story and for all it's worth, the story progressed wonderfully. Of course, that doesn't mean that I wasn't frustrated with Miri during that time and was thoroughly relieved when she came back to herself with her climactic resolution. I think I like the spunky and brave Miri more than the indecisive, uncertain Miri.

Anyway, overall, this was an incredible read and I'm glad that I finally got around to it.



View all my reviews