Alright, let me start by saying I took a leap of faith with this book. YA fantasies with a female lead protagonist are not something I usually jump out of my seat to get a hold of. I’m not entirely sure why. Maybe it’s the suffocating love triangles or the same—but somewhat rehashed—personality of the lead female. (At least, that’s what it feels like to me.)
Anything good come from this book?
Yes. I was very impressed with how Aveyard handled the love triangle. It wasn’t shoved down my throat. It developed in a believable and natural manner… Actually, it took longer to form than I thought it would. And even when it did become evident, it still was only flirted with occasionally.
Maven was interesting. I hope there is more of a story to him.
Aveyard had a wonderful ability to put the reader in a location. I could vividly imagine myself within her world. My favorite part was when Mare sailed down the river in the royal ship/boat. I learned a lot about the world, and there were a few very intriguing towns and cities she passed.
Now time for the dislikes. I’ll be honest. When I picked up the book, it was the back cover that got me. It was short and snappy, but so enticing:
“In school, we learned about the world before ours, about the angels and gods that lived in the sky…” blah blah blah “…The gods rule us still. They have come down from the stars. And they are no longer kind.”
The blurb lied. It flat-out lied. This book is void of anything mentioned on the back cover. I think it maybe teased of it near the end? And I’m telling you this, so you know. I’m being a good friend. Maybe Aveyard is saving the explanation for the blurb in later installments of the series, but I’ll be the first to admit I’m not going to read them to find out.
Moving on to the main character, Mare. She is exactly what you expect her to be… a young, firecracker of a girl who discovers, by complete chance, that she has “powers”. And when I say “complete chance”, I mean the most random, ass-pull scenarios must occur for her to discover this. Disclaimer: I can handle a plot-driven story, but when I see a story can only progress with the help of random acts of convenience, I want to scream bloody murder.
Anyways, I’m not going to rant on everything that bothered me. Overall, the book was worthy of 3 out of 5 stars. Nothing stood out, but it wasn’t terrible. If you LOVE young adult fantasy, however, you might have a different opinion.
Click on the book if you want to purchase it.
