Book Review: Flamecaster (Shattered Realms #1)

Release Date: April 5, 2016
Author: Cinda Williams Chima
Publisher: HarperTeen
Length:535 pages
Source: Finished Copy from Publisher

A burning vengeance.

Adrian sul’Han, known as Ash, is a trained healer with a powerful gift of magic—and a thirst for revenge. The son of the queen of the Fells, Ash is forced into hiding after a series of murders throws the queendom into chaos. Now Ash is closer than he’s ever been to killing the man responsible, the cruel king of Arden. As a healer, can Ash use his powers not to save a life but to take it?

A blood-based curse.

Abandoned at birth, Jenna Bandelow was told the mysterious magemark on the back of her neck would make her a target. But when the King’s Guard launches a relentless search for a girl with a mark like hers, Jenna assumes that it has more to do with her role as a saboteur than any birth-based curse. Though Jenna doesn’t know why she’s being hunted, she knows that she can’t get caught.

Destiny’s fiery hand.

Eventually, Ash’s and Jenna’s paths will collide in Arden. Thrown together by chance and joined by their hatred of the king, they will come to rescue each other in ways they cannot yet imagine.

Set in the world of the acclaimed Seven Realms series a generation later, this is a thrilling story of dark magic, chilling threats, and two unforgettable characters walking a knife-sharp line between life and death.

    

Review:

Protagonists: Adrian, known as Ash for most of this book is the son of the Queen of the Fells and her consort. After some the loss of someone close to him Ash is out for revenge against the King of Arden, who he holds responsible for the act. After years of training and waiting Ash finds himself closer than ever to finally ridding the world of the great evil that is Gerard Montaigne. Jenna just wanted a normal life, but after two of her friends are brutally murdered by the King of Arden's own hands she joins up with a rebellion to fight back any way she can. Soon though there are people looking for a girl with a birthmark like hers and thinking that it's due to her being in the rebellion she does her best to hide from trouble, but trouble always seems to have a way of finding her. There are two other characters with POVs in this book, a mysterious smuggler who befriends Ash, but seems to have more of a loyalty to herself than anyone else, and the son of Marin Karn, the evil bastard of a mage general from the Seven Realms series, who doesn't seem to be as bad as his father and seems to hold an unknown loyalty. Dear Lord, all of these characters are great and while Ash is by far the most prominent character featured in this book each of these characters has a chance to shine. All of these characters don't play at being pure or wholly good, they know they have shades of darkness in them that they've chosen to embrace rather than deny.

Romance: If I had one criticism of this book it would be that the romance advanced a bit too quickly. It wasn't an insta-love not exactly, but there was this moment that both Jenna and Ash magically connected that seems to be the catalyst for the romantic feelings advancing so quickly, and while I'm sure it's there to sort of explain the quick connection, it sometimes felt more like an excuse than an explanation. Despite all that however, there were some moments where I really started to root for this couple. They do have a great connection and there is some pretty great chemistry, I just had hoped that all the romantic stuff would occur a lot slower and be more of a slow burning, possibly at odds from time to time, romance.

World Building: This series takes place about 25-30 years after the end of the Seven Realms series. I have no idea why on the Goodreads series page it says 20, but it's wrong. Anyway,  I love being in the Seven Realms world, and while it hasn't been so long since I left, a lot has changed, or maybe it's stayed the same. The Fells is still at war with Arden, though it seems Arden has gained no purchase on the Fells, but has recently, as of the beginning of this book dealt a huge blow not only to the Fells but to Raisa, Han, and their kids. Because of that, and some other things, it sends Ash into Arden, which we first glimpsed in The Exiled Queen, the church of Malthus is still at large unfortunately and the King seems just as evil, if not more so than he previously had. I was surprised at how little fan service there was in this book. Most authors that write a spin-off that takes place a generation alter would jump at the chance to introduce as many kids of previous characters that they could or have best friends' kids fall in love, but this more than anything is a perfect mix of new and old, sure there are some references to old characters, as well as their possible children, and a lot of this book is told from our previous protagonists child, but there's a sense to this book that's all new. Very little of it takes place in familiar territory it's told from completely new characters, and there's a deeper mystery at work that comes almost out of nowhere, in a good way.

Predictability: There are quite a few mysteries in this book, and as I've said before Chima does a fantastic job at keeping secrets and letting off just enough information for it all to make sense once the truth comes out, and it seems she hasn't lost her touch. The biggest mystery seems to be the magemark on the back of Jenna's neck. She's not a mage that's for sure, but there's something magical about her still. While Chima teases us senseless with possibilities, she's doesn't quite give up the goat yet. There are of course many other mysteries and twists in this book, most of which shocked me, some left me squealing more than I'd like to admit, and some I was so proud I called, though there's still one twist I'm still bitter about, something I should have called, but I forgot one detail and it forever evaded me until its big reveal.

Ending: Part of me really regrets adding this section during times like this. Honestly I'm not sure what to say about the ending without giving anything away but I'm going to try. As this book starts to wrap up I'm not sure how everything was going to not only work out, but where everything was going to go and what position our characters could be in by the time the book ends. The final climax of this book, and the smaller bits of tension that come after were very epic. I mean, I can't believe how insane and awesome some of the stuff was. I don't want to say there's a cliffhanger, because there technically isn't but things aren't all finished, there are still a lot of mysteries and questions to be answered and some of them are so burning that in some way it does feel like this book has a cliffhanger.

Rating:

So, while I wasn't completely happy with the romance, it is only one part of this much, much greater story and all of the awesome of this book outshines that so brightly. I can't wait to see where this series goes, though from the looks of it Book 2: Shadowcaster is going to focus on some different characters so I don't know quite when this story will continue.

Book Review: The Crimson Crown (Seven Realms #4)

Release Date: October 23, 2012
Author: Cinda Williams Chima
Publisher: Disney-Hyperion
Length: 598 pages
Source: Library Book

A thousand years ago, two young lovers were betrayed-Alger Waterlow to his death, and Hanalea, Queen of the Fells, to a life without love.

Now, once again, the Queendom of the Fells seems likely to shatter apart. For young queen Raisa ana'Marianna, maintaining peace even within her own castle walls is nearly impossible; tension between wizards and Clan has reached a fevered pitch. With surrounding kingdoms seeking to prey on the Fells' inner turmoil, Raisa's best hope is to unite her people against a common enemy. But that enemy might be the person with whom she's falling in love.

Through a complicated web of lies and unholy alliances, former streetlord Han Alister has become a member of the Wizard Council of the Fells. Navigating the cut-throat world of blue blood politics has never been more dangerous, and Han seems to inspire hostility among Clan and wizards alike. His only ally is the queen, and despite the perils involved, Han finds it impossible to ignore his feelings for Raisa. Before long, Han finds himself in possession of a secret believed to be lost to history, a discovery powerful enough to unite the people of the Fells. But will the secret die with him before he can use it?

A simple, devastating truth concealed by a thousand-year-old lie at last comes to light in this stunning conclusion to the Seven Realms series.

    

Review:

Protagonists: Raisa has been named queen of the Fells, something that should give her a modicum of security, however it seems she's in more danger than ever before. With the dangerous kingdom of Arden licking their wounds after Raisa's public refusal of their kings proposal, it won't be long before they set their sights of conquering the Fells. Then there are those in her own court that feel she's too headstrong, that the much more pliable Mellony would be a much more manageable queen, and seek to make that happen. Han has been appointed to the Wizard Council. However he won't stop there. He has a plan, and he's going to do his best to see it through. However, he seems to have a talent for making enemies and for making trouble for himself. This is a queendom divided and on Han and Raisa, with a bit of help, and maybe some strong arming, can unite them to a common purpose. I swear, I don't know how many times I can rave over the characters in these books, specifically the main couple. This author writes some fantastic and multi-layered characters that are the perfect mix of good and bad. There are of course some characters that are worse than others, and though they cannot be easily handled, with these two nothing is impossible. (Have I said that before? I feel like I have. Regardless it's true!)

Romance: This is the ultimate forbidden love. I mean, seriously. Most forbidden love it's hard to see why the two can't be together, I mean usually there's amnesty between the two groups they belong to, but still if feels like there's a way to work it out. Going into this book I was nervous. I mean, there was a large part of me that was all like: It'll have a happy ending I just know it! But that's not always guaranteed, and even if it was it doesn't mean it's the happy ending I want. The impossibility of their ending up together, and not completely shattering the queendom is the trick and one it seemed Han might not be able to pull off. Regardless of if they end up together or not, there are some fantastically romantic chapters and scenes with them, Chapter 29 is my favorite, you'll see. There are of course the two annoying complications, Nightwalker and Micah Bayar, the thing is, something I've always thought is that, while Micah has his faults, at least he's in love with Raisa, Nightwalker on the other hand seems to view it as a purely lustful and political maneuver. He doesn't care about Raisa, not really and so when Micah tries to woo her it's annoying, but when Nightwalker does it just plain old pisses me off.

World Building: So, the biggest revelation of this book is the truth about what happened a thousand years ago when Alger Waterlow and Hanalea were alive and in love. I have to say, in the first book when we get our first version of "the truth" when Han learns he's a wizard descended from Waterlow, and learns what supposedly happened to his ancestor to lead to the Breaking, I thought it was too soon to reveal secrets that appeared to be very important to the overall run of the series. However, when I read the synopsis for this book I was glad to discover that the whole truth hadn't been told, and it's good too! I mean did not see it coming. I had my guesses sure, and on some level I had the correct guess, anyway I was surprised though that while it was a turning point for the story, it doesn't play a huge role in what happens after it's revealed to Han. Honestly, even if that hadn't come out, well I don't see things happening very differently. Still there are some awesome things revealed in this book, things that expand this book in ways I hadn't quite dreamed. It's a fantastic work of fiction and this world is so wonderfully expansive.

Predictability: Looking over the course of this book I don't honestly know how much I truly predicted. I mean sure I picked up on the fact that some things weren't right, that the usual suspect or obvious conclusion might not be the right one. Even then though I wasn't able to perfectly predict what the truth was, in fact there's a point close to the end of this book where I thought we would never get the truth on a couple of mysteries, that we were just supposed to assume it aligned with what everyone thought only to receive the truth through a very interesting and hysterically cliche way. It's a great reveal scene and one things I didn't quite seem coming.

Ending: Cinda Williams Chima seems to have a talent for creating insurmountable odds, and then without relying on Deus Ex Machinas, lead our heroes out into the light in a well written and realistic way. This book has a rather dramatic final climax, and in all honestly I use final rather loosely, there's a finality to the confrontation and set forth a good cooldown period, but the tension doesn't stop there. Going into any final book in a series there's a worry that by the end a series that you love may be tarnished by it's final installment, that the end would seem too easy, or there'd be something that happens which will forever taint your outlook in this series and these characters, but I'm here to reassure you that this book does justice to this series and unless you just sat around hoping for things to go differently than they did, then you'll love this final installment to this groundbreaking series.

Rating:

Again, not really a surprise. I love this series and while I try not to view the first or last as the best, sometimes it's impossible. This is truly the best of the series, though with a series full of phenomenal books it's really hard to choose.

Book Review: The Gray Wolf Throne (Seven Realms #3)

Release Date: August 30, 2011
Author: Cinda Williams Chima
Publisher: Disney-Hyperion
Length: 517 pages
Source: Library Book

Han Alister thought he had already lost everyone he loved. But when he finds his friend Rebecca Morley near death in the Spirit Mountains, Han knows that nothing matters more than saving her. The costs of his efforts are steep, but nothing can prepare him for what he soon discovers: the beautiful, mysterious girl he knew as Rebecca is none other than Raisa ana’Marianna, heir to the Queendom of the Fells. Han is hurt and betrayed. He knows he has no future with a blueblood. And, as far as he’s concerned, the princess’s family as good as killed his own mother and sister. But if Han is to fulfill his end of an old bargain, he must do everything in his power to see Raisa crowned queen.

Meanwhile, some people will stop at nothing to prevent Raisa from ascending. With each attempt on her life, she wonders how long it will be before her enemies succeed. Her heart tells her that the thief-turned-wizard Han Alister can be trusted. She wants to believe it—he’s saved her life more than once. But with danger coming at her from every direction, Raisa can only rely on her wits and her iron-hard will to survive—and even that might not be enough.

The Gray Wolf Throne is an epic tale of fierce loyalty, unbearable sacrifice, and the heartless hand of fate.

    

Review:

Protagonists: After being kidnapped by Micah Bayar and then nearly taken by Gerard Montaigne, Raisa is on the run for her life, hiding away from the High Wizard and his dastardly schemes. However it isn't long before she's pursued again and this time she may not get away so cleanly. Han Alister just wants to find the girl he knows as Rebecca Morley and make sure she's safe and sound, blaming himself for her disappearance. When he finds her near death in the mountains, he doesn't expect to soon find out that she's none other than Raisa ana'Marianna Princess Heir to the Fells, and the girl he begrudgingly agreed to protect. I honestly don't know how much more I can gush about how amazing these characters are. In other novels when a protagonist does something I've deemed stupid, even if I logically know they've done it because of a certain reason, I never quite believe it. In this book I believe it, and it's not just with stupid things. Everything these characters do, each hard choice and sudden outburst not only seem very realistic but very in line with the character this author has created. Each and every one of the characters in this book are so three-dimensional, no one is all black or white, just different shades of gray.

Romance: Man, does the romance in this book get super complicated and sometimes very aggravating, though since it's obvious the author intended to write it that way it's much easier to digest. First we have Amon and Raisa, a romance that just wasn't meant to be unfortunately. We don't get any progression in this book, only some much needed closure and a bit of pain. Then we have Han and Raisa, the romance that not only makes the most sense, but seems the most impossible. If Han and Raisa were to marry the whole country would be up in arms, possibly the whole continent. Raisa marry a street urchin wizard fostered by the Clans? That's just unspeakable. Not to mention the huge rift that grew between Raisa and Han after Han learns her true identity. There's a feeling of betrayal there and Han doesn't know how to sort out his feelings, so he lashes out. Honestly, while I'm very positive these characters will end up together, the "how" to that dilemma currently escapes me, unless Raisa can find a way to use Amon's ability to do nothing to hurt the line to somehow convince everyone that she and Han belong together. Then there are the romantic complications I kind of hope are eventually killed off. Ried Nightwalker and Micah Bayar attempt to reenter their hats in the ring for Raisa's hand. It's nothing to take seriously, just a constant, although semi-necessary, annoyance.

World Building: Even though I thought I knew what to expect going into this installment, I was not prepared for what went on in this book. There's a lot of preamble in this book. Things are steadily building up and what it's building up to is pretty fantastic. There's a turning point in this book, where the storytelling changes in a way, or the story itself changes, and the path I had expected it to go on, isn't the path anymore. As you can no doubt tell, I'm try to be vague and avoid spoilers. That being said, this book has the most political intrigue out of all of the books. Playing politics is a dangerous game, but these characters are smart, let's just hope they are smart enough to not only stay alive, but build a better Queendom. There's quite a bit of world building in this book. We see more of the clans, more of the Fellsian court, and learn some vital secrets that just may prove too dangerous to know. Honestly, there's so much I want to say, but I don't want to reveal more than I already have. Let me just say before I go, that when this book took a turn I wasn't expecting, it wasn't for the worse, but to catapult this story forward in an unexpectedly expected way.

Predictability: I'm pretty sure I've said it before, but I'll say it again, Chima has a fantastic way with foreshadowing. However, sometimes I just want the answer to my questions during the book in which they come up and that never seems to be the case. Take this book for example: In The Exiled Queen there was one mystery introduced, one I had felt I had pinpointed the answer to fairly early on, only to never get the satisfaction of saying that I called that twist during that second installment, however not fully two chapters in and it's revealed, I was right, but it was near torture to get there. That being said I'm not mad. There are plenty more twists and mysteries foreshadowed in this book that I am looking forward to finding out in the next installment, but that may just be because I'm reading the next and final installment after I finish this review.

Ending: This ending was weird, good weird, but still. There wasn't anything I could necessarily pinpoint as a final climax, save for some small climaxes in the final few chapters. The ending is very solid, full of hope as well as tension, and then there's the epilogue. I'm not sure why, probably because this is the book right before the end of the series, but I expected a gigantic twist at the end of this book. So going into the epilogue I had high expectations, but all I was left with was a puzzled look on my face and an intense desire to read the final installment of this series, yet not gigantic twist in sight.

Rating:

I mean, is this even a surprise at this point? It wasn't to me. I absolutely love this series and while didn't go into it planning on giving it five stars, it blew me away in it's slow paced and game changing story line. I have so many questions by the end of this book and I am about ready for some answers.

Book Review: The Demon King (Seven Realms #1)

Release Date: October 6, 2009
Author: Cinda Williams Chima
Publisher: Disney-Hyperion
Length: 506 pages
Source: Library E-Book

Times are hard in the mountain city of Fellsmarch. Reformed thief Han Alister will do almost anything to eke out a living for his family. The only thing of value he has is something he can't sell—the thick silver cuffs he's worn since birth. They're clearly magicked—as he grows, they grow, and he's never been able to get them off.

One day, Han and his clan friend, Dancer, confront three young wizards setting fire to the sacred mountain of Hanalea. Han takes an amulet from Micah Bayar, son of the High Wizard, to keep him from using it against them. Soon Han learns that the amulet has an evil history—it once belonged to the Demon King, the wizard who nearly destroyed the world a millennium ago. With a magical piece that powerful at stake, Han knows that the Bayars will stop at nothing to get it back.

Meanwhile, Raisa ana'Marianna, princess heir of the Fells, has her own battles to fight. She's just returned to court after three years of freedom in the mountains—riding, hunting, and working the famous clan markets. Raisa wants to be more than an ornament in a glittering cage. She aspires to be like Hanalea—the legendary warrior queen who killed the Demon King and saved the world. But her mother has other plans for her...

The Seven Realms tremble when the lives of Hans and Raisa collide, fanning the flames of the smoldering war between clans and wizards.

    

Review:

Protagonists: This story follows two main points of view; Han, a boy with a dark past and a magical secret not even he knows about, and Raisa the princess heir to the queendom of the Fells who wants to be more than just a bird in a glittering cage and a piece on a chessboard. I was actually really surprised at the lack of crossover in these two characters, there's maybe a chapter or two in which these characters interact before going back to their separate, but related, stories. Each of these characters has many layers to them that make them well thought out and individualized characters. Their development and growth over this book looks to be only a taste of the characters they will become over this series.

Romance: There is actually very little romance in this book. Honestly I was expecting a lot more, and moreover I was expecting that by the end of the book, regardless of my personal feelings on the matter, I'd know definitively where the author wants to go with the two main characters in terms of endgame. Honestly, since they both have other love interests and due to the very little interaction between the two of them in this book, I don't know if Chima wants fans to root for Han and Raisa to end up together, for them to form a platonic friendship, and/or for them to find romantic partners apart from each other. The little bit of romance that we did get to see was really only beneficial on the part of Raisa and her love interest, as Han and his love interest were kind of boring.

World-Building: There's so much world-building in this book that at times is was hard for me to keep up. First things first, there are two magical forces at play; the clans who control green magic, things related to nature and healing, and wizards who control high magic, things much more forceful and potentially destructive. The thing is that when I first learned about these two forces my mind immediately wanted to sort one as the "bad guy" and the other as the "good guy" but there are shades of gray in both of these factions and it's not as simple as right and wrong, even though it isn't hard to judge a character because of their factional ties. The history of this world is also very interesting, there are stories of a warrior queen who defeated a great evil and saved the world, but as we know history is written by the victors and there are two sides to every story. I sort of felt like I missed out on something though, that I was supposed to have a vague knowledge of the world, or that there was a prequel novella to read, but there isn't, still that feeling of being out of the loop story wise never fully went away.

Predictability: For most of this book, the best I can compare it to is walking in a dark room, I had a vague sense of what was coming next, but I couldn't rely on context for anything far off. There wasn't all that much foreshadowing and when there was it was extremely subtle, as in when a twist would be revealed it would sometimes take me a while to piece it all together. However, while for the most part the foreshadowing was subtle, there were times when it was a bit more obvious, though not by much, more a tingle in the brain, which led to some outlandish theories that may or may not have been right.

Ending: There is a lot of tension and action that goes on in this ending, on both sides of this story. It's hard to fully describe without spoilers but the ending of this book is very emotional, there are quite a few things revealed that I did not expect, and some things that I actually did expect that made me want to punch someone. The cooldown period did not last long as there is one more secret to be told, and it's a doozy. There's a lot set up for the next installment and while this book ended in a way that's leaving me clamoring for the sequel, it doesn't end in a cliffhanger but more that traditional first book plateau that hints at a brighter tomorrow.

Rating:

I'd say on the whole I really enjoyed this book and can't wait to continue the series, however it is paced a bit slow and there was definitely a bot of confusion in more than one area of this book.