Star Crossed by Elizabeth C. Bunce

A Non-Challenge Book Review

6. Star Crossed by Elizabeth C. Bunce (Thief Errant #1)

One day while I was perusing Goodreads, I came across this book. I was really interested by the blurb so added it to my To Read list and added it to my wishlist on my Kobo. By my latest reviews, you've probably noticed that I love fantasy books and that currently I am in a young adult fantasy funk which I am thoroughly enjoying. So despite the fact that it fills none of the Reading Challenge's categories I decided to read it anyway. However, I still wanted to write a review and add it to my total of 2015 books so here we are.

Star Crossed is set in a fantasy alternative universe, in the classic medieval-esque way. The world has several moons surrounding it and these have become their gods The king of this land has outlawed magic, any academic study and any worship of other gods other than his own. Their had been a war 18 years before the time the book is set, it was a Sarist (magic believers) rebellion which was unsuccessful. Our protagonist is 16 year old Digger, she grew up on the streets and is a thief. During a routine job, Tegen her beloved and the only person she trusts is killed by the Green men (the police force). She runs and is unintentionally helped by a group of merry young noblemen and ladies. She is accepted as a maid to one of the young ladies and Digger intends to hideout there until the she is forgotten by the Green men. However, she is caught stealing by one of the lords and is then blackmailed by him to be his spy. She is unwittingly thrown into a world of intrigue and politics. It is from here that story picks up pace.

I loved this book so much. I really enjoyed the fact that there was no love story other than Digger's memories of Tegen. I do love a good romance but it was quite refreshing to read a young adult book that didn't use a love interest as a main plot device. There was no distraction from the main story line. There was enough drama and interest in the main plot that I don't think you could have fit in a love story anyway. The pace of this book was superb. I found it difficult to put this book down. There wasn't a huge rush to go from big event to big event but at the same time it was never slow. I loved how the story unfolded and how we slowly pieced together the back story of Digger and of the world she resides in. I found the intrigue in this story really interesting and suspenseful.

The character development in this story was done really well by Bunce. Digger was a really well rounded character as were many of the other characters. I loved the slow change in Digger when she realised she had come to care for these people and that she couldn't take advantage of them like she used to or had planned. She reminded me a lot of Aly from the Trickster books by Tamora Pierce. But it wasn't annoyingly so. They are still distinct characters but I would recommend this book to anyone who enjoyed the Trickster books. I also really enjoyed how the secondary characters were developed. Bunce didn't demonise the characters but she showed how the people had been misguided or blackmailed into doing things aren't considered moral. I especially like how Bunce developed the character Marlytt, a courtesan of sorts and Merista, the young lady who Digger serves.

This book is everything I would want and I love in fantasy books. It was awesome and I can't wait to read the second book, Liar's Moon. Which I believe may have a love story in it, which I'm looking forward to after enjoying a book without it. I highly recommend this book. I'm giving it 5 out of 5 stars, that's how much I enjoyed it.

Thank you for reading!

Jenny

The Pain Merchants - The Healing Wars: Book One by Janice Hardy

2015 Reading Challenge

5. A book with magic: The Pain Merchant - The Healing Wars: Book One by Janice Hardy

The Pain Merchants was another book from the book pile Helen lent me. As you can see I went through a binge on her books. I got overly excited by her books, that I forgot that I was going to have a mixture of books on this blog. Instead I've had three similar books in a row. Whoops. I had never heard of it before but the blurb intrigued me and with Helen's recommendation, I decided to give it a go.

The Pain Merchants was set in a alternative fantasy universe, there has been a war and the city, Geveg is under control by the all powerful Duke. The protagonist is Nya, a fifteen year old; who barely survives by working odd jobs. Her younger sister is a apprentice at the Healer's League but Nya was unable to join so remains on the streets.  She is a Taker, a healer who can pull pain and injury from others. However, she is unable to release the pain into pynvium, an enchanted metal that can store pain like other healers. She has the unusual ability to only shift pain from person to person. This is a dangerous ability that she must keep hidden from the various forces within Geveg. However, a bungled egg theft exposes her to the pain merchants and the Healer's League. Nya now has to protect herself and discover why League apprentices are going missing before her sister is taken.

The plot of the story was written fairly well. It flowed well and was full of surprises, you were not always sure what was going to happen next. However, I found the ending to occur too suddenly, when in the rest of the book the issues the characters faced and how they were resolved happened at a reasonable pace. The conclusion happened so quickly and the main issue in the story was resolved but there had been no real thought put into it. It just happened. I found it quite unsatisfying, Hardy kind of bungled the climax.

Also, the story fell into the classic young adult cliche of making the protagonist the most skilled and powerful character. It's fine but its quite frustrating. I would love the main character to not be the best thing ever. I think it's a good lesson to teach people that you don't have to be all powerful to be a important or brave person. However, in other books that I have enjoyed more it hasn't bothered me. It could be bothering me because its the third young adult book I've read in a row.

The main issue I found with The Pain Merchants was the character development. Nya's character was well developed and she was likeable. However, all the other minor main characters were terribly developed. I felt no real connection to any of them. I first noticed this with the love interest, I just didn't really like him. There was no really reason to not like him but he appeared bland, there was nothing special about the character. He barely had chemistry with Nya and their intimate dialogue was uninspired. The only chemistry you could see was what Nya told you about, like she can't stop looking at him and thought he was cute. Her sister was just as poorly developed, you as a reader felt no real connection to her. When she (spoiler alert) disappears, I found I only cared because Nya was so upset but I wasn't hugely worried if she was only used as character development for Nya or not. The other main character was Aylin, who is initially introduced as someone Nya knew but wasn't really friends with and not someone she can trust but then suddenly she is "like a sister". It was bizarre and a little unsettling.

I found this book alright. I think I will read the next one, hopefully the character are better developed. Overall, it was a okay read, I did enjoy it and found the storyline to be fairly unique. Though there is a part when they are worried they can't heal anymore and I was thinking, "Haven't you learned how to heal without it like we deal with everyday especially if no one can affords it." But of course this a different universe with different norms. I give this book a 3 out 5 stars. I wouldn't really recommend this book unless you like fantasy and magic and are curious by the blurb.

Thank you, I hoped you enjoyed reading.

Jenny

Graceling by Kristin Cashore

2015 Reading Challenge

4. A book by an author you've never read before: Graceling by Kristin Cashore.

This was probably the easiest category in the Reading Challenge. Most of the books I read are written by authors I have never read or even heard of before. As previously stated in my last blog, I had acquired a lot of books from my cousin, Helen. This was one of the books that I had received that I immediately wanted to start reading so I have just squeezed it into one of the easy categories. I had seen this book on Goodreads and was looking forward to diving into it. I was not disappointed.

Graceling is set in an alternative universe in the usual medieval style standard of fantasy novels. There are people throughout this world who are born with an exceptional skill, known as a Grace. These people are both feared and exploited. The protagonist of this story is Katsa, she has the unfortunate Grace of killing and her uncle, King Randa; makes use of her Grace. She despises having no control over her life and of the killing. She wants to use her Grace for good and not at the whim of a King. The story details how she does this and follows her part in the investigation into the kidnapping into the King of Lienid's father.

I really loved this book, I thought that Katsa's character was just the right amount of spunky and headstrong. I enjoyed her relationship with her love interest, Po. I was surprised how much I liked it because he was the perfect person, with no real flaws that I could see. Usually that frustrates me to no end but I didn't really mind. He was just such a good person and I loved that he had complete faith in Katsa's skills as a fighter. He never tried to play that chivalrous role, which I hate a lot of time. I found their romance really sweet and realistic. They didn't suddenly change their goals and opinions of love and relationships, despite their love for each other. It was nice to see a female protagonist that still had control over herself around the guy she likes.

The plot in Graceling was written really well, it flowed really nicely and wasn't predictable. There wasn't always a clear idea of where they were heading but that reflected how the characters were feeling themselves about the investigation. However, I found the end to the antagonist quite abrupt, it all happened rather quickly but it was unexpected so that was refreshing. I liked how Cashore sorted out all loose ends and that it was smoothly done, rather than lengthening the book for no reason.

This review ended being a bit smaller than usual. I really enjoyed this book so I'll give it a 4 out 5 stars. I highly recommend this book if you love fantasy books and especially if you enjoy any of Tamora Pierce books like I do.

Thanks for reading.

Jenny