Tuesday 30 June 2015

Warning Cry




Book Title: Warning Cry
Author: Kris Humphrey
Date Started: June 27th 2015
Date Completed: June 30th 2015
Genres: Adventure, Fantasy
Quality Rating: Three Stars
Enjoyment Rating: Three Stars
Final Rating: Three stars
Review:

◆ Thanks to NetGalley for this eBook copy for review ◆

Warning Cry was a fun, quick read, and has a nice concept perfect for younger readers. Personally, I thought it was good but it failed to blow me away. It felt like the series had to be read as a whole to be really enjoyable, and there were some other small things that prevented the book from being able to span over to older readers.

The writing didn't exactly flow for me, and there wasn't much of an atmosphere for most of the book. I personally don't think this is a big problem for a children's book as the story is far more important to engage and excite readers. That's also why I really love the setting of African-like plains (not sure if this world is supposed to be our reality or a high fantasy creation - there's a few grey areas around the world building). From what I know about the first book we get a different culture to explore for each book which is a really nice feature - especially since a lot of children's fantasy is either set in the US or high fantasy worlds.

The big disappointment with Warning Cry for me was that the amazing world hinted at isn't really explored. Sure, the characters wander around and travel a lot in the book, but just going through new locations isn't the same as learning about them so that they come to life in your imagination. For a kids book following magical characters, it was surprisingly bare in depth both in the characters and the world building. I wasn't expecting huge backstory about the political history of the kingdom, but I would've liked a little more explanation to really get into the story.
I liked the incorporation of the previous in this story, if it was only brief, but I expect those will become more common in the later books. But the biggest issue was that Warning Cry didn't stand on its own two feet. I understand that the book can get away with this because children aren't so concerned with continuity and long running storylines, but I think this made it really hard for me as an older reader to get into the book.

While I'm all for female heroines, I'm not sure I can recall any male named characters, in a book with quite a hoard of primary and secondary characters. I have a feeling that only women can be Whisperers - something that may have been explained in the first book, but again that comes to the point where it's not very easy to read as a stand alone.
Nara was a good protagonist because she acted like the voice of reason and courage. You usually get main characters that are reckless and need taming, with a wise sidekick; Warning Cry tells this sort of story from the wise perspective, and I felt like Nara did a good job of being a mentor. However, sometimes her actions didn't quite add up - she was the 'experienced' one, yet she was often helpless or made mistakes (of course, people can be scared and make mistakes, but the characterisation of it didn't feel consistent).

Though there always seems to be something happening in this book I wasn't gripped by a lot of it, and so it felt a lot longer than I'm sure it was. Because the plot line doesn't really follow a conventional storyline (not necessarily a bad thing) you can't really tell what's coming and so I found it a bit hard to motivate myself for long periods of time. However, the book was still very quick to read and engaging enough.

Warning Cry is a nice and fun read, but I honestly feel that there are better fantasy adventures for children out there. The concept is definitely the strong point, and I think younger readers will enjoy the the series as a whole - I think reading all the books when they come out back-to-back would make them a lot more enjoyable. While Warning Cry doesn't provide that appeal to slightly older readers, I think it's an entertaining children's series.

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Saturday 27 June 2015

Way Down Dark

25202767

Book Title: Way Down Dark
Author: J.P. Smythe
Date Started: June 24th 2015
Date Completed: June 27th 2015
Genres: Dystopian, Sci-Fi, Action
Quality Rating: Three Stars
Enjoyment Rating: Three Stars
Final Rating: Three stars
Review:

◆ Thanks to NetGalley for this eBook copy for review ◆

Way Down Dark was a good, gritty sci-fi dystopian, but my problem was that I couldn't find much uniqueness or structure in the story. There might have been a few differences when it came to the social system, the setting, the violence - but in the end it echoed too many things I've seen time and time again (I think Dystopia as a genre suffers from this a lot due to previous successes and the growing reality of the premise in the real world).

I actually really liked Smythe's writing. We're given the story through a disrupted chronology and a somewhat passive first person narrator. Something I enjoyed about the first person was the freedom of the prose; personal narration often narrows the perspective of the world for no reason, whereas you can tell Chan isn't telling you everything but she's still explaining the world as we go along.
The biggest issue for me in the writing was the lack of atmosphere built up. I wasn't getting lost in the action of the drama because none of it really seemed real - even in the fictional sense. Even towards the climax or the plot reveals, they didn't surprise me because I wasn't really engaged in the world - the story I was able to follow and absorb, but it didn't make me excited or scared or anxious with anticipation.

The storyline was basically a mix of existing dystopians, albeit with a few little twists. But even the inclusion of 'Australia' as both the spaceship and the culture doesn't impact much in the long run. (Maybe it will in future books, but I stick to the principle that every book should be able to hold itself up alone.) Another issue focused around the repetition in the plot: the basically story is in two parts, and in both of them there was a serious problem with the same things happening again and again in each of them. This not only became quite boring, but it also made the story seem a lot more like day-to-day life, rather than a dramatic, tense story that was heading towards a climax.
The world itself I really enjoyed, and especially appreciated the exploration of the matriarchy. Pretty much every force on the ship is led by a woman, and not only was this a concept not often properly included, but was also just really nice and refreshing.
Although there was a good twist at the end, it didn't really shock me. I suppose partly because of how irrelevant it felt; the lack of tension; and how little it actually changed the situation (it might have affected the future of the trilogy, but it doesn't offer any answers for the first book). However, the cliffhanger was set up in the way that you do want to know what happens, and I probably will be continuing on with the story.

Characters were a slightly stronger aspect of this book, and I especially loved the inclusion of a wide variety of people, but also an awareness that you can only really properly develop a small handful of them.
Chan was an awesome protagonist who I liked from the offset. I've always liked strong, silent types, but having it from the daughter of an incredibly powerful, trusted woman in a world pretty much completely without governing or class. Admittedly, at times she was very stupid and didn't really get punished for it, but most of the time she had her priorities straight but also came across as an genuine person.
Although Jonah paled in comparison to Chan, it was interesting to see the effects of faith on the world. It wasn't particularly consistent or present in the whole book, and I think Jonah's personal experience could've been elaborated on, but it was still a nice addition in the story.

Somehow Way Down Dark ends up feelings both rushed and unnecessarily drawn out at the same time: the story is incredibly repetitive to fill up time, but then what seems like the important events feel very short. Strangely for the first book in a series, this novel feels a lot like a filler book. Smythe needed the characters to end up in a certain place, and despite needing to give all the exposition he only had a small amount of key parts of the book. The rest seemed to be filled with a similar day-to-day experience in the empty bits.

I have a lot of mixed feelings around Way Down Dark: overall it feels like a mature-seeming combination of lots of other dystopians with more to come from the story. There are some nice little differences, and a good amount of action, so if you're looking for more futuristic gritty adventures then you should pick it up.

Image Source - https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/25202767-way-down-dark

Wednesday 24 June 2015

The Watchmaker of Filigree Street

25511627

Book Title: The Watchmaker of Filigree Street
Author: Natasha Pulley
Date Started: June 19th 2015
Date Completed: June 24th 2015
Genres: Historical, Mystery, Romance
Quality Rating: Four Stars
Enjoyment Rating: Five Stars
Final Rating: Five stars
Review:

◆ Thanks to NetGalley for this eBook copy for review ◆

The Watchmaker of Filigree Street is the perfect mix of an old fashioned crime mystery and a charming story of genuine human qualities. The oriental influence puts a certain vibrancy into 18th century London that enhances every part of the book: from the beautiful character relationships to the risky area of police work.

I really liked Pulley's writing from the start: it's simple enough to be able to read quickly and easily, but still manages to add layers onto the characterisation and dialogue so that it comes across as realistic and developed. The problem with 'simple' writing is sometimes a lack of depth to the story, but Pulley somehow finds a way around this and really captures the atmosphere in her words. 
Her attention to the world building was probably my favourite thing in this novel. The detail and almost magical quality of the things happening around the characters added that extra flair to a setting that, while still interesting and bursting with life, was in danger of becoming very stiff with historical accuracy - rather than the limits of the imagination.

The unconventional plot line in The Watchmaker of Filigree Street was really refreshing. Originality is a hard thing to come by these days, but Pulley manages to pull it off with her mix of genres and spread focus on both the mystery, world building and relationships of the characters.
There was a great control on events and their spiralling out of control, as well. The narrative tricks you into thinking the story is going one way, and then it goes in another so naturally that it must have been planned. Having said that, I was well aware that I was being led down a certain path and there was a lot more going on behind the scenes; but from very early on I started trusting Pulley to take it wherever she wanted to, and she would still be able to make it good. Maybe at times this was a little misguided, but overall it went well. I loved that you could see even minor characters influencing the story out of the protagonists' control - and in hindsight, when you know the twists, it makes it even more impressive.
When it came to explanations towards the end, I have to say I didn't quite understand the magical side of things, and the mystery became quite hard to follow. After the slow pace, the resolution to the story seemed to come in a bit of a whirlwind, but mostly I'm happy to let it sit since everything else was handled so well throughout the whole book.
Momentum was lost just after the middle of the book, and things did kind of go downhill from there, but things picked up again right near the end, and so the ending feeling wasn't necessarily what I expected, but was still satisfying. The bitter sweet nature of it fitted perfectly with the rest of the book, and the time Pulley left at the end for the consequences of the climax to play out was a brilliant call in making the whole novel draw together nicely.

The Watchmaker of Filigree Street has some great characters that have both bad and good sides that play a big part in the story. Even minor characters have their own mannerisms that are unique to them (I really appreciate this attention to smaller characters that makes them different from each other).
Thaniel was a nice protagonist, and though I have to say he lacked the uniqueness of the other characters, I was still rooting for him and thought he was a really interesting person to follow in the main story: at some point or another, he's manipulated by everyone.
As the title character, I would've expected Mori himself to be followed in the story, but actually having him as a person only ever looked at from another 'perspective' exaggerated how little we know about him. Pulley also uses her technique of tricking the reader into thinking they have him pegged, but then twisting his personality around at the last minute - it makes quite an interesting time trying to solve the puzzle before the characters, I can tell you that.
My favourite character was probably Grace: at first you expect her to be the typical intelligent, independent woman often thrown into historical fiction to tick the feminist box - and I think she does prove her own worth several times over. But at the same time she is restricted without a husband, and so she sometimes has to act to overcome this. There are so many hints dropped throughout the beginning of the book showing this quite clearly, but we still somehow ignore them because we expect her to slide into the conventional norm. This is an important thing I'm not sure everyone would get from reading this book: Grace does some harsh things because she feels she has to, and whether it's true or not, it doesn't make her a bad person.

Pulley's book is definitely a slow building mystery; and mirrors this in the relationships too. You often get to a part of the book and think the mystery is solved, or expect something to end, but you're taken in a completely new direction to get in even deeper to the story. I didn't mind this slow pace because of the world building and the diversity of characters, but don't expect an on-the-edge-of-your-seat mystery thriller.

Though there were some weaker parts, The Watchmaker of Filigree was overall wonderful. As a lover of the 18th century and fantasy, steampunk settings, the world of Pulley's book itself was enough to entice me - but combine that with an original plot line, some truly individual characters, and a beautiful little story there wasn't much else that could've been done to make me love it more.

Image Source - https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/25511627-the-watchmaker-of-filigree-street

Friday 19 June 2015

Me and Earl and the Dying Girl

13558605

Book Title: Me and Earl and the Dying Girl
Author: Jesse Andrews
Date Started: June 14th 2015
Date Completed: June 19th 2015
Genres: Contemporary, Comedy
Quality Rating: Four Stars
Enjoyment Rating: Three Stars
Final Rating: Three stars
Review:

While at times this book felt like a stereotypical contemporary cancer story, it also had elements of something new. Of course, since I don't really think this was consistent throughout the whole story you can make your own judgements on Andrew's originality, but I personally loved the story and concept of Me and Earl and the Dying Girl - but quite frankly the narration irritated me persistently.

Greg's narration harassed me for the entirety of Me and Earl and the Dying Girl. For me it just pushed too hard at trying to prove its meaningfulness by expressly claiming that it was pointless and terrible. Andrews forced that so many times I actually started to believe him. On the other hand, this exaggerated a part of the writing I really enjoyed: you could see the affect the experience was having on Greg not through his narration (where he blatantly refused to talk about his own emotions) but through the way his actions evolved throughout the story, and the way other people treated him. I think this created a really solid character, even if I didn't like him that much.
Another aspect I enjoyed writing-wise was the experimentation with formatting. As a writer and filmmaker myself, I understand the desire to unpredictably switch between prose and script and notes at random. It also broke up the long passages of narration really nicely when they were in danger of becoming boring.

Quite honestly, I didn't get along with this book at first - in fact it was only around the last third of the story onwards that I was really invested in what was happening. For me, the film aspects were the most interesting; it was what I was hoping would make this contemporary engaging for me, since I don't usually enjoy modern settings with teenage drama. The problem was, this only really came into play around 200 pages in. However, from there forward I loved the book: there was suddenly more going on, and even the characters felt more genuine and the narration started to have some meaning.
One aspect that caught me off guard was the family portrayals. I've heard this book regarded as really funny and entertaining, but I didn't really get this until the family turned up. I'm not even sure what it was, but some of the reactions to grief or awkwardness or even just affection were so embarrassingly accurate it became hilarious. Even in the grim circumstances, some of the reactions were meant so well but came out so inappropriate, it was very funny.

The characters in this novel weren't sold as awkward and quirky, but actually really great people underneath: something which has come to be somewhat of a convention in teenage contemporaries. But Andrews decide to create honestly flawed characters that don't handle the situation they're in very well at all.
Though I'm not a fan of Greg as a person, I understand why he was used as the protagonist: his narration annoyed me, but his insecure way of looking at things created an atmosphere that was different to a lot of contemporaries I've read. You got the feeling that he genuinely didn't find meaning in his friend's death, and he really didn't think that anything he did was worth anything. In many ways, the ending is even more upsetting because of this - but it was honest, and I really appreciated that.

I felt like Andrews just needed to get to the point a lot faster. I appreciate the development of Greg's character and familiarising the reader with his life and the kind of world he and the other characters were growing up in - but in the end, I'm not sure it added that much to the actual story. In addition, since the main thing that attracted me to this book was the filmmaking aspects, I was quite disappointed to find it barely featured at all until the last hundred pages.

Above most else, I believe that Andrews is actually a very skilled writer: yes, I hated the narration, but the subtext of the characters, particularly Greg himself, was really impressive. Contemporary-lovers will enjoy Me and Earl and the Dying Girl, and I think anyone with a passion for filmmaking will enjoy the later aspects of this book. If you aren't a fan of high-school stories then you might struggle with the earlier parts of the book, and I would recommend you have an interest in the broad genre itself before picking this book up.

Image Source - https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/13558605-me-and-earl-and-the-dying-girl

Sunday 14 June 2015

A Stolen Childhood

25047943

Book Title: A Stolen Childhood
Author: Casey Watson
Date Started: June 12th 2015
Date Completed: June 14th 2015
Genres: Contemporary, Memoir
Quality Rating: Three Stars
Enjoyment Rating: Three Stars
Final Rating: Three stars
Review:

Thank you to Harper Collins for providing me with this copy to review.

Having never read a memoir before, A Stolen Childhood was a new experience for me - one I'm not entirely sure if I liked to not. To be honest, the real world within the pages of a book isn't for me, however I do feel like Watson's book has something to say: she addresses something many people are too scared to, and in as brutally honest a way as a memoir. (Though there were several times where I had to take a step back from absorbing everything at face value.)

Watson's writing felt halfway between a diary and a formal report; I couldn't tell if it's supposed to be funny or serious (or perhaps both at the same time). Due to the subject matter and the personality of the author herself I can understand why this is, but it does make it difficult to read and get emersed in the story - you're too busy trying to work out if you're supposedly to be reading a scene in a shocker manner or with amusement.
There was a lot of irrelevant information thrown in as well: we don't need to know who everyone's fake names are, because we don't know who they were in real life and they don't play as big a part in the story as they might have done in the author's life. This particularly made things quite hard to keep up with, and was more than anything just unnecessary.
The final issue I had with the writing was my pet peeve: telling not showing. But this time, it came with a twist. Watson has the strange knack of showing something very well, but then feeling obliged to tell us exactly what she just implied through her wirintg. It's not needed, and actually came across as quite patronising in my opinion. More often than not she effectively presented a character being distressed or having a little unnoticeable tic, but then had to address it directly and with quite watered-down explanations.

A Stolen Childhood sent me right back into school memories, and not necessarily in a good way. Perhaps the shell-shock of secondary school hasn't quite worn off on me yet, but being thrown back into that little world of turmoil and drama wasn't exactly what I was looking for when I picked this up - not that that's necessarily a bad thing. Watson was able to replicate some quite uncomfortable moments any child will remember from their time in education, and quite a few only children who spent a day or two in the so-called 'unit' will relate to. But despite this accuracy in setting, Watson also succeeded in infuriating me quite a bit when it came to teacher's gossiping and dealing with children in their care - don't get me wrong, they were generally good. But I couldn't help feeling quite patronised as a student who not that long ago was at the age of the younger characters. I did also feel that, at times, some issues could've been approached in a different way, but I do appreciate having a narrator who takes the time to consider various sides of an argument.
Something to praise Watson for is her range of kids in the story; A Stolen Childhood is definitely sold as Kiara's story, but there are actually a few others children that we follow along the way. The book really needed that, I think, to keep things moving smoothly, and to stop things from becoming too absorbed in what's actually quite a small story that takes place over a longer period of time.
Things draw to a close in quite a strange way; admittedly, as a memoir, we expect that these are how things really did play out (make your own judgements on that), and so this can't really be held so harshly. However, I wonder is perhaps more development into Casey's emotions at this time that contrasted that seen previously in the book would've enhanced the ending to make it feel slightly more climactic.

Something I was expecting from a memoir was a wider range of characters: since it's based off real life, you'd expect the diversity of the real world to be somehow reflected in the story. However, I found that most people, save four or five, merged into one another. Not only are there so many people it's hard to keep track of anyway, but the somewhat bland qualities they're described with definitely doesn't help to distinguish them from one another.
Casey, though at times questionable in her methods and reactions, was a good narrator (and yes, I do say this fully aware that the narrator and the author are the same person - not that I'd be any less harsh than usual). For me, it was particularly intersting to see the story unfold entirely from her perspective: in fiction books, even in a first person perspective, you know that the author has things all worked out behind the scenes, and so it's hard for them not to drop little things that the characters wouldn't otherwise know in. But this book offered a new way of looking at things, and you can definitely notice the difference in the protagonist's awareness, and how the story plays out because of it.

For such a short book, it takes a long time for things to happen. Understandably, there's an introduction to Casey's character and job before things start occurring, but it doesn't make the most engaging read if you aren't interested in the education system. This issue dominated quite a bit of the book for me; I completely understand that it's a memoir, but part of me can't help feeling that the creative license exists for a reason. I'm sure for the memoir audience, there are readers willing to take in the information dumping about real-life institutions, but for a reader used to fiction, it makes it quite hard to swallow.

Admittedly, memoirs have turned out not to be my thing - but the fact that I can say that quite confidently through the genre, rather than Watson's own work, sings at least a little bit of praise for the author. Readers who look for dark real-life stories may enjoy this much more than myself, and I feel like more research into the author's story would enhance the experience - it's easy to see the way Casey's story continues in her career.

Image Source - https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/25047943-a-stolen-childhood

Thursday 11 June 2015

Eon

7261699

Book Title: Eon
Author: Alison Goodman
Series: Eon #1
Date Started: May 31st 2015
Date Completed: June 11th 2015
Genres: Fantasy, Adventure
Quality Rating: Five Stars
Enjoyment Rating: Four Stars
Final Rating: Five stars
Review:

Eon is an oriental high fantasy with an awesome take on feminism - and dragons. Though a more patient reader is probably needed for the typical high fantasy world building and politics, the gradual pace is entirely worth it by the end.

I really enjoyed Goodman's writing style; she has a way of writing very subtly, dropping hints to the reader that aren't hidden but just not immediately noticeable, that can be incredibly revealing about the plot and characters. Looking back I can see several things foreshadowed that I didn't notice at the time. In addition, there's some nice description, particularly of the traditional ceremonies, and a good balance between internal monologue, dialogue and action. The problem I sometimes have with first person narratives is the overpoweringly forced perspective that the author doesn't necessarily notice as giving a closed portrayal of the world. But Goodman created a nice balance between holding information back and allowing us to be lost within the world.
The world building itself was one of the most impressive things about Eon in my opinion. Goodman wasn't at all afraid to take her time to explain the chinese-esque culture to get the atmosphere just right for the scenes. Despite not being too aware of the oriental culture Eon's universe is inspired from, I was able to understand the tragicness and insulting nature of some events from the character's perspectives. It's quite a while before the first twist of the novel happens, but we aren't given an unnecessarily long narrative waffling on about the protagonist's conflicted nervousness; we're allowed to build up the basis of our knowledge that develops the entire world - something quite important as the story is so heavily focused on the culture and traditions of this fictional universe.

Eon has some of the best diversity I've seen in a novel to date. While there's a huge range of characters with varying genders and backgrounds that are all included in the narrative well, we get a great mixture of good people that go bad things, and bad people that do good things - twisted morals and personal goals and friendly personalities are all shown in different ways to create a very realistic pool of characters for the story to play out. The culture is also exaggerated by this, as certain traditions - that to a modern reader might feel slightly theatrical or unnecssary - influence the people to the point where theyare portrayed in a slightly different light to reveal things about their hidden objectives.
The feminism in Eon also impressed me, as it was shown with a proud dignity throughout the whole story without having to declare the success or ability of women. The female characters were shown as powerful and intelligent and capable and complex honestly and naturally - there is no denying that Rilla reimains strong despite being a female slave for years; Lady Dela is honest, gracious and shameless for her power despite being a transgender woman; and Eon is talented, clever and brave whether she is known as Lord Eon or Eona. Goodman's approach to transgender issues and eunuchs also added to the quality and diversity of the novel; they were included and dealt with in sensitive but honest ways without taking away from the core plot line.
The one criticism I have story-wise is that the climax came almost as a surprise to me because of the slow pacing: it felt quite a way off that any action was going to happen, so I wasn't quite focused on what happened immediately once the fighting began. I also have to say the resolution left me a little unhappy, since we're still left with so many questions unanswered - however I can see that the story has to solve its cliffhanger, and have faith in Goodman to be able to do it well in the sequel.

There's a great range of characters in Eon, and all of them develop in some way or another. The balance between genders was something else that I noticed: even in books encouraging equality and diversity in gender, there's usually one sex still dominant, but Goodman offers a good variety to her world to even the sides.
Eon was a brilliant protagonist. Though I perhaps didn't personally relate to her as much as I have to other characters in the past, the way Goodman takes us through her story ensures that we root for her. But even on top of that, Eon as a person herself is likeable: while disadvantaged in many ways, she takes her responsibilities very seriously, and strives for what's right as well as safe for herself and her friends. She's disguised as a girl, but there's an awful lot of freedom in her character; there's no overpowering and unnecessary narrative of her complaining about not being able to dress up or even feel conflicted over romances - she's had to hide herself to save her life, and that's her priority. It's incredibly refreshing for her to be comfortable in that necessary and logical choice.
Lady Dela was an amazing character for me, not least because I think she's the first transgender character I've come across in fantasy (that springs immediately to mind). While Goodman explored a interesting perspective on this in a world that doesn't offer ways to biologically alter a person's gender, and is still full of prejudice against such things, what I loved even more was her ability to create Lady Dela as her own character aside from this feature. Obviously, it's an important part of who she is, but Lady Dela also acts as a vital advisor and friend in Eon's story.
Ryko's personality surprised me at times since at first glance he seems to fill the typical brawny, assertive male; yet he has a much deeper sense of morals and loyalty, that we only glance a few times. I can tell he's going to become even more key to the story in the sequel, and we'll hopefully discover a little more about him and his development there. Similarly, Prince Kygo was featured a lot less than I first thought on his introduction. However, as the heir to the throne, he obviously plays a key part in the story, and one that will undoubtedly be central in the next book. The standout thing for Kygo was his focus on his imperial duty - and lack of much daydreaming on other things. It's not often you get a royal main character that doesn't at some point get distracted from their duty by something (whether it be love, betrayal, just general recklessness), and having Kygo act so loyally (sometimes to the point of negative impact) was really nice to read about and made him a much more original character.

As is typical of high fantasy stories, Goodman's novel has a much slower pace than others in the genre. While I know some people struggle with world and politics-heavy plots, Eon's story develops importantly through its connections to these things and without them the book wouldn't be nearly as interesting. So the length and world building might make it a little longer to read, but it's definitely worth while in the end.

Eon was fantastic and should be far more well known that it currently is. Readers who love beautiful, vibrant, culturally-detailed worlds and high-fantasy with political aspects will love this book, but anyone in need of a heroine who doesn't have to be kick ass or sarcastic to win the reader's approval should absolutely pick this up. 

Image Sourcehttps://www.goodreads.com/book/show/7261699-eon