West

Book Title: West

Author: Edith Pattou

Series: East #2

Date Started: April 12th 2018

Date Completed: April 23rd 2018

Genres: Adventure, Fantasy, Romance, Historical

Quality Rating: Three Stars

Enjoyment Rating: Four Stars

Final Rating: Three stars

Review:

◆ Thanks to NetGalley for this ebook for review ◆

My rating for this one keeps jumping up and down. I was a bit underwhelmed while reading, but every time I put it down I'd find myself replaying little sections. In the end, having had the time to step back from it, I think of it more fondly than while I was reading. Take that as you will.

As an older reader, reading East again with its simplistic style didn't matter too much because it was fuelled by nostalgia. I adored it as a child. Reading a new story with its very straightforward writing was a bit harder. It's both a blessing and a curse because there's a timelessness to it, a real nod to fairytales. Its ambiguous style lifts it in some ways, but it also means that important twists and action scenes are underwhelming: they're described in three or four points and then it's finished. It's not quite as satisfying when you feel so personally attached to the characters (whereas in a fairytale the protagonist is often androgynous and unspecified).

Ultimately, as much as I enjoyed the parallels to the first story, it didn't add much new. If you broke down the structure of West it'd probably be identical to East, and when you consider that Rose is essentially on her own search again, the White Bear is trying to find this identity, and Neddy is trying to unite his people, it's the same story all over again. And, to be fair, we do look at different things, but I'm not as attached to them. Where East beat with a heart of exploration, filled with maps and compasses, West replaces them with more practical mountain climbing and wind directions. It's still interesting, and I suppose it's grown with the characters now in their adult forms, but it wasn't as whimsical. Worth the read? Yes. But maybe not so close to reading the first book.

How to make me love Rose even more than I already did? Give her a sword. Goddamnit, I am weak. Of course, Rose was already a heroine authors should look up to; she was active and determined without needing a weapon. I think she's scaled maybe three or four mountains largely by herself at this point. Most importantly, she empowers others. It stretches the imagination sometimes, how adoringly they all look at her, but I think it's believable too. She's the beating heart of this story (even though it was a shame we still don't really get to know Charles at all).

I was a bit disappointed while reading West, but the more I think about it the fonder I am of it. I remember it like a fairytale, and that's a hard thing to achieve, but it doesn't sit so much like a novel. It works better recounted than experienced.