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johnmartinez

7/10. Overall impression: This was a fun read that started out not-so-well but got better and better as it went! The first half of the book describes Mel leading a rustic rebellion against a corrupt king. The second half takes place after their victory, when Mel has to go to Court and navigate the political/social intrigues there. This is definitely the more interesting half of the book. In the end, there are a couple of vignettes told from other characters' point of view that extrapolate or shed insight on various events in the book --> these were actually my favorites. I felt that some of the events happened too quickly / too easily, without additional details that would have made things clearer or more interesting. This book could have been a lot longer - in fact, I would have really appreciated further development of the characters, their backgrounds, and more details about this world! However, due to the "YA genre length constraints," the author wasn't able to explore these elements. On characterization: I found the main character, Mel, mostly frustrating. Her insecurities, stubbornness, and blind principles sometimes made me want to shake her and smack her on the head. The main problem, I think, is that the author set Mel up for character-development. This means that in the beginning, Mel was (by her own words) running about barefeet and ignorant in the mountains, joyfulling and naively planning rebellion against the monarch. Her ignorance, naivete, and stubborn bouts of irrationality were frustrating to say the least. But Mel is highly self-aware, expecially of her own flaws, and over the course of the novel, the author has Mel mature and consciously self-improve. This is entirely unsubtle, but sort of a relief. However, the character that singlehandedly made this book enjoyable (and raised my rating from a 6 to a 7) is Shevraeth. While he conforms to some of the YA hero stereotypes and remains pretty enigmatic throughout most of the book, he is extremely intriguing (and totally lovable!). I loved the vignettes at the end of the book, which present events as told from his perspective as are so much more interesting than Mel's (IMO)! I also loved Savona and Tamara (despite her evilness) and the other courtiers, even Flauvic! I really wish we got to see more of Savona and Tamara's story. The vignette "Russav and the Ring" towards the end of the book, which told the story of Mel's courtship from Savona's perspective, was hands down the most enjoyable part of the entire book for me! The court characters were so much fun, in fact, that I felt caught up in the court intrigues along with Mel, and definitely had trouble telling friend from foe. But the unpredictability of these characters made it all the more interesting! On the romance: It was predictable, slightly sappy and too-quickly resolved toward the end, but nonetheless charming and enjoyable! Despite my near-constant irritation with Mel, her awkwardness and irrationality in response to her romantic feelings were hilarious and completely relate-able. Plus, the other half of the romantic pairing is LOVE! On world-building: At first glance this seems to be your run-of-the-mill high fantasy set in a world based on the Medieval system of nobility rankings and feudalism. Magical elements exist, but remain mostly on the sidelines; none of the main characters directly deal with magic for most of the book. The world-building is not super complex, but fits the story well. Therefore imagine my surprise when I discovered the extent of Sherwood Smith's world-building: she created an entire solar system in which to set her stories! Online resources tell me the kingdom of Remalna, in which this book is set, is only one little country on the planet of Sartorias-deles, which is only one of 4 inhabitable planets orbiting the star Erhal. This solar system is accessible by other worlds, such as our own, via "world gates," which are kind of time/space traveling portals. It sounds all very science-fictiony and utterly cool! It makes me want to read the author's other books, which are set in various places on Sartorias-deles, just to discover the extent of this universe! Perhaps in the "adult" books, the plot and character developments will be more detailed and interesting to read!

2023-03-10 05:34