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3.56 AVERAGE
3.56 AVERAGE
I may give it another shot before publication date. But for now I have no interest anymore.
On the whole, I really enjoyed this book. It's compelling, interesting, and pretty well-written. Two quibbles, however:
1. The Evil God Southward. This is not a good name for a bad guy. It's not cool, it's not evil, it's not snappy. Kudos for not inventing a lame evil bad-guy-name in an invented language, but still.
2. The ending: yes, I know, I complain about unhappy endings, but in what's basically a dystopian YA novel in which the world is being rent apart, is a happy ending with everything neatly tied up and everyone fine and happy realistic? No.
1. The Evil God Southward. This is not a good name for a bad guy. It's not cool, it's not evil, it's not snappy. Kudos for not inventing a lame evil bad-guy-name in an invented language, but still.
2. The ending: yes, I know, I complain about unhappy endings, but in what's basically a dystopian YA novel in which the world is being rent apart, is a happy ending with everything neatly tied up and everyone fine and happy realistic? No.
This is an excellent fantasy that takes a look at the aftermath and impact war. It is after the great heroic battle with evil is fought and men are coming back from the front (or not). Victory is never as easy as just winning. Bobet uses fantasy elements and excellent characterization to show how war can haunt those who fought it and those left behind. At its core it is a story about growing up, family, and community. I highly recommend it.
Much better than her first! I really enjoyed it :)
I received an ARC for this book from NetGalley, in exchange for an honest review.
If absolutely nothing else, the initial blurb of this book is enough to make me grab it off the shelf. Dark things happening! There was a war! Ugly truths! Risks being taken and secrets being kept! Woo! What more could a reader ask for?!
This book is what.
Let me be honest with you. The plot for this book is not surprising. Many of the twists I saw coming, and it all wraps up the way one might expect. But this is what pushed it from a 4-star review to a 5-star.
The characters.
Hallie and Marthe are a brilliant duo of sisters, desperately trying not to live down to the reputation of their family, and failing every step of the way. They are younger women trying to hold down a farm by themselves, trying to prove they are worth the farm, trying to prove they are worth themselves. They each have their father's temper in spades, though it comes out in different ways, and they haven't quite figured out how to talk to each other as something approximating adults yet.
The farms around them, their friends and supports, are well-rounded without being overpowering. The romance arc that grows with Hallie feels natural and exactly as awkward as it should, there's a natural diversity represented without it ever being Presented As Diversity (in fact, it took me several mentions to realize what I was reading), and they're never treated as one-note "just here for the sake of being here" characters.
And then there's Heron.
In any book, when a quiet stranger is introduced at the beginning and clearly set up to be Not Important, you know they're the ones to watch. Heron is absolutely no different. I can't quite put a finger on what it was about this character that so completely trapped me, but every time he was around, my eyes were on him. There was such a sense of being genuine, such a quiet strength, a silent sense of honor...I don't know. But Heron was an amazing character and I loved every minute of him. He was real, and he was complex, and he was wonderful. I wish I had better words to tell you why.
Character is one of the most important pieces of a story for me. It's one of the pieces I will always focus the most on. Leah Bobet has absolutely nailed the art of subtle and real characters, and for that alone, this book is well worth the read.
Rating: ***** - Highest Recommendation
AN INHERITANCE OF ASHES hits shelves October 4th, 2015.
If absolutely nothing else, the initial blurb of this book is enough to make me grab it off the shelf. Dark things happening! There was a war! Ugly truths! Risks being taken and secrets being kept! Woo! What more could a reader ask for?!
This book is what.
Let me be honest with you. The plot for this book is not surprising. Many of the twists I saw coming, and it all wraps up the way one might expect. But this is what pushed it from a 4-star review to a 5-star.
The characters.
Hallie and Marthe are a brilliant duo of sisters, desperately trying not to live down to the reputation of their family, and failing every step of the way. They are younger women trying to hold down a farm by themselves, trying to prove they are worth the farm, trying to prove they are worth themselves. They each have their father's temper in spades, though it comes out in different ways, and they haven't quite figured out how to talk to each other as something approximating adults yet.
The farms around them, their friends and supports, are well-rounded without being overpowering. The romance arc that grows with Hallie feels natural and exactly as awkward as it should, there's a natural diversity represented without it ever being Presented As Diversity (in fact, it took me several mentions to realize what I was reading), and they're never treated as one-note "just here for the sake of being here" characters.
And then there's Heron.
In any book, when a quiet stranger is introduced at the beginning and clearly set up to be Not Important, you know they're the ones to watch. Heron is absolutely no different. I can't quite put a finger on what it was about this character that so completely trapped me, but every time he was around, my eyes were on him. There was such a sense of being genuine, such a quiet strength, a silent sense of honor...I don't know. But Heron was an amazing character and I loved every minute of him. He was real, and he was complex, and he was wonderful. I wish I had better words to tell you why.
Character is one of the most important pieces of a story for me. It's one of the pieces I will always focus the most on. Leah Bobet has absolutely nailed the art of subtle and real characters, and for that alone, this book is well worth the read.
Rating: ***** - Highest Recommendation
AN INHERITANCE OF ASHES hits shelves October 4th, 2015.
"We are living amidst gods and monsters."
What a strange and wonderful story. I love that the main drama was NOT the Bogeys and rot or the horrible monster gods. It was a story of a young girl, trying to keep farm, mend the bridge between her and her sister and keep the mayor from their land.
It's a great story, the dialogue was easy to read and the characters were flawed but honest and true. I loved Tyler, Nat and Heron.
I'm also very glad that the romance part was exactly who is should be between and not drama. I'm sad this isn't a series. I would love to visit this world again
What a strange and wonderful story. I love that the main drama was NOT the Bogeys and rot or the horrible monster gods. It was a story of a young girl, trying to keep farm, mend the bridge between her and her sister and keep the mayor from their land.
It's a great story, the dialogue was easy to read and the characters were flawed but honest and true. I loved Tyler, Nat and Heron.
I'm also very glad that the romance part was exactly who is should be between and not drama. I'm sad this isn't a series. I would love to visit this world again
The raw brokenness in the relationships pulled me right in and made my heart bleed. This was just beautiful and aching in so many rare ways.
For more reviews check out Angel Reads
Rating: 3.5 Stars
I received a copy of An Inheritance of Ashes by Leah Bobet in exchange for a review from Clarion Books via NetGalley. This has no way influenced what I think of the book.
An Inheritance of Ashes is one of those slow burning books. It takes a while to get to the main action, however I think it worked in its favour. It is such a beautiful book, the writing is captivating and the storyline is quite interesting.
I love my fantasy books, if you didn’t know that by now and An Inheritance of Ashes is a fantasy book that is quite enjoyable.
It’s really hard to explain what An Inheritance of Ashes is about without giving too much away and confusing you. The storyline isn’t that confusing, but trying to explain it might be.
An Inheritance of Ashes follows sixteen-year-old protagonist, Hallie and her sister Marthe who are trying to maintain their family farm while a strange war is ending. Marthe is pregnant and awaiting the return of her husband and as time goes on she is losing hope. Hallie hires a veteran as an extra pair of hands to help with the farm, on the other hand everything isn’t what it seems.
In reality I quite enjoyed Hallie as a character as she was fun to read about, nevertheless I felt like there was this disconnection between her and the story. I don’t know why, I felt that she was somewhat bland in a way. I enjoyed reading her, but I felt that she had no real character arc. She rather stayed the same the entire book.
Marthe, I have a love/hate relationship with her. I understand that she is pregnant and she doesn’t know if the father of her baby will ever be back, but gosh she was mean. I truly hated the way that she treated Hallie, like she was nothing. That she could boss her around and nothing came from it. It was all too much for me. I wanted to give her a slap across the head. And towards the end when she finds out what Hallie is keeping from her – holy moly – like seriously. I couldn’t stand it. But then I realised what she was going through, what she had gone through and it made me sympathise with her a little bit.
I felt that the world building lacked… a lot. I was so confused at times to what was going on. Then there are these ‘Twisted things’ that just pop up and aren’t given any explanation of what they are and what they do. Also the war with the gods was confusing. I was asking all these questions and the answers didn’t come clear. Who are these gods? What are these gods? Why are they fighting these gods? Some answers at the end of the book, but I was still confused about the world.
I really enjoyed the romance. It was the slow burning kind and that is nice to see in a young adult book. Normally everything is all rushed and it’s so unrealistic. But it was really well done.
I overall enjoyed the book, I didn’t love it and I didn’t ate it. I thought that it could have been done better and that would have made it a truly wonderful fantasy read. The characters weren’t very likable but you didn’t hate them all. If you are looking for a quick fantasy read; then you might want to try An Inheritance of Ashes.
Rating: 3.5 Stars
I received a copy of An Inheritance of Ashes by Leah Bobet in exchange for a review from Clarion Books via NetGalley. This has no way influenced what I think of the book.
An Inheritance of Ashes is one of those slow burning books. It takes a while to get to the main action, however I think it worked in its favour. It is such a beautiful book, the writing is captivating and the storyline is quite interesting.
I love my fantasy books, if you didn’t know that by now and An Inheritance of Ashes is a fantasy book that is quite enjoyable.
It’s really hard to explain what An Inheritance of Ashes is about without giving too much away and confusing you. The storyline isn’t that confusing, but trying to explain it might be.
An Inheritance of Ashes follows sixteen-year-old protagonist, Hallie and her sister Marthe who are trying to maintain their family farm while a strange war is ending. Marthe is pregnant and awaiting the return of her husband and as time goes on she is losing hope. Hallie hires a veteran as an extra pair of hands to help with the farm, on the other hand everything isn’t what it seems.
In reality I quite enjoyed Hallie as a character as she was fun to read about, nevertheless I felt like there was this disconnection between her and the story. I don’t know why, I felt that she was somewhat bland in a way. I enjoyed reading her, but I felt that she had no real character arc. She rather stayed the same the entire book.
Marthe, I have a love/hate relationship with her. I understand that she is pregnant and she doesn’t know if the father of her baby will ever be back, but gosh she was mean. I truly hated the way that she treated Hallie, like she was nothing. That she could boss her around and nothing came from it. It was all too much for me. I wanted to give her a slap across the head. And towards the end when she finds out what Hallie is keeping from her – holy moly – like seriously. I couldn’t stand it. But then I realised what she was going through, what she had gone through and it made me sympathise with her a little bit.
I felt that the world building lacked… a lot. I was so confused at times to what was going on. Then there are these ‘Twisted things’ that just pop up and aren’t given any explanation of what they are and what they do. Also the war with the gods was confusing. I was asking all these questions and the answers didn’t come clear. Who are these gods? What are these gods? Why are they fighting these gods? Some answers at the end of the book, but I was still confused about the world.
I really enjoyed the romance. It was the slow burning kind and that is nice to see in a young adult book. Normally everything is all rushed and it’s so unrealistic. But it was really well done.
I overall enjoyed the book, I didn’t love it and I didn’t ate it. I thought that it could have been done better and that would have made it a truly wonderful fantasy read. The characters weren’t very likable but you didn’t hate them all. If you are looking for a quick fantasy read; then you might want to try An Inheritance of Ashes.
This book is one of my favourite things: a story about aftermaths. About the price people pay for saving the world. A story where there are no eagles, and you have to walk back from Mordor, one bloody step at a time.
But for all that, it's an almost intimate tale, just a family and a farm. A coming of age story.
Highly recommended.
But for all that, it's an almost intimate tale, just a family and a farm. A coming of age story.
Highly recommended.