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kodameansfriend's review against another edition
adventurous
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Loveable characters? Yes
4.5
4.5 Stars to start this series off. This quick, fun little adventure kept me entertained from start to finish. I loved the pacing, and I was surprised that a major plot line wasn't laid down right away. There are sprinklings of details that can be used in later books, but this works quite well as a stand-alone, too.
mokiedokes's review against another edition
adventurous
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.5
soluunaa's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
emotional
inspiring
lighthearted
mysterious
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.5
This book was a fantastic welcome to the Green Rider universe. I enjoyed every minute with this book and cannot wait to continue the series.
The cast of characters were a joy to read and offered a little of everything from the charming Berry sisters to pompous and idiotic Prince Amiltion the characters were expertly crafted and intwined with the landscapes and towns as well as an ancient and I trusting magic system.
I could truly picture myself in the dark forests and the cozy log cabin, with the protector of the trees. Kristen Britain also has an amazing ability to capture the feelings of a character and make you also feel their feelings.
The plot read super quickly and kept me interested from the very first page and held my attention throughout if you are a lover of fantasy that focus on adventure I would highly recommend you pick this up.
purpledragonfly9's review against another edition
adventurous
hopeful
inspiring
mysterious
tense
5.0
reydeam's review against another edition
3.0
I reviewed Green Rider on my blog.
http://ibeeeg.blogspot.com/2009/02/green-rider-by-kristen-britain.html
http://ibeeeg.blogspot.com/2009/02/green-rider-by-kristen-britain.html
dizzy_reception's review against another edition
2.0
This book was just okay. The first half was really good, and I really wanted to like the second half, but it didn't seem to interest me as much despite having the feeling that it should. I couldn't bring myself to care about King Zachary, and I definitely couldn't bring myself to care about Karigan. She is a Mary Sue and there was nothing about her character that was particularly interesting to me.
The villains were one-dimensional. They were also very clearly ripped from Tolkien. Shawdell is Sauron, Mornhaven is Melkor, Prince Amilton is Sarumon. I understand all fantasy is derived from Tolkien to some degree, but there were just so many similarities it was impossible to ignore. Karigan even called a giant bird when she was in trouble. There was a distortion in harmony during the breaking of D'Yer Wall, Eltish was distorted by Shawdell. There was an oversized Spider, and Karigan had the One Ring (brooch, sorry, I mean brooch) that turned her invisible
I did feel the world was pretty rich though, and I was definitely interested in the lore. I could have forgiven the obvious Tolkien plagiarism if the characters were just a bit more likeable.
Also, why paint the Anti-Monarchs as bad guys? I understand this is a fantasy scenario so monarchy is kind of par for the course, but monarchy IS a bad system of governance, and Lorilie might be selfish but she is NOT WRONG. Lorilie actually had the right idea, but the author went out of her way to make her out to be 'despicable' for not wanting one family to decide the affairs of the poorest and most vulnerable in Sacoridia.
It would have been nice if Karigan had some kind of moral dilemma when encountering Lorilie. It would have been interesting if Karigan empathized with the poor in the North, but she didn't. She even judged the poor for not being dressed well and assumed they were of ill-repute. Of course Karigan wants to protect the status quo, her dad is filthy rich. Good character development would have had her grapple with the fact that she was in the position she was in because her dad had resources. It's like the author wants you to think of the poor as idiotic rabble who don't have their own interests in mind despite the fact King Zachary HAS been neglecting his subjects in the North. Obviously, Amilton is worse, but that alone doesn't make Zachary Aragorn or something.
Anyways, this book had a lot of potential, at times I was genuinely entertained, and the magic was cool. However, the politics of this book were weird and the characters were completely uninspiring. 2 stars.
The villains were one-dimensional. They were also very clearly ripped from Tolkien. Shawdell is Sauron, Mornhaven is Melkor, Prince Amilton is Sarumon. I understand all fantasy is derived from Tolkien to some degree, but there were just so many similarities it was impossible to ignore. Karigan even called a giant bird when she was in trouble. There was a distortion in harmony during the breaking of D'Yer Wall, Eltish was distorted by Shawdell. There was an oversized Spider, and Karigan had the One Ring (brooch, sorry, I mean brooch) that turned her invisible
I did feel the world was pretty rich though, and I was definitely interested in the lore. I could have forgiven the obvious Tolkien plagiarism if the characters were just a bit more likeable.
Also, why paint the Anti-Monarchs as bad guys? I understand this is a fantasy scenario so monarchy is kind of par for the course, but monarchy IS a bad system of governance, and Lorilie might be selfish but she is NOT WRONG. Lorilie actually had the right idea, but the author went out of her way to make her out to be 'despicable' for not wanting one family to decide the affairs of the poorest and most vulnerable in Sacoridia.
It would have been nice if Karigan had some kind of moral dilemma when encountering Lorilie. It would have been interesting if Karigan empathized with the poor in the North, but she didn't. She even judged the poor for not being dressed well and assumed they were of ill-repute. Of course Karigan wants to protect the status quo, her dad is filthy rich. Good character development would have had her grapple with the fact that she was in the position she was in because her dad had resources. It's like the author wants you to think of the poor as idiotic rabble who don't have their own interests in mind despite the fact King Zachary HAS been neglecting his subjects in the North. Obviously, Amilton is worse, but that alone doesn't make Zachary Aragorn or something.
Anyways, this book had a lot of potential, at times I was genuinely entertained, and the magic was cool. However, the politics of this book were weird and the characters were completely uninspiring. 2 stars.
lesterb09's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
mysterious
fast-paced
4.5
Best fantasy book I've read in a while!! Love this!
bookfiend1990's review against another edition
5.0
LOVE, LOVE, LOVE this series. Kristen Britain is a fantastic writer who made a very strong heroine. Young adult, SO GOOD.
breezy610's review against another edition
5.0
Absoute favorite book in the entire world. i love the hint of romance, the magic and the adventure the story has to offer the reader, totally dragging the reader into the world.