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lyakimov's review against another edition
1.0
DNF at 200 pages because this sucked.
I was just trying to read every book in my bookshelf, and I’ve had this one for years so I decided to pick it up. That was a terrible decision because this book SUCKED.
So uninteresting and I don’t understand what the HELL is going on in the story. 200 pages in and I have no idea what the plot is. So the main character has a belly button piercing that’s called a godstone and people want it?? I don’t even get it.
Also the main character was so whiny and childish. She’s ‘not like other girls’ x1000. Girl, we get it. Also the fact that she is 16 and her husband is older and has a 6 year old child that she had to ‘mother’ is DISGUSTING. That’s disturbing but okay.
Anyway, this book was just uninteresting and I didn’t like the story so I’m done with it.
I was just trying to read every book in my bookshelf, and I’ve had this one for years so I decided to pick it up. That was a terrible decision because this book SUCKED.
So uninteresting and I don’t understand what the HELL is going on in the story. 200 pages in and I have no idea what the plot is. So the main character has a belly button piercing that’s called a godstone and people want it?? I don’t even get it.
Also the main character was so whiny and childish. She’s ‘not like other girls’ x1000. Girl, we get it. Also the fact that she is 16 and her husband is older and has a 6 year old child that she had to ‘mother’ is DISGUSTING. That’s disturbing but okay.
Anyway, this book was just uninteresting and I didn’t like the story so I’m done with it.
laura_mayfair's review against another edition
4.0
This was an entirely engaging fantasy with a heroine that showed both growth and fortitude throughout the course of the novel.Carson creates a vivid world; her descriptions are lush, yet the book never lagged. Although there is a concrete ending, she leaves many story-world questions unanswered, which encourages the reader to delve further into her universe through subsequent books. I thought that her character depictions were top notch and I loved many of the relationships in the book, especially the dynamic between Elisa and the king's son. My favorite read so far of 2013!
batkat31's review against another edition
5.0
** WARNING*** This review is for the whole trilogy really because when you get halfway through book one you will not be able to stop *** WARNING***
I was so fooled by this book in the beginning. This was actually recommended to me by my father who has never once steered me wrong about a book. I was up to about chapter 5 when I called him asked "What in the world were you thinking when you recommended this to me? This is awful, I can't stand the main character!" He said "I know but stick with it I swear you'll love it." So I worked through a few more chapters and next thing I know its just a few days later and I've finished the whole trilogy and I've laughed, cried and had my mind completely blown. The author made an unbearable MC grow into someone I want to be. She made me realize part of why I hated her so much was she was a lot like many young girls including myself. As she grew she became smarter, stronger and more sure of herself and what she wants.
*SPOILERS STARTING HERE**
I loved the way the author misled you. I thought the MC was a shallow stupid girl who would fall in love with the shallow prince and it would be insta love and they would overcome some stupid struggle to prove their love. NOPE. Then I thought that was a small mislead to have her fall for the next boy who was a rebel but sweet and THEY would fall happily in love and overcome obstacles and that would be that. NOPE (that nope came in lots of tears because in the end I loved rebel boy and was furious in how that turned out until I realized how brilliant it was). Then I realized that the romance that was so important in the first book was just part of the MC's growth. She learned from both and became stronger because of it. So impressed with this whole series. I can't rave enough about it.
I was so fooled by this book in the beginning. This was actually recommended to me by my father who has never once steered me wrong about a book. I was up to about chapter 5 when I called him asked "What in the world were you thinking when you recommended this to me? This is awful, I can't stand the main character!" He said "I know but stick with it I swear you'll love it." So I worked through a few more chapters and next thing I know its just a few days later and I've finished the whole trilogy and I've laughed, cried and had my mind completely blown. The author made an unbearable MC grow into someone I want to be. She made me realize part of why I hated her so much was she was a lot like many young girls including myself. As she grew she became smarter, stronger and more sure of herself and what she wants.
*SPOILERS STARTING HERE**
I loved the way the author misled you. I thought the MC was a shallow stupid girl who would fall in love with the shallow prince and it would be insta love and they would overcome some stupid struggle to prove their love. NOPE. Then I thought that was a small mislead to have her fall for the next boy who was a rebel but sweet and THEY would fall happily in love and overcome obstacles and that would be that. NOPE (that nope came in lots of tears because in the end I loved rebel boy and was furious in how that turned out until I realized how brilliant it was). Then I realized that the romance that was so important in the first book was just part of the MC's growth. She learned from both and became stronger because of it. So impressed with this whole series. I can't rave enough about it.
bookph1le's review against another edition
3.0
This was a weird book for me. I wasn't too into it in the beginning, got to a point where I couldn't stand Elisa, and then a funny thing happened: the book redeemed itself. More complete review to come.
Full review:
Talk about your mixed bag. This book was that in spades, and then some. It's rare that I start out disliking a book and continuing to read it in spite of that, only to end up liking things about it. Usually, it's the other way around for me. It's unfortunate that it did get off to such a weak start and that there were so many problematic elements to it, because I might otherwise have really enjoyed it. As it was, it was a decent reading experience, but not one that got me overly excited. Ahead be spoilers.
A big reason why I (and many others, it seems) wanted to read this book is because it was billed as diverse, owing to its featuring a main character who is very overweight. You know up front that she is, because it's mentioned multiple times. Elisa thinks it, other characters say it, and it's generally discussed on almost every page in the book. There is such a thing as driving the point home with a *bit* too much force. That said, it was interesting to see an author delve into a character's unhealthy body image and obsession with food. Yeah, I did get tired of reading about all the lamb dishes after a while, but it also made sense to me. Elisa's relationship with sustenance is very, very disordered, so it makes sense that it's on her mind a lot. She has an emotional relationship with food, turning to it in times of stress when she needs comfort, and the book is very clear on that point.
What bugged me about Elisa, though, was that she never stops to think about her unhealthy relationship with food. She is such a sad sack for such a huge portion of the novel that I couldn't stand her. I understood where she was coming from and why she felt the way she did, but since she didn't do much more than wallow in self-pity, I had a hard time empathizing with her. I wanted her to wonder why she's so attached to food, why she thinks so poorly about herself, and why she can't do something to change that. She gets there, but it takes a lot of outside events, and I thought that was kind of a letdown. For how introspective the girl can be, she doesn't spend much time wondering about her own destructive tendencies, and that's a shame. I wanted her to have a moment where she realized she was more than her body, that her inner worth counted for a lot more, but she never gets to that point without a LOT of outside validation. Really, I guess this boils down to a personal preference, that this is just the sort of person she is, but nevertheless I found it disappointing.
I didn't much like the godstones. They were way, way too deus ex machina for me. This is a huge flaw of the "chosen one" trope. The "chosen one" is a crutch because the character never really has to struggle or grow or learn, they just need to tap into their special "chosen one" powers at the right moment. It's possible to use this trope in an effective way. Harry Potter is a good example, but I'd argue that Rowling subverts the trope because, really, it's not so much that Potter is the "chosen one" as it is that he becomes the "chosen one" as a result of his enemy's paranoia. Harry doesn't have awesome special powers and he can't get by without help from his friends. Elisa, on the other hand, taps right into her uber power at the right moment, and the world is saved. Honestly, that bores me. I was a lot more interested in what she did with the Malificio, which was far more engrossing for me. Any way you look at it, though, it didn't much matter what Elisa did because what really wins the day is that special super power, a power that makes Elisa incidental. She's special only because of what she has in her belly, not because of her heart or her mind or anything else that makes a character compelling. It's a shame, because once her heart and mind start expanding, she becomes more interesting.
I also don't like that everything that inconveniences her is disposed of in the end, often in pointless ways that bleed the events of any impact, and always without her having to lift a finger. Inconvenient husband? Gone. (And don't get me started on their unconsummated marriage. It's utter nonsense. When a marriage is a way to cement a royal alliance, it's consummated. Period, full stop. YA fantasy, you need to stop giving your characters an out when this happens. Either have them consummate the relationship, or drop this plot device altogether.) Annoying, duplicitous, beautiful countess who harasses Elisa? Gone. Evil animagi who threaten to destroy the heroine's homeland? Gone--at least in the immediate vicinity. What happens to Humberto also feels pointless to me, a means of manipulating the reader's emotions and upping the angst for Elisa. It's not even important that he thinks he has a way to get her out of her marriage, because that obstacle is removed in the end anyway.
So what do I like about this book? Well, I like that the heroine is introspective, bookish, and introverted. Quiet characters are fairly rare in YA, and they're also rarely the center of the action. I like Elisa's struggle to find her place in the world, to do what's demanded of her because she understands that it's her responsibility. Sure, she sometimes wishes she could just go hide in her room, but she's mature enough to accept that she can't. And for as unwilling as she is to be an active part of her own life, she does react when she's called to do it, as in the fight with the Perditos. It was so refreshing to see a character react like that rather than waiting for someone to save her. It gave me hope that she could rise above her (mostly self-imposed) limitations and become something more.
I like that her looks are unconventional. While I wasn't fond of the fact that she gains a lot of her confidence after losing some weight, the book is also clear that she's not exactly supermodel slim either. In some ways, her evolving body type is a reflection of her evolving character, and even though she looks different, who she is on the inside hasn't changed much. Elisa is still the same Elisa, just in different packaging, and I think that's a good thing. And while I thought the body image issues were a bit mixed, I wanted to cheer at the way some characters react to it. Sure, some are big jerks who can't look past Elisa's weight, but some see her for who she is and respect, admire, and even love her *for* it, not *despite* it. Hector's and Humberto's nonchalance about Elisa's appearance is significant because it's true. The world often appears to be a very superficial place, but there are always those who eschew the superficiality because they're more concerned about substance. Guess which characters I liked most in the book?
The other thing that I thought was so well done about this book is the way it examines its religious context. Sometimes this does feel rather like Christian fiction, but there is nuance here. Elisa's godstone indicates to her and everyone who shares her belief system that her actions are the results of God's will. Yet she reaches a point where she looks at her belief system through new eyes and sees that it's kind of warped. She's spent her life believing in a truth and yet has the intellectual capacity to recognize when her truth doesn't gibe with other people's truth. More, she's able to see that maybe, just maybe, the Invierne also think they're acting out of God's will, even though other characters in the book have a hard time giving this idea credit. I feel like there's a lot under the surface here, and I'd guess that the other books probably develop this nuanced version more. I guess I'll find out if I do decide to read the others.
Whether or not I will remains a question because, while this book does some things really wrong and others really right, I'm not sure it was compelling enough for me to continue with the series.
Full review:
Talk about your mixed bag. This book was that in spades, and then some. It's rare that I start out disliking a book and continuing to read it in spite of that, only to end up liking things about it. Usually, it's the other way around for me. It's unfortunate that it did get off to such a weak start and that there were so many problematic elements to it, because I might otherwise have really enjoyed it. As it was, it was a decent reading experience, but not one that got me overly excited. Ahead be spoilers.
A big reason why I (and many others, it seems) wanted to read this book is because it was billed as diverse, owing to its featuring a main character who is very overweight. You know up front that she is, because it's mentioned multiple times. Elisa thinks it, other characters say it, and it's generally discussed on almost every page in the book. There is such a thing as driving the point home with a *bit* too much force. That said, it was interesting to see an author delve into a character's unhealthy body image and obsession with food. Yeah, I did get tired of reading about all the lamb dishes after a while, but it also made sense to me. Elisa's relationship with sustenance is very, very disordered, so it makes sense that it's on her mind a lot. She has an emotional relationship with food, turning to it in times of stress when she needs comfort, and the book is very clear on that point.
What bugged me about Elisa, though, was that she never stops to think about her unhealthy relationship with food. She is such a sad sack for such a huge portion of the novel that I couldn't stand her. I understood where she was coming from and why she felt the way she did, but since she didn't do much more than wallow in self-pity, I had a hard time empathizing with her. I wanted her to wonder why she's so attached to food, why she thinks so poorly about herself, and why she can't do something to change that. She gets there, but it takes a lot of outside events, and I thought that was kind of a letdown. For how introspective the girl can be, she doesn't spend much time wondering about her own destructive tendencies, and that's a shame. I wanted her to have a moment where she realized she was more than her body, that her inner worth counted for a lot more, but she never gets to that point without a LOT of outside validation. Really, I guess this boils down to a personal preference, that this is just the sort of person she is, but nevertheless I found it disappointing.
I didn't much like the godstones. They were way, way too deus ex machina for me. This is a huge flaw of the "chosen one" trope. The "chosen one" is a crutch because the character never really has to struggle or grow or learn, they just need to tap into their special "chosen one" powers at the right moment. It's possible to use this trope in an effective way. Harry Potter is a good example, but I'd argue that Rowling subverts the trope because, really, it's not so much that Potter is the "chosen one" as it is that he becomes the "chosen one" as a result of his enemy's paranoia. Harry doesn't have awesome special powers and he can't get by without help from his friends. Elisa, on the other hand, taps right into her uber power at the right moment, and the world is saved. Honestly, that bores me. I was a lot more interested in what she did with the Malificio, which was far more engrossing for me. Any way you look at it, though, it didn't much matter what Elisa did because what really wins the day is that special super power, a power that makes Elisa incidental. She's special only because of what she has in her belly, not because of her heart or her mind or anything else that makes a character compelling. It's a shame, because once her heart and mind start expanding, she becomes more interesting.
I also don't like that everything that inconveniences her is disposed of in the end, often in pointless ways that bleed the events of any impact, and always without her having to lift a finger. Inconvenient husband? Gone. (And don't get me started on their unconsummated marriage. It's utter nonsense. When a marriage is a way to cement a royal alliance, it's consummated. Period, full stop. YA fantasy, you need to stop giving your characters an out when this happens. Either have them consummate the relationship, or drop this plot device altogether.) Annoying, duplicitous, beautiful countess who harasses Elisa? Gone. Evil animagi who threaten to destroy the heroine's homeland? Gone--at least in the immediate vicinity. What happens to Humberto also feels pointless to me, a means of manipulating the reader's emotions and upping the angst for Elisa. It's not even important that he thinks he has a way to get her out of her marriage, because that obstacle is removed in the end anyway.
So what do I like about this book? Well, I like that the heroine is introspective, bookish, and introverted. Quiet characters are fairly rare in YA, and they're also rarely the center of the action. I like Elisa's struggle to find her place in the world, to do what's demanded of her because she understands that it's her responsibility. Sure, she sometimes wishes she could just go hide in her room, but she's mature enough to accept that she can't. And for as unwilling as she is to be an active part of her own life, she does react when she's called to do it, as in the fight with the Perditos. It was so refreshing to see a character react like that rather than waiting for someone to save her. It gave me hope that she could rise above her (mostly self-imposed) limitations and become something more.
I like that her looks are unconventional. While I wasn't fond of the fact that she gains a lot of her confidence after losing some weight, the book is also clear that she's not exactly supermodel slim either. In some ways, her evolving body type is a reflection of her evolving character, and even though she looks different, who she is on the inside hasn't changed much. Elisa is still the same Elisa, just in different packaging, and I think that's a good thing. And while I thought the body image issues were a bit mixed, I wanted to cheer at the way some characters react to it. Sure, some are big jerks who can't look past Elisa's weight, but some see her for who she is and respect, admire, and even love her *for* it, not *despite* it. Hector's and Humberto's nonchalance about Elisa's appearance is significant because it's true. The world often appears to be a very superficial place, but there are always those who eschew the superficiality because they're more concerned about substance. Guess which characters I liked most in the book?
The other thing that I thought was so well done about this book is the way it examines its religious context. Sometimes this does feel rather like Christian fiction, but there is nuance here. Elisa's godstone indicates to her and everyone who shares her belief system that her actions are the results of God's will. Yet she reaches a point where she looks at her belief system through new eyes and sees that it's kind of warped. She's spent her life believing in a truth and yet has the intellectual capacity to recognize when her truth doesn't gibe with other people's truth. More, she's able to see that maybe, just maybe, the Invierne also think they're acting out of God's will, even though other characters in the book have a hard time giving this idea credit. I feel like there's a lot under the surface here, and I'd guess that the other books probably develop this nuanced version more. I guess I'll find out if I do decide to read the others.
Whether or not I will remains a question because, while this book does some things really wrong and others really right, I'm not sure it was compelling enough for me to continue with the series.
annatherbook's review against another edition
4.0
First read: 3 stars
Second read: 4 stars (it was so much better the second time)
Second read: 4 stars (it was so much better the second time)
starrywonder's review against another edition
4.0
A Journey of Growth
3.8 Stars
Elisa has immense character growth throughout the novel as she learns to trust herself.
She gains many friends along her journey, but it truly is a story about her discovering who she is and understanding the godstone.
We learn little about the enemy's motives, so I hope in the future novels we learn more.
There is a bit of religious zealotism playing out here related to interpretations of scripture about the godstone. And I expect this is related to the enemy as well.
Excited to move on to book two and see what happens and else is in store for Elisa.
3.8 Stars
Elisa has immense character growth throughout the novel as she learns to trust herself.
She gains many friends along her journey, but it truly is a story about her discovering who she is and understanding the godstone.
We learn little about the enemy's motives, so I hope in the future novels we learn more.
There is a bit of religious zealotism playing out here related to interpretations of scripture about the godstone. And I expect this is related to the enemy as well.
Excited to move on to book two and see what happens and else is in store for Elisa.
byp's review against another edition
2.0
Love the biblical-scholarship plot point! I don't understand the fat-phobia? Given the universe, seems like being fat would be coveted.
kkoerth613's review against another edition
4.0
This book was great! I loved that Elisa loved to lead and at the end, would rather be a great leader and talk about war than be a pampered princess. Elisa's personality and character in general developed so much.
But damn though. This girl falls in love with way to many guys.
But damn though. This girl falls in love with way to many guys.
newlillith's review against another edition
2.0
This book has popped up on my Kindle as a recommended title time and time again, so I finally decided to give it a try. As interesting as I thought the "world" of the book was, I just did not care about any of the characters. The pacing was too fast to give me time to like them or become invested in them. The writing was a little stilted. The reader was expected to suspend belief too much. It'd be a good beach read, but I won't be reading anymore in the series.
kendallgardt's review against another edition
4.0
The only reason I gave it 4 instead of 5 stars is because it was a little bit of a slow start for me. I read this in one day because I was so into the story. The setting is very unique I felt because it wasn’t a lush green floral world but more of a desert/western feel to me. Some say it had more of a Spanish feel setting but I felt like it was more Egyptian or middle eastern. The story takes a few twists that had me on my toes. I wouldn’t say it’s a happy ending or story but its definitely a good one. I’d say this is a coming of age story and the main character’s growth over the course of the story had me hooked.