Review: Great new fantasy!
Rating: 5 out of 5
Date: 05 31, 2012
I must admit I bought this novel because I saw some quotes that were shedding the writing in a bad light, yet I found those quotes to be charming. It inspired me to purchase a copy. What was most exciting for me was that I fell in love with Chalice from the onset. She has a good heart and a quirky personality that anyone of similar nature can enjoy. I really related to her. She reminded a little bit of the Disney princesses from Tangled, to be honest, yet her own personality is unique and distinct. I was rooting for her from the onset! The supporting characters were enchanting and the dialogue between them all was perfect.I literally clung to every word as I read this, which isn't something I say often! The pacing was excellent and the writing was superb. I admit, I didn't expect this to be well-written, which is shameful of me, but what a pleasant surprise! The descriptions were great and the novel's editing was comparable to books published by traditional publishing houses. I was most impressed at the author's ability to use complex sentence structure without losing the train of thought. It added a certain charm to her prose as well. This style of writing, for those who are fans of the genre, was common in the classic princess fairytales of our past. I am always careful not to be more critical of indie books just because they are indie, so I read this as though it were a traditional novel, and the quality was on par. I will say the best reviews on this novel will likely come from young adults or fans of the genre. Naturally if you don't like the genre you probably won't like the book, much like if I tried to read an action adventure novel or a sci fi book.One thing to keep in mind is that this is written for a young adult audience. I think that the author did a great job of catering to that audience. Many times we see adults criticize YA writing style for use of adverbs and adjectives, but as the true young adult fans know, that is par for the course with the genre. It makes the prose more accessible to younger readers. It's nice to find an author who knows her genre so well. The reveals were well-times and moved the plot forward in a way that made that sense. Waiting for those reveals created mystery, and when those reveals were offered it was a HUGE pay off!Overall, I recommend this novel to Young Adult Fantasy readers or anyone who is young at heart and enjoys reading about (and can relate to) good-hearted characters.