Review: Odd but good.
Rating: 3 out of 5
Date: 06 19, 2013
From Reading and Writing Urban Fantasy, Paranormal, and RomanceAt A GlanceRenhala was an odd one for me. The first part was sooo boring, but once things picked up, I was amazed at the vivid imagery and world Lutchen came up with.The GoodWhat Renhala offers is amazing fantasy elements and a fantastical world. I don't think I have ever read a book with such creative descriptions of creatures and surroundings. Even when something seemed impossible, Lutchem made it feel possible. In Renhala you meet wood spirits who look like mini people, vicious bunny creatures, pixies who can transform into anyone, cat people, and a big, stinky monster thing with a protective and kind personality. And this is only skimming the surface of all the creatures in this book.This is an adventure type book, so be ready for thrill ride. While recovering from a brutal attack, Kailey learns that she is has an important part in saving the mystical world of crazy creatures that she is connected too. She is almost killed a million times, but Kailey has a great group of friends who are there with her every step of the way. The start of this book broke my heart. I can't even imagine what Kailey went through when she was being attacked. The memories of the incident haunt her throughout the book. But Kailey grows stronger through her journeys and with the support of her friends. I respected Kailey for taking on such daunting tasks even when she was just learning her powers. I had fun finding out who she really was and how important she was to saving the realm of Renhala.The love interests were actually pretty fun. Conner is both sweet and passionate. Kailey  and him hit is off right away but he gets easily jealous of Ladimer and throws fits sometimes. I thought his pouting was kind of cute. But Ladimer really caught my eye. He is such a mystery. He means more to Kailey then even Kailey knows. His history is complicated and his powers are amazing. There is something very special between Ladimer and Kailey but it seems like something is always holding them back. I really don't know who I want Kailey to end up with.The secondary characters were just as interesting as the rest: Bu, the large, smelly other realm creature with the heart of gold. Kioto, Kailey's trusty dog. And Gunthreon, the leader of the ragtag crew of travelers. They all made this book more fun to read.Really, it comes down to the creativity factor. This book is so creative in it's world, history, and characters it's hard for any book to compete. There are so many elements in Renhala that it was almost too much but also just perfect. I also loved the bad guys. I can't say who they all are because it would give a lot away, but some are right under our noses the whole time. The writing was good and the magical feel just gave it enough spice to keep me reading.The BadRenhala was too long and dragged on forever. I was so bored in the beginning. I'd say a little under half way it started picking up, but still it slowed down in certain spots. I found myself putting this book down a lot. Much could have been cut out and this book would have been the stronger for it.Some of the dialogue and the characters got very crony. I would laugh at how cheesy things got sometimes.The SnugglyLove triangle alert. It actually wasn't too bad. I liked both men and I understood Kailey's struggle to choose. And though some hot kisses and more (sexual situations) were shared, I found the romance started to lag the last 1/3 of the book. I wouldn't have minded the lack of romance at the end if the beginning and middle didn't set the precedence of romance being so prominent.Final ThoughtsI did like Renhala, it just took some time for me to get into it. This book could have been better with a good trimming. But the vivid magical elements made everything not seem as bad. I would recommend this book to people who love fantasy books.QuotesAt this level, I can see that the fog is about a foot off the ground, so I get on my hands and knees to see if I can see anything. And I do see something--something that could possibly be very big feet, yards in front of me, but I have trouble wrapping my mind around the concept. When I squint, I see three feet--not two, but three brown, dirty, hairy feet, with toenails the size of bear claws.Now I can hear it clearly."Kailey, Kailey, come and play with me. Kailey, Kailey, come and slay with me."