Review: Another Day at the Magic (Yawn!) Castle
Rating: 2 out of 5
Date: 01 13, 2013
Mesmer, Book 2: Favoured (A Three Towers Fantasy) -by Isabella AmarisFantasy, Alternate Universe569KBFootnotes/Endnotes: NoIllustrations: NoSuitable for eReaders: YesThe first book was a fast read, and an engrossing story. The second book, not so much. The premise should be great fun as our heroine, Lea, who was raised in a kingdom that taught there is no such thing as magic, and believes it, finds herself in a magical kingdom.Unfortunately, for this reader, the heroine is not likable. She's spoiled, forever apologizing for trying to escape and insulting her host (captor?) and his magic. She always loses; he always wins.There is a hint of romance, which neither seem able or wanting, to pursue. Me, either.Lea meets the Countess, Cecily Rose, in the magical castle and I don't like her, either. What I did find humorous, the first time (by the umpteenth it was annoying) was Lea's inability to see herself in Cecily. They truly mirror each other.In my review of Book 1, I stated the characters were moderately interesting, the world moderately intriguing. By the end of Book 2, I find the world still moderately interesting, but the characters in need of a good spanking! They are all arrogant, spoiled, and not very likeable. Well (spoiler alert), Greybeard the cat is cute, cuddly, and so far likeable. Sad, isn't it?Like Book 1, Book 2 ends on a cliffhanger. Will I bother with book 3? I honestly don't know.There were some formatting issues in this book that obviously bothered me, or I wouldn't have noticed them so often - several open quotes got lost in the Forbidden Forest. Irritating.A few very modern phrases crept into the story that didn't fit. They also jarred.I think if the author read, and used, The Ten Percent Solution -by Ken Rand, and took out more than ten percent, she would have a great story. She might find herself with a trilogy of novellas rather than novels, but they would be tighter and more interesting.At best, I rate this a 2 star, and that's more for the gumption it took to get them written and published, than for quality or story.