Review: Enjoyable world, characters, plot.
Rating: 4 out of 5
Date: 10 20, 2013
I give the book 5 stars for the story - interesting characters, settings, both internal and external conflict, a believable romance, people that we will care about as secondary characters, great mythology. And we don't usually see gryphons.  Gotta love the tail!  In other words, something to keep me reading it, even when it's time to go to sleep.I give the book 3 stars for writing.  Yes - I know that I'm not a writer so I can't possibly know how hard it is to do.  But, all the while I was reading it, there were just so many spaces where it just felt passive.  or slow, or reading through oatmeal or fighting gravity.  I'm not sure I can describe it well. I can give an example, though.  When I got to the point where I NEEDED to know that everything was going to be all right (well not necessarily everything, but at least the H/h relationship) and skipped to the end, I found that I wasn't certain what I had found.  The last 3 chapters seemed to read like a plot summary, not a story.  Or, a story from on high (being told what's happening), rather than a close 3rd person reading (where you feel like you're there with the person, and could feel what she/he is feeling).So, overall, 4 stars.  The story is good.  The people are interesting.  The world is worth having dreams about and being curious what happens next.  But, be prepared for a soft, slow hand rather than a firm touch on the writing.I will buy the next book.