Review: Good Fantasy Story
Rating: 4 out of 5
Date: 04 14, 2014
Isame has resigned herself to her fate of an arranged marriage, despite her desire for a different life. Though she craves travel and adventure, she is bound to be the wife of a smith. After a strange encounter with a gypsy, she is kidnapped and taken on a long journey by a group of savages. They are taking her to their king for an unknown purpose.Isame starts out as a likeable character. She is protective of her sister and level-headed. Unfortunately, her hormones get the better of her while she’s a captive to the savages, and she falls in lust with one of them. She eventually declares her love for him, but I do not see it this way. The rest of her actions led me to believe that her feelings are only those of a hormonal teenager. On three occasions, she finds herself in a sexual situation, only to come out of it with her virtue intact. As horny as this teen is, I just don’t believe it. Not to mention that Remmie, the man she is craving, is described as powerful, muscular, and all things manly. He doesn’t seem like the kind of guy a young maiden would resist in a romance novel. But this isn’t a romance (secondary plot only), it is an adventure.The story is written first person, giving us the chance to see Isame’s strengths and weaknesses through her own eyes. She is deeply torn and feels guilty for befriending the men who have stolen her away from her family. That part is understandable, and lets face it, she is young and inexperienced. We all make mistakes. They do turn out to be somewhat honorable men, but a wiser woman would probably react differently to her situation. I suppose there is always Stockholm syndrome…Of the minor characters, I think I admired Roland the most. He is a good sort of man, and I enjoyed his background more than any of the others. James, although incredibly evil, is certainly interesting. I have a fairly good idea what is going on with him, but I’d be interested to see how the author explains it in book two. I also loved it when the ship’s captain said the girl was either “crazy or stupid” because that is what I’d been thinking all along. I had to keep reminding myself that she is a teenager who has obviously led a very sheltered life. Though, I did still feel the urge to smack her on many occasions.Despite the main character getting on my nerves from time to time, I did like her overall. The story is fast-paced and held my attention well. There is much more to the story, and I think I’d enjoy reading it.I was given a free copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.