Review: Five Dazzling, Shiny Stars! ~ Amazing!
Rating: 5 out of 5
Date: 07 5, 2013
Here I am again, completely speechless and awestruck at how much I love this series. `A Life Earthbound' is the third book in the `Dryad Quartet' by Katie Jennings, and quite honestly nothing makes me happier than this book, so much so that I was crying emotionally when I finished it purely because I had been so happy reading it.Since the beginning of the series, I have always loved Rhiannon's character and was desperately sad to see how Blythe thought of her in `Firefight in Darkness'. Where I feel many readers may have viewed her as self-important and snobby, I always saw through this front she presented to the world and really wanted to know more about her lonely character. `A Life Earthbound' was such a beautiful tale in which we finally see the true Rhiannon.I really connected to Rhiannon's character in this book and maybe due to being quite similar in some respects, I really sympathised with how her hard upbringing had caused her to have a focused view of life and a unromantic view of love and marriage. Most people will identify with wanting to make their parents happy, but Rhiannon, instead of being the selfish girl that Blythe portrays her to be, is actually the most selfless person in the series. Where Capri is so easy to like due to her innocence and sweet nature, Rhiannon is quiet in her caring for others and puts herself on the line to help others silently, meaning her true kindness is not made clear to everybody, and she is misunderstood. A scene that broke my heart was Rhiannon using her own saved money to pay for a shopping trip with her sister because she didn't want to cause any problems by asking her parents for money. Rhiannon's scenes with Dante also showed just how much she is undervalued compared to the characters of the other dryads, despite her utter devotion to her calling, and her natural skill.Rhiannon's relationship with Liam was one that I have been eagerly awaiting since I started the series. If anyone could help Rhiannon become a young girl who could live and love, it is Liam. Their scenes together were beautiful and I loved seeing how their relationship developed throughout their early childhood. Unlike the other books so far, `A Life Earthbound' starts at Rhiannon's birth and follows her story until adulthood. It was heartbreaking to see how Serendipity's indifference to her daughter caused Rhiannon to believe that she was not worthy of love, and it was somehow her own fault. Her fear of allowing herself to feel love for those around her was constant throughout the novel and I really enjoyed following her story, which although was not as action-packed as Blythe's, showed a beautiful flourishing that had my heart pounding in my chest, and me reaching for a box of tissues at regular intervals.I felt so strongly in this storyline, perhaps more so than in the last two books as I felt that all the hurt that Rhiannon felt, I felt too. When Jax, in passionate defence of Blythe, cruelly insulted Rhiannon, I felt my own heart break and my own tears fall as though they were aimed at me. Katie Jennings has a wonderful skill in really making the reader connect with the characters and I don't just feel as though I have read a book, but have lived the story as the characters have.This was such a stunning piece of literature, and I absolutely love losing myself in the world of Euphora, and this book in particular really resonated in me, and I was so glad to have facts that backed up why I have always loved Rhiannon's character.And a special note to Katie Jennings; thank you so much for Capri's announcement in the last chapter, that made my day!A stunning, beautiful tale of love and sacrifice.Five dazzling, shiny stars!