Review: Not a Heroine I Can Cheer For
Rating: 2 out of 5
Date: 06 27, 2012
I really, really wanted to like this book, but I think my favorite part was when I hit 90% finished and I realized I was almost done. That usually isn't a good sign, is it?This is a ebook-exclusive novel by Lilith Saintcrow (whose previous novels I have not and probably never will read) about a young woman named Vianne who is a practicing hedgewitch and close courtesan to the princess Lisele. Hedgewitchery, a vague and oft-used type of peasant sorcery, was what I was so excited about reading this book, because I love books that build new types of magic and I like seeing how that magic works with the characters. But unfortunately, hedgewitchery wasn't really explained enough. Can everyone do it? Why are some better at it than others? What is its intended or common use? And how does it differ from the fancier court sorcery? All questions I had that were never really answered, which ticked me off. I can't envelope myself in the story if I have so many basic, unanswered questions.One day, Vianne has a run-in with Tristan d'Arcenne, one of the king's Guard and his trusted Left Hand. He kills a man in the palace, shocking Vianne, who goes to the king, but the king just tells her everything is fine. Vianne flees, but later, she discovers her dear princess, all of the court ladies, and even the king had been violently murdered. As her last dying wish, Lisele gives Vianne the Aryx, a magical royal medallion that basically makes Vianne queen, since it awakens to her ownership. Vianne saves Tristan from the dungeon and they meet up with the rest of the guard and flee for Arcenne, where Vianne can be safe. Along the way, Vianne discovers that she is the only living royal blood left, since the rest of the king's distant relations were being systematically killed by d'Orlaans, who wants the kingdom. She can either marry the evil man who killed her loved ones, or rule as queen in Arcenne and take Tristan as her trusted Consort.It is a great fantasy plot- young woman must use her untapped talents to make a great journey while falling in love. Unfortunately, Vianne spends most of her time whining, swooning, and falling ill with fever. She was so unpleasant to read as a heroine because she really WASN'T a heroine at all, only a spoiled, weak little girl who keeps trying to throw the amazing power she's been given off on someone else. I want to read about strong and capable women getting shit done, not girls who only wish to wear dresses and fiddle with herbs and books (both are fine, but do it with a little passion!). The entire first 3/4 of the novel are devoted to the Guard having to stay behind in small cities while Vianne sleeps and rests from a fever. And then she plots ways to get rid of the Aryx and give up. I just don't identify with characters like Vianne, and even after she accepts her role as queen and takes charge, she still has that resisting, whiny way about her.One major thing that turned me off from this novel was the language. The dialect is some weird, bastardized pseudo-French with words like "m'dmselle" instead of mademoiselle, "Palais" insead of palace, and "m'chri" instead of "mon cherie". The names are also WAY too complicated and wordy, which would be alright if we had more backstory on the families, but since we don't, they just confuse the reader. It took me halfway through the novel to know the differences between the guard members. The language may be pretty, but it didn't add anything to an already muddled novel.I wanted to get into this book. The plot was enticing, the romance between Vianne and Tristan had its moments of sweetness and sexiness, and I enjoyed the parts when Vianne bonded with the R'Mini people, but too many annoying things just got in the way of my enjoyment. I don't think I'll read the sequel.