Friday, November 23, 2012

Sabriel, by Garth Nix

I'm glad I read this story. Initially I didn't like it. Nix started the story off with lots of action, but did little to make me connect with and care for the main character, Sabriel. I pushed onward anyway, and became intrigued by the author's creativity, especially with the necromancer's use of bells. LOVED that. The charter marks and sendings were also interesting, as were the paper flyers. The world, in general, was captivating, and by the last half of the story, Sabriel's character began to shine. I also enjoyed the relationship that developed between Sabriel and Touchstone.

Tuesday, November 13, 2012

Poison Princess, by Kresley Cole

This post-apocalptic fantasy novel based on the arcana of the Tarot cards pulled me in with riveting action and compelling characters. I grew to really care about Evie, the main character, and fell in love with Jackson, the sexy eighteen-year-old Cajun boy who protects her through much of the story.

As much as I loved the book, I was confused as to why Evie was telling her story to Arthur and couldn't believe she would tell this stranger such intimate details. The ending explains why,but I wish the novel would have hinted to this explanation from the beginning. The whole time I kept thinking, "The author didn't need this frame around Evie's narrative. Why did she even include it?"

As wowed as I was by the revelations at the end of the book, I was disconcerted by the many unanswered questions. Because this is the first book of a series, I guess I'll defer my judgment until I finish it, which I definitely plan to do!