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40x40

Goddess in the Stacks (553 KP) rated Dividing Eden in Books

Apr 15, 2018  
Dividing Eden
Dividing Eden
Joelle Charbonneau | 2017 | Fiction & Poetry
7
7.5 (2 Ratings)
Book Rating
Interesting world (0 more)
Too many YA tropes (0 more)
Dividing Eden is a little trite - it's the typical teens must compete for the throne kind of fantasy, but this time it's twins who are both guarding each other's terrible secrets. You don't LEARN their terrible secrets until almost 100 pages in, which was frustrating because they were alluded to multiple times before finally revealed to the reader. I almost stopped reading, I was so frustrated at the mention - AGAIN - of Andreus' DARK SECRET THAT NO ONE MUST EVER KNOW. Seriously. Don't do that to your readers.

The fact that they were protecting each other's secret while competing against each other for the throne was rather unique, and while I don't like Andreus much, I did enjoy Carys and her friends enough that I'll probably pick up the sequel when it comes out this June.

Everything happened very quickly, but that tends to be the case in YA. Adult fantasy seems to take its time and develop its characters more fully, which I enjoy.

The windmills and electricity was surprising, and I'd really like to know more about their religion of Virtues, and the Wind and Seeing Magic. I wish she had described her forest monsters a little earlier; they were only referred to by name for most of the book and I was left wondering if they were monsters or human raiders of some sort!

Verdict is - it's typical YA fantasy. If you're looking for a quick read, you might enjoy it.
  
40x40

Phil Leader (619 KP) rated Favian's Law (The Truth Teller Series #3) in Books

Nov 13, 2019  
Favian's Law (The Truth Teller Series #3)
Favian's Law (The Truth Teller Series #3)
Kurt Chambers | 2016 | Science Fiction/Fantasy, Young Adult (YA)
10
10.0 (1 Ratings)
Book Rating
This is the third of the fantasy series for young adults involving Charlotte who, with the help of a magic pendant, is able to travel to another realm populated by elves and dwarves. In this land she is known as the Truth Teller, an almost mythical being.

But Charlotte is not the only one who travels to the other world; Favian, a theatre performer, also makes the trip and Charlotte soon discovers that things are very different as a result. With big changes both in the fantasy world and when she returns to ours Charlotte must face her fears to put everything right.

The first two books were fairly straighforward fantasy; this takes on a darker tone as Favian's meddling has caused a lot of changes none of which are for the better. Here we see a very different world from the first two books. Despite being reunited with Elderfield there seems to be nothing they can do to avoid a terrible fate.

This change in tone works well with our heroes in real peril. But where the book really shines is when Charlotte returns to our world. Things have changed here too and everything really does seem hopeless.

Chambers handles the narrative with verve, putting Charlotte through the wringer but always with an eye on the sympathies of the reader. As before the reader is encouraged to care about all of the characters. Unusually there is no ultimate villain here and that makes for a interesting read as the various plot threads work their way to their conclusion.