Tagged: sebastian
Fireblood by Trisha Wolfe
(Cover picture courtesy of Goodreads.)
To save a kingdom, Zara must choose between a prince who could be the answer and a rising rebellion that threatens to take control.
When Zara Dane is chosen to marry Prince Sebastian Hart, son of the man who ordered her father’s capture, Zara knows she must fight to save everything she loves from ruin.
Being betrothed to the prince means a life trapped behind the towering stone walls of the Camelot-forged realm. Under the watchful eye of the prince’s first knight, Sir Devlan Capra, changing her future becomes difficult.
When an unlikely rebel reveals the truth about the deadly secrets that fuel King Hart’s twisted world, Zara’s path to rescue her father becomes clouded by deception. The Rebels clear her path by forcing Zara’s hand with an ultimatum: sway Prince Sebastian to join the Rebels, convincing him of his father’s evil nature, or they will take him out.
But Zara is uncertain about a future under the Rebels’ command and where the prince’s heart truly lies. She must decide who to trust, what to believe, and what she’s truly fighting for before the king destroys all of Karm, including her heart.
[Full disclosure: I received a free ebook copy through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.]
Fireblood had it all, really: complicated and realistic characters, a believable world, plot twists and even a fast-paced plot. So why do I feel so melancholy after finishing the book?
Well, the problem is that the ending sucked. I really thought Trisha Wolfe was going to break down some of the clichés that are so common in the YA genre. After all, the first two thirds of the novel had all kinds of inverted and subverted tropes as well as new takes on old clichés. But then something happened and it felt like the story took a totally random new direction into Clichéland. I was just so disappointed in the predictable ending that it’s colouring my whole perception of the novel.
Despite the admittedly horrible ending, Zara was a great character throughout the novel. She was strong and feisty without swinging too far into the territory of a stereotypical action girl. I loved her conflicted feelings over Sebastian and Devlan; it was a love triangle I could actually identify with and believe. That’s pretty rare in YA these days, so I’ll give Trisha Wolfe credit where credit is due. I loved Devlan because I’m a sucker for the bodyguard-falling-in-love cliché. He’s a complicated character, which makes it more realistic and his character arc never really followed the traditional bodyguard one.
The world-building in Fireblood was fantastic. An evil despotic ruler taking civilization back to the Medieval period while constantly monitoring his people with technology? Sounds good to me! Although the way I’ve described it makes it sound so trite it’s really not and you may hate it at first, but Trisha Wolfe really added a lot of depth to her world. She reveals some aspects of her world at a more natural pace as well, trusting in the intelligence of her readers rather than spoon-feeding information to them.
The plot was fast-paced and unpredictable for about two thirds of the novel, then the dreaded ending happened. It was just so forced and didn’t really fit at all with the mood of the story that I had a hard time finishing Fireblood. That just goes to show that without a good ending, an amazing novel can become just another mediocre one. Do I hold out hope for the rest of the series, though? Of course! Trisha Wolfe is an incredible writer and I think she’ll learn from this first novel in the series.
I give this book 3.5/5 stars.
Sworn to Conflict by Terah Edun
(Cover picture courtesy of trips down imagination road.)
Ciardis Weathervane fought for the living dead and won. But worse than taking on a mass murderer, was her discovery that she had been deceived by her friends. Now she needs to not only fight a war in the North and survive, but also decide where she stands in the midst of competing sides.
A threat to all she holds dear lies in the North and her heart is not the only thing she might lose. A massive army awaits in the mountain pass, surging closer to the gates of the southern lands. Nothing the Algardis army has done so far has dissuaded their march forward and Ciardis finds out that her powers to enhance are needed now more than ever.
As she faces her greatest fears on the battlefields and her heart is torn between her love of Sebastian and loyalty to her family, Ciardis must choose her fate carefully. For in her path, lies the destiny of the empire.
This third novel continues the story of Ciardis Weathervane from Sworn To Transfer.
[Full disclosure: I received a free ebook through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.]
You know, I was more than a little skeptical of the entire Courtlight series after reading the first novel. It was more than a little rushed and the writing was decent enough, but nothing special. What made me stick with the series was the amazing characters and the incredibly unique premise. So, now that I’m on the third book out of four books, was it worth it?
Of course!
I loved Sworn to Conflict even more than I loved the previous book, Sworn to Transfer. It’s better than the first one and I thought it would be hard to top the second book, but Terah Edun has improved yet again. She’s found the perfect balance between dialogue and description and has expanded her fascinating fantasy world yet again. There are new creatures, new threats to the realm and terrifying new secrets that change everything Ciardis thought she knew.
Aside from the world-building, I really enjoyed the characters in this novel. Ciardis is a great character in that she’s not afraid to stand up to Prince Sebastian, despite the fact he’s the heir to the realm and she’s only a Companion. And when she’s betrayed by him, she doesn’t go running back to him, ready to forgive all of his wrongs. No, she’s able to be mad and stay mad and eventually begin the long path to forgiveness. It’s far more realistic, believe me.
The plot was fast-paced but not to the point where I had no idea what was going on. There were so many twists and turns that I barely kept up, but I enjoyed myself the whole time. You never really know just where Terah Edun is going to take the series and I think the final book, Sworn to Secrecy is going to be even better than this one. I can’t wait for the release!
I give this book 5/5 stars.