sil3nos's review against another edition
3.0
Well, let me begin this by stating that Daleina is the most YA not-special-but-of-course-special-because-she-is-the-protagonist name I've ever heard.
Apart from that I was... genuinely surprised. I expected not to like this book but I found it to be a loot bloodier than I expected, a lot more mature and with world that was quite deep.
But I didn't care for any of the characters (except for Merecot, but well... you know what I mean if you read the book) and the story itself was kind of dragging at times.
I also was really excited to see the other parts of Renthia, but then I found out that the second part of this series also plays in Aratay. This could've been a quintology each focusing on a part of the world but well... if it isn't the authors vision then not.
And hey, maybe I'll get around to the other two books and they're absolutely great. Who knows?
Apart from that I was... genuinely surprised. I expected not to like this book but I found it to be a loot bloodier than I expected, a lot more mature and with world that was quite deep.
But I didn't care for any of the characters (except for Merecot, but well... you know what I mean if you read the book) and the story itself was kind of dragging at times.
I also was really excited to see the other parts of Renthia, but then I found out that the second part of this series also plays in Aratay. This could've been a quintology each focusing on a part of the world but well... if it isn't the authors vision then not.
And hey, maybe I'll get around to the other two books and they're absolutely great. Who knows?
coffee_and_wool's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
hopeful
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.25
notably_bookish's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
rebeccazh's review against another edition
I think I'm going to DNF this halfway in. I love the evil-forest-as-character + queen setting (ever since [b:Uprooted|22544764|Uprooted|Naomi Novik|https://d2arxad8u2l0g7.cloudfront.net/books/1420795060s/22544764.jpg|41876730] and [b:Crimson Bound|21570318|Crimson Bound|Rosamund Hodge|https://d2arxad8u2l0g7.cloudfront.net/books/1413217438s/21570318.jpg|40902835]). The problem is that I like this book but I'm also fine if I don't finish it -- I'm feeling indifferent and there isn't something compelling that makes me want to continue. Love the premise. I honestly love the evil forest + queen idea and wish I could find more books like it.
eni_e's review against another edition
4.0
3.5 stars maybe? I have so many conflicting feelings about this book.
On one hand, the plot and the world are very interesting and kept me intrigued throughout the story. But the writing and characters... This could have been a top fantasy book but the writing and character work aren't up to par. The dialogue is very awkward most of the time. The are some good quotes here and there, but for the most part the writing isn't very sophisticated, the descriptions are lacking and too quick, almost like it's a step to get out of the way to get back to the plot. And I'm not even someone that enjoys fancy writing like in the literary genre, but I felt it lacked something, style or another round of editing. (Or maybe it's just the trappings of the YA genre.)
I'm terrible at summarizing but basically this is about an underdog wood girl form the outer parts of the kingdom, who wants to train her magic and become queen of the kingdom so she can protect everyone (cue tragic backstory). She goes to train to a magic academy in the capital with a bunch of other girls. Eventually they will get picked by a warrior who will finish their training to become eligible heirs, which means they can now become queen when the current one dies, if so chosen.
The world is cool for sure: nature spirits whose base instinct is to want to kill humans, cities in trees, a queen elegible and needed to protect the people from the spirits, etc. Though I guess I was expecting to see more of the other kingdoms too, maybe that comes in the sequels. So far it's good, but I always have issues with magic systems that are segregated by gender because as we know, gender is complex. So all females have magic here, ok. Fine. But... what does that mean for the concept of gender in this world? Surely their concept of woman and girl is at little different than ours? Well, because this is a YA book we won't ever know.
As we're given to understand by the story, the concept of woman seems limited to the typical cis, and only they have powers in this world? Because that is... well, we won't get into that. We could just asume the conceot of girl and woman here is instead defined by someone's affinity to magic. I might be reading too much into that when really those conversations are nowhere in the book. I imagine these are the same discussion the Wheel of Time fandom had to tackle at some point.
On a different note, this world is also very straight. We have all-female high school academies for magic and we don't get a single queer romance in the entire story.
On a more technical aspect, I think some scenes, and even chapters, could have been cut out to make the story more intriguing and emotionally impactful. It's one of those stories that have basically no intrigue because the writer tells the audience everything even before they have time to start wondering about it. There's more examples, but the biggest thing is when we're introduced to a PoV from the villain's perspective, which added nothing to ther story or the characterization.
Writing a perspective from the antagonist's view is usually very hard to do. It often just comes out as indulgent and awkward, because in order for them to be as evil as they are, villains have to rationalize a lot of things in their minds in a way a regular person usually wouldn't, so it becomes complicated to make their view of the world believable. Unless you have like a very fun antagonist (say like the ones from Disney renaissance or the Grinch) I really don't think these perspectives work. It definitely didn't work here. It gave away so much of the mystery and political intrigue in a very cheap way.
But I think the biggest issue in this book and why it ultimately failed to be great, is that I had no connection to any of the characters.
The main ones are fine, a bit forgettable but fine, though not even the evil owl spirit character left a very lasting impression on me. However, all the secondary characters, mostly the main character's family and high school friends, were disposable and basically interchangeable with each other (and if you read this you kind of understand why none of them really matter, but good stories are usually the ones whose characters leave an impact on you.) And that's a big issue because we spend a lot of the narrative with them in the school. This isn't helped by the big time skips we have in the first chapters, that gloss over most of the bonding and friendship. So if I don't know why the main character cares about them, I won't care either.
Overall, it's a fine enough book, a quick read too. But it's very YA in feel and it keeps undermining itself. I probably won't read the next ones, I'm just not interested enough and as I said, I didn't form an attachment to any of the characters (maybe with the exception of the precious wolf companion).
On one hand, the plot and the world are very interesting and kept me intrigued throughout the story. But the writing and characters... This could have been a top fantasy book but the writing and character work aren't up to par. The dialogue is very awkward most of the time. The are some good quotes here and there, but for the most part the writing isn't very sophisticated, the descriptions are lacking and too quick, almost like it's a step to get out of the way to get back to the plot. And I'm not even someone that enjoys fancy writing like in the literary genre, but I felt it lacked something, style or another round of editing. (Or maybe it's just the trappings of the YA genre.)
I'm terrible at summarizing but basically this is about an underdog wood girl form the outer parts of the kingdom, who wants to train her magic and become queen of the kingdom so she can protect everyone (cue tragic backstory). She goes to train to a magic academy in the capital with a bunch of other girls. Eventually they will get picked by a warrior who will finish their training to become eligible heirs, which means they can now become queen when the current one dies, if so chosen.
The world is cool for sure: nature spirits whose base instinct is to want to kill humans, cities in trees, a queen elegible and needed to protect the people from the spirits, etc. Though I guess I was expecting to see more of the other kingdoms too, maybe that comes in the sequels. So far it's good, but I always have issues with magic systems that are segregated by gender because as we know, gender is complex. So all females have magic here, ok. Fine. But... what does that mean for the concept of gender in this world? Surely their concept of woman and girl is at little different than ours? Well, because this is a YA book we won't ever know.
As we're given to understand by the story, the concept of woman seems limited to the typical cis, and only they have powers in this world? Because that is... well, we won't get into that. We could just asume the conceot of girl and woman here is instead defined by someone's affinity to magic. I might be reading too much into that when really those conversations are nowhere in the book. I imagine these are the same discussion the Wheel of Time fandom had to tackle at some point.
On a different note, this world is also very straight. We have all-female high school academies for magic and we don't get a single queer romance in the entire story.
On a more technical aspect, I think some scenes, and even chapters, could have been cut out to make the story more intriguing and emotionally impactful. It's one of those stories that have basically no intrigue because the writer tells the audience everything even before they have time to start wondering about it. There's more examples, but the biggest thing is when we're introduced to a PoV from the villain's perspective, which added nothing to ther story or the characterization.
Writing a perspective from the antagonist's view is usually very hard to do. It often just comes out as indulgent and awkward, because in order for them to be as evil as they are, villains have to rationalize a lot of things in their minds in a way a regular person usually wouldn't, so it becomes complicated to make their view of the world believable. Unless you have like a very fun antagonist (say like the ones from Disney renaissance or the Grinch) I really don't think these perspectives work. It definitely didn't work here. It gave away so much of the mystery and political intrigue in a very cheap way.
But I think the biggest issue in this book and why it ultimately failed to be great, is that I had no connection to any of the characters.
The main ones are fine, a bit forgettable but fine, though not even the evil owl spirit character left a very lasting impression on me. However, all the secondary characters, mostly the main character's family and high school friends, were disposable and basically interchangeable with each other (and if you read this you kind of understand why none of them really matter, but good stories are usually the ones whose characters leave an impact on you.) And that's a big issue because we spend a lot of the narrative with them in the school. This isn't helped by the big time skips we have in the first chapters, that gloss over most of the bonding and friendship. So if I don't know why the main character cares about them, I won't care either.
Overall, it's a fine enough book, a quick read too. But it's very YA in feel and it keeps undermining itself. I probably won't read the next ones, I'm just not interested enough and as I said, I didn't form an attachment to any of the characters (maybe with the exception of the precious wolf companion).
hambombadil's review against another edition
5.0
This book series is AMAZING! I got so caught up in this magical world.
readingwithhippos's review against another edition
4.0
The hype is justified. The Queens of Renthia trilogy is fantasy as it should be. The world Durst imagines is creative and fresh, the twists and turns of the plot are never predictable, and not only are there strong female characters, they’re all strong in different ways. I love the complexity that happens when characters who all feel like real people have to deal with a big, hairy mess of a problem! In this case, the problem is the world is inhabited by nature spirits who are tied to specific elements—oh, and the spirits hate humans and will attack with abandon unless reined in by a powerful human queen. Only women have the ability to control spirits, and only some women at that, so girls who show aptitude are shipped off to training academies so there’s always a future queen ready to step in if the current queen dies.
I sometimes struggle with fantasy in audio because it can be hard to get a handle on worldbuilding details, but I had no trouble following these books, which I credit to both the writing and the amazing narration of Khristine Hvam. If you want to totally immerse yourself in a magic forest where people live in trees, this trilogy is for you.
I sometimes struggle with fantasy in audio because it can be hard to get a handle on worldbuilding details, but I had no trouble following these books, which I credit to both the writing and the amazing narration of Khristine Hvam. If you want to totally immerse yourself in a magic forest where people live in trees, this trilogy is for you.
polecatsandbooks's review against another edition
adventurous
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
bluealliecat's review against another edition
3.0
3.5 stars. This was a really solid fantasy novel. It was full of super creative ideas that made it enjoyable however I had some issues with some things. The chemistry of friendships and relationships was lacking and I wasn’t super committed to the heroine. To be honest, she was a bit bland and sometimes annoying however I did respect her. Overall, an enjoyable read but not one of my favourites.