planetarypan's review
3.0
It took me a little longer than I would have liked to read this book, but it was no fault of the book. The premise was interesting -- winged horses a la Pegasus bond only with adolescent females and cannot stand the "stench" of men. Being bonded, of course, has the requisite complication that the horse will die if the bondmate dies, and although the horses eventually die from old age, the human bondmates live on but are never quite as happy. The horsemistresses have autonomy in their kingdom, although they "report" to the Duchy. However, the old Duke is wasting away due to the disappearance of his favoured daughter, and the elder son is a total whack job.
The novel is PG-13 at best due to some violence and implied sadomasochism. Anything else I tell you will give away HUGE plot points, so we'll just leave it at that.
The main storyline is that a young farm girl finds a wingless mare wandering and takes her back to the farm. Unbeknownst to everyone, the mare is pregnant, and she dies giving birth to a winged foal. The foal, of course, is in a bad state due to not having a mom, so the farm girl sets about keeping him alive... and inadvertently bonds to him. This, of course, is a huge no-no since only well-bred young ladies are given the opportunity to bond with horses. How they are given this opportunity is barely touched on in the novel, and really only in the case of one teachers at the Academy.
Anyway, I could go into the basics, but it's pretty obvious -- farm girl, big city, scheming heir.
I really did like the novel. I thought it was well-written, interesting, and fun. The mystery really isn't because you can figure out where things are going pretty easily. And you spend much of the novel wanting it to get to the point. The unfortunate thing is that so much of the "training" of the foal and his bondmate gets lost in the scheming going on around her. And I really wish that one of the main characters would get her head out of her butt a LOT earlier. Still, I plan on reading the next book, and I think it's a trilogy. I like the main characters enough to stick with it (the best friend is particularly wonderful). I will admit, however, that I am glad to have found these at the library. Not sure I would spend money on them.
The novel is PG-13 at best due to some violence and implied sadomasochism. Anything else I tell you will give away HUGE plot points, so we'll just leave it at that.
The main storyline is that a young farm girl finds a wingless mare wandering and takes her back to the farm. Unbeknownst to everyone, the mare is pregnant, and she dies giving birth to a winged foal. The foal, of course, is in a bad state due to not having a mom, so the farm girl sets about keeping him alive... and inadvertently bonds to him. This, of course, is a huge no-no since only well-bred young ladies are given the opportunity to bond with horses. How they are given this opportunity is barely touched on in the novel, and really only in the case of one teachers at the Academy.
Anyway, I could go into the basics, but it's pretty obvious -- farm girl, big city, scheming heir.
I really did like the novel. I thought it was well-written, interesting, and fun. The mystery really isn't because you can figure out where things are going pretty easily. And you spend much of the novel wanting it to get to the point. The unfortunate thing is that so much of the "training" of the foal and his bondmate gets lost in the scheming going on around her. And I really wish that one of the main characters would get her head out of her butt a LOT earlier. Still, I plan on reading the next book, and I think it's a trilogy. I like the main characters enough to stick with it (the best friend is particularly wonderful). I will admit, however, that I am glad to have found these at the library. Not sure I would spend money on them.
lavendermarch's review against another edition
3.0
I wasn't overwhelmed. While I think the premise and the plot was intriguing, I didn't like the writing style. But the book was okay, so 3 stars. I don't think I'll be reading the next one.
teasilly's review against another edition
4.0
This is actually a really great book and I totally devoured it.
thistlechaser's review against another edition
2.0
The ebook omnibus edition I have is a mess. The first book was neither the first book the author wrote, nor the first book in chronological. Thinking the first book might be last (since it's not first), I went to the last "chapter" (book) and it was the series prologue...
If I had been able to read the series in proper order, perhaps I would have enjoyed it more, but I suspect not.
In the book's world, there are flying horses. The horses bond with one rider, but always women (they can't stand the scent of men), and for lord knows what reason, only virgin girls can bond. (What happens if a girl is raped? Is she unable to bond even though it's not her choice she is no longer a virgin? What kind of judgements are the horses making? Why do horses care if people have sex?)
In whichever not-first book of the series I read, there was an attack and lots of politics/arguing was going on. Very little horse stuff, except these magical flying horses were treated just like real horses (kept in a barn, groomed, cooled down by people). If horses can make decisions about sexuality, even if they're doing it on some magical instinct level, shouldn't they at least know they need to cool down after a long run/flight?
The book just didn't work for me. DNF
If I had been able to read the series in proper order, perhaps I would have enjoyed it more, but I suspect not.
In the book's world, there are flying horses. The horses bond with one rider, but always women (they can't stand the scent of men), and for lord knows what reason, only virgin girls can bond. (What happens if a girl is raped? Is she unable to bond even though it's not her choice she is no longer a virgin? What kind of judgements are the horses making? Why do horses care if people have sex?)
In whichever not-first book of the series I read, there was an attack and lots of politics/arguing was going on. Very little horse stuff, except these magical flying horses were treated just like real horses (kept in a barn, groomed, cooled down by people). If horses can make decisions about sexuality, even if they're doing it on some magical instinct level, shouldn't they at least know they need to cool down after a long run/flight?
The book just didn't work for me. DNF
mkaber's review against another edition
3.0
Well, I really thought this was a YA novel, and I was very surprised at how adult alot of the content was. After saying as much to Erin, she told me that no, it wasn't meant as a young adult book. Hmmm. Was it just the young, female protagonist? The romantic flying horses that only girls can bond to? The basic evil overlord plot that so many YA novels receive? I don't really know. This really is sort of a Dragonriders of Pern pairing of rider and mount, but without the scientific sophistication that those novels hold. The plot, while basically an overcoming-the-odds through pluck-and-courage is not original, it was enjoyable. In fact, my only real disappointment is that the book appears to end three chapters too soon. There should be a chapter to explain why Pamela was hidden away with the baby and can hardly talk. Another chapter to show that, because Tup and Lark flew so well, the Duke is brought before his peers and found guilty of being a big meany-pants with a magic whip and a bad attitude and an estrogen smoothie. Then, one final chapter to say that they all lived happily ever after with Phillipa as their new lord and the flying horses are protected forever.
letitiaharmon's review against another edition
2.0
I met the author of this book at a conference, and as she was articulate, witty, and sophisticated, I decided I wanted to see how she wrote. I really wanted to like this book more than I did for her sake, and for the sake of the premise, which is a school for girls to learn to fly winged horses. Does that ever sound like my fantasy!! As it turns out, there is simply not adventure in this fantasy, and many of the characters are rather dull. I think the story would be better as a sub-plot to something bigger. One note: Though it reads like YA, it is not intended as such, having many adult themes. I would not give it to my little cousin to read.
jennrin's review
DNF @ page 100
DNF'ing for now after that scene. The one with the woman who had premarital sex and then had to kill her flying horse as "punishment". I may revisit this later (still in love with the book's concept), but it left a bad taste in my mouth and I was not looking forward to picking it back up at this time. :(
DNF'ing for now after that scene. The one with the woman who had premarital sex and then had to kill her flying horse as "punishment". I may revisit this later (still in love with the book's concept), but it left a bad taste in my mouth and I was not looking forward to picking it back up at this time. :(
kaylynn's review
2.0
I didn't finish this. The story of a young girl who bonds to a magical flying horse was just too "precious" for me.
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