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a_writer_guy's review
4.0
I'd like to preface this review by saying that I had won this book in a Goodreads giveaway. I was pretty excited even though I'd never heard of the book or A.R. Meyering because I never win anything. I appreciate the free copy, however, that fact is not going to sway my overall review and feeling for Meyering's work. I do feel, though, that I will give this book a bit more of an in-depth review than I normally do since it was given to me for free, presumeably in the hope that it will spread the word.
Now that I've made it sound like I'm going to tear this book apart, I'll tell you how I really felt after finishing The Angel of Elydria.
I flip flopped back and forth on the rating to give this book. One day I would predict giving it a solid three, the next I would be leaning towards a four, possibly a five. There was just something about this book that was subtly entrancing. I couldn't wait to finish the chapter and put the book down, but I also couldn't wait for the next time I'd pick it back up and continue. I'd get bored and then something awesome would happen and make me angry at myself for getting bored. It was actually pretty odd.
Penny Fairfax is one of the most interesting characters I've read in a while. The story started off kind of portraying her as the typical heroine of recent YA ficition who can barely take care of herself if not for the presence of a strong-willed, handsome hunk to protect her. Then you get into the real nitty gritty of the story, and Penny gets her feet wet in the new world she finds herself. She almost instantly becomes a badass in her own way. Strong but timid, independent but trusting. The thing about Penny that I loved the most was that there were a lot of strong romantic under currents between a couple of the characters, but they never swept her away and turned her into some babbling child who can't function on her own.
Hector was another vastly interesting character for many the same reasons Penny was. He acted as Penny's protector, but knew exactly when to let her do what she had to do. The fact that he was almost unnaturally intelligent was another refreshing change of pace from the typical male lead in a YA book. Again, the romantic tension between Hector and Penny was almost intense at times, but they never moved past calling each other friends. Hector was another badass...again, in his own ways.
There isn't much to say about Simon other than the fact that he was hilariously awkward. He was a pretty central role, but never really came into his own in the story. He always played a bit of a support role and I'm hoping he gets a bit more spotlight in the following books because I loved him.
Annette was...interesting. She was kind of like Simon in the sense that she never seemed like more than a support character, but again, she was pretty central to the story. I could never quite connect with her for whatever reason but I never disliked her for any reason either. I'm intereted to see where she goes from here.
Finally, Argent. Weird name, awesome dude. His crass, sarcastic personality was a perfect compliment to the group. He didn't play a huge role in the story since he came in so late, but he was a very welcome addition. The marionette thing was pretty cool as well. I can't wait to see what his role in the story is.
Let's get to my overall feeling of The Angel of Elydria. Meyering described Elydria in such a way that it was almost impossible to not imagine it as one of the most beautiful places you could possibly see. Even the goblin city of Hulver was beautiful in its own dirty, grimy, Gobliny way. There was so much depth and history lurking around every corner that it was easy to get lost in the streets of Iverton along with Penny and her "entourage". Like I said before, the overall story did drag in some spots, and left me a little bored, but it didn't take long for something to happen to get me back into the action. I was just about to want to slap Penny in her face in the last chapter, but well...I'll leave that to the reader.
In the end, I gave The Angel of Elydria a four instead of a five because there was just something in there that left me straying away from the narative. Possibly nothing even specific. Just a general feeling of, "I'm bored, let's get on with it." Those moments were fairly few and far between, though. As a writer myself, I know it can be quite difficult to create a world completely out of nothing and introduce it to a reader without it feeling dry and boring. It was a truly great story, and I'm very excited to see where the next book takes us and what kind of trouble Penny & co. are going to get into.
Now that I've made it sound like I'm going to tear this book apart, I'll tell you how I really felt after finishing The Angel of Elydria.
I flip flopped back and forth on the rating to give this book. One day I would predict giving it a solid three, the next I would be leaning towards a four, possibly a five. There was just something about this book that was subtly entrancing. I couldn't wait to finish the chapter and put the book down, but I also couldn't wait for the next time I'd pick it back up and continue. I'd get bored and then something awesome would happen and make me angry at myself for getting bored. It was actually pretty odd.
Penny Fairfax is one of the most interesting characters I've read in a while. The story started off kind of portraying her as the typical heroine of recent YA ficition who can barely take care of herself if not for the presence of a strong-willed, handsome hunk to protect her. Then you get into the real nitty gritty of the story, and Penny gets her feet wet in the new world she finds herself. She almost instantly becomes a badass in her own way. Strong but timid, independent but trusting. The thing about Penny that I loved the most was that there were a lot of strong romantic under currents between a couple of the characters, but they never swept her away and turned her into some babbling child who can't function on her own.
Hector was another vastly interesting character for many the same reasons Penny was. He acted as Penny's protector, but knew exactly when to let her do what she had to do. The fact that he was almost unnaturally intelligent was another refreshing change of pace from the typical male lead in a YA book. Again, the romantic tension between Hector and Penny was almost intense at times, but they never moved past calling each other friends. Hector was another badass...again, in his own ways.
There isn't much to say about Simon other than the fact that he was hilariously awkward. He was a pretty central role, but never really came into his own in the story. He always played a bit of a support role and I'm hoping he gets a bit more spotlight in the following books because I loved him.
Annette was...interesting. She was kind of like Simon in the sense that she never seemed like more than a support character, but again, she was pretty central to the story. I could never quite connect with her for whatever reason but I never disliked her for any reason either. I'm intereted to see where she goes from here.
Finally, Argent. Weird name, awesome dude. His crass, sarcastic personality was a perfect compliment to the group. He didn't play a huge role in the story since he came in so late, but he was a very welcome addition. The marionette thing was pretty cool as well. I can't wait to see what his role in the story is.
Let's get to my overall feeling of The Angel of Elydria. Meyering described Elydria in such a way that it was almost impossible to not imagine it as one of the most beautiful places you could possibly see. Even the goblin city of Hulver was beautiful in its own dirty, grimy, Gobliny way. There was so much depth and history lurking around every corner that it was easy to get lost in the streets of Iverton along with Penny and her "entourage". Like I said before, the overall story did drag in some spots, and left me a little bored, but it didn't take long for something to happen to get me back into the action. I was just about to want to slap Penny in her face in the last chapter, but well...I'll leave that to the reader.
In the end, I gave The Angel of Elydria a four instead of a five because there was just something in there that left me straying away from the narative. Possibly nothing even specific. Just a general feeling of, "I'm bored, let's get on with it." Those moments were fairly few and far between, though. As a writer myself, I know it can be quite difficult to create a world completely out of nothing and introduce it to a reader without it feeling dry and boring. It was a truly great story, and I'm very excited to see where the next book takes us and what kind of trouble Penny & co. are going to get into.
thelauramay's review
5.0
This girl deserves a publishing deal. A lucrative one. Fantastic fantasy for the teens market in particular. Not normally my cup of tea and there are a lot of errors (one every page or two), but has potential deserving 5 stars.
cheryls's review
5.0
You must read this exciting fantasy about a young lady and the friends she makes along the way. The lands they travel through offer them exciting and dangerous adventures. I was surprised and excited at the direction the story line was going. The final destination of this unlikely group of friends is unexpected!
What an entertaining book! It reminded me of a Harry Potter-esque type of story. Not the story itself but with the different worlds, magic, strange creatures, and people. Brilliant story-line though! The story was a little bit drawn out but it was still really good. I definitely look forward to reading anything this author writes in the future. Thank you A.R. Meyering for writing such an amazingly creative story. I can't wait to see what's next!
What an entertaining book! It reminded me of a Harry Potter-esque type of story. Not the story itself but with the different worlds, magic, strange creatures, and people. Brilliant story-line though! The story was a little bit drawn out but it was still really good. I definitely look forward to reading anything this author writes in the future. Thank you A.R. Meyering for writing such an amazingly creative story. I can't wait to see what's next!
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