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clcannon's review
4.0
This is a 3.5 for me. I received the audiobook as part of an audiobook blog tour, so this will be a review of the performance of the audiobook as well as the plot of the book.
Let's talk about the thing that drove the rating down for me, that would be the narration. I really tried to like the narrator, but at times it felt like he was trying a bit too hard, and at others his voice was monotonous. It really distracted me from the story to the point that I had to stop listening about half-way through and just continue reading on my Kindle.
The story itself is very imaginative. You can tell that Flohr spent a lot of time developing this world with love and care.
I've seen mention in other reviews that Orylnd's dialect threw some readers. However, I really enjoyed it and wonder if has anything to do with the speech each person is used to hearing regularly.
Flohr is terrific at describing her beautiful settings in detail, making them come to life within your mind.
The plot of this book is very fast paced, and sometimes that left the problem and resolution to that problem feeling a bit convoluted. A little more development of the ideas within the dialogue or actions would make these seem more natural.
There is a time jump, and I have to say, I really enjoyed seeing how each character changed and matured into their adult selves. I think it leaves a wonderful opportunity to do a short story or novelette with the missing time for hardcore fans.
Overall, I enjoyed the book but not the audiobook.
Let's talk about the thing that drove the rating down for me, that would be the narration. I really tried to like the narrator, but at times it felt like he was trying a bit too hard, and at others his voice was monotonous. It really distracted me from the story to the point that I had to stop listening about half-way through and just continue reading on my Kindle.
The story itself is very imaginative. You can tell that Flohr spent a lot of time developing this world with love and care.
I've seen mention in other reviews that Orylnd's dialect threw some readers. However, I really enjoyed it and wonder if has anything to do with the speech each person is used to hearing regularly.
Flohr is terrific at describing her beautiful settings in detail, making them come to life within your mind.
The plot of this book is very fast paced, and sometimes that left the problem and resolution to that problem feeling a bit convoluted. A little more development of the ideas within the dialogue or actions would make these seem more natural.
There is a time jump, and I have to say, I really enjoyed seeing how each character changed and matured into their adult selves. I think it leaves a wonderful opportunity to do a short story or novelette with the missing time for hardcore fans.
Overall, I enjoyed the book but not the audiobook.
annarella's review
4.0
I had fun reading it and appreciated the world building.
The plot is good but there's some issues toward the end.
It was an engrossing and entertaining read, recommended.
Many thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for this ARC, all opinions are mine
The plot is good but there's some issues toward the end.
It was an engrossing and entertaining read, recommended.
Many thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for this ARC, all opinions are mine
arifel's review
I received a free copy of this book from the publisher in exchange from an honest review. Though, reading through the other reviews left here, I can't help but wonder if the publisher sent me a different book to the one which everyone else seems to have read?
Despite trying to give it a fair crack all the way through, I unfortunately had to DNF this book at chapter 4, having found no signs of anything worth continuing for. The early plot was a jumble of rushed fantasy tropes (kid going through a coming of age ritual in order to gain magic and getting a tragic backstory in the process, plus a scene between a dodgy king, a dodgy duke, and the duke's naive, abused son who has the Gift of Prophecy...). There's no time spent on characterisation or fleshing out any particular moments, it's just endless quick-fire plot points held together with cliched dialogue. Old tropes can be done well, but they need to be coupled with an interesting hook - be that an obvious new twist, or simply the early introduction of characters the audience is interested in. Neither were in evidence here.
The writing quality is also poor - from outright incorrect words ("patronage" instead of "parentage" in chapter 2), to overuse of adjectives and adverbs, to (apparently unintentional) repetition of words in a sentence, to POV issues where we switch from one limited third person viewpoint to another in the space of sentences. I'm not a snob about prose styles but the basic lack of competence here make the book unreadable.
The Rite of Wands needed a lot more work before being released into the world, and unfortunately I can't recommend it to anyone...
Despite trying to give it a fair crack all the way through, I unfortunately had to DNF this book at chapter 4, having found no signs of anything worth continuing for. The early plot was a jumble of rushed fantasy tropes (kid going through a coming of age ritual in order to gain magic and getting a tragic backstory in the process, plus a scene between a dodgy king, a dodgy duke, and the duke's naive, abused son who has the Gift of Prophecy...). There's no time spent on characterisation or fleshing out any particular moments, it's just endless quick-fire plot points held together with cliched dialogue. Old tropes can be done well, but they need to be coupled with an interesting hook - be that an obvious new twist, or simply the early introduction of characters the audience is interested in. Neither were in evidence here.
The writing quality is also poor - from outright incorrect words ("patronage" instead of "parentage" in chapter 2), to overuse of adjectives and adverbs, to (apparently unintentional) repetition of words in a sentence, to POV issues where we switch from one limited third person viewpoint to another in the space of sentences. I'm not a snob about prose styles but the basic lack of competence here make the book unreadable.
The Rite of Wands needed a lot more work before being released into the world, and unfortunately I can't recommend it to anyone...
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