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laceystairs's review against another edition
3.0
I loved the narrator & the characters were charming. I wish I had heard this book when I was 13 or so... I would have been so enthralled. As it was I will tune into the rest of the aries I think. Not disappointed with this at all.
mal_eficent's review against another edition
5.0
I absolutely loved every moment of this, from the first five minutes to the last. If you're a fan of Tamora Pierce's work, I'd consider this just as good and in the same vein!
It had the tone and feel of a classic fantasy story, with down to earth characters and a confident writing style that needed no extra fluff. The prose was very matter of fact, describing just enough to put you in the scene and able to understand the emotional response Dara had to everything, but without any nonsense.
Plus, Dara is an absolute delight. It's nice to come across female characters in books that, despite their own disinterest, don't bash their sisters' interest in men or typical fantasy women's work. She feels like an actual kid that's just uninterested in those things, with a realistic outlook on life.
Some reviews mention you need to read previous books in the Spellmonger series first, but I haven't (yet) and didn't think I needed any extra information. Events outside of Dara's world are briefly covered to make the reader know what's going on, and the characters that I presume are from that story are described for those new to the world. I hope this series will serve as a nice introduction to the world.
It had the tone and feel of a classic fantasy story, with down to earth characters and a confident writing style that needed no extra fluff. The prose was very matter of fact, describing just enough to put you in the scene and able to understand the emotional response Dara had to everything, but without any nonsense.
Plus, Dara is an absolute delight. It's nice to come across female characters in books that, despite their own disinterest, don't bash their sisters' interest in men or typical fantasy women's work. She feels like an actual kid that's just uninterested in those things, with a realistic outlook on life.
Some reviews mention you need to read previous books in the Spellmonger series first, but I haven't (yet) and didn't think I needed any extra information. Events outside of Dara's world are briefly covered to make the reader know what's going on, and the characters that I presume are from that story are described for those new to the world. I hope this series will serve as a nice introduction to the world.
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