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algae429's review against another edition
4.0
Interesting beginning. This sets up the world and the characters, but not really a lot that happens. This was a Kindle Freebie, so I guess I'll be buying the other books so I can find out what happens.
meowmeowmeowlalala's review against another edition
2.0
Had potential to be a good story but too predictable and cliche to be anything great. Good job on the romance though. It definitely had you pulling for the characters, but that was really all this story had going for it.
michelereise's review
3.0
First book in a series and started off a bit slow for my tastes. I am hoping the next one will be a bit more fast paced now that all the characters have been fleshed out. I love the author so I have high hopes.
mrose21's review
5.0
Really enjoyed this book. Not in love with the cover so I didn't expect much but I really enjoyed this read!
Intrigued with how they'll continue their story.
Intrigued with how they'll continue their story.
aggielexi's review
5.0
I should have known this was the work of Ms. Ryals. I was reading this thinking, you know, I haven't had a book I enjoyed this much since the Redemption series.
I fell in love with the characters. Drastona, Stone, is just amazing. She doesn't give up but she isn't trying to be a heroine. I love her and her magic. Lochel (sp?) I hope I see more of him in the next book. He is entertaining. And then of course Books never die, but they can be forbidden. Then of course there is Kye. I knew there was something up there but took me by surprise. I love this. I am now going to buy the next one and get started on it. I hope I can finish this series before my Organic Chemistry test because this will be a distraction.
I fell in love with the characters. Drastona, Stone, is just amazing. She doesn't give up but she isn't trying to be a heroine. I love her and her magic. Lochel (sp?) I hope I see more of him in the next book. He is entertaining. And then of course Books never die, but they can be forbidden. Then of course there is Kye. I knew there was something up there but took me by surprise. I love this. I am now going to buy the next one and get started on it. I hope I can finish this series before my Organic Chemistry test because this will be a distraction.
digerbop's review
3.0
Original Review posted at: http://digerbop.ca/2013/07/mark-of-the-mage/
The Good:
This book is branded as a YA fantasy romance. I don't read much YA and I read even less romance, but the first couple lines of this book drew me in enough that I had to read it.
"The smell. Wet ink, old parchment, and leather. The smell consumed me, weaving its way through my nostrils and down to my eternally ink-stained fingertips. It was an old, comforting smell. The smell of new beginnings, of adventure, and of disappointment."
This is just a snippet of what I think is the best thing this book has going for it since sliced bread. (Not that there is much of that in this book. Does dry unappetising bread count, because there is some of that in Mark of the Mage... okay, unimportant. Let's get back to it.) The hearty descriptions are wonderful, and if it wasn't for the beautifully crafted scene in the first couple pages of chapter one, I probably wouldn't have read it. I did read it, though, and enjoyed how the word wafted together like charcoal of the oven and the smell of the loaf within playing with my nostril in an appetising rush of delight.
I will not spoil too much, but any good story must have conflict and any good character has had a tragedy or two. A tragedy near the beginning of the book shapes Drastona into the woman that she becomes, playing with her mind throughout the book in a memorable and meaningful way. The reader gets to see how this tragedy effects Drastona with every page turn. Sometimes when something bad happens the character moves on too quickly, or because of point-of-view choices the reader doesn't get to experience how it effects the protagonist throughout. The reader will not soon forget this tragedy that shapes Drastona, and neither does she. The constant reminder of her past makes the character come alive in a way you don't often see. It effects her world view, who she trusts, and how she acts or reacts to those people and the world around her.
I was a little bit concerned as the book drew to an end. It seemed like Ryals would just put in a final period and say, "Taadaa! Read the next book you sucker!" but this is not the case. Though there is still much left undone at the end of Mark of the Mage, the conclusion was satisfyingly believable.
The Bad:
With all of that good you only rate it 3 stars! Indeed. Are you really for me to tell you why? First off, this is not really a "romance" as it claims to be. There is magic, talking animals, dragons, all those nice fantasy things and it is about a Young Adult (which seems to be the only criterion for dubbing something YA) but it doesn't really have any romance. Yes, there is a boy and a girl and they may have feelings for each other, but that hardly plays a role in the grand scheme of things. There are some strange "Oh no, he touched me" and "look, a shirtless man for no reason" scenes, but this doesn't make it romance. I wasn't looking for the nitty gritty details akin to adult romance or erotica, but was at least expecting something of substance. Some of characters ask things like "do you like him" and silliness like that that seems thrown in just so Ryals would slap a "romance" tag on the final product. It was like the author was sitting on the fence as to whether to put the romance in or not, and what is there seems juvenile and is not a real factor for the characters or the plot. When I was a 16-year old (granted I wasn't a 16-year old girl) I remember "romance" and the like being a big deal in my life, but this doesn't come through when writing about the romance in this 16-year old's life.
The plot was extremely uninspired. If you have read any book or seen and movie of any kind, you have heard it before. Person x is "the one" and there is some silly prophecy that says they are to save the day. It was not bad, but is very over-done and thus came across as your standard "let's go save the world while talking to animals... also dragons" type of story.
This is a short book and things moved very quickly. No sooner was I in one place that all of a sudden the chapter is over and I am being introduced to some new plot element or story marker. There was a lot more the author could have done with character/world development and description. For Ryals' ability at creating great description, I was surprised by how little of it there was in favour of getting the plot over with. It just felt like the author really wanted to fast-track to the end the entire time. There was a lot more room for expansion that I felt was an opportunity poorly waved off.
Conclusion:
Mark of the Mage is a decent coming of age YA fantasy story about this unlikely hero who is going to save the world. Despite the over-used plot and sloppily thrown in romance, this book holds some promise that I hope future instalments in the series continue. Drastona and her struggles will keep you reading while the good description speckled in with wet your imagination with the beauty a few simple words can provide.
The Good:
This book is branded as a YA fantasy romance. I don't read much YA and I read even less romance, but the first couple lines of this book drew me in enough that I had to read it.
"The smell. Wet ink, old parchment, and leather. The smell consumed me, weaving its way through my nostrils and down to my eternally ink-stained fingertips. It was an old, comforting smell. The smell of new beginnings, of adventure, and of disappointment."
This is just a snippet of what I think is the best thing this book has going for it since sliced bread. (Not that there is much of that in this book. Does dry unappetising bread count, because there is some of that in Mark of the Mage... okay, unimportant. Let's get back to it.) The hearty descriptions are wonderful, and if it wasn't for the beautifully crafted scene in the first couple pages of chapter one, I probably wouldn't have read it. I did read it, though, and enjoyed how the word wafted together like charcoal of the oven and the smell of the loaf within playing with my nostril in an appetising rush of delight.
I will not spoil too much, but any good story must have conflict and any good character has had a tragedy or two. A tragedy near the beginning of the book shapes Drastona into the woman that she becomes, playing with her mind throughout the book in a memorable and meaningful way. The reader gets to see how this tragedy effects Drastona with every page turn. Sometimes when something bad happens the character moves on too quickly, or because of point-of-view choices the reader doesn't get to experience how it effects the protagonist throughout. The reader will not soon forget this tragedy that shapes Drastona, and neither does she. The constant reminder of her past makes the character come alive in a way you don't often see. It effects her world view, who she trusts, and how she acts or reacts to those people and the world around her.
I was a little bit concerned as the book drew to an end. It seemed like Ryals would just put in a final period and say, "Taadaa! Read the next book you sucker!" but this is not the case. Though there is still much left undone at the end of Mark of the Mage, the conclusion was satisfyingly believable.
The Bad:
With all of that good you only rate it 3 stars! Indeed. Are you really for me to tell you why? First off, this is not really a "romance" as it claims to be. There is magic, talking animals, dragons, all those nice fantasy things and it is about a Young Adult (which seems to be the only criterion for dubbing something YA) but it doesn't really have any romance. Yes, there is a boy and a girl and they may have feelings for each other, but that hardly plays a role in the grand scheme of things. There are some strange "Oh no, he touched me" and "look, a shirtless man for no reason" scenes, but this doesn't make it romance. I wasn't looking for the nitty gritty details akin to adult romance or erotica, but was at least expecting something of substance. Some of characters ask things like "do you like him" and silliness like that that seems thrown in just so Ryals would slap a "romance" tag on the final product. It was like the author was sitting on the fence as to whether to put the romance in or not, and what is there seems juvenile and is not a real factor for the characters or the plot. When I was a 16-year old (granted I wasn't a 16-year old girl) I remember "romance" and the like being a big deal in my life, but this doesn't come through when writing about the romance in this 16-year old's life.
The plot was extremely uninspired. If you have read any book or seen and movie of any kind, you have heard it before. Person x is "the one" and there is some silly prophecy that says they are to save the day. It was not bad, but is very over-done and thus came across as your standard "let's go save the world while talking to animals... also dragons" type of story.
This is a short book and things moved very quickly. No sooner was I in one place that all of a sudden the chapter is over and I am being introduced to some new plot element or story marker. There was a lot more the author could have done with character/world development and description. For Ryals' ability at creating great description, I was surprised by how little of it there was in favour of getting the plot over with. It just felt like the author really wanted to fast-track to the end the entire time. There was a lot more room for expansion that I felt was an opportunity poorly waved off.
Conclusion:
Mark of the Mage is a decent coming of age YA fantasy story about this unlikely hero who is going to save the world. Despite the over-used plot and sloppily thrown in romance, this book holds some promise that I hope future instalments in the series continue. Drastona and her struggles will keep you reading while the good description speckled in with wet your imagination with the beauty a few simple words can provide.
mistyrae's review against another edition
4.0
Excellent story
The author weaves a wonderful universe where dragons walk like men, where education and magic are threats to a tyrant, where rebels hide in the forest and where a bastard girl finds herself carrying a heavy burden.
The characters are rich and colorful, the plot moves along at a great pace and the reader is left wishing that they too, could fight with the rebels.
The author weaves a wonderful universe where dragons walk like men, where education and magic are threats to a tyrant, where rebels hide in the forest and where a bastard girl finds herself carrying a heavy burden.
The characters are rich and colorful, the plot moves along at a great pace and the reader is left wishing that they too, could fight with the rebels.
becxreadz's review against another edition
4.0
Really enjoyed this book. A girl who can communicate with nature and animals....well that's just about all I wanted to be growing up =D
introvertinterrupted's review against another edition
4.0
It really is amazing how many ebooks on Amazon are free and GOOD. Don't let the cheesy cover scare you off from reading this particular book.
The storyline is a bit reminiscent of [b:Graceling|3236307|Graceling (Graceling Realm, #1)|Kristin Cashore|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1331548394s/3236307.jpg|3270810] and [b:Queen of the Tearling|18712886|The Queen of the Tearling (The Queen of the Tearling, #1)|Erika Johansen|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1417685148s/18712886.jpg|24267689] in terms of being a medieval fantasy book, but the usage of fantasy elements are new and refreshing in terms of the main character, Dastona a.k.a Stone's powers. I highly recommend since the book is not only free, but well written.
The storyline is a bit reminiscent of [b:Graceling|3236307|Graceling (Graceling Realm, #1)|Kristin Cashore|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1331548394s/3236307.jpg|3270810] and [b:Queen of the Tearling|18712886|The Queen of the Tearling (The Queen of the Tearling, #1)|Erika Johansen|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1417685148s/18712886.jpg|24267689] in terms of being a medieval fantasy book, but the usage of fantasy elements are new and refreshing in terms of the main character, Dastona a.k.a Stone's powers. I highly recommend since the book is not only free, but well written.