mindsplinters's review against another edition
3.0
Mystery meets fantasy meets a dash of romance. (The romance is kinda the weaker portion because it gets a little repetitive) Effective use of flashbacks which is really impressive, frankly, as such heavy flashbacks usually disrupt everything.
wordnerdy's review against another edition
3.0
https://wordnerdy.blogspot.com/2020/07/2020-book-142.html
This book centers on a young woman who was cast out by her father when she decided to study wizardry. But now she’s getting all sorts of weird and creepy signs, so she heads home to disrupt her little sister's wedding, even though wizards are not supposed to interfere with human affairs. I liked the sister relationship here, and liked that there was a mystery element, and really liked the main character and thought her romance was cute. Buutttttt big content warning that there is a character here who is a pedophile and is super gross. Just really unpleasant stuff that makes me knock it down a couple grades. B.
This book centers on a young woman who was cast out by her father when she decided to study wizardry. But now she’s getting all sorts of weird and creepy signs, so she heads home to disrupt her little sister's wedding, even though wizards are not supposed to interfere with human affairs. I liked the sister relationship here, and liked that there was a mystery element, and really liked the main character and thought her romance was cute. Buutttttt big content warning that there is a character here who is a pedophile and is super gross. Just really unpleasant stuff that makes me knock it down a couple grades. B.
miramanga's review against another edition
3.0
I wasn't expecting this to be a detective / romance / fantasy novel but it worked out like that and I'm not mad at it.
paladinboy's review against another edition
4.0
Great Fantasy romance. Listened to it on Audible in 2014. Great reader. Forgotten just how deep the characters are. I was also informed that this is a side-story for the Witches of Wenshar series. So it's off to the bookstore to read those!
jessreadsbooks's review against another edition
5.0
I have had far too much anxiety this month to focus on reading, and not knowing what was coming in my books was too much for me. So I returned to this well-loved book from my early teen years. I’ve probably read it 15 times. It’s clever, fun, and still deeply emotional. This book was there for me when I needed it most.
coolcurrybooks's review against another edition
4.0
Stranger at the Wedding is a female led second world fantasy novel that I enjoyed but am unlikely to ever feel the urge to read again.
In the world of Stranger at the Wedding, wizards are feared and legislated against. The only protection is to join the Citadel, home of academically minded wizards who vow not to take part in the affairs of ordinary people. Kya is studying for her exams at the Citadel when she becomes aware of strange portents in her magic. She eventually figures out that her sister Alix is going to die on her wedding night.
To save her sister, Kya has to venture back to the home that disowned her and do some meddling, putting her at risk from the Inquisition.
For the most part, the book is structured like it’s a mystery. Who’s trying to kill Alix? Unfortunately this doesn’t work well because information necessary to guess the killer is being held back. The pacing also slows down in some sections because of this.
I liked the world building and thought it was well realized. The descriptions of the city really helped it come alive and give it a sense of place. The world was undergoing industrial revolution, which was a nice touch and made it something different than the standard “medieval Europe” fantasy. That element probably stood out the most. While everything else was well realized, it didn’t feel particularly unique.
I liked Kyra as a protagonist, but I never really loved her. For whatever reason, I just never felt a strong emotional connection to her. However, I did like how she wasn’t the only sympathetic female character. Alix easily could have been written as the mean pretty girl or the dumb blond, but instead she was kind and smart in her own way.
The romance wasn’t great, but it wasn’t horrible either. I could tolerate it. For the most part, it just felt very predictable and sudden. The heroine clumsily trips and falls into the arms of a nearby man? Hmm, I wonder who’s the love interest? What’s annoying is this “trips and falls into his arms” gag is used numerous times. Although to be fair, she did fall flat on her face at other sections of the book too.
Originally posted on The Illustrated Page.
In the world of Stranger at the Wedding, wizards are feared and legislated against. The only protection is to join the Citadel, home of academically minded wizards who vow not to take part in the affairs of ordinary people. Kya is studying for her exams at the Citadel when she becomes aware of strange portents in her magic. She eventually figures out that her sister Alix is going to die on her wedding night.
To save her sister, Kya has to venture back to the home that disowned her and do some meddling, putting her at risk from the Inquisition.
For the most part, the book is structured like it’s a mystery. Who’s trying to kill Alix? Unfortunately this doesn’t work well because information necessary to guess the killer is being held back. The pacing also slows down in some sections because of this.
I liked the world building and thought it was well realized. The descriptions of the city really helped it come alive and give it a sense of place. The world was undergoing industrial revolution, which was a nice touch and made it something different than the standard “medieval Europe” fantasy. That element probably stood out the most. While everything else was well realized, it didn’t feel particularly unique.
I liked Kyra as a protagonist, but I never really loved her. For whatever reason, I just never felt a strong emotional connection to her. However, I did like how she wasn’t the only sympathetic female character. Alix easily could have been written as the mean pretty girl or the dumb blond, but instead she was kind and smart in her own way.
The romance wasn’t great, but it wasn’t horrible either. I could tolerate it. For the most part, it just felt very predictable and sudden. The heroine clumsily trips and falls into the arms of a nearby man? Hmm, I wonder who’s the love interest? What’s annoying is this “trips and falls into his arms” gag is used numerous times. Although to be fair, she did fall flat on her face at other sections of the book too.
Originally posted on The Illustrated Page.
wealhtheow's review against another edition
4.0
Ignore the terrible cover. This is an excellent, sophisticated book.
Kyra's magical studies are interrupted by premonitions of her sister's death. Determined to save her younger sister, Kyra returns to her merchant family's home, even though they killed her teacher and disowned her years before.
Kyra's magical studies are interrupted by premonitions of her sister's death. Determined to save her younger sister, Kyra returns to her merchant family's home, even though they killed her teacher and disowned her years before.
lsneal's review
3.0
I liked our spiky heroine, and the world-buliding and magic were interesting, but the romance was a little lacking in this one.
annieeditor's review
2.0
The first two-thirds of this book are fairly typical for a fantasy novel: a woman with magic returns to the home she has been exiled from to save her sister from an ambiguous doom on her wedding day. Kyra goes through all of the rituals and motions of magic, while trying to hide from a community where it is outlawed. She has a chance to think about what her life would have been like if she had chosen her family over magic, and she finds herself falling in love with her sister's intended groom.
It's not too bad, but it was a little hard to latch onto the characters. It's not until about two-thirds of the book when the horrible truth behind Kyra's exile is revealed, and suddenly everybody's motivations become a lot more clear, complex and interesting.
It's not too bad, but it was a little hard to latch onto the characters. It's not until about two-thirds of the book when the horrible truth behind Kyra's exile is revealed, and suddenly everybody's motivations become a lot more clear, complex and interesting.