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A review by kreela
Ravenous Innocence by Myra Danvers
5.0
“What was another bump or scrape? Just add it to the list, because Goddess knew I couldn’t tell the difference between them anymore.”
“each and every bud shared an enchanting mix of black and silver—the most prominent among them, a matched pair…” Honestly, this was probably one of the best stories I have read this year, and I didn’t even like the main character. As a cosseted Senator’s daughter, Mila was untrained and inexperienced and arrogant with a capital A. For years her father attempted to hide her to give her freedom, but how can you hide from your own insanity? Even with the magic ore called Glaith, that was supposed to absorb some of the excess of her magic, she became a split personality. Good and evil, dark and light. The tug of war between black and white became a dominant theme and a mythology all its own throughout the story.
The world-building also explored this duology: While Mila was classified “Trila-glis”, a priestess whose followers practiced peace and healing, her opposite were the Elite warriors using the Glaith as weapons of domination. And unfortunately for her, Mila met a warrior called Asher who was just as power-crazed as she, and his hunger for her erupted in her society being conquered, leaving her and some scientists in a mad chase towards the mines.
The magic was described as Ki (like Chi?), expressed as coming from the heart, or core, and Mila’s Ki was hangry. Like a vampire, she fought her urge to suck in all of others’ ki. She could not understand how Asher could control his Ki, even as she succumbed. Again, this duology of control vs. utter abandon, mankind against nature.
Why did I like it so much? Well, it felt like a science fiction novel mixed with believable magic, and an alternate world. The action and drama kept me reading well past my bedtime. Although there was no spice, Mila’s and Asher’s bond made me feel like romance was present, in its corrupted way. I was not sure who was the villain.
The characters I really liked were the “good” characters like her father, his friend Josh, Marco, and Bella. They were the real heroes here.
“each and every bud shared an enchanting mix of black and silver—the most prominent among them, a matched pair…” Honestly, this was probably one of the best stories I have read this year, and I didn’t even like the main character. As a cosseted Senator’s daughter, Mila was untrained and inexperienced and arrogant with a capital A. For years her father attempted to hide her to give her freedom, but how can you hide from your own insanity? Even with the magic ore called Glaith, that was supposed to absorb some of the excess of her magic, she became a split personality. Good and evil, dark and light. The tug of war between black and white became a dominant theme and a mythology all its own throughout the story.
The world-building also explored this duology: While Mila was classified “Trila-glis”, a priestess whose followers practiced peace and healing, her opposite were the Elite warriors using the Glaith as weapons of domination. And unfortunately for her, Mila met a warrior called Asher who was just as power-crazed as she, and his hunger for her erupted in her society being conquered, leaving her and some scientists in a mad chase towards the mines.
The magic was described as Ki (like Chi?), expressed as coming from the heart, or core, and Mila’s Ki was hangry. Like a vampire, she fought her urge to suck in all of others’ ki. She could not understand how Asher could control his Ki, even as she succumbed. Again, this duology of control vs. utter abandon, mankind against nature.
Why did I like it so much? Well, it felt like a science fiction novel mixed with believable magic, and an alternate world. The action and drama kept me reading well past my bedtime. Although there was no spice, Mila’s and Asher’s bond made me feel like romance was present, in its corrupted way. I was not sure who was the villain.
The characters I really liked were the “good” characters like her father, his friend Josh, Marco, and Bella. They were the real heroes here.