Overview:
Aurelia Barone, Jewel of Starry Stone, harbors no illusions about the purpose of her life as heir to the throne. But after two failed betrothals, she starts to feel like nothing more than a pawn being moved aimlessly about a game board.
Until the night she loses everything.
Kidnapped by a wise-cracking mercenary with more than one identity, Aurelia embarks on a mission across land and sea to avenge her father’s death.
But an evil is rising from the ashes of memory. Insidious magic is stirring. The dregs of a once-powerful nation are thirsty for blood and revenge.
They seek to harness Aurelia. To tempt her. To manipulate her.
And if necessary, to destroy her.
My Review
2.5 Stars
I was given a copy of this book from the publisher in exchange for an honest review
This book has somehow left me confused, annoyed, and wanting to read more.
Which is confusing to me because I absolutely hated the characters. All of them. It was like reading a book where all of the characters have multiple personality disorder. Without any logic that I could see or follow, the charges suddenly change their entire way of thinking and acting, and then flip flop back and forth, depending on the chapter. They have absolutely no redeeming qualities. Except for maybe the horse. The horse is pretty cool.
And then there is the story itself...
The story line starts out pretty light even with the king being murdered and the princess kidnapped. And then the book just drags and drags and drags... bam! Out of nowhere we have taken a severe sharp turn down the path of dark and freaking twisted. It's like the author couldn't decide which way the book should go. It made for choppy reading and a bit of a disgruntled feeling. It was like two books going on at once. The top layer was light and carefree and a definite young adult fantasy read with the bottom layer about murder and betrayal with a dash of psycho mixed in. It was an unpleasant combination that want quite pulled off. The end of the book wasn't even a cliff hanger ending, it just ended... badly, as if in the middle of a chapter.I'm definitely not going to go out of my way to read more of the series, but if the books happen to fall in my lap, I'd give them a go with the hope of actually figuring out what is going on.
Aurelia Barone, Jewel of Starry Stone, harbors no illusions about the purpose of her life as heir to the throne. But after two failed betrothals, she starts to feel like nothing more than a pawn being moved aimlessly about a game board.
Until the night she loses everything.
Kidnapped by a wise-cracking mercenary with more than one identity, Aurelia embarks on a mission across land and sea to avenge her father’s death.
But an evil is rising from the ashes of memory. Insidious magic is stirring. The dregs of a once-powerful nation are thirsty for blood and revenge.
They seek to harness Aurelia. To tempt her. To manipulate her.
And if necessary, to destroy her.
My Review
2.5 Stars
I was given a copy of this book from the publisher in exchange for an honest review
This book has somehow left me confused, annoyed, and wanting to read more.
Which is confusing to me because I absolutely hated the characters. All of them. It was like reading a book where all of the characters have multiple personality disorder. Without any logic that I could see or follow, the charges suddenly change their entire way of thinking and acting, and then flip flop back and forth, depending on the chapter. They have absolutely no redeeming qualities. Except for maybe the horse. The horse is pretty cool.
And then there is the story itself...
The story line starts out pretty light even with the king being murdered and the princess kidnapped. And then the book just drags and drags and drags... bam! Out of nowhere we have taken a severe sharp turn down the path of dark and freaking twisted. It's like the author couldn't decide which way the book should go. It made for choppy reading and a bit of a disgruntled feeling. It was like two books going on at once. The top layer was light and carefree and a definite young adult fantasy read with the bottom layer about murder and betrayal with a dash of psycho mixed in. It was an unpleasant combination that want quite pulled off. The end of the book wasn't even a cliff hanger ending, it just ended... badly, as if in the middle of a chapter.I'm definitely not going to go out of my way to read more of the series, but if the books happen to fall in my lap, I'd give them a go with the hope of actually figuring out what is going on.