Path of Fate

Path #1

by Diana Pharaoh Francis

In the land of Kodu Riik, becoming ahalad-kaaslane is the highest honor one can achieve. It mans the Lady has chosen you to bond and be united forever with one of Her specially blessed animals -- soul to soul...

Abandoned by her parents as an infant, Reisil grew up perpetually reminded that she did not belong. There wasn't a moment when she didn't feel like apologizing just for existing -- until she became a tark and proudly discovered her talent for healing.

Now, when Reisil believes she has finally found the security and sense of belonging she has always craved, she is chosen by the Blessed Lady to be ahalad-kaaslane --one of the judges, soldiers, spies, and explorers who travel the land, bound to no one but the Lady Herself. Devastated by the thought of losing her hard-won place in the world, Reisil rejects the Lady's gift and the ahalad-kaaslane goshawk who needs her.

But Reisil's decision does not affect her alone. Soon the fate of all Kodu Riik will rest in her hands --- and Reisil will be forced to make a bitter choice to save her people from the horrors of war....

Genres: Fantasy, Fiction, Magic, High Fantasy, Epic Fantasy, Romance, Adult

384 pages, Mass Market Paperback

First published January 1, 2003

About the author

I was raised on a cattle ranch in Northern California (outside a town called Lincoln which is now part of an enormous sprawl). I taught myself to ride a horse at the age of six, as no one had the time to teach me—they were all busy learning how to irrigate, how to cajole an angry bull into another field, how to pull a calf… Afraid of heights, and absolutely sure I was going to die, I managed to scramble up on the back of a very patient and lazy strawberry roan destrier, and plod off into the sunset.

Thereafter, I spent much of my early life on horseback, or so far buried into a book that the rest of the world ceased to exist (much to the annoyance of my family—it took several attempts to get my attention). We all had very specific jobs on the ranch and mine was horses and cattle—out rounding up at dawn. And since I rode bareback, my standing request was to wake me up 5 minutes before everyone else headed for the barn—time enough to dress and eat my Wheaties, and no sleep time wasted on saddling.

After high school, I attended college after college, racking up a BA and MA in creative writing and a Ph.D. in literature and theory. My very patient and supportive husband traipsed across the Midwest and back to Montana for me (though my husband insists that he’s been running and hiding and I just keep finding him), where I now teach at the University of Montana-Western. We also a son Q-ball, who in our humbly unbiased opinions, is the most wonderful son ever produced, and a daughter, Princess Caesar, who is the most wonderful daughter ever produced.

I have a fascination for the Victorians, weather, geology, horses, plants and mythology, I like spicy food, chocolate and cheesecake, and I have an odd sense of humor. (Or so I’ve been told. Often.) Incidentally, the Pharaoh is in fact my real name, and oddly enough, is of British origin.

Some of my current favorite sf/f writers are Ilona Andrews, Carol Berg, C.E. Murphy, Patty Briggs, Lynn Flewelling, Rachel Caine, David Coe, and Anne Bishop.

Reviews

[Bagtree · Rating 4 out of 5]

The best of the Path trilogy. Not that the latter two books are bad, but this one stands on its own. Reisil is tough, interesting, and never so important that she can't get called on doing stupid or embarrassing things. Saljane is one of the best-realized telepathic companion animals I've encountered - she provides love and support and all that wonderfulness, but she is a bird and she acts like a bird, always, not only when it would be cute or plot-convenient or funny. Kebonsat is fantastic, and his and Reisil's gradually warming up to each other is well-handled.

The trilogy overall has a strong theme of "get over your damage, do what needs doing, and don't let your past control you." It's expanded upon in the later books, but it gets its best iterations here.

Some of the worldbuilding is questionable and the pacing slips from time to time, but this is still a solid book.

[Beige · Rating 3 out of 5]

I really enjoyed the Horngate Witches trilogy by this author. It was a fast paced UF with a dash of fantasy. It had a kick ass heroin (which I'm a sucker for) and interesting secondary characters.

Unfortunately this earlier fantasy series wasn't quite as engaging. I loved the animal familiar component and the independent heroine, but it just took too long to get going for me. The last 1/4 had some great magic and build up, but overall it wasn't enough for me to continue with the series anytime soon.

[The Captain · Rating 4 out of 5]

Ahoy there me mateys! I received this fantasy eARC from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. So here are me honest musings . . .

Title: path of fate

Author: Diana Pharoah Francis

Publisher: Open Road Integrated Media

Publication Date: July 12, 2016

ISBN: 9781504037716

Source: NetGalley

When I saw that Diana Pharoah Francis had a book available on NetGalley I got excited. I thought “oh I love her writing” even though silly me couldn’t remember the name of the book that I had previously read just that I loved it. As soon as I started reading this novel, I knew I had read it before. It is likely that I borrowed this from a library back in the day. Turns out the book is being re-released in eBook format. As the details in my head were so fuzzy i.e. almost non-existent, I got excited to re-explore this novel.

I loved it all over again. The story is about Reisil who is a tark (a healer). Reisil has finished her training and is settling down in the village of Kodu Riik where she feels that she has found her purpose in life. Only the gods have other plans. You see there are these people called ahalad-kaaslane who have telepathic bonds with their animal friends. They serve as guardians of the land. When a goshawk appears in Kodu Riik and claims Reisil has been chosen, Reisil rebels. When a kidnapping threatens a truce to end the war between two neighboring lands, Reisil must make a choice. This book details the choice Reisil makes and its consequences.

I loved Reisil and how she comes to terms with the beginning of her destiny. Of course having telepathic abilities with animals is awesome. Ahalad-kaaslane have lynx, lizard, and other companions. I like that Reisil’s magic bond is not instant or natural. She has to learn to use her talents. She of course is smart, loyal, and caring. I also love that for the most part the light romance aspects of the novel are more realistic. First loves do not always last. Neither do second ones. There was a small unnecessary love triangle in his book which did irk me but overall did not spoil the book for me. Also the portrayal of the gods in this story was fun. I rather liked them.

The author’s website describes the trilogy as:

"The Path books (PATH OF FATE, PATH OF HONOR, PATH OF BLOOD) are traditional epic fantasy. The first focuses on Reisil and how she has to make a choice to do something she absolutely doesn’t want to do, even though everybody else thinks is a great honor. In the second book, she finds out that not everybody is what they seem to be, and that evil can be really seductive. In the third book, she finally comes into herself and must really embrace who she’s become."

I want to definitely read the rest of the trilogy.

So lastly . . .

Open Road Integrated Media!

If ye liked this review, see me others at https://thecaptainsquartersblog.wordp...

[Karyogini · Rating 4 out of 5]

As I've mentioned before, I'm not really into this Historical Fantasy type of books. I like Urban fantasies. Since I'm having a hard time waiting for Diana Francis' other series, Horngate Witches, I've decided to read this series of hers.

Having said that, I was curbing my expectation for this book. Surprisingly, I liked this book. :) Sure there were a lot of, "huh? what's that?" and lots of travel travel for days... Those I didn't care for. But the plot was captivating and the characters are interesting. :) I liked it. :) It reminded me of the Study Series (which I totally loved). So... I'm going to read the next one. :) Right now.


(Sorry to those who wants to read summaries. I'm not so good with those. Besides, there are lots of other GRs who write better summaries. Read those instead. :) These are my thoughts and reactions towards the book. ;)

[Health · Rating 2 out of 5]

I've found myself craving reading books with strong female characters, and for the most part I've been disappointed with the tales that are told. Romance always seems to overtake and turns the female and turns her into a dribbling mess who cannot exist without her other half. Other times the female character is a type of over powered super god who floats over all her obstacles. With Path of Fate, the relationships were very well done. Riesil did not subcome to high school romance and she remained level headed. She was an enjoyable woman who grew and became strong.

I did enjoy the book, it was refreshing and light. I did find myself not following the story from time to time. The author had of habit of not explaining things or skipping over major events like they were trivial. If Riesil had just saved someone's life (she is a healer after all), the author wouldn't go into explanation on how Riesil did it or took any time to get the reader to care. Maybe they would be a mention of it later in the book as a back thought "Oh yeah, I did do X and Y". Other than Riesil there wasn't much character development, and i found myself not caring what happened to others in the world.

I find it a bit disappointing in books when their main characters skip though their world without much concern. They always seems to have an easy time and if they get any type of magical powers at their command, they will rely on that to solve most of their problems. In Path of Fate, solutions come easy for Riesil. I felt as if the author took the easy way out and instead of letting Riesil work hard for her goal (maybe coming up with a solution that wasn't magical), the author handed her a free pass card. The ending felt very empty and shallow, all the growing Riesil had done as a character and her travels really didn't get to shine. Everything fit into place nicely; bad guys get punished, good things happen to everyone she loves, etc. It was very Mercedes Lackey and lovely.

[Steph · Rating 1 out of 5]

I feel guilty saying this about any book, but... I thought this one was a complete waste of time. In the "show, don't tell" sense, this is a very "tell" book. The cardboard characters and inconsistencies in plot and description had me practically tearing my hair out. The limits of magic were not well delineated, and except for the main character's hawk, all the magic users' animal familiars were pointless decorations in the story. On top of that, as the book progressed, the main character was granted more and more superpowers by the goddess, so that by the end she was practically omnipotent and loved by everyone to boot. I am not planning on reading the sequels, nor would I recommend this book. Just my opinion, though.

[Natalie · Rating 3 out of 5]

The book had a strong start, but midway through things became too convenient. The protagonist acquires power very easily, it's almost like cheating. Actions/events lose their value when Reisil's plot hax aka healing ability kicks in. She can fix anything just by tapping into her god given magic without consequences. Well, there are supposed to be consequences but the author works around them.

Also most characters don't have a lot of depth, and they love loooong and *rational* monologues.

Path of fate started out as a good book that lost its spark at the end. 3/5 stars for good world building.

[Itasca Community Library · Rating 4 out of 5]

Emylie says:
This was fun! It took a little bit for me to get into, and I started losing the plot a bit near the end, but quickly picked it up again. Reisil was a fun character, and really nice. The world building was really interesting too. I like it when authors just assume that you can figure it out, because it's always a lot more grounding—there was a lot of show and very little tell. I like all the side character too—a lot of differing personalities that make for interesting conflicts. I'm excited to see where this all leads next.

[Lara · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is the story of an orphan, raised by a town yet never feeling like she had a real home. When she is called by her goddess to serve, she resists because it means leaving the home she has worked so hard to achieve. But, events conspire against her, and she finds that she must accept her calling in order to save lives.

This book started out very slow for me. We spend a couple of days following Reisil around on her trips to gather herbs, help deal with health issues she comes across, and follow-up with people she's treating. She's feeling happy but insecure as she awaits formal acknowledgement of being the town's healer, despite the fact they renovated a cottage with greenhouse for her. It turns out she even had time during all this training, serving, and worrying to develop a new color of dye that can be sold to make money for herself and the town.

At the start of the book I didn't care too much for Reisil as a lot of time is spent in her head as she worries about her lack of permanent belonging. Her insecurity and angst was tiresome for me. Then she also uses that insecurity to allow others to treat her less than well, despite being in a position that is respected. What I did like was her willingness to talk people down from bad places and her focus on healing and saving lives.

Then there is the guy who bullies her. I would normally have thought that it was because he liked her and she didn't respond. But, that's not her experience and it doesn't ever develop that was the case either--maybe in a future book?. And, even though they grew up together, she can't defend herself or tell him to grow up or act appropriately for no reason other than her lack of self-confidence.

When she initially realizes she's been called, I was less than impressed with the whiny temper tantrum she throws. After going on about how important the goddess is and how you never want to go against her chosen representatives, she thinks it's fine because she wants what she wants. Her sense of entitlement and denial was incredibly annoying as well. However, I persevered, and was glad I did.

While I wasn't surprised by who was involved in the kidnapping, I was surprised by the spine Reisil shows once she accepts her calling. She knows she was wrong and doesn't try to defend her behavior. She just goes on and does what she can now that she's moved on. I was a bit confused by the role her fear of heights played in her relationship with her goshawk. At times seeing through her eyes while flying is very difficult for her, and to others it isn't. At first I thought there was a progression, but it wasn't consistent, so I was uncertain about its importance.

Overall, Reisil turns out to have quite a strong grasp of right and wrong, and the value of acting in the best interest of her country. The world building was mixed in that I ended up with an okay grasp of the religion and the magic she uses, but not for the political setup of the world. That last was too bad as they are at war when the book starts. Fortunately, Reisil has some to learn as well and so information is revealed as the story progresses.

One thing the book does well is show how the sudden receipt of amazing powers can change how others treat you. As Reisil finds that she has been chosen for a special fate, she also finds that she has to act in ways that surprise and terrify others, make her enemies, cause friends to fear her, and make her one of her new group of those chosen by the goddess.

Overall, it took about a third of the book for me to get into it, and a bit longer for me to start liking Reisil. The plot includes some pretty serious, realistic, and awful violence and treatment, so is not a light fantasy. I'm not sure how old Reisil is, but she is a young adult, living independently and serving her town in a valued professional role. It is clear that she has seen some upsetting interpersonal altercations in the past, and has had to deal with them sensitively. This book does not gloss over people's feelings, actions, justifications for doing bad things, or the consequences of war. I'm not sure if I'll read the next book in the series or not (so many other books already on my list!), but it turned out to be much deeper and more interesting than I expected.

I received a copy for review through NetGalley.

[Michelle Johnson · Rating 2 out of 5]

QUICK PITCH: A girl gets a bird. Adventures ensue. First in the Path trilogy.

VERDICT: The worldbuilding is a bit shaky—there were several moments where I wondered whether I was actually reading book two, or whether this series is a sequel to a different series, which I don't think it is. Overall, though, this is the best of the Path trilogy by a long shot.

It helps that the POV sticks with one character (Reisil) instead of flitting around, and that the core conflict gets locked fairly quickly and doesn't shift beyond that.

[Aelvana · Rating 3 out of 5]

Reisil is a tark---a healer---fresh from her training, serving in the village where she grew up. Without mother or father, she's tried hard to make a home for herself, so when a goshawk comes to claim her for the ahalad-kaaslane, who wander the realm unceasingly, she refuses the bond. But the bird is stubborn, and soon her own duties as a tark force her to take on the role she wants least in order to prevent war from tearing apart everything she holds dear.

The plot is, for the most part, straightforward, which works in its favor. There's enough going on with Reisil adjusting to being ahalad-kaaslane to have to worry about political backbiting and intricate subplots. As an adventure, it works well, leaping from one danger to the next, hiding power and revealing it, and culminating in a showdown with a god. There's a lot of attention to the small details like food and travel, which helped ground me much more firmly in that world.

Most of my complaints are of plot rather than prose. The book begins with Reisil tripping over her own feet---not exactly the most interesting way to begin, since all it serves to do is introduce the backstory. That backstory would have been better suited for later; it would have been far more interesting to start her at a sickbed, or doing something that would require some action before all the summarized flashback. Similarly, the ending fell rather flat; it wrapped up too neatly, with too many really obvious hints about where it's going to go from here.

The bonding was, for the most part, well done. Saljane's thoughts never feel human: they are simple, never stupid. What annoyed me was the same thing that annoys me about every other animal-human bonding book I've read---total love at first sight. It's too corny to feel real. Total love and devotion take time to build, and slapping it all on at once, even if the feelings are not reciprocated fully, feels sloppy. The power Reisil wields by the end is also far too much, far too fast. It's Mary Sue at its finest, where the heroine, blessed with the power of her god and her righteousness, proceeds to blast the living hell out of anyone standing in her way. It's too easy. There's not enough victory, winning like that. She didn't lose enough to make that worthwhile; her regrets about her old life were mostly said, not felt, at least for me.

Overall I think the book was worth what I spent on it, but there's always the little piece of me that hopes to find a story that really gets it, and this one isn't there yet. But there are sequels, and I already own them, so it's very possible I'll be reviewing Reisil's continued adventures soon. Recommended.

[Coucher de soleil · Rating 4 out of 5]

I enjoyed this one. The world building was very well done and original. The characters were quite likeable. The plot flowed well and I found myself wondering what would happen next to Reisil, our main character, as well as her friends (especially Saljane, her bonded bird).

Some might find this one a bit slow going (in the beginning especially), particularly if they're addicted to constant life or death situations. The reason for this is that the author does take her time to build a well-crafted world. I personally didn't find this a problem since I felt that it made the world more real to me.

So all in all, I recommend this one!

[Christine · Rating 1 out of 5]

It's amazing how little happens in the first third of this book. The author drags out what should be a short introduction to the main plot of the story.

And later, too many compliments are given the main character, in too short a period of time. I wasn't digging this novel from near the beginning, but I finally put it down permanently when after the main character selflessly gives her life to heal a young girl, and her goddess talks to her and not only gives her greater powers and greater compliments, but turns the scars on her face into god ivy vines. It was just too much.

[Maia · Rating 3 out of 5]

I really like stories where there is a close link between animals and humans (especially when it's the MC) and I got all this here.
I had a hard time getting into it and I felt a little annoyed at Reisil in the beginning but it definitely got better.

So, yes, in the end I liked this but I wasn't wowed by it ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

[Bethany C]

I really enjoyed it- just bought the other 2 in the trilogy as soon as I finished it. Exactly what I look for in fantasy.

[Kristen · Rating 1 out of 5]

We read this book for book club.

I found this book exceptionally frustrating, which was strange because it has a lot of things that I typically really enjoy in other books, but here, it just did not work for me.

Before I get started, I did want to give an honorable mention to a scene towards the end of the book where the villains call their deity, and they show up like a parent called away from work to settle a dispute between their troublesome children. I got real "I told you not to call me unless one of you was dead or dying! So what's SO important that you had to bother me at work!" vibes. Sadly, I think that was the only scene I truly enjoyed.

Let's get into.
The names in this book are awful. I think I can only name four characters and actually know who I'm talking about. None of the names are simple or recognizable, and among our book club, no one could agree on a single pronunciation. It got to the point where I was just assigning different names to people to make it through the book. The wild incomprehensible naming convention doesn't stop with the characters either though, everything in this world has a wild name. I was probably halfway through the book before I realized that Iisand Samir referred to the ruler of their country. The kahv-house she talks about all the time? I was literally at the end of the book before I realized it was meant to be a coffee house. Some of the ahalad-kaaslane are actual real life animals, and others are LIKE real life animals, but are not those real life animals. Also, when they are introduced, it is not made clear if the people are ahalad-kaaslane, the animals are ahalad-kaaslane, or that both together are ahalad-kasslane.

It was just... a lot. It made the whole book feel like a slog.

The other big problem I had, was the plot.
To me, the plot feels like... a string of "well that happened". First of all, the plot doesn't actually get going until about 100 pages in. Until then, Reisil just floats around and does Tark things, which I wouldn't have minded if part of that time had been devoted to providing context for the world around us. But it doesn't do that. It's like I spent 100 pages on Mars and no one was willing to tell me anything. "Magic doesn't work here." "Why?" -shrug- "What about that town that was decimated by magic? Isn't that here, in the country where magic doesn't work?" -shrug- "Can you maybe tell me more about these ahalad-kaaslane and how they actually work?" "Nope."

The first 100 pages felt useless to me. They, when the plot finally got going, I thought we were finally going to get somewhere. And to be fair we did. But then the plot just kept going. Like the energizer bunny. "Save the girl and accept your bird". Okay, cool. Cool cool cool. That is a nice simple plot. I can hang. Then we rescued the girl and had to take her to the summit. Okay. Fine. Then we have to talk to some deities. Finally, after that I thought for sure we must be done! But no. There were still twenty pages of somewhat aimless plot meandering before the book ended.

The fact that all these plots are here is not even the biggest problem. Its that with each subsequent extension of the plot, the actual execution got more and more handwavey. Obstacles were introduced and then dismissed almost immediately. I would have preferred the book be split into separate books so that we could have actual development of plot and characters instead of just plowing through all of it and saying "well, there yeh go".

And so to the final thing that frustrated me.
Reisil is basically a God, by the end of this book. She goes from a simple healer, to Goddess in the course of like... two weeks. Which wouldn't have been a problem, except that I know there are two more books in this series, and where can you possibly go from here? What kind of growth can we see when she's already more powerful than apparently every one alive?

All in all, I did not enjoy this book. I think maybe any one of these problems, I could have handled and had a perfectly fine time, but all three of them together, handled as poorly as they were made the book an unenjoyable slog for me.

This was the first time since we started book club that I almost didn't finish the book at all. And we read Walking Disaster this year.

[Yuhan · Rating 4 out of 5]

Path of Fate

I read this series many years ago when I was maybe 15. I loved it, though I did not understand much of the book at the time. Rereading it now, I was able to have a much better understanding about what the book is about.
⭐️ Character development: Reisil, was a girl that was raised by the village, not much is said about her family, but since her village/town had taken care of her, she has always wanted to be a tark(medic/doctor), and be able to serve her community. Thing happen is Path of Fate that complicate that goal. I felt that I could really like her. She had an interesting character to begin with and throughout the book she continues to grow and develop into the role that Kodu Riik needs her to be. The other characters were interesting as well, and have character growth. The one thing that I have a complaint about would be the fact that all the guys seem to end up being attracted to her at one point for another. I do like that it is not generally for Reisil's looks that they are attracted to her, but her character.

⭐️⭐️ World building: Freebie, it is difficult for me to not find most book worlds interesting.

⭐️⭐️⭐️ Page Turner: Yes... most of the time. There were moments that were slow, but I think that is just because I don't really like politics much, and there were quite a few moments where there was a lot of that.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ Plot twist: I thought most of the book was predictable for me, its not a bad thing, but I thought a lot during the book, so is this the end then? but then found the book to sill have another 3-4 chapters.Which I appreciated, the author managed to do what a lot of other authors don't do. Wrap things up. Yes, it ended with the sense that Reisil is not yet done with her journey. But the other characters in the book were nicely concluded? We knew what happened to them. For the most part.

Lasting impression: Path of Fate, was an enjoyable read, but it did not give me the sense to want to read it over and over again, so it doesn't get that star.

[Mook · Rating 3 out of 5]

I found it impossible to read this book without mentally comparing it to the Valdemar series. I don't know why - something to do with animal companions choosing worthy humans to serve as sort of police/judges/military in times of need. Also the idea of these people having special powers that are bestowed upon them by a goddess (it's generic gods in Valdemar I think) and these powers are NOT magic which is a different and not as holy/pure/good thing. Also the part where the people they're at war with are given gifts by their own, seperate god. Or the part where the main character is so reluctant at first to be chosen. If I'd read this book first maybe I would like it better, but I just read it as a not-Valdemar Valdemar book and wasn't super into it. I gave it three stars though, because objectively there wasn't really anything off about her writing, or the plot.

[Ginny Jordan · Rating 5 out of 5]

Love it! Wouldn’t say it’s the best book in the world, but top 10 for sure.

For everyone who wants realism in their fiction, they can find it here.

For every who wants a happy ending? Here also.

For everyone who doesn’t want needless killing of all their favorite characters? Yep, here.

Main Character is a girl who’s been seeking a home her entire life. She’s right on the edge of getting her hearts desire. Then comes A surprise. Not everything is as it seems. In fact, our girl learns pretty quickly that people have hidden depths. Good and bad.

She has a hard journey, and people will die. I will say this book is full of justice. For the most part, the bad guys get what’s coming to them. There are times they don’t suffer as much as I’d like.

Really good read. Imo.

[Limecello · Rating 3 out of 5]

So - this whole ahalad-kaaslane thing is interesting, and I'm not ... entirely sure I get it? they exist to ... "mete" out the Lady's justice? Only ... it mostly seems like they're a bit of a mess. But.

And Reisil and Kebonsat. I'd hoped for Edelsat but I get her and Kebonsat only then the ending ...
Interesting story => as usual though I blew through the entire series before I managed to update GR so I've had to go back to remember how each ended. :P

I definitely liked it enough to keep going immediately, because I wanted/needed to know what happened

C, maybe C+

[L.R. Braden · Rating 4 out of 5]

Path of Fate has a slower rhythm than a lot of books I've read recently. The main character is a strong woman who spends at least as much time fighting her internal battles as those presented by the world. I thought the relationship between the protagonist and her spirit-bird companion was well done. The world is unique and interesting, though at times I felt it could use a little more detail to help the reader really understand it. In general, I found this to be an enjoyable adventure with memorable characters.

[Emylie · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was fun! It took a little bit for me to get into, and I kinda started losing the plot near the end, though quickly picked it up again—but I think that's half because uh, *gestures everywhere*. Reisil was fun and while maybe a little "mary sue" I didn't care. She was really nice. The worldbuilding was really interesting too. I like it when authors just assume that you can figure it out, cause it's always a lot more grounding. I like all the side character too—a lot of differing personalities. I'm excited to see where this all leads next.

[Laura · Rating 4 out of 5]

A friend gave me this book after he finished reading it. By chapter 3, I knew that I'd want the second book. I found a copy!

It was kinda nice to see a protagonist fighting her fate but, honestly, this reader could tell that this was indeed fate so she obviously wasn't going to win this one. I just appreciated her honesty. I also appreciate how her determination not to meet her fate led her to make mistakes and have blind spots. In other words, the character development was well done.

I started in on Book 2 as soon as I finished.

[Sandy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Enjoyed this one quite a bit. Less than 5 stars because even after reading a whole book about them, I can't spell or pronounce Kodu Riik, ahalad-kaaslane, or half of Reisil's friends' names without reading carefully and sounding them out, and for a couple chapters, I wanted to throttle Reisil for her initial rejection of Saljane. Interesting story I'm looking forward to reading the rest of.

[katie · Rating 2 out of 5]

The story was good, once it finally started getting going, but the writing was not good. Lots of exposition and telling instead of showing, especially in regards to the characters. And the love story felt tacked on and cheesy. It's too bad; this felt like a good first or second draft of a story that could have been really good with more revision.

[Stephen Simpson · Rating 1 out of 5]

Weak world-building, iffy dialogue, not a particularly compelling notion of magic, and an overwhelming tendency to "tell" versus "show".

It was so dreadfully boring and uninspiring I could not make myself read past the first 40% or so. Perhaps the book gets much, much better, but I wasn't wiling to continue to find out.

[T.S.S. Fulk · Rating 3 out of 5]

There were many things to like about this book. The main character was interesting as was the magic system of the world. However, there were too many unrealistic conversations and reactions from the minor characters to warrant a better score.

[Katherine · Rating 3 out of 5]

Fun fantasy, but development of the magical system was a bit forced (more tell than show) and the character repeatedly rehashed her same flaw, so was not as complex as I would have liked. Travel times were also a bit confusing: a long time to get there and then a very rapid return.

[Kate Arnold · Rating 3 out of 5]

Struggled with this book.. the story i thought was good but lost in too many silly names which i kept trying to pronounce so lost flow.. also too many words for what could have been shortened .. got a tad tedious at times

[Spiegel · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was all right. Telepathic animals aren't my thing (who needs pets to never be alone when one has books, amirite), and by modern standards there could be more female characters, but still a fun adventure.