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The Hanna Duology #1
The Wizard's Promise
All Hanna Euli wants is to become a proper witch.
Unfortunately, she’s stuck as an apprentice to a grumpy fisherman. When their boat gets caught up in a mysterious storm and blown wildly off course, Hanna finds herself further away from home than she’s ever been before.
As she tries to get back, she learns there may be more to her apprentice master than she realized, especially when a mysterious, beautiful, and very non-human boy begins following her through the ocean, claiming that he needs Hanna’s help.
Unfortunately, she’s stuck as an apprentice to a grumpy fisherman. When their boat gets caught up in a mysterious storm and blown wildly off course, Hanna finds herself further away from home than she’s ever been before.
As she tries to get back, she learns there may be more to her apprentice master than she realized, especially when a mysterious, beautiful, and very non-human boy begins following her through the ocean, claiming that he needs Hanna’s help.
332 pages, Paperback
First published May 6, 2014
18 people are currently reading
3439 people want to read
About the author
Cassandra Rose Clarke
63 books1,440 followersCassandra Rose Clarke is a speculative fiction writer living amongst the beige stucco and overgrown pecan trees of Houston, Texas. She graduated in 2006 from The University of St. Thomas with a bachelor’s degree in English, and in 2008 she completed her master’s degree in creative writing at The University of Texas at Austin. Both of these degrees have served her surprisingly well.
During the summer of 2010, she attended the Clarion West Writers Workshop in Seattle, where she enjoyed sixty-degree summer days. Having been born and raised in Texas, this was something of a big deal. She was also a recipient of the 2010 Susan C. Petrey Clarion Scholarship Fund.
During the summer of 2010, she attended the Clarion West Writers Workshop in Seattle, where she enjoyed sixty-degree summer days. Having been born and raised in Texas, this was something of a big deal. She was also a recipient of the 2010 Susan C. Petrey Clarion Scholarship Fund.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 141 reviews
March 15, 2014
I do admit that there are times I do judge a book by its cover. I am easily attracted to vibrant, well-drawn or well-edited layouts, and if one caught my eye, you sure can bet that it also caught my full attention, and I am more likely to check it out rather than walk pass it. That's pretty much what happened between me and The Wizard's Promise in a nutshell. I mean, dude. DUDE. Look at that beauty. It totally gives off that Magical Fantasy aura, and not to mention, the ocean-like colors give it such a cool feel. Even though I didn't like The Assassin's Curse, a series of books that Cassandra Clarke has also authored, I requested and hoped that the content was as good as the cover.
Unfortunately, it wasn't smooth sailing, this book and I (get it? SAILING? ... okay you probably don't get the pun, but more than half of this book was spent in a ship wandering the seas sooo... yeah...). Forget the fact that it's set in the same universe as The Assassin's Curse (which I threw in the DNF pile 15% in; sorry, Ananna, but you just tick me the heck off), it just left me feeling... empty and void, like I just consumed something that seemed terribly pointless. It's not a bad book per se; I reckon loyal fans of the author's writing would likely find it enjoyable. I, unfortunately, found it annoying and a wee bit boring.
And I am saying that mildly.
What's it about?
Hanna is a fisherwoman-in-training, her mentor being Kolur, a well-known fisherman. While she toils left and right to catch swimming creatures, what she really wants is to be a Witch, especially since she has a strong affinity with the Wind. She can summon and command it to do her bidding, a feat proven useful when sailing the high seas. She, however keeps this tidbit to herself.
One day, she was summoned by her Master to go fishing, which usually lasts for 2-5 days. What was supposed to be a simply fishing trip drastically changed when bones of fortune-telling were thrown and a magical force whisked them off -course, and the next thing Hanna knew she was a long ways from home. Another Witch, one who had a strong affinity with BOTH the wind and the sea , soon joined them, off to join her Master do an "errand" he decided on a whim, to lands beyond her wildest imagination.
That is, if the creatures of the Mists don't get to them first...
Dun dun duuuun...
Well?! How was it?
Dull. Amazingly dull.
Is this surprising? It sure was to me. For such a wonderful cover that pretty much skyrocketed my expectations, I had thought there to be some action, some adventure, heck, maybe some plot. But what I got was a book about a snarky and rude teenager (who kept on throwing sarcasm at her Master and another dude who didn't really deserve it rawr) riding the seas for more than 50% of the book. It wouldn't have been so bad if the plot kept on going, but our long, arduous voyage aboard the Penelope was just full of her repetitive thoughts and action. She'd fix the sails, look at the sea, sleep in the cabin, call on the wind, glare at her Cap'n, throw a snarky comment, gaze at the sea again, fix the sails, call on the wind, sleep in the cabin, rinse repeat wash with Mr. Clean ten times over.
IT. WAS. SO. EXHAUSTING.
Of course, some may argue that there were some "events" that transpired in the book. Like, come on, they got whisked away by something! Something got on their deck! They got washed ashore somewhere! I acknowledge all those, but honestly, these were just little details (and I guess Hanna had to do something else aside from fixing the sails) and the overall "plot" was just useless, in my very humble opinion. It pretty much just comprised of her trying to be convinced by someone to do something 95% of the book, and her agreeing to do it at the very end.
It's not that it was bad, it's just that half of the book felt so meaningless, like, is-this-part-even-necessary meaningless. It didn't feel like there were any direction at all. Not to mention, so much of the book were about Hanna's actions. I mean, I love her internal narration that talked about HER (and I mean the REAL her), every time the book decided to insert some. She may have come across initially as an entitled nitwit who thought the world revolved around her but I eventually grew to like her and even understood her frustrations. But the overall goal of this book could have been met halfway, if not for the unnecessary step-by-step description of the characters' doings. So, yes, forgive me for saying it, but if those exhausting repetition were cut off, I'm pretty sure we could have inserted more plot here aside from her finally agreeing to something she vehemently didn't want to do for, um, pretty much the majority of the book.
I do like the world-building, so there's that. It's an interesting world where magic comes naturally and is part of nature. I liked how even though magic is rampant, it's not something that's easily abused to gain an advantage over others. I also liked how it's used for simple tasks: calling the wind to sail to a particular direction, summoning a bit of fire to warm the people on a chilly day, casting preservation charms on freshly-caught fish or protection charms to shield you from harmful external forces. I liked it a lot. It's just too bad some annoying factors greatly overshadowed this aspect.
Overall...
Well, it was a disappointing read. I probably should've expected it, given I wasn't impressed with The Assassin's Curse, but I was really hoping and praying to the high heavens that this experience would be different. Unfortunately, the writing, pacing, and "plot" of this book left me feeling empty and bored out of my mind, to the point that it felt like it was raining inside my head. I'm not certain whether or not I'll read the next book, but I probably will just to see if the plot will actually emerge now. At this point, however, I'm not feeling confident about it.
Unfortunately, it wasn't smooth sailing, this book and I (get it? SAILING? ... okay you probably don't get the pun, but more than half of this book was spent in a ship wandering the seas sooo... yeah...). Forget the fact that it's set in the same universe as The Assassin's Curse (which I threw in the DNF pile 15% in; sorry, Ananna, but you just tick me the heck off), it just left me feeling... empty and void, like I just consumed something that seemed terribly pointless. It's not a bad book per se; I reckon loyal fans of the author's writing would likely find it enjoyable. I, unfortunately, found it annoying and a wee bit boring.
And I am saying that mildly.
What's it about?
Hanna is a fisherwoman-in-training, her mentor being Kolur, a well-known fisherman. While she toils left and right to catch swimming creatures, what she really wants is to be a Witch, especially since she has a strong affinity with the Wind. She can summon and command it to do her bidding, a feat proven useful when sailing the high seas. She, however keeps this tidbit to herself.
One day, she was summoned by her Master to go fishing, which usually lasts for 2-5 days. What was supposed to be a simply fishing trip drastically changed when bones of fortune-telling were thrown and a magical force whisked them off -course, and the next thing Hanna knew she was a long ways from home. Another Witch, one who had a strong affinity with BOTH the wind and the sea , soon joined them, off to join her Master do an "errand" he decided on a whim, to lands beyond her wildest imagination.
That is, if the creatures of the Mists don't get to them first...
Dun dun duuuun...
Well?! How was it?
Dull. Amazingly dull.
Is this surprising? It sure was to me. For such a wonderful cover that pretty much skyrocketed my expectations, I had thought there to be some action, some adventure, heck, maybe some plot. But what I got was a book about a snarky and rude teenager (who kept on throwing sarcasm at her Master and another dude who didn't really deserve it rawr) riding the seas for more than 50% of the book. It wouldn't have been so bad if the plot kept on going, but our long, arduous voyage aboard the Penelope was just full of her repetitive thoughts and action. She'd fix the sails, look at the sea, sleep in the cabin, call on the wind, glare at her Cap'n, throw a snarky comment, gaze at the sea again, fix the sails, call on the wind, sleep in the cabin, rinse repeat wash with Mr. Clean ten times over.
IT. WAS. SO. EXHAUSTING.
Of course, some may argue that there were some "events" that transpired in the book. Like, come on, they got whisked away by something! Something got on their deck! They got washed ashore somewhere! I acknowledge all those, but honestly, these were just little details (and I guess Hanna had to do something else aside from fixing the sails) and the overall "plot" was just useless, in my very humble opinion. It pretty much just comprised of her trying to be convinced by someone to do something 95% of the book, and her agreeing to do it at the very end.
It's not that it was bad, it's just that half of the book felt so meaningless, like, is-this-part-even-necessary meaningless. It didn't feel like there were any direction at all. Not to mention, so much of the book were about Hanna's actions. I mean, I love her internal narration that talked about HER (and I mean the REAL her), every time the book decided to insert some. She may have come across initially as an entitled nitwit who thought the world revolved around her but I eventually grew to like her and even understood her frustrations. But the overall goal of this book could have been met halfway, if not for the unnecessary step-by-step description of the characters' doings. So, yes, forgive me for saying it, but if those exhausting repetition were cut off, I'm pretty sure we could have inserted more plot here aside from her finally agreeing to something she vehemently didn't want to do for, um, pretty much the majority of the book.
I do like the world-building, so there's that. It's an interesting world where magic comes naturally and is part of nature. I liked how even though magic is rampant, it's not something that's easily abused to gain an advantage over others. I also liked how it's used for simple tasks: calling the wind to sail to a particular direction, summoning a bit of fire to warm the people on a chilly day, casting preservation charms on freshly-caught fish or protection charms to shield you from harmful external forces. I liked it a lot. It's just too bad some annoying factors greatly overshadowed this aspect.
Overall...
Well, it was a disappointing read. I probably should've expected it, given I wasn't impressed with The Assassin's Curse, but I was really hoping and praying to the high heavens that this experience would be different. Unfortunately, the writing, pacing, and "plot" of this book left me feeling empty and bored out of my mind, to the point that it felt like it was raining inside my head. I'm not certain whether or not I'll read the next book, but I probably will just to see if the plot will actually emerge now. At this point, however, I'm not feeling confident about it.
September 1, 2014
Seventeen years old Hanna wants to be a proper witch but she is stuck as a fisherman’s apprentice. Bemoaning the tedium of her life, she is sure nothing interesting is ever going to happen to her. When she and her master Kolur embark on their regular fishing run, she expects the routine to continue. Even after a magical storm blows their ship, Penelope, towards a remote island, she has no clue.
Then instead of sailing back home, Kolur points his ship in the opposite direction without explaining anything to his apprentice. He also picks up a trained witch to help him maintain course and perform other magical tasks. With no way home, Hanna has no choice but to accompany her secretive master on his mysterious errand.
Nobody talks to her, neither Kolur nor his witch. One night, stewing in frustration and longing for answers, Hanna meets a strange magical merman who seems to be following the ship. Unlike Kolur, the merman talks to Hanna but he speaks in riddles. He spouts vague warnings of danger and mayhem, caused be the otherwordly evil Mists, and professes his readiness to help Hanna. He doesn’t give straight answers to any of her questions either.
Hanna is mad at them all, especially at Kolur for abusing her trust. This irritating situation continues for half the book, while Hanna fumes and collects disjointed snatches of information to make informed decisions. The plot moves as slowly as Hanna’s life at sea, but the tension soars. Nothing happens, but something will and soon. And the reader keeps waiting for the break in monotony, until another magical storm shipwrecks Penelope in a distant land.
Finally Hanna abandons her master: he doesn’t deserve her loyalty. Because of his idiotic mission she has stumbled into an unscheduled and hazardous adventure, and she doesn’t like it one bit. It’s cold, wet, and life-threatening. All she wants is to get back home. Unfortunately, she can’t. Out of options, she finds a job at another fishing boat and hopes to save enough money one day to return home. But her adventure is not nearly complete. Kolur’s unwise actions unleashed terrible perils and magical monsters, and they target her and her new friends. In the end, she would have to fight the villains, no matter how unwilling she is.
The story is a classical case of a reluctant hero, but this book is only the beginning of Hanna’s journey. As soon as she says Yes to her adventure, the book ends. No surprise I hate cliffhangers.
The protagonist is controversial. On one hand, her heart is in the right place. She helps her friends whenever they need her, even risks her life, when necessary. On the other hand, she is whiny. She weeps a lot – tears are her signature reaction to any distress. She is as unlikely a hero as you could get, but what is a girl to do in her situation? She doesn’t know where her boss is taking her, for what reasons, or for how long, and not for lack of trying to squeeze the answers out of the old sailor. When belligerent magic breaks their ship, he still wouldn’t say a word. He seems to keep her ignorant out of a misguided wish to protect her. But ignorance doesn’t protect anyone. Only knowledge gives power.
I came to hate Kolur’s guts together with Hanna – for his dratted silence and his multiple lies and evasions – and I did sympathize with Hanna’s trials, but to tell the truth, I’m not sure I want to read her next story. I couldn’t bond with her.
I will read other books by this author though. The writing was excellent.
Then instead of sailing back home, Kolur points his ship in the opposite direction without explaining anything to his apprentice. He also picks up a trained witch to help him maintain course and perform other magical tasks. With no way home, Hanna has no choice but to accompany her secretive master on his mysterious errand.
Nobody talks to her, neither Kolur nor his witch. One night, stewing in frustration and longing for answers, Hanna meets a strange magical merman who seems to be following the ship. Unlike Kolur, the merman talks to Hanna but he speaks in riddles. He spouts vague warnings of danger and mayhem, caused be the otherwordly evil Mists, and professes his readiness to help Hanna. He doesn’t give straight answers to any of her questions either.
Hanna is mad at them all, especially at Kolur for abusing her trust. This irritating situation continues for half the book, while Hanna fumes and collects disjointed snatches of information to make informed decisions. The plot moves as slowly as Hanna’s life at sea, but the tension soars. Nothing happens, but something will and soon. And the reader keeps waiting for the break in monotony, until another magical storm shipwrecks Penelope in a distant land.
Finally Hanna abandons her master: he doesn’t deserve her loyalty. Because of his idiotic mission she has stumbled into an unscheduled and hazardous adventure, and she doesn’t like it one bit. It’s cold, wet, and life-threatening. All she wants is to get back home. Unfortunately, she can’t. Out of options, she finds a job at another fishing boat and hopes to save enough money one day to return home. But her adventure is not nearly complete. Kolur’s unwise actions unleashed terrible perils and magical monsters, and they target her and her new friends. In the end, she would have to fight the villains, no matter how unwilling she is.
The story is a classical case of a reluctant hero, but this book is only the beginning of Hanna’s journey. As soon as she says Yes to her adventure, the book ends. No surprise I hate cliffhangers.
The protagonist is controversial. On one hand, her heart is in the right place. She helps her friends whenever they need her, even risks her life, when necessary. On the other hand, she is whiny. She weeps a lot – tears are her signature reaction to any distress. She is as unlikely a hero as you could get, but what is a girl to do in her situation? She doesn’t know where her boss is taking her, for what reasons, or for how long, and not for lack of trying to squeeze the answers out of the old sailor. When belligerent magic breaks their ship, he still wouldn’t say a word. He seems to keep her ignorant out of a misguided wish to protect her. But ignorance doesn’t protect anyone. Only knowledge gives power.
I came to hate Kolur’s guts together with Hanna – for his dratted silence and his multiple lies and evasions – and I did sympathize with Hanna’s trials, but to tell the truth, I’m not sure I want to read her next story. I couldn’t bond with her.
I will read other books by this author though. The writing was excellent.
May 5, 2014
Initial Thoughts: While I enjoyed this book, it didn't have the same impression upon me as the author's earlier books The Assassin's Curse and The Pirate's Wish. I felt frustrated for the main character who was led on a wild goose chase without anyone telling her why she had to go.
The Review:
I picked up The Wizard’s Promise because I’ve enjoyed other books by this author and this book takes place in the same world as The Assassin’s Curse and The Pirate’s Wish. In fact, the main character Hanna is named after Ananna and Hannah’s mother sailed with her as well. So much for the background. This is a very different story and while I enjoyed the fantasy world aspect, it really did not wow me like its predecessors.
Back to Hannah. Hannah is a fisherman (fisherwoman?). Her dream is to become a powerful witch. Hannah has some power – she can control the wind and is therefore useful on board a fishing boat. Hannah reluctantly goes on a fishing trip with Kolur who promises to bring her home as soon as possible. Hannah is therefore surprised to find out that the trip is not going as planned and that they have voyaged far from home. To makes matters worse, Kolur is being very secretive and does not give Hannah any information about where they are going or why. Also on board the ship is Frida a powerful sea witch. She too does not tell Hannah anything.
This is where the book drove me crazy. Hannah is carted around from island to island, each time getting further and further from home, with absolutely no way to return on her own. At no time is she told the purpose of their mission (it certainly can’t be a fishing trip). I found myself just as frustrated with the story line as Hannah.
Despite its shortcomings, I still enjoyed The Wizard’s Promise and I look forward to reading more books by this author in the future.
Thank you to NetGalley and Strange Chemistry for a review copy of this book.
The Review:
I picked up The Wizard’s Promise because I’ve enjoyed other books by this author and this book takes place in the same world as The Assassin’s Curse and The Pirate’s Wish. In fact, the main character Hanna is named after Ananna and Hannah’s mother sailed with her as well. So much for the background. This is a very different story and while I enjoyed the fantasy world aspect, it really did not wow me like its predecessors.
Back to Hannah. Hannah is a fisherman (fisherwoman?). Her dream is to become a powerful witch. Hannah has some power – she can control the wind and is therefore useful on board a fishing boat. Hannah reluctantly goes on a fishing trip with Kolur who promises to bring her home as soon as possible. Hannah is therefore surprised to find out that the trip is not going as planned and that they have voyaged far from home. To makes matters worse, Kolur is being very secretive and does not give Hannah any information about where they are going or why. Also on board the ship is Frida a powerful sea witch. She too does not tell Hannah anything.
This is where the book drove me crazy. Hannah is carted around from island to island, each time getting further and further from home, with absolutely no way to return on her own. At no time is she told the purpose of their mission (it certainly can’t be a fishing trip). I found myself just as frustrated with the story line as Hannah.
“No one would tell me the truth. And I was sick of it, sick of being a puppet they pushed around whenever they needed.“This is not to say that the book is bad. After all, it does take place in the same magical world as The Assassin’s Curse. The magic is still intriguing and the magical creatures were unique. It just lacked some of the spark of the previous books. If you have not yet had a chance to read any books by Cassandra Rose Clarke, I would suggest starting off with The Assassin’s Curse.
Despite its shortcomings, I still enjoyed The Wizard’s Promise and I look forward to reading more books by this author in the future.
Thank you to NetGalley and Strange Chemistry for a review copy of this book.
January 1, 2015
Actual rating: 3.5 stars
Don't miss Cassandra Rose Clarke's guest post about Magical Systems!!!
ARC provided by Strange Chemistry through Netgalley
Hanna Euli grew up listening to wondrous stories of the adventures of Ananna, the great pirate queen with whom her mother had sailed before settling down with her father.
An apprentice to Kolur, a fisherman, Hanna dreams of being a witch. Possessing a special affinity with the south wind, Hanna keeps practising her spells during her free time, between hauling the day's catch and tending to the sails of the Penelope, Kolur's boat.
When the Penelope gets caught in a storm and thrown off course, Hanna starts suspecting Kolur is more than the mere fisherman he claims to be. Especially when he brings Frida, a witch from his mysterious past, on board of the Penelope.
But trouble is just starting for Hanna, who finds herself being followed by an ethereally beautiful... merboy?
Having absolutely loved Cassandra Rose Clarke's The Assassin's Curse duology (it made it into my Best Reads of 2013 list), I was delighted to discover I wouldn't have to leave that series' universe just yet!
Though different from Ananna, I loved Hanna just as dearly.
Ananna was more impulsive, her life was pretty adventurous before The Assassin's Curse's events, what with her being a pirate's daughter.
Hanna was easier to relate to: her life is mundane. There is a set and dull fate she is expected to take. But she never gives up, she doesn't just set aside the banality of everyday life for a great adventure, we see her make time within her ordinary life, to train so she can achieve the extraordinary things she wants. We need more characters like her in YA!
And then there is Isolfr, the merboy... or perhaps not a merboy, but not quite human - who came from a palace in the sky. He was interesting, but all the effort that went to keep everything so mysterious meant his relationship with Hanna didn't feel as strong as it should have been...
I didn't like how we, along with Hanna, were kept in the dark for most of the book. The Mists never really felt threatening enough to warrant the slow pace. As a reader, instead of feeling more engaged with the story, I felt more and more disconnected from it.
Perhaps that was what I felt was missing in The Wizard's Promise. I wasn't as invested in the story. While the whole atmosphere felt right in The Assassin's Curse, whether the characters were in the desert, an enchanted island, or at sea - in The Wizard's Promise I never really felt there with them. It lacked that... spark - I don't have another word for it - that made The Assassin's Curse books shine so brightly.
Then again, I remember raising The Assassin's Curse's rating after I read The Pirate's Wish... Perhaps Cassandra Rose Clarke's duologies are meant to be read as one single work, and a reader never fully appreciates the first one until having finished the second? We shall see!
It's still a delightful book, and I certainly cannot wait to get my hands on The Nobleman’s Revenge. So, if you're a fan of Cassandra Rose Clarke's writing, do not miss this book!
March 26, 2014
part of me will always be impressed by cassandra rose clarke’s novels and “the mad scientist’s daughter” will forever and ever occupy a part of my heart.
so, let’s get to the book, now, shall we?
set in the same world as “the assassin’s curse” our heroine hanna, is the daughter of a former pirate and fisherman but with aspirations to be a proper witch. under the tutelage of kolure, one very grouchy fisherman, who is following his own agenda she has to push through all kinds of obstacles including saving herself, help a non-human boy, prevent evil to spread and find a way back.
after the first few chapters you can already see some character similarities between hanna and ananna. a little ignorance, a pinch of anger and the always underlying ambition to make their dreams come true. scrolling through other reviews both the goodreads and non-goodreads variety, makes me realize that most people thought that “the wizard’s promise” lacked a special something and they wanted this hole to be filled. more worldbuilding, a greater level of characterization, tense action or at least less repetitiveness and focus on some daily activities.
in some ways i certainly did too, because as a reader i tend to expect more of an author whose books made it to my all-time-favorite shelf and keep their level of awesomeness to increase with every new book, which is strictly speaking doing both the author and me a disservice.
and you know what?
i’ve read too many bad books and this is definitely not one of them. i have this niggling feeling that after reading the not-yet-released sequel that my mind shall be appeased and that is quite enough for me, till cassandra rose clarke releases her next adult novel.
this e-arc has been kindly proved by strange chemistry through netgalley!
June 18, 2017
Review: The Wizard's Promise by Cassandra Rose Clark All Hanna Euli wants is to become a proper witch – but unfortunately, she’s stuck as an apprentice to a grumpy fisherman. When their boat gets caught up in a mysterious storm and blown wildly off course, Hanna finds herself further away from home than she’s ever been before.As she tries to get back, she learns there may be more to her apprentice master than she realized, especially when a mysterious, beautiful, and very non-human boy begins following her through the ocean, claiming that he needs Hanna’s help.
This is the first book I've read by Cassandra Rose Clark and honestly the only reason why I was intrigued to read this one is b/c of her previous books and well....because of it's cover.
I mean... It's pretty damn wicked!
Sadly. I can not say the same about this story!!!
I didn't think it was horrible by any means. It is, however, slow....
Though the world building was done very well, I felt that the characters lacked any depth. The ideas and plot of the story was interesting, just not executed well enough.
My advice for anyone who's going to read this book: make sure you have patience.
This arc was provided by the Publishers via NetGalley for my honest review!
This is the first book I've read by Cassandra Rose Clark and honestly the only reason why I was intrigued to read this one is b/c of her previous books and well....because of it's cover.
I mean... It's pretty damn wicked!
Sadly. I can not say the same about this story!!!
I didn't think it was horrible by any means. It is, however, slow....
Though the world building was done very well, I felt that the characters lacked any depth. The ideas and plot of the story was interesting, just not executed well enough.
My advice for anyone who's going to read this book: make sure you have patience.
This arc was provided by the Publishers via NetGalley for my honest review!
July 10, 2017
Perhaps if I had of read The Assassins Curse duology before I read The Wizards Promise, I would have understood things a little better? I didn't realize that this was a spin off continuation of another duology, and so I felt this book was lacking A LOT of backstory to the magical history of their world which was probably explained in The Assassins Curse. Anyway, I quite liked The Wizards Promise, I thought it was fun and it gave me the warm fuzzies. I really liked Hanna- she felt like a very real characters and her mood swings and emotional responses to most situations in the book were spot on! Especially her outbursts of anger.
Isolfr (I can't pronounce his name correctly which is frustrating) is not a mermaid as I first thought, and that was a little bit of a disappointment... BUT alas, I did like this book. 3 simple stars.
Isolfr (I can't pronounce his name correctly which is frustrating) is not a mermaid as I first thought, and that was a little bit of a disappointment... BUT alas, I did like this book. 3 simple stars.
March 10, 2018
“I am a coward. That’s why I need you. Because you’re brave.”
3,5 Stars!
I really enjoyed this book, I loved The Assassin’s Curse and I thought it would be a good idea to read this book. I do have to say that you should read the Assassin’s Curse before reading this one, because it does contain some spoilers and you might not understand some parts of this book.
The character of Hanna was really interesting and I loved how unlike any other protagonist she is. She is no Hero and just wants to be a witch and live a normal(ish) life. Her interactions were just as interesting and overall I am excited to see how book 2 will play out.
I do think it was slow at times, but not too tedious. All in all a good read!
March 23, 2014
Hanna wants nothing more than to become a full fledged wind witch. But for the time being, she's stuck being an apprentice on Kojur's fishing boat. What was supposed to be a quick 3 day trip turns into an adventure (kidnapping) north. You see, Kojur, as it turns out, has secrets. (Don't we all.) Secrets that make him decide to take (kidnap, force) Hanna to stay with him and sail north without any information or promise of safety. They pick up another witch who also has, wait for it, secrets! This adventure (kidnapping) continues and we meet a very beautiful, very cowardly, young man who desperately needs Hanna's help but, of course, he has.... wait for it.... secrets and can't explain a damn thing to Hanna.
I hate to say how disappointed I am in this book. I completely loved The Assassin's Curse duology. I was hoping this story, set in the same world just a generation later, would be equally as wonderful. It's lacking something, I'm not sure what, but it's what made The Assassin's Curse special to me. Hanna was likeable, a bit brave and certainly makes the best of her unfortunate situation (kidnapping). I'm not sure if I was supposed to like any other characters because I didn't. I didn't like a single supporting character. They were dull, predictable and frustrating. Every conversation Hanna has with someone gets cut off abruptly or is ended because they refuse to answer her questions. I understand the need to create a mystery but this was ridiculous. The very few answers we do get were the ones that were so obvious from the beginning that you want to bop Hanna on the forehead and say DUH. The Big Bad is dull, so far at least.
It isn't all bad though. I do love the way Rose Clarke writes. The magic system she creates is intriguing and believable. As I said before, I liked Hanna well enough so I will give the sequel a chance in the hopes that it will redeem this story.
Thank you, Netgalley, for letting me read this in exchange for an honest review.
I hate to say how disappointed I am in this book. I completely loved The Assassin's Curse duology. I was hoping this story, set in the same world just a generation later, would be equally as wonderful. It's lacking something, I'm not sure what, but it's what made The Assassin's Curse special to me. Hanna was likeable, a bit brave and certainly makes the best of her unfortunate situation (kidnapping). I'm not sure if I was supposed to like any other characters because I didn't. I didn't like a single supporting character. They were dull, predictable and frustrating. Every conversation Hanna has with someone gets cut off abruptly or is ended because they refuse to answer her questions. I understand the need to create a mystery but this was ridiculous. The very few answers we do get were the ones that were so obvious from the beginning that you want to bop Hanna on the forehead and say DUH. The Big Bad is dull, so far at least.
It isn't all bad though. I do love the way Rose Clarke writes. The magic system she creates is intriguing and believable. As I said before, I liked Hanna well enough so I will give the sequel a chance in the hopes that it will redeem this story.
Thank you, Netgalley, for letting me read this in exchange for an honest review.
April 26, 2014
I like Cassandra Rose Clarke a lot, and although her YA books aren't as good (to my mind, anyway) as The Mad Scientist's Daughter, they're enjoyable. She creates interesting worlds that aren't your typical run of the mill fantasy worlds, with female characters at the centre who aren't limited in any way by silly sexism carried over from our world. We get several female characters, of varying importance, who do the same sorts of things as the men of their world, which is refreshing.
Some of the comments about the slowness of this plot are kinda justified, I think. It's just awkward when your plot depends on a major character basically kidnapping another and sweeping them off into lands unknown and a fair amount of danger, without telling them anything about it. It's hard for me to sympathise with Kolur, on those grounds, and Hanna's entirely right to be pissed about the way he swept her off and his motives for doing so, to my mind. It's not even entirely clear why he kept Hanna on board instead of just finding a way to send her home.
Isolfr is an interesting character in terms of what he is, but we don't really see enough of him yet. I'll be interested to see how he develops in the next book. I was actually a bigger fan of the husband and wife couple, Finnur and Asbera: they were good friends, understanding and accepting, and they had a strength and sweetness together that seemed entirely natural.
Overall, I enjoyed this, and will definitely read the second one when it's available. And I, uh, need to catch up and read The Pirate's Wish, ASAP.
Some of the comments about the slowness of this plot are kinda justified, I think. It's just awkward when your plot depends on a major character basically kidnapping another and sweeping them off into lands unknown and a fair amount of danger, without telling them anything about it. It's hard for me to sympathise with Kolur, on those grounds, and Hanna's entirely right to be pissed about the way he swept her off and his motives for doing so, to my mind. It's not even entirely clear why he kept Hanna on board instead of just finding a way to send her home.
Isolfr is an interesting character in terms of what he is, but we don't really see enough of him yet. I'll be interested to see how he develops in the next book. I was actually a bigger fan of the husband and wife couple, Finnur and Asbera: they were good friends, understanding and accepting, and they had a strength and sweetness together that seemed entirely natural.
Overall, I enjoyed this, and will definitely read the second one when it's available. And I, uh, need to catch up and read The Pirate's Wish, ASAP.
September 17, 2014
It has my name in it. OF COURSE I HAVE TO READ IT.
Kidding. Sort of.
I adored the author's previous duology, but unfortunately The Wizard's Promise didn't quite measure up.
Make no mistake, I still enjoyed it - strong female characters, action and adventure, magic and mayhem. I also love the way the author captures life at sea, and the moods of the ocean.
I did get quite annoyed that the main character was kept in the dark for so long, particularly when withholding information put her life in danger. Not cool.
There was just something missing from this book that prevented me from loving this as much as the pirate duology - that spark of magic, if you will. (pardon the pun)
Kidding. Sort of.
I adored the author's previous duology, but unfortunately The Wizard's Promise didn't quite measure up.
Make no mistake, I still enjoyed it - strong female characters, action and adventure, magic and mayhem. I also love the way the author captures life at sea, and the moods of the ocean.
I did get quite annoyed that the main character was kept in the dark for so long, particularly when withholding information put her life in danger. Not cool.
There was just something missing from this book that prevented me from loving this as much as the pirate duology - that spark of magic, if you will. (pardon the pun)
July 30, 2023
As a big fan of Magic of Blood and Sea, this book was so disappointing. It was slow, boring, and extremely extremely vague. I find it super annoying when the author won’t give any information to the readers.
I had no reason to care about the characters, there was nothing that connected me to them. The main character Hanna is unfortunately very bland and boring. I get that she’s supposed to be “a simple girl”, but that’s not exciting enough for a fantasy and adventure book.
I had no reason to care about the characters, there was nothing that connected me to them. The main character Hanna is unfortunately very bland and boring. I get that she’s supposed to be “a simple girl”, but that’s not exciting enough for a fantasy and adventure book.
May 8, 2014
The Wizard’s Promise by Cassandra Rose Clarke is the first in a new duology set in the same world as The Assassin’s Curse and The Pirate’s Wish. The Wizard’s Promise tells the story of a young witch named Hanna who finds herself thrown into the dangerous world of the Mists despite every attempt she makes to just get home. While Hanna had always been hoping for adventure, this wasn’t exactly how she planned it, though it never is ;-). Hanna’s mother served on the pirate ship of a certain pirate queen that might sound familiar to you if you read the previous duology, but you don’t need that background to enjoy The Wizard’s Promise. You just might feel compelled to go read the other books after finishing, hehe.
Note: I received The Wizard’s Promise through Netgalley for an honest review. Some things may have changed in the final version.
The Wizard's Promise by Cassandra Rose Clarke (The Hanna Duology #1)
Published by Strange Chemistry on May 6th, 2014
Genres: Fantasy, YA
Length: 329 pages
How I got my copy: NetGalley
All Hanna Euli wants is to become a proper witch – but unfortunately, she’s stuck as an apprentice to a grumpy fisherman. When their boat gets caught up in a mysterious storm and blown wildly off course, Hanna finds herself further away from home than she’s ever been before.
As she tries to get back, she learns there may be more to her apprentice master than she realized, especially when a mysterious, beautiful, and very non-human boy begins following her through the ocean, claiming that he needs Hanna’s help.
Strengths:
The Wizard’s Promise introduces us to Hanna, whose mother served on a pirate ship before falling for an islander and settling in the northern islands. Hanna is a witch in training and a really fun main character. She’s one of those MC’s that I wish I could be friends with and not just so she would teach me her witchy powers ;-).
We got brief glimpses of magic in the previous series, but in The Wizard’s Promise we find out about how the human magic works first hand. Hanna has an affinity with the wind, she thinks the south wind to be specific, haha. Wind magic is pretty cool and useful when you are a fisherwoman in training :D. I like that the magic system in this world is similar to the typical four elements, but adds in ingredients and other complications to keep things interesting.
I’m happy to report that you don’t need to read the previous series before this one, since The Wizard’s Promise takes place a generation after the first series. However, it is a lot of fun to catch references to events I read about previously, so The Wizard’s Promise is definitely enriched by the previous series. I think it would be a lot of fun to go in the other direction as well though, with the caveat that you’ll spoil a few minor/obvious things for yourself.
Given how much we heard about how spooky and dangerous the northern islands are in the previous books, it was so much fun to get to see them finally! The Wizard’s Promise definitely has a bit of a spooky atmosphere to it because of this awesome setting, though we also get a well-rounded view of the different cultures that are lumped together by outsiders.
Weaknesses:
I feel like I say this with every Strange Chemistry book, but like the previous series, The Wizard’s Promise had a bit of a wandering plot. You think you know where things are going, but then they don’t really end up there. I couldn’t honestly tell you what the main plot of The Wizard’s Promise is besides Hanna just reacting to events and trying to stay alive/get home, though that doesn’t really work since there wasn’t much of a resolution on that front….
Overall The Wizard’s Promise very much felt like a setup for the second book both because of the previous point of just getting Hanna to the northern reaches and because of the cliffhanger. I’m not dying to find out what happens next, but I feel a bit unsatisfied.
The Wizard’s Promise is a bit awkwardly similar to The Assassin’s Curse in that it is about a special girl meeting and eventually helping a magical guy who she might have feelings for. Sound familiar?
Summary:
The Wizard’s Promise introduces a great new set of characters and setting within the same world as The Assassin’s Curse. It’s a lot of fun to get to explore new areas while also hearing stories about the characters we loved previously. Hanna and her magic are quite enjoyable to read about, and as long as you don’t die from lack of closure, you’ll probably enjoy The Wizard’s Promise as much as you did The Assassin’s Curse (whether positive or negative).
Note: I received The Wizard’s Promise through Netgalley for an honest review. Some things may have changed in the final version.
The Wizard's Promise by Cassandra Rose Clarke (The Hanna Duology #1)
Published by Strange Chemistry on May 6th, 2014
Genres: Fantasy, YA
Length: 329 pages
How I got my copy: NetGalley
All Hanna Euli wants is to become a proper witch – but unfortunately, she’s stuck as an apprentice to a grumpy fisherman. When their boat gets caught up in a mysterious storm and blown wildly off course, Hanna finds herself further away from home than she’s ever been before.
As she tries to get back, she learns there may be more to her apprentice master than she realized, especially when a mysterious, beautiful, and very non-human boy begins following her through the ocean, claiming that he needs Hanna’s help.
Strengths:
The Wizard’s Promise introduces us to Hanna, whose mother served on a pirate ship before falling for an islander and settling in the northern islands. Hanna is a witch in training and a really fun main character. She’s one of those MC’s that I wish I could be friends with and not just so she would teach me her witchy powers ;-).
We got brief glimpses of magic in the previous series, but in The Wizard’s Promise we find out about how the human magic works first hand. Hanna has an affinity with the wind, she thinks the south wind to be specific, haha. Wind magic is pretty cool and useful when you are a fisherwoman in training :D. I like that the magic system in this world is similar to the typical four elements, but adds in ingredients and other complications to keep things interesting.
I’m happy to report that you don’t need to read the previous series before this one, since The Wizard’s Promise takes place a generation after the first series. However, it is a lot of fun to catch references to events I read about previously, so The Wizard’s Promise is definitely enriched by the previous series. I think it would be a lot of fun to go in the other direction as well though, with the caveat that you’ll spoil a few minor/obvious things for yourself.
Given how much we heard about how spooky and dangerous the northern islands are in the previous books, it was so much fun to get to see them finally! The Wizard’s Promise definitely has a bit of a spooky atmosphere to it because of this awesome setting, though we also get a well-rounded view of the different cultures that are lumped together by outsiders.
Weaknesses:
I feel like I say this with every Strange Chemistry book, but like the previous series, The Wizard’s Promise had a bit of a wandering plot. You think you know where things are going, but then they don’t really end up there. I couldn’t honestly tell you what the main plot of The Wizard’s Promise is besides Hanna just reacting to events and trying to stay alive/get home, though that doesn’t really work since there wasn’t much of a resolution on that front….
Overall The Wizard’s Promise very much felt like a setup for the second book both because of the previous point of just getting Hanna to the northern reaches and because of the cliffhanger. I’m not dying to find out what happens next, but I feel a bit unsatisfied.
The Wizard’s Promise is a bit awkwardly similar to The Assassin’s Curse in that it is about a special girl meeting and eventually helping a magical guy who she might have feelings for. Sound familiar?
Summary:
The Wizard’s Promise introduces a great new set of characters and setting within the same world as The Assassin’s Curse. It’s a lot of fun to get to explore new areas while also hearing stories about the characters we loved previously. Hanna and her magic are quite enjoyable to read about, and as long as you don’t die from lack of closure, you’ll probably enjoy The Wizard’s Promise as much as you did The Assassin’s Curse (whether positive or negative).
May 22, 2014
Cassandra Rose Clarke is a very talented author. She has the ability to create wonderful, fantastical worlds in far off places where magical adventures can unfold. I love the way she paints beautiful images with her words. Her use of adjectives is so impressive, in her book characters "scamper", items are "snatched" and objects are "perched", nothing is left absent of great description. These are the reason I wanted to read her latest book, The Wizard's Promise. This book is set in the same world at her other series The Assasin's Curse. It takes place mostly at sea. The main character Hannah is the daughter of the lead, Ananna of the Tanaru, in Cassandra's other series. Its written in a first person narrative in the voice of Hannah our young wind wielding heroine.
Hannah is a fisherman's apprentice. She aspires to much more, in fact one day she hopes to train to become a powerful sea witch. However for now she must settle for controlling the winds for a fisherman's boat, something which is far less appealing to Hannah. One day, on a regular fishing excursion, the boat's captain Kolur decides to toss some bones, a way people in that time predicted the future. What the bones reveal is a mystery to Hannah, but what follows is a one day fishing trip turns into a great adventure to faraway lands.
Hannah is a smart girl. She's brave and a touch mouthy. In fact many times she finds she bites her tongue. Part of her has always wanted an adventure. She's heard all of there mother's pirate stories and feels a bit cheated with her dull life. She has aspirations of becoming a sea witch someday. Her magic is just in its infancy. She's able to control the winds. I sort of liked Hannah. It was hard to totally enjoy her due to her situation. It made her sort of stand-offish and grumpy, even slightly whiney. I couldn't blame her though. I'd be quite peeved if I found myself in her predicament.
The side characters are plenty. Kolur is the fisherman who Hannah apprentices for. He's stern, but does seem to care about Hannah. I think it was extremely rude of him to put Hannah in the situation he forces her into, even though he does make valiant attempts to keep her safe. It would have been better if he would have just sent her home. (Then we wouldn't have a story, though.) Freda is an old sea witch who Kolur picks up along the way on his quest. I believe they are old friends. She's kind, but in a sketchy sort of way. She treats Hannah fairly, even sometimes teaching her a little about magic along the way. Then there is Isolfr. He's not human. It seems like he's a boy and many times he felt like a merman. In the end, we find out both are incorrect and what he turns out to be is not something easily guessed. For me, Isolfr was an annoying character because of his allusiveness and inability to tell Hannah what was going on. His evasiveness and speaking in circles, giving no information made me very impatient and the story slightly less enjoyable.
Like I mentioned above, writing is just beautiful in this one. Clarke is very talented in her word crafting. She never creates a dull sentence. However, unfortunely the plot in this one is lack luster and the characters are kinda blah. If anyone else was writing this story I probably would have stopped, but Clarke's writing is so magnificent I still found myself interested in an unconventional way. I just enjoy reading her prose.
Overall, I found The Wizard's Promise to be a somewhat entertaining read, the writing was phenomenal. I think the biggest problem I had with the story is that, especially in the beginning the book lacked any forward momentum. I just felt like it was just anchored in the seas. The book provided plenty of mundane details about the everyday lives of the characters, dropping no hints of what might be in store or what really was going on. I felt as frustrated and irritated alongside Hannah with the absence of information on where the story and boat for that matter were heading. Once the ship/story finally got going it did pick up and near the end there were some pretty action packed battles with magical storms, winds and sea monsters. However, the majority of the story was just a little too uneventful for my tastes.
In the end, the author does leave the story wide open for a whole new sub-set of possibilities. I'm totally hoping the conclusion of this duology will be much faster paced with a lot more action and plot building for me to really get excited about.
Hannah is a fisherman's apprentice. She aspires to much more, in fact one day she hopes to train to become a powerful sea witch. However for now she must settle for controlling the winds for a fisherman's boat, something which is far less appealing to Hannah. One day, on a regular fishing excursion, the boat's captain Kolur decides to toss some bones, a way people in that time predicted the future. What the bones reveal is a mystery to Hannah, but what follows is a one day fishing trip turns into a great adventure to faraway lands.
Hannah is a smart girl. She's brave and a touch mouthy. In fact many times she finds she bites her tongue. Part of her has always wanted an adventure. She's heard all of there mother's pirate stories and feels a bit cheated with her dull life. She has aspirations of becoming a sea witch someday. Her magic is just in its infancy. She's able to control the winds. I sort of liked Hannah. It was hard to totally enjoy her due to her situation. It made her sort of stand-offish and grumpy, even slightly whiney. I couldn't blame her though. I'd be quite peeved if I found myself in her predicament.
The side characters are plenty. Kolur is the fisherman who Hannah apprentices for. He's stern, but does seem to care about Hannah. I think it was extremely rude of him to put Hannah in the situation he forces her into, even though he does make valiant attempts to keep her safe. It would have been better if he would have just sent her home. (Then we wouldn't have a story, though.) Freda is an old sea witch who Kolur picks up along the way on his quest. I believe they are old friends. She's kind, but in a sketchy sort of way. She treats Hannah fairly, even sometimes teaching her a little about magic along the way. Then there is Isolfr. He's not human. It seems like he's a boy and many times he felt like a merman. In the end, we find out both are incorrect and what he turns out to be is not something easily guessed. For me, Isolfr was an annoying character because of his allusiveness and inability to tell Hannah what was going on. His evasiveness and speaking in circles, giving no information made me very impatient and the story slightly less enjoyable.
Like I mentioned above, writing is just beautiful in this one. Clarke is very talented in her word crafting. She never creates a dull sentence. However, unfortunely the plot in this one is lack luster and the characters are kinda blah. If anyone else was writing this story I probably would have stopped, but Clarke's writing is so magnificent I still found myself interested in an unconventional way. I just enjoy reading her prose.
Overall, I found The Wizard's Promise to be a somewhat entertaining read, the writing was phenomenal. I think the biggest problem I had with the story is that, especially in the beginning the book lacked any forward momentum. I just felt like it was just anchored in the seas. The book provided plenty of mundane details about the everyday lives of the characters, dropping no hints of what might be in store or what really was going on. I felt as frustrated and irritated alongside Hannah with the absence of information on where the story and boat for that matter were heading. Once the ship/story finally got going it did pick up and near the end there were some pretty action packed battles with magical storms, winds and sea monsters. However, the majority of the story was just a little too uneventful for my tastes.
In the end, the author does leave the story wide open for a whole new sub-set of possibilities. I'm totally hoping the conclusion of this duology will be much faster paced with a lot more action and plot building for me to really get excited about.
May 13, 2014
An advance copy of this novel was provided by the publisher in exchange for an honest review.
This review can also be found at The Starry-Eyed Revue.
I am a super-huge fan of Cassandra Rose Clarke's The Assassin's Curse duology. It's fast-paced and full of awesome characters -- some human and some not. I expected much of the same from this first book in the Hanna duology, especially with this series being set in the same world. But CRC managed to make Hanna's story completely different by setting it in the far north in a much colder climate and focusing more on magic this time around. You can read more about the author's world-building in this post for the blog tour for The Wizard's Promise.
Hanna intends to learn magic and avoid life as a fisherman, which she seems destined for at present. All Hanna's heard from her mother since she was young were stories of Annana's adventures. Hanna's mother actually sailed with Annana before starting her own family, and Hanna is actually named after Annana. So, you can see why Hanna has such wanderlust, why she's so keen on setting out on adventures of her own.
But when adventure does finally find Hanna, it's not quite what she was expecting. Nor was it what I was expecting. Whereas the previous books in this world had been quite fast-paced and full of action sequences, I found the setup for this series to be much more subdued and much slower. It felt like I was being kept in the dark right along with Hanna, and it was a bit frustrating at times. I can appreciate the slower build-up on this book because I'm already familiar with some of the intricacies of this world because of the earlier books, like life spent on the water, the magic, and the Mists. But I think the thing that really kept me going was the promise of an Annana/Naji cameo in the future. I'm intrigued by what's happening with Hanna and Isolfr, but as of right now, their story pales in comparison to that of Annana and Naji.
That's not to say that any of the characters are lacking; I just think that the chemistry isn't quite there yet. The potential for it is, though. All of the characters in this book are as well-rounded or as mysterious as they should be, though maybe Kolur and Frida should have been a little more forthcoming a little earlier on in the story to save everyone a bit of trouble. But probably the most impossible character to figure out was Isolfr, a) because he was supposed to be crazy mysterious and b) he didn't get near enough page-time for my liking, making him even more of an enigma. That's probably also why he ended up being my favorite character in this story. That and his terribly frustrating riddle-speak. I usually hate it when characters beat around the bush, but I'll make an exception for Isolfr.
The Wizard's Promise is an interesting reintroduction to this world but also a veritable launch into new aspects of this world I've already come to love so well. But that would be the launch of a ship at sea, not like the launch of a rocket into space. Truth be told, this felt like a world-building second book, but that just means the next will be full of action and answers. And I'm very much looking forward to discovering what the Mists are all about and what the future holds for Hanna.
GIF it to me straight:
This was me for much of the novel...but as with The Princess Bride, the ending is worth the wait.
This review can also be found at The Starry-Eyed Revue.
I am a super-huge fan of Cassandra Rose Clarke's The Assassin's Curse duology. It's fast-paced and full of awesome characters -- some human and some not. I expected much of the same from this first book in the Hanna duology, especially with this series being set in the same world. But CRC managed to make Hanna's story completely different by setting it in the far north in a much colder climate and focusing more on magic this time around. You can read more about the author's world-building in this post for the blog tour for The Wizard's Promise.
Hanna intends to learn magic and avoid life as a fisherman, which she seems destined for at present. All Hanna's heard from her mother since she was young were stories of Annana's adventures. Hanna's mother actually sailed with Annana before starting her own family, and Hanna is actually named after Annana. So, you can see why Hanna has such wanderlust, why she's so keen on setting out on adventures of her own.
But when adventure does finally find Hanna, it's not quite what she was expecting. Nor was it what I was expecting. Whereas the previous books in this world had been quite fast-paced and full of action sequences, I found the setup for this series to be much more subdued and much slower. It felt like I was being kept in the dark right along with Hanna, and it was a bit frustrating at times. I can appreciate the slower build-up on this book because I'm already familiar with some of the intricacies of this world because of the earlier books, like life spent on the water, the magic, and the Mists. But I think the thing that really kept me going was the promise of an Annana/Naji cameo in the future. I'm intrigued by what's happening with Hanna and Isolfr, but as of right now, their story pales in comparison to that of Annana and Naji.
That's not to say that any of the characters are lacking; I just think that the chemistry isn't quite there yet. The potential for it is, though. All of the characters in this book are as well-rounded or as mysterious as they should be, though maybe Kolur and Frida should have been a little more forthcoming a little earlier on in the story to save everyone a bit of trouble. But probably the most impossible character to figure out was Isolfr, a) because he was supposed to be crazy mysterious and b) he didn't get near enough page-time for my liking, making him even more of an enigma. That's probably also why he ended up being my favorite character in this story. That and his terribly frustrating riddle-speak. I usually hate it when characters beat around the bush, but I'll make an exception for Isolfr.
The Wizard's Promise is an interesting reintroduction to this world but also a veritable launch into new aspects of this world I've already come to love so well. But that would be the launch of a ship at sea, not like the launch of a rocket into space. Truth be told, this felt like a world-building second book, but that just means the next will be full of action and answers. And I'm very much looking forward to discovering what the Mists are all about and what the future holds for Hanna.
GIF it to me straight:
This was me for much of the novel...but as with The Princess Bride, the ending is worth the wait.
May 11, 2014
The Wizard's Promise is a typical Cassandra Rose Clarke book, filled with an imaginative world, an intriguing cast of characters and a lovely writing style. The mixed reviews that the book has received were a little off-putting, but I'm happy to say that I was very much involved in Hanna's story as Ananna's.
I'm always amazed by the creativity and imagination that Ms. Clarke clearly possesses. Her writing is vivid, bright and full of life, making you feel as though you are part of the story as well. The Wizard's Promise was no exception either. I loved this new world extended off the world from The Assassin's Curse series. We meet all sorts of creatures and islands that had me invested in this book. I'm especially intrigued by the Mists and I can't wait to learn more about these terrifying beings. I do admit that the plot was rather lacking in that almost nothing really happened for the first 75% or so of the book, but I was still able to immerse myself in the book because of the gorgeous writing and the fascinating world-building. It felt like a long introduction, with the author focusing more on fleshing out her world rather than focusing on the plot, but I didn't think it was dull for one moment.
Unlike The Assassin's Curse, the romance was quite disappointing because it was barely there. The love interest, or the person I assume is the love interest, Isolfr, doesn't play a huge role in the book because he has very little screen space, so it makes sense that the romance was not a pivotal point of the story, but I was still a little let down because I seem to enjoy YA fantasies more when they are peppered with some romantic elements.
Despite that though, I enjoyed the characters quite a bit, especially Hanna. She does get a little whiny with constantly complaining about wanting to go back home when her mentor and fisherman takes her to the northern islands without being open with her, but I completely understood where she was coming from. I would be a hypocrite to say that I didn't because I'm constantly complaining about wanting to go home too. She was heroine that I personally thought was easy to connect with. I felt for her and I loved watching her slowly grow and trying to work her best so she could return home to her family. I also liked some of the side characters, mainly Hanna's mentor, but I did wish we could have seen more of Isolfr. He was intriguing and I wanted to know more about him and his people. With the way the book ended, however, I'm convinced that all these things I want await me in the next installment of this duology.
While The Wizard's Promise is not the author's best work, in my opinion, it is a book that I think is worth reading. However, I believe that waiting for the next installment and reading them back to back would probably result in more readers enjoying it assuming that there is more of a plot in the next book. For me though, this was an entertaining read and I can't wait to set sail with Hanna in the next installment of this series.
August 4, 2014
Review also posted at Ja čitam, a ti?
The Assassin's Curse is one of those series I have been seeing around for years but I haven't gotten to read it just yet. So when I got the opportunity to be part of this tour I was over the moon. Now I see that I should have read the first series first but well I never do things in order anyway.
Here we meet Hanna, a young girls who has heard such amazing adventurous stories from her mother and adventures are all she dreams of while living in the small village and being trained by the wizard who doesn't even bother to show her any tricks. So when they set of for a relatively short journey she couldn't believe that a mysterious storm would blown them far away from everything the is used to. Once in unfamiliar land and with unfamiliar people she must find a way to go back on her own. On on the North the forces are much stronger than she dreamed of and her destiny might be different from what she thought.
Firstly Hanna is a girl I really liked. Her ability to find a way and fight on her own are something I highly admired. I can only assume that she got that from the other girl she got name from. Now we go back to The Assassin's Curse which I recommend you read first as this whole world would be more clear and you will easily travel from one place to another. But then again it'd not be the end of the world if you don't as this whole world will be more magical and unpredictable as it was for me. In some way, you win and lose something either way.
References for the previous series were something that didn't bother me. I had to put together the pieces of the map in my had like it was a puzzle and I enjoyed it. But other thing that bothered me is that some parts of this book were rather slow. Especially at the start which was the slowest part, till the mysterious storm hit which changed the course of the storytelling. I enjoyed vivid pictures and the mystery that surrounded the Mist.
All in all, enjoyable read and I will be waiting to read the sequel (probably I will read The Assassin's Curse in the meantime).
The Assassin's Curse is one of those series I have been seeing around for years but I haven't gotten to read it just yet. So when I got the opportunity to be part of this tour I was over the moon. Now I see that I should have read the first series first but well I never do things in order anyway.
Here we meet Hanna, a young girls who has heard such amazing adventurous stories from her mother and adventures are all she dreams of while living in the small village and being trained by the wizard who doesn't even bother to show her any tricks. So when they set of for a relatively short journey she couldn't believe that a mysterious storm would blown them far away from everything the is used to. Once in unfamiliar land and with unfamiliar people she must find a way to go back on her own. On on the North the forces are much stronger than she dreamed of and her destiny might be different from what she thought.
Firstly Hanna is a girl I really liked. Her ability to find a way and fight on her own are something I highly admired. I can only assume that she got that from the other girl she got name from. Now we go back to The Assassin's Curse which I recommend you read first as this whole world would be more clear and you will easily travel from one place to another. But then again it'd not be the end of the world if you don't as this whole world will be more magical and unpredictable as it was for me. In some way, you win and lose something either way.
References for the previous series were something that didn't bother me. I had to put together the pieces of the map in my had like it was a puzzle and I enjoyed it. But other thing that bothered me is that some parts of this book were rather slow. Especially at the start which was the slowest part, till the mysterious storm hit which changed the course of the storytelling. I enjoyed vivid pictures and the mystery that surrounded the Mist.
All in all, enjoyable read and I will be waiting to read the sequel (probably I will read The Assassin's Curse in the meantime).
May 6, 2014
*I received this book as an eARC from Angry Robot/Strange Chemistry on NetGalley in exchange for an honest review*
I really liked Cassandra Rose Clarke's other fantasy duology consisting of The Assassin's Curse and The Pirate's Wish. The world she created is full of interesting places and people. I love how the magic is such a mystery. In this first book in a new duology, magic is more at a forefront since the protagonist has some wind powers herself. I like the elemental nature of the magic and how complex it is. It's not a simple system. It's a system based on will and natural feel. It also uses many natural objects like bones and herbs.
There are many allusions to the original duology, but it isn't necessary to have read it. The protagonist shares our favorite pirate princess's name, but goes by Hanna instead of Ananna. I liked all the references. Hanna shares little with Ananna other than her name. She isn't a pirate. Instead she is working as a fisherman's apprentice, guiding the winds to their advantage. Ananna unwillingly finds her way on an adventure away from home.
I really enjoy an adventure on the high seas. Fantasy worlds that take place on island chairs are always so interesting. Clarke really did an excellent job world building, showing the differences in the different island cultures. I liked how common the people were. Royalty was only referenced.
The Mists are such an interesting otherworldly force. I can't wait to see where Hanna's adventure takes her in defending her world. After this duology, I really hope Clarke continues writing in this world. It reminds me of the Avatar: The Last Airbender series and its sequel series, The Legend of Korra.
I give this novel a 5/5 and highly recommend this series! The first duology gave me difficulties getting into at first with Ananna's unique vocabulary, but this whole series is definitely worth sticking with.
I really liked Cassandra Rose Clarke's other fantasy duology consisting of The Assassin's Curse and The Pirate's Wish. The world she created is full of interesting places and people. I love how the magic is such a mystery. In this first book in a new duology, magic is more at a forefront since the protagonist has some wind powers herself. I like the elemental nature of the magic and how complex it is. It's not a simple system. It's a system based on will and natural feel. It also uses many natural objects like bones and herbs.
There are many allusions to the original duology, but it isn't necessary to have read it. The protagonist shares our favorite pirate princess's name, but goes by Hanna instead of Ananna. I liked all the references. Hanna shares little with Ananna other than her name. She isn't a pirate. Instead she is working as a fisherman's apprentice, guiding the winds to their advantage. Ananna unwillingly finds her way on an adventure away from home.
I really enjoy an adventure on the high seas. Fantasy worlds that take place on island chairs are always so interesting. Clarke really did an excellent job world building, showing the differences in the different island cultures. I liked how common the people were. Royalty was only referenced.
The Mists are such an interesting otherworldly force. I can't wait to see where Hanna's adventure takes her in defending her world. After this duology, I really hope Clarke continues writing in this world. It reminds me of the Avatar: The Last Airbender series and its sequel series, The Legend of Korra.
I give this novel a 5/5 and highly recommend this series! The first duology gave me difficulties getting into at first with Ananna's unique vocabulary, but this whole series is definitely worth sticking with.
February 8, 2016
The first part in a companion duology to The Assassin’s Curse series, The Wizard’s Promise takes us far up north where it is icy and grim. Magically talented Hanna (named for Ananna, heroine of the The Assassin’s Curse series. A tenuous but important narrative link), daughter of dusky ex-pirate and an insular North Sea Norse archetype finds herself apprenticed to a dull fisherman. Or is she?
Do all YA heroines have to be a) explosively whiny b) blind to their own ability and c) easily duped? Perhaps not, but Hanna fits into the category. She’s yet another young heroine without the steering oar of self-determination, entirely at the tidal mercies of a plot where every character refrains from truthfulness for reasons of dramatic necessity. Hanna’s along for the ride as much as we are. Nice world, smooth writing, kickable heroine, it’s all a bit sub-Earthsea.
Do all YA heroines have to be a) explosively whiny b) blind to their own ability and c) easily duped? Perhaps not, but Hanna fits into the category. She’s yet another young heroine without the steering oar of self-determination, entirely at the tidal mercies of a plot where every character refrains from truthfulness for reasons of dramatic necessity. Hanna’s along for the ride as much as we are. Nice world, smooth writing, kickable heroine, it’s all a bit sub-Earthsea.
March 30, 2021
Sometimes when one of my absolute favorite authors/bands/games/whatever comes out with a sequel... I buy it and then sort of avoid it for years because I'm terrified that they've gone in some weird direction and I'll hate everything they've done to what was once my absolute favorite thing, and it'll end up tainting my opinion of the original.
I did that with this book. I never opened it. I'm finally reading it now and I absolutely love it. It is very different from Assassin's Curse, and honestly that's for the best. It has an entirely different narrator, living in an entirely different part of the world, something like twenty years after the first books were set. I can imagine some fans might not have appreciated that, but I greatly do. And I'm so excited to see another part of this fantasy world. It fills in so much of the lore of things that Annana only knew of as rumors and ideas.
I'm starting to savor it sloooowly because I'm now afraid it will be over too quickly, haha. I anxiously check my "percent read" thing in the kindle app, terrified it will move too fast.
One thing I will say is that unlike Assassin's Curse, which is a nonstop adventure story that constantly propels you through amazing thing after amazing thing... Wizard's Promise is a lot slower. As a protagonist, Hanna actively avoids adventure and wants to go home, whereas Annana was avoiding home and constantly moving on to the next thing. I can appreciate that, but also it makes the plot feel a little frustrating. There's this big mystery, big bad guy, crazy magic stuff... and then she goes "NOPE. Not doing that!" and spends weeks/months (it's vague) working on a fishing boat and befriending some villagers. It fits the character, but as a reader it's like... Um, can we get back to the fun stuff? I found her time with the villagers interesting becuase I was devouring the lore of that area as fast as I could, but were I editing this story, I would have urged her to cut that section short and return to the main plot a *lot* sooner instead of spending the whole second half of the book essentially avoiding the next main quest of the game to go level her fishing skill for hours on end.
(Technically I am reading Magic of Wind and Mist, which combines this with its sequel book, but I just finished The Wizard's Promise portion.)
I did that with this book. I never opened it. I'm finally reading it now and I absolutely love it. It is very different from Assassin's Curse, and honestly that's for the best. It has an entirely different narrator, living in an entirely different part of the world, something like twenty years after the first books were set. I can imagine some fans might not have appreciated that, but I greatly do. And I'm so excited to see another part of this fantasy world. It fills in so much of the lore of things that Annana only knew of as rumors and ideas.
I'm starting to savor it sloooowly because I'm now afraid it will be over too quickly, haha. I anxiously check my "percent read" thing in the kindle app, terrified it will move too fast.
One thing I will say is that unlike Assassin's Curse, which is a nonstop adventure story that constantly propels you through amazing thing after amazing thing... Wizard's Promise is a lot slower. As a protagonist, Hanna actively avoids adventure and wants to go home, whereas Annana was avoiding home and constantly moving on to the next thing. I can appreciate that, but also it makes the plot feel a little frustrating. There's this big mystery, big bad guy, crazy magic stuff... and then she goes "NOPE. Not doing that!" and spends weeks/months (it's vague) working on a fishing boat and befriending some villagers. It fits the character, but as a reader it's like... Um, can we get back to the fun stuff? I found her time with the villagers interesting becuase I was devouring the lore of that area as fast as I could, but were I editing this story, I would have urged her to cut that section short and return to the main plot a *lot* sooner instead of spending the whole second half of the book essentially avoiding the next main quest of the game to go level her fishing skill for hours on end.
(Technically I am reading Magic of Wind and Mist, which combines this with its sequel book, but I just finished The Wizard's Promise portion.)
September 21, 2014
Review at Smudged
I received a free copy of this book on netgalley in return for an honest review and quotes taken from this uncorrected version, subject to change in the final edition.
Cassandra Clarke should be giving half of her royalties to the book cover artist of this book. I get caught grabbing books off shelves and adding them to my “To Read” list on Goodreads based on covers all the time. Lately, I’ve fallen into a pit of despair based on these choices. There are a lot of really cool covers that blow me away with stories inside that are duds, to say the least. This is unfortunately one of those mistakes I made. I would say that 90% of this book is terribly boring and the other 10% is slightly interesting. It’s a shame that such a cool cover was wasted on this.
The Plot: Hanna is a fisherman’s apprentice who dreams of becoming a powerful witch. Her master (I think that’s what you would call an apprentice’s boss?), Kolur, drags Hanna on a short fishing trip. However, Hanna soon learns that this seemingly short trip has taken her farther from home than she has ever been with no visible ending point. Bewildered as to why they have traveled so far from home, both Kolur and Frida, a powerful sea witch who joins their voyage, leave Hanna in the dark as to the point of this mission. With no way of returning home on her own, Hanna must accompany Kolur on his mysterious and dangerous journey.
From this point in the story, we are left as confused as Hanna as to where she is going and why Kolur is dragging her with him.
Oh, and a peculiar merman secretly stalks their ship, hiding from Kolur and Frida and only talking to Hanna. There are also these scary beings that come out of the Mists, but none of this really adds to the story other than leaving the reader with more questions. What are these creatures of the Mists? Are they after Hanna? Kolur? Frida? Merman? Why is Kolur such a cranky weirdo dragging Hanna around and treating her like a 10 year old? She’s supposed to be 17! Fooled me. The plot flat-lined after the first few pages and never really picked back up. This story is supposed to be a duology but I think Clarke could’ve gotten away with making it a stand-alone novel. Most of this first book was fluffy, meaningless nothing.
The Main Character: Hanna Euli is a 17-year-old fisherman’s apprentice. Having power to control wind, Hanna dreams of becoming a powerful witch one day, rather than a fisherwoman. She is the ultimate reluctant heroine; at least I think she is. The story ends when she finally decides to do something. I had a really hard time being interested in Hanna because she was so cranky and whiney. I’m not sure if I hate the character because I was about as fed up as Hanna was about not knowing anything. This book asked more questions and left more questions unanswered than Lost. If the author had not told us Hanna was 17, I would have guessed she was about 12-years-old from her mannerisms, speech, and the way Kolur and other adult characters spoke to her.
World Building: I read this book as the first book in a series rather than a spin-off of another series (The Assassin's Curse), so I missed out on a lot of the world building that must have been done in the other series. If Clarke had spent more time describing the world and showing the reader what was going on, it would have made for a much better story. It seemed that she wanted to leave Hanna in the dark, but forgot that she didn’t need to leave the reader in the dark as well.
Overall, the writing wasn’t terrible and I’m sure other readers who have read the first series would enjoy this book but I found it quite boring. Two stars.
I received a free copy of this book on netgalley in return for an honest review and quotes taken from this uncorrected version, subject to change in the final edition.
Cassandra Clarke should be giving half of her royalties to the book cover artist of this book. I get caught grabbing books off shelves and adding them to my “To Read” list on Goodreads based on covers all the time. Lately, I’ve fallen into a pit of despair based on these choices. There are a lot of really cool covers that blow me away with stories inside that are duds, to say the least. This is unfortunately one of those mistakes I made. I would say that 90% of this book is terribly boring and the other 10% is slightly interesting. It’s a shame that such a cool cover was wasted on this.
The Plot: Hanna is a fisherman’s apprentice who dreams of becoming a powerful witch. Her master (I think that’s what you would call an apprentice’s boss?), Kolur, drags Hanna on a short fishing trip. However, Hanna soon learns that this seemingly short trip has taken her farther from home than she has ever been with no visible ending point. Bewildered as to why they have traveled so far from home, both Kolur and Frida, a powerful sea witch who joins their voyage, leave Hanna in the dark as to the point of this mission. With no way of returning home on her own, Hanna must accompany Kolur on his mysterious and dangerous journey.
From this point in the story, we are left as confused as Hanna as to where she is going and why Kolur is dragging her with him.
“No one would tell me the truth. And I was sick of it, sick of being a puppet they pushed around whenever they needed.”
Oh, and a peculiar merman secretly stalks their ship, hiding from Kolur and Frida and only talking to Hanna. There are also these scary beings that come out of the Mists, but none of this really adds to the story other than leaving the reader with more questions. What are these creatures of the Mists? Are they after Hanna? Kolur? Frida? Merman? Why is Kolur such a cranky weirdo dragging Hanna around and treating her like a 10 year old? She’s supposed to be 17! Fooled me. The plot flat-lined after the first few pages and never really picked back up. This story is supposed to be a duology but I think Clarke could’ve gotten away with making it a stand-alone novel. Most of this first book was fluffy, meaningless nothing.
The Main Character: Hanna Euli is a 17-year-old fisherman’s apprentice. Having power to control wind, Hanna dreams of becoming a powerful witch one day, rather than a fisherwoman. She is the ultimate reluctant heroine; at least I think she is. The story ends when she finally decides to do something. I had a really hard time being interested in Hanna because she was so cranky and whiney. I’m not sure if I hate the character because I was about as fed up as Hanna was about not knowing anything. This book asked more questions and left more questions unanswered than Lost. If the author had not told us Hanna was 17, I would have guessed she was about 12-years-old from her mannerisms, speech, and the way Kolur and other adult characters spoke to her.
World Building: I read this book as the first book in a series rather than a spin-off of another series (The Assassin's Curse), so I missed out on a lot of the world building that must have been done in the other series. If Clarke had spent more time describing the world and showing the reader what was going on, it would have made for a much better story. It seemed that she wanted to leave Hanna in the dark, but forgot that she didn’t need to leave the reader in the dark as well.
Overall, the writing wasn’t terrible and I’m sure other readers who have read the first series would enjoy this book but I found it quite boring. Two stars.
March 25, 2014
3 and a half stars.
This book is set in the same world as Cassandra Rose Clarke's books from The Assassin's Curse series. I loved that series. I loved the characters, I loved the writing style and I loved the setting. As such, I was extremely happy when I learned that The Wizard's Promise could revisit these places.
However, I have to say, it felt short.
This book tells the story of Hannah, an untrained witch who is a fisherman's apprentice, for a guy named Kolur. She is obligated to join Kolur in a fishing trip that takes an unexpected course. This sounds intriguing... yes, and fun too. But that unexpected course, ends up being completely open ended throughout the book.
Let me begin with what I found to be the most positive parts of this story: I love the narrative and style. Clarke is very smooth and crafty with her storytelling. You end up believing and visualizing everything she writes. The worldbuilding is very rich and flawless. I tasted the sea, felt the wind, smelled the fish and touched the sails. You end up travelling with Hannah in Kolur's boat.
But the so-so part in this story that I was iffy about, and annoyed, is perhaps that everything was secret and Hannah remains frustrated throughout the book because no one tells her the reasons of her predicament. In sum, we practically learn nothing, I ended up getting irked about this lack of information, in addition to the absence of connection (and sometimes empathy) with Hannah. I really felt nothing for her, taking in account that I usually have strong emotions towards the fictional characters from the books I read. But this is in no way critical to the enjoyment of the story. I liked it. I want to read the second book. I am curious enough to wonder what's going to happen to Hannah, but I just wished this book gave more clues and it didn't feel so incomplete with information.
I am introducing in my book reviews a Fictional Meals section, highlighting some food items characters have, interesting dishes I want to try or some curios food stuff books describe.
In this book, there are two:
The Start of Spring cake : made from hand-picked berries, baked by Hannah's mother with help from Hannah and her brother Henrik.
The Tuljan delicacy, Lisila fish : "The lisila was a sort of stew, with a creamy white broth that shimmered like moonlight. It smelled of herbs, fragrant and grassy like summer." It is said in this story, that once you try it, you won't want to eat anything more. When Hannah samples it, she said that the "flavour was savory and so complex I couldn't quite define it (...)" sounds yummy, right?
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This book was provided by the publisher, Angry Robot through NetGalley in exchange forLisila stew an honest review. Thank you!
This book is set in the same world as Cassandra Rose Clarke's books from The Assassin's Curse series. I loved that series. I loved the characters, I loved the writing style and I loved the setting. As such, I was extremely happy when I learned that The Wizard's Promise could revisit these places.
However, I have to say, it felt short.
This book tells the story of Hannah, an untrained witch who is a fisherman's apprentice, for a guy named Kolur. She is obligated to join Kolur in a fishing trip that takes an unexpected course. This sounds intriguing... yes, and fun too. But that unexpected course, ends up being completely open ended throughout the book.
Let me begin with what I found to be the most positive parts of this story: I love the narrative and style. Clarke is very smooth and crafty with her storytelling. You end up believing and visualizing everything she writes. The worldbuilding is very rich and flawless. I tasted the sea, felt the wind, smelled the fish and touched the sails. You end up travelling with Hannah in Kolur's boat.
But the so-so part in this story that I was iffy about, and annoyed, is perhaps that everything was secret and Hannah remains frustrated throughout the book because no one tells her the reasons of her predicament. In sum, we practically learn nothing, I ended up getting irked about this lack of information, in addition to the absence of connection (and sometimes empathy) with Hannah. I really felt nothing for her, taking in account that I usually have strong emotions towards the fictional characters from the books I read. But this is in no way critical to the enjoyment of the story. I liked it. I want to read the second book. I am curious enough to wonder what's going to happen to Hannah, but I just wished this book gave more clues and it didn't feel so incomplete with information.
I am introducing in my book reviews a Fictional Meals section, highlighting some food items characters have, interesting dishes I want to try or some curios food stuff books describe.
In this book, there are two:
The Start of Spring cake : made from hand-picked berries, baked by Hannah's mother with help from Hannah and her brother Henrik.
The Tuljan delicacy, Lisila fish : "The lisila was a sort of stew, with a creamy white broth that shimmered like moonlight. It smelled of herbs, fragrant and grassy like summer." It is said in this story, that once you try it, you won't want to eat anything more. When Hannah samples it, she said that the "flavour was savory and so complex I couldn't quite define it (...)" sounds yummy, right?
----
This book was provided by the publisher, Angry Robot through NetGalley in exchange for
April 23, 2014
I got this book to review through NetGalley. It is the 1st book in the Hannah Duology. It is set in the same world as The Assassin’s Curse, but occurs a generation later. I didn't like this book as much as The Assassin's Curse series. It was a decent fantasy but slow at parts and the characters were not all that engaging.
Hannah wants nothing more than to study to be a witch, instead she is apprenticed to the fisherman Kojur. Kojur is grumpy and apparently has secrets of his own. Instead of their normal 3 day fishing trip Hannah finds out that Kojur has altered his plans. He has taken them on a multi-week adventure that will pit them against a creature from the Mists. The only one who is there to assist Hannah is a strange non-human boy named Isolfr who speaks to Hannah from the ocean waters at night.
I loved loved loved The Assassin's Curse duology and also loved The Mad Scientist’s Daughter. I was very excited to read this book, but honestly it fell a bit flat for me. I think the main reason it fell flat were the characters and the plot.
The story just isn’t that exciting to read. A lot of time is spent on boats or in towns with Hannah just making a living. The spans between any excitement are fairly long.
My other problem was the characters. We never really get to know any of the side characters well enough to engage with them, what we do know doesn’t really make them all that likable. Kojur is obviously a kidnapper (if kind of unintentional) and his reasons behind this come across as a bit silly. Isolfr is very secretive and just doesn’t say a lot worth hearing until later in the book.
Hannah as also frustrating to read about. She spends the vast majority of the time on the boat with Kojur sulking and whining (not at all interesting to read about). I did admire the fact that once she is in a Northern port town she does take control of her life and find a way to make a living without Kojur...but still she was kind of a boring character that wasn’t easy to engage with. There are constant hints that she could wield some powerful magic in the future, but we don’t see much of that in this book.
I do still really enjoy the world and the idea of the Mists. I wish we had been able to delve a bit deeper into the Mists and learn more about them. There may be more of the in the second book, but this book really only scratches the surface. There is some interesting magic here and I enjoy the way that is handled in this world as well.
The book ends just as things are getting interesting. I love Clarke’s writing style, but honestly by the end of this book I was just like...oh my goodness that was sooo boring and sooooo lackluster.
Overall an okay, but not great, fantasy read. I was so excited to read something new by Clarke since I have adored her other books, to be honest this book was a bit of a let down. I still love the world, the Mists, and the magic...however I found the plot to be slow and boring and the characters hard to engage with. There just wasn’t a lot interesting that actually happened here and I really found my attention wandering while I read this book. If you are a fan of fantasy definitely read The Assassin’s Curse duology, for now I would recommend skipping this book. Right now I am unsure whether or not I will read the second book in this duology.
Hannah wants nothing more than to study to be a witch, instead she is apprenticed to the fisherman Kojur. Kojur is grumpy and apparently has secrets of his own. Instead of their normal 3 day fishing trip Hannah finds out that Kojur has altered his plans. He has taken them on a multi-week adventure that will pit them against a creature from the Mists. The only one who is there to assist Hannah is a strange non-human boy named Isolfr who speaks to Hannah from the ocean waters at night.
I loved loved loved The Assassin's Curse duology and also loved The Mad Scientist’s Daughter. I was very excited to read this book, but honestly it fell a bit flat for me. I think the main reason it fell flat were the characters and the plot.
The story just isn’t that exciting to read. A lot of time is spent on boats or in towns with Hannah just making a living. The spans between any excitement are fairly long.
My other problem was the characters. We never really get to know any of the side characters well enough to engage with them, what we do know doesn’t really make them all that likable. Kojur is obviously a kidnapper (if kind of unintentional) and his reasons behind this come across as a bit silly. Isolfr is very secretive and just doesn’t say a lot worth hearing until later in the book.
Hannah as also frustrating to read about. She spends the vast majority of the time on the boat with Kojur sulking and whining (not at all interesting to read about). I did admire the fact that once she is in a Northern port town she does take control of her life and find a way to make a living without Kojur...but still she was kind of a boring character that wasn’t easy to engage with. There are constant hints that she could wield some powerful magic in the future, but we don’t see much of that in this book.
I do still really enjoy the world and the idea of the Mists. I wish we had been able to delve a bit deeper into the Mists and learn more about them. There may be more of the in the second book, but this book really only scratches the surface. There is some interesting magic here and I enjoy the way that is handled in this world as well.
The book ends just as things are getting interesting. I love Clarke’s writing style, but honestly by the end of this book I was just like...oh my goodness that was sooo boring and sooooo lackluster.
Overall an okay, but not great, fantasy read. I was so excited to read something new by Clarke since I have adored her other books, to be honest this book was a bit of a let down. I still love the world, the Mists, and the magic...however I found the plot to be slow and boring and the characters hard to engage with. There just wasn’t a lot interesting that actually happened here and I really found my attention wandering while I read this book. If you are a fan of fantasy definitely read The Assassin’s Curse duology, for now I would recommend skipping this book. Right now I am unsure whether or not I will read the second book in this duology.
Read
April 30, 2014All Hanna Euli wants is to become a proper witch, but unfortunately she's stuck as an apprentice to a grumpy fisherman. When their boat gets caught up in a mysterious storm and blown wildly off course, Hanna finds herself further away from home than she's ever been before. As she tries to get back, she learns there may be more to her apprentice master than she realized, especially when a mysterious, beautiful, and very non-human boy begins following her through the ocean, claiming that he needs Hanna’s help.
The Wizard's Promise is a curious journey across troubled waters and into unfamiliar territory. Away from everything that's familiar, Hanna has to keep her wits about her and figure out what's going on, what magic is coming for her, or she won't make it back home.
Hanna spends a fair amount of the book frustrated with a number of people, but she doesn't spend her days moping and complaining. Well, some of her days are spent like that, but more are filled with work and determination. As much as she wants to learn to be a witch, to use her power properly, she wants to get back to her parents and their village. And so she works hard, she's rather pro-active in that regard. It's rather unfortunate for her that some of the people around her are so tight-lipped.
It's a rather frustrating adventure for Hanna. Sure, she wants to explore the world, learn about magic, but this wasn't meant to be an adventure. And when Kolur doesn't tell her where they're headed, or why they won't be going back right away, or what's going on, it makes for an annoyed main character as well as an annoyed reader. I wanted to know what was going on as well, but with multiple characters being deliberately vague page after page, chapter after chapter, I began to lose interest. Not telling her the truth only makes Hanna more angry and more likely to do something that could ruin their plans, but it's their own fault for not telling her and treating her like an idiot who wouldn't understand. I imagine there's a lot more they haven't bothered to tell Hanna.
The world in this book is an interesting one. Talk of magic is normal, pirates who roam the seas are commonplace. What struck me most as original and also practical was how in one village Hanna couldn't quite understand the written language or what they placed monetary value on. Because those things would change, depending on how far your travel and in which directions. No two villages would be exactly alike, speaking the same language or using the same currency. The mysteries involved in the magic were also interesting.
It's a curious one, Hanna's journey across the seas. There are moments of action and mystery, of anger and dangerous magic, but also moments of quiet, of learning. It might not have made for a fast-paced read, but those quiet times for Hanna weren't necessarily wasted. But there were times when I found myself bored, wondering when Kolur would take Hanna seriously, when he would get off his high horse and actually respect her instead of ignoring her. If he really needed her, he should've told her more. I'm curious as to where the second book will go, if Hanna will have a better adventure than this.
The Wizard's Promise is a curious journey across troubled waters and into unfamiliar territory. Away from everything that's familiar, Hanna has to keep her wits about her and figure out what's going on, what magic is coming for her, or she won't make it back home.
Hanna spends a fair amount of the book frustrated with a number of people, but she doesn't spend her days moping and complaining. Well, some of her days are spent like that, but more are filled with work and determination. As much as she wants to learn to be a witch, to use her power properly, she wants to get back to her parents and their village. And so she works hard, she's rather pro-active in that regard. It's rather unfortunate for her that some of the people around her are so tight-lipped.
It's a rather frustrating adventure for Hanna. Sure, she wants to explore the world, learn about magic, but this wasn't meant to be an adventure. And when Kolur doesn't tell her where they're headed, or why they won't be going back right away, or what's going on, it makes for an annoyed main character as well as an annoyed reader. I wanted to know what was going on as well, but with multiple characters being deliberately vague page after page, chapter after chapter, I began to lose interest. Not telling her the truth only makes Hanna more angry and more likely to do something that could ruin their plans, but it's their own fault for not telling her and treating her like an idiot who wouldn't understand. I imagine there's a lot more they haven't bothered to tell Hanna.
The world in this book is an interesting one. Talk of magic is normal, pirates who roam the seas are commonplace. What struck me most as original and also practical was how in one village Hanna couldn't quite understand the written language or what they placed monetary value on. Because those things would change, depending on how far your travel and in which directions. No two villages would be exactly alike, speaking the same language or using the same currency. The mysteries involved in the magic were also interesting.
It's a curious one, Hanna's journey across the seas. There are moments of action and mystery, of anger and dangerous magic, but also moments of quiet, of learning. It might not have made for a fast-paced read, but those quiet times for Hanna weren't necessarily wasted. But there were times when I found myself bored, wondering when Kolur would take Hanna seriously, when he would get off his high horse and actually respect her instead of ignoring her. If he really needed her, he should've told her more. I'm curious as to where the second book will go, if Hanna will have a better adventure than this.
November 20, 2014
I absolutely adored Clarke’s The Assassin’s Curse duology. The world she created was so vivid and multi-faceted that I wanted to curl up and sail along the high seas with Ananna. I was ecstatic when I found out there was going to be a second duology set in the same world.
The Wizard’s Promise follows Hanna whose mother sailed under Ananna who Hanna is named after. That is where the similarities between Hanna and Ananna end though. Hanna is definitely her own person. She wants to study magic but is apprenticed to a local fisherman. She wants nothing more then to go on an adventure but instead leads the same monotonous island life day in and day out. Until the day all of that changes and Hanna is swept up on an epic adventure.
The problem was this epic adventure takes a long time to get underway. There is a lot of down time in this story. A lot of time spent waiting for the action to start happening, for the bad guy to appear, for the boat to get fixed. I think these “extra” parts in the story could have been done away with and the story would have been better for it. There just wasn’t that immediacy in The Wizard’s Promise that The Assassin’s Curse duology had.
Despite this lack of action I still found myself enjoying the story. I was sucked back in to the world Clarke created, and was excited to learn more about the northern islands which we didn’t see much of in The Assassin’s Curse.
I liked the wide cast of characters present in this novel. Fisherman, Wizard’s, Villain’s, not-human boys, there is a little bit of everything. I especially liked Isolfr, it was fun riddling out his motives and what exactly he is. He stole the scenes he was in and despite frustrating me to no end became one of my favorite characters. I look forward to seeing more of him in the sequel.
Overall, The Wizard’s Promise was a good novel it kept me entertained and it was fun to return to a familiar world through a new set of eyes. I am looking forward to the sequel which I hope will ramp up the action earlier, and give us more insight in to the Mists.
*The rating of this book was changed from 3 to 2 stars are part of my post In Which I Reconsider Book Ratings
The Wizard’s Promise follows Hanna whose mother sailed under Ananna who Hanna is named after. That is where the similarities between Hanna and Ananna end though. Hanna is definitely her own person. She wants to study magic but is apprenticed to a local fisherman. She wants nothing more then to go on an adventure but instead leads the same monotonous island life day in and day out. Until the day all of that changes and Hanna is swept up on an epic adventure.
The problem was this epic adventure takes a long time to get underway. There is a lot of down time in this story. A lot of time spent waiting for the action to start happening, for the bad guy to appear, for the boat to get fixed. I think these “extra” parts in the story could have been done away with and the story would have been better for it. There just wasn’t that immediacy in The Wizard’s Promise that The Assassin’s Curse duology had.
Despite this lack of action I still found myself enjoying the story. I was sucked back in to the world Clarke created, and was excited to learn more about the northern islands which we didn’t see much of in The Assassin’s Curse.
I liked the wide cast of characters present in this novel. Fisherman, Wizard’s, Villain’s, not-human boys, there is a little bit of everything. I especially liked Isolfr, it was fun riddling out his motives and what exactly he is. He stole the scenes he was in and despite frustrating me to no end became one of my favorite characters. I look forward to seeing more of him in the sequel.
Overall, The Wizard’s Promise was a good novel it kept me entertained and it was fun to return to a familiar world through a new set of eyes. I am looking forward to the sequel which I hope will ramp up the action earlier, and give us more insight in to the Mists.
*The rating of this book was changed from 3 to 2 stars are part of my post In Which I Reconsider Book Ratings
May 9, 2014
I loved this book! It's from the same world as The Assassin's Curse and The Pirate's Wish, it was nice to go back into the world and read more of it with a new set of characters!
I liked Hanna and Isolfr but I thought that Ananna and Naji would at least make a small cameo or something! I was totally disappointed when I learned that they were only mentioned in the stories that Hanna's mother told her-about her being a pirate and being aboard the Nadir. It was sad to know that the both of them were already older adults and not the same age as they were in TAC/TPW because it would have been nice to see them again.
Anyway, I swear it's like bad luck follows the main protagonists of these two series. I liked it. It made for an interesting read where I found myself worrying for the characters and wondering what going to happen, especially since both Hanna and I were left in the dark for most of the book, it was perfectly understandable that Hanna complained about Kolur not being honest and keeping the truth from her. When things started happening, I was all ready for the action that was thrown at me and it made me appreciate how good of a writer Cassandra R. Clarke is with the vivid details used all throughout the book. I liked the plot, the action, the fantasy and magic aspect to it that I found myself wondering where the romance part was at. At least with TAC, we as readers knew that Ananna and Naji were going to fall in love with each and eventually end up together so it was sort of puzzling when I couldn't find the romance in The Wizard's Promise. I suppose that her meeting Isolfr was supposed to be the introduction to the romance but it never really progressed much. If anything, she found him a coward, although at the end we get a pleasant surprise from him on who he truly is.
All in all, it was a good book and I definitely look forward to reading the sequel of this duology and seeing what happens next in this magnificent and magical world Clarke has created.
I liked Hanna and Isolfr but I thought that Ananna and Naji would at least make a small cameo or something! I was totally disappointed when I learned that they were only mentioned in the stories that Hanna's mother told her-about her being a pirate and being aboard the Nadir. It was sad to know that the both of them were already older adults and not the same age as they were in TAC/TPW because it would have been nice to see them again.
Anyway, I swear it's like bad luck follows the main protagonists of these two series. I liked it. It made for an interesting read where I found myself worrying for the characters and wondering what going to happen, especially since both Hanna and I were left in the dark for most of the book, it was perfectly understandable that Hanna complained about Kolur not being honest and keeping the truth from her. When things started happening, I was all ready for the action that was thrown at me and it made me appreciate how good of a writer Cassandra R. Clarke is with the vivid details used all throughout the book. I liked the plot, the action, the fantasy and magic aspect to it that I found myself wondering where the romance part was at. At least with TAC, we as readers knew that Ananna and Naji were going to fall in love with each and eventually end up together so it was sort of puzzling when I couldn't find the romance in The Wizard's Promise. I suppose that her meeting Isolfr was supposed to be the introduction to the romance but it never really progressed much. If anything, she found him a coward, although at the end we get a pleasant surprise from him on who he truly is.
All in all, it was a good book and I definitely look forward to reading the sequel of this duology and seeing what happens next in this magnificent and magical world Clarke has created.
May 5, 2014
http://thedailyprophecy.blogspot.nl/2...
This duology is a spin-off for The assassin’s curse and The pirate’s wish, two books I enjoyed a lot. This story has the same feeling to it and it has the same problem: the middle part is sometimes a bit boring.
Hanna is an apprentice for fisherman Kolur. She can practice her wind magic on their trips, but this time they end up in a magical storm and they are blown to a place far from their hometown. Kolur adds another woman to their group, also a wind magician, and he sets sail for a journey. Hanna has no idea what is happening, so she escapes and starts to work with another fisher boat for money. The problem is, she is still haunted by the ‘Mist’, which is a group of monsters lead by one man. Her new friend, the not-so-human boy, is warning her. She must help Kolur on his journey or the Mist will become even more powerful.
First off, Cassandra managed to write another story with a great world-building. I liked all the different powers, the way she describes the sea and the villages Hanna visits. The only thing is that I wish to see even more of it. The middle part of the book is more about Hanna and her work on the boat. When I came to that point, I wish there was more action or character interaction. I don’t have the feeling I know much about Hanna at this point, only that she can take care or herself and that she is quite intelligent. It was fun to see her magic grow and how she starts to get more control over it.
The Mist is something I remember from The assassin’s curse. The girl Hanna is named after defeated them, but apparently they are back and more dangerous than ever. The idea behind the journey is great and I can’t wait to see how that is going to unravel in the sequel. Hanna’s friend make sure that we know how horrible it is if the Mist succeeds with their plan.
Overall, a good, solid fantasy book, but I hope that the sequel provides more action and character connection.
This duology is a spin-off for The assassin’s curse and The pirate’s wish, two books I enjoyed a lot. This story has the same feeling to it and it has the same problem: the middle part is sometimes a bit boring.
Hanna is an apprentice for fisherman Kolur. She can practice her wind magic on their trips, but this time they end up in a magical storm and they are blown to a place far from their hometown. Kolur adds another woman to their group, also a wind magician, and he sets sail for a journey. Hanna has no idea what is happening, so she escapes and starts to work with another fisher boat for money. The problem is, she is still haunted by the ‘Mist’, which is a group of monsters lead by one man. Her new friend, the not-so-human boy, is warning her. She must help Kolur on his journey or the Mist will become even more powerful.
First off, Cassandra managed to write another story with a great world-building. I liked all the different powers, the way she describes the sea and the villages Hanna visits. The only thing is that I wish to see even more of it. The middle part of the book is more about Hanna and her work on the boat. When I came to that point, I wish there was more action or character interaction. I don’t have the feeling I know much about Hanna at this point, only that she can take care or herself and that she is quite intelligent. It was fun to see her magic grow and how she starts to get more control over it.
The Mist is something I remember from The assassin’s curse. The girl Hanna is named after defeated them, but apparently they are back and more dangerous than ever. The idea behind the journey is great and I can’t wait to see how that is going to unravel in the sequel. Hanna’s friend make sure that we know how horrible it is if the Mist succeeds with their plan.
Overall, a good, solid fantasy book, but I hope that the sequel provides more action and character connection.
April 2, 2014
If your main character is bored for a goodly portion of the book, then there is a strong likelihood your reader will be too.
The beginning was okay, the conclusion quite gripping, but the middle section felt rather like a drag. Sailing. More sailing. Sailing in which the main character had no idea what was going on and - since it was written in first person - all we had to work with were her lack of duties and confusion. Also, to a point, her helplessness as she was whisked away across the seas and into the great unknown without any idea of where her final destination lay.
There was a boy in the water - at first I thought he was some sort of mer-person - and he proved just enough of a teaser to keep me somewhat intrigued.
Then she ended up in a small village wherein she left the interesting people and decided to get a job as a fisherwoman and work for wages to get her home.
Very pratical - but not exactly compulsive reading.
Still, the little touches of magic were nice: the strange behaviour of the fish, the charms, the Mists, here and there we were teased with the prospect that things would be come more interesting.
And thankfully, eventually, they did.
However, this does not feel like a single book - this feels more like a long-winded introduction into the real adventures (which will be covered in the sequel, for sure). This is essentially - "how to convince a reluctant teenage girl to go on an adventure". Given her earlier complaints about how dull life back in the fishing village was, and how she wanted to train to be a witch - one would have thought she would have been jumping at the chance to journey further into the unknown. Still, it is nice to have a reluctant hero that is also quite pratical about it. Of course, the end result is the same...
So, overall, an interesting and creative world, but an unsatisfactory read, it left be feeling somewhat like "is that it?" I did like it though - the writing style was strong, for all that the plot was tending towards the weak side.
eArc received courtesy of the publisher and Netgalley.
The beginning was okay, the conclusion quite gripping, but the middle section felt rather like a drag. Sailing. More sailing. Sailing in which the main character had no idea what was going on and - since it was written in first person - all we had to work with were her lack of duties and confusion. Also, to a point, her helplessness as she was whisked away across the seas and into the great unknown without any idea of where her final destination lay.
There was a boy in the water - at first I thought he was some sort of mer-person - and he proved just enough of a teaser to keep me somewhat intrigued.
Then she ended up in a small village wherein she left the interesting people and decided to get a job as a fisherwoman and work for wages to get her home.
Very pratical - but not exactly compulsive reading.
Still, the little touches of magic were nice: the strange behaviour of the fish, the charms, the Mists, here and there we were teased with the prospect that things would be come more interesting.
And thankfully, eventually, they did.
However, this does not feel like a single book - this feels more like a long-winded introduction into the real adventures (which will be covered in the sequel, for sure). This is essentially - "how to convince a reluctant teenage girl to go on an adventure". Given her earlier complaints about how dull life back in the fishing village was, and how she wanted to train to be a witch - one would have thought she would have been jumping at the chance to journey further into the unknown. Still, it is nice to have a reluctant hero that is also quite pratical about it. Of course, the end result is the same...
So, overall, an interesting and creative world, but an unsatisfactory read, it left be feeling somewhat like "is that it?" I did like it though - the writing style was strong, for all that the plot was tending towards the weak side.
eArc received courtesy of the publisher and Netgalley.
September 4, 2016
Nothing actually happens.
I feel like Wizard’s Promise is essentially the LONGEST. Introduction. Ever. We know who and what’s coming, yet in the mean time there’s a lot of her asking questions that eventually started to feel like, “ARE WE THERE YET?” (She wasn’t asking that, of course! It just felt like she was; thus, me wanting to smack her.)
There’s some mention of the awesome that was Ananna as well as the mist and the magical, yet for the most part we have Hannah. At first it’s her and what she does not have; then it’s allot of her failing to ask the right questions and asking the most annoying question over and over and over. Of course things are not helped when the people around her only respond with non-answers!
There is eventually more interesting moments of her making her world bigger and learning things she’d previously not known, but descriptions of awesome magical fish and how to cook the same failed to satisfy me.
Bottom line: I’d have loved to get more out of this, but I was honestly just bored. Add that the only time I wasn’t bored was somewhere in the last 5%. Things were happening! She was doing stuff! It was good… unless one recalls that all that’s good was compressed in said measly 5%!
Thank you, Net Galley!
I feel like Wizard’s Promise is essentially the LONGEST. Introduction. Ever. We know who and what’s coming, yet in the mean time there’s a lot of her asking questions that eventually started to feel like, “ARE WE THERE YET?” (She wasn’t asking that, of course! It just felt like she was; thus, me wanting to smack her.)
There’s some mention of the awesome that was Ananna as well as the mist and the magical, yet for the most part we have Hannah. At first it’s her and what she does not have; then it’s allot of her failing to ask the right questions and asking the most annoying question over and over and over. Of course things are not helped when the people around her only respond with non-answers!
There is eventually more interesting moments of her making her world bigger and learning things she’d previously not known, but descriptions of awesome magical fish and how to cook the same failed to satisfy me.
Bottom line: I’d have loved to get more out of this, but I was honestly just bored. Add that the only time I wasn’t bored was somewhere in the last 5%. Things were happening! She was doing stuff! It was good… unless one recalls that all that’s good was compressed in said measly 5%!
Thank you, Net Galley!
September 16, 2015
This is the first book in the "Hanna" duology by Cassandra Rose Clarke, who also wrote the "Assassin's Curse" duology.
Hanna's always wanted to be a witch, but instead she apprentices a fisherman, which isn't really all that exciting. For a long time she's dreamed of going on an adventure, just like Ananna, the famous pirate she is named after. So when her apprentice master decides to leave for foreign waters, taking her along without asking her, she might just get what she wanted all along.
I picked up this book, because I quite enjoyed the "Assassin's Curse" duology. Sadly, I have to say that this book doesn't come even remotely close to it. I wasn't particularly fond of any characters, found the story to be quite boring and had to force myself to finish the book.
Hanna's always wanted to be a witch, but instead she apprentices a fisherman, which isn't really all that exciting. For a long time she's dreamed of going on an adventure, just like Ananna, the famous pirate she is named after. So when her apprentice master decides to leave for foreign waters, taking her along without asking her, she might just get what she wanted all along.
I picked up this book, because I quite enjoyed the "Assassin's Curse" duology. Sadly, I have to say that this book doesn't come even remotely close to it. I wasn't particularly fond of any characters, found the story to be quite boring and had to force myself to finish the book.
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