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Dragonbride
Shalima, “Daughter of the Light”, was born under special circumstances. She was raised by her aunts instead of her mother because she needed to be prepared to fulfill the prophecies of the Old Scriptures, which told that she was the only Magician on Earth. Her aunts carefully prepared her for her obligations and her sacred duty. She will have to get married to the Holy Golden Dragon, the King of the Dragons, a huge Earth Dragon with magical talents. She cannot believe that she is the “Chosen One”, who has to protect the Dragon Species, all of Nature and finally the Earth. But when she turned into a teenager it seemed that the Old Scriptures were right. Not only does she have to fulfill her duty by getting married to the Dragon – she will also have to go on a deadly mission to save the world from an unspeakable evil. A mission there is very little hope her party will ever return from.
- GenresFantasy
424 pages, Paperback
First published September 25, 2014
3 people are currently reading
169 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 36 reviews
January 9, 2015
Actual rating: 1.5 stars. The world and concept had so much potential. This book is the first in a series, but I think it had enough material for at least 2 or 3 books by itself. Unfortunately, there's no character development, insta-love is alive and well, and the number of coincidences is enough to choke a whale. What this book really needed was a fearless editor.
Want to read
January 23, 2015That synopsis is a train wreck!
December 19, 2014
(I received a free copy of this book in exchange for a review).
(This review may contain spoilers).
This is another book I have some mixed feelings about. I really loved the front cover and the blurb of the book sounded really intriguing. And the first part of the book really drew me in. I liked reading about the life in the village and the two main female characters at the beginning of the book really caught my interest. Even Shalima was interesting at first... despite the fact that the book kept switching between third and first person, which I do find quite difficult to get into.
I did find Shalima an interesting character... but I didn't especially like her. When she first appeared, I felt like the character had a lot of potential to grow and mature. The problem was that that growth wasn't actually shown. Soon after the marriage between Shamina and the Golden Dragon, I found myself disconnected from her as a character.
The whole concept of the different types of dragon was a really interesting one, but one I would have liked to see explored in the course of the story, rather than just have an info-dump about the different types. (When I got to meet some of the different types of dragon, I found them really interesting and I would have liked to see more of the individual dragons from he different species).
The other big issue I had with this book was the romance. The thing is... I love romance. I'm a true romantic at heart. But only if that romance is realistic.
When I say realistic, I don't mean without any paranormal/fantasy elements. I mean a relationship that is shown growing and developing through the course of the book (or film, etc.) That didn't actually happen here. The romance between Shalima and Dragan seemed really shallow and I felt that a lot of potential development in the romance was neglected to move the basic plot forward.
The action in this book was fairly interesting, but I did struggle somewhat to believe in the romance. The ending didn't really tug on my heartstrings in the way it should have done.
I'm not sure if I'd read the next book. I'd have to judge that depending on how intriguing I found the plot.
(This review may contain spoilers).
This is another book I have some mixed feelings about. I really loved the front cover and the blurb of the book sounded really intriguing. And the first part of the book really drew me in. I liked reading about the life in the village and the two main female characters at the beginning of the book really caught my interest. Even Shalima was interesting at first... despite the fact that the book kept switching between third and first person, which I do find quite difficult to get into.
I did find Shalima an interesting character... but I didn't especially like her. When she first appeared, I felt like the character had a lot of potential to grow and mature. The problem was that that growth wasn't actually shown. Soon after the marriage between Shamina and the Golden Dragon, I found myself disconnected from her as a character.
The whole concept of the different types of dragon was a really interesting one, but one I would have liked to see explored in the course of the story, rather than just have an info-dump about the different types. (When I got to meet some of the different types of dragon, I found them really interesting and I would have liked to see more of the individual dragons from he different species).
The other big issue I had with this book was the romance. The thing is... I love romance. I'm a true romantic at heart. But only if that romance is realistic.
When I say realistic, I don't mean without any paranormal/fantasy elements. I mean a relationship that is shown growing and developing through the course of the book (or film, etc.) That didn't actually happen here. The romance between Shalima and Dragan seemed really shallow and I felt that a lot of potential development in the romance was neglected to move the basic plot forward.
The action in this book was fairly interesting, but I did struggle somewhat to believe in the romance. The ending didn't really tug on my heartstrings in the way it should have done.
I'm not sure if I'd read the next book. I'd have to judge that depending on how intriguing I found the plot.
March 13, 2015
Kindle formatting is horrible. Story itself might have some redeeming qualities if characters were fully fleshed out. In its current state it reads like a manuscript that needs 3 more editing passes.
October 29, 2014
Dragonbride ( The Dragon Chronicles, Book 1)
By
Raani York
It's Imra’s destiny to “fulfill one of the oldest scriptures known to the world,” but at great cost to herself. And so begins a magical tale of love, impending evil and dragons. Author Raani York’s debut fantasy is a breathtaking, delightful and at times terrifying story of an era when dragons watched over humankind, who attempted to both appease and worship them. The beautiful Imra is a witch with powers of her own which will bring about the foretold burden as this amazing story unfolds . . . And perhaps upon the babe she births, and then hands over to others as the prophecy demands.
Shalima is raised by two aunts and trained in magic arts by a sorcerer, whose later identity comes as a shock. An ardent student, she senses she is destined for something special. But even she is overcome by the discovery that this specialty — one that is hers alone — one she's only heard of in legends-- will forever change the world.
The young magician becomes of age, passes through three tests at a tribunal of witches; even the oldest and strongest is no match for this chosen girl. Her fate is sealed. She will become wife to the Golden Dragon for eternity. The love between Shalima and her shape shifter husband, Dragan, is boundless — no love could be greater than theirs — in both human and Dragon form. Yet a cloud dims their bliss. They are destined to enforce a prophecy that only they can, and nothing can prevent the prophecy from coming true. Time is limited, chances slim, and odds against them. The world turns on its daily spin, unaware of its impending doom.
It is so tempting to tell you more . . . Of this quest full of adventure, romance, trust; a bond for the ages beset with trials that threaten the love and future of the Golden Dragon and his lovely magician bride. This book brings out the magic that lives within all fantasy lovers; its humor crops up unexpectedly and causes laughter.
Author Raani York has written a memorable first novel that will charm and entrance YA and all readers who love to curl up with a book that takes one off into the blissful, if often treacherous magical days of yore where one can revel in its truth, beauty and tragic losses. Waiting for the author’s forthcoming sequel will be torture . . . But not for long.
Micki Peluso, author of . . . And the Whippoorwill Sang
By
Raani York
It's Imra’s destiny to “fulfill one of the oldest scriptures known to the world,” but at great cost to herself. And so begins a magical tale of love, impending evil and dragons. Author Raani York’s debut fantasy is a breathtaking, delightful and at times terrifying story of an era when dragons watched over humankind, who attempted to both appease and worship them. The beautiful Imra is a witch with powers of her own which will bring about the foretold burden as this amazing story unfolds . . . And perhaps upon the babe she births, and then hands over to others as the prophecy demands.
Shalima is raised by two aunts and trained in magic arts by a sorcerer, whose later identity comes as a shock. An ardent student, she senses she is destined for something special. But even she is overcome by the discovery that this specialty — one that is hers alone — one she's only heard of in legends-- will forever change the world.
The young magician becomes of age, passes through three tests at a tribunal of witches; even the oldest and strongest is no match for this chosen girl. Her fate is sealed. She will become wife to the Golden Dragon for eternity. The love between Shalima and her shape shifter husband, Dragan, is boundless — no love could be greater than theirs — in both human and Dragon form. Yet a cloud dims their bliss. They are destined to enforce a prophecy that only they can, and nothing can prevent the prophecy from coming true. Time is limited, chances slim, and odds against them. The world turns on its daily spin, unaware of its impending doom.
It is so tempting to tell you more . . . Of this quest full of adventure, romance, trust; a bond for the ages beset with trials that threaten the love and future of the Golden Dragon and his lovely magician bride. This book brings out the magic that lives within all fantasy lovers; its humor crops up unexpectedly and causes laughter.
Author Raani York has written a memorable first novel that will charm and entrance YA and all readers who love to curl up with a book that takes one off into the blissful, if often treacherous magical days of yore where one can revel in its truth, beauty and tragic losses. Waiting for the author’s forthcoming sequel will be torture . . . But not for long.
Micki Peluso, author of . . . And the Whippoorwill Sang
December 11, 2014
Great magical story....
I really enjoyed this story. In truth, I wasn't able to sit down an read it from cover to cover in one sitting. Usually when that happens, I find it difficult to get back into the story, but not with this one. I was always so anxious to try to make time to read more of the story.. I would say that anyone from a young reader to an older one would enjoy getting caught up in the magic of the story and the personalities of the characters. I look forward to reading book 2! I love that this book inspires the imagination of younger readers. That is part of what makes it so special
I really enjoyed this story. In truth, I wasn't able to sit down an read it from cover to cover in one sitting. Usually when that happens, I find it difficult to get back into the story, but not with this one. I was always so anxious to try to make time to read more of the story.. I would say that anyone from a young reader to an older one would enjoy getting caught up in the magic of the story and the personalities of the characters. I look forward to reading book 2! I love that this book inspires the imagination of younger readers. That is part of what makes it so special
Read
January 16, 2015Was curious about this given the author's recent blog post about reviewing and the subsequent comments.
I've no idea what the book is like, but the blurb isn't doing it any favours. I think it's het romance - not my favourite and the blurb isn't selling it too me.
It sounds like the author is young and naive - hopefully she won't get mauled too badly over the blog post (not going to link it)...
Edit - the blurb has been updated; much, much better now! Stil not sure this is my cup of tea, but I'm sure that's where the blurb is meant to help with decisions. New blurb is succinct and better written; story looks to be het romance with a dragon. I can make a decision based on the gist of it and am much happier with that.
I've no idea what the book is like, but the blurb isn't doing it any favours. I think it's het romance - not my favourite and the blurb isn't selling it too me.
It sounds like the author is young and naive - hopefully she won't get mauled too badly over the blog post (not going to link it)...
Edit - the blurb has been updated; much, much better now! Stil not sure this is my cup of tea, but I'm sure that's where the blurb is meant to help with decisions. New blurb is succinct and better written; story looks to be het romance with a dragon. I can make a decision based on the gist of it and am much happier with that.
November 19, 2014
I was given a copy of Dragonbride, to give a honest review. Other than a bit long for me. To read in one setting. It was a well written book.
I love how Raani, start at the bringing of the Dragon princess, and the Dragon prince's life. And how they save man kind. It was very heart breaking. Make sure you have Kleenex. All my emotions were on high, reading this book. I do highly recommend Dragonbride to read. There is book two coming, about the next generation. So make sure you watch out for that story.
I love how Raani, start at the bringing of the Dragon princess, and the Dragon prince's life. And how they save man kind. It was very heart breaking. Make sure you have Kleenex. All my emotions were on high, reading this book. I do highly recommend Dragonbride to read. There is book two coming, about the next generation. So make sure you watch out for that story.
January 16, 2015
nope..don't want
no-just-no
January 16, 2015Who wrote that blurb? It's awful! It's worse than this inaccurate blurb I read. It's not even succinct and to the point. If the book is as bad as this summary, I wouldn't go near this book. Bleck!
OK, I see someone rewrote the blurb. It's a bit better than the previous one, a lot tighter. I'm still not sure this book is my cup of tea though.
OK, I see someone rewrote the blurb. It's a bit better than the previous one, a lot tighter. I'm still not sure this book is my cup of tea though.
August 5, 2016
Looking forward to reading.
to-avoid
January 16, 2015I have no words... Not that that matters, because who would have the patience to read anything else after reading the very, very looooooong description of this book?
ETA: Someone - the author herself? - edited the book description so it's kind of normal now. For those who missed the original "blurb" - which was funny in a bizarre way or, should I say, bizarre in a funny way, LOL - here it is:
Credits: All mistakes - and there are many! - anyone finds in the deceased "blurb" belong to the author.
ETA: Someone - the author herself? - edited the book description so it's kind of normal now. For those who missed the original "blurb" - which was funny in a bizarre way or, should I say, bizarre in a funny way, LOL - here it is:
Credits: All mistakes - and there are many! - anyone finds in the deceased "blurb" belong to the author.
January 17, 2015
Edit 01/16/15
Apparently GR has been deleting a lot of reviews lately, but I'm hoping they'll skip mine.
You should also know that they changed the blurb, but the one I talk about in my review was the old one.
Edit 15/01/15
I managed to gather enough courage to read the blurb. It pissed me off so much I decided to explain point by point why this is an utter disaster.
1. The thing is waaaaaay too long. Seriously, did she have to write an essay?
2."Shalima, “Daughter of the Light” and is born under special circumstances, is raised by her Aunts instead of her mother because she needs to be prepared to fulfil the “Old Scriptures”, which tell us, that she is the only Magician on Earth."
There are so many things wrong with that first sentence, I don't think I can cover them all.
I'll translate it for you : "Shalima, "Daughter of the Light", is born (and not "and is born") under special circumstances and (Why the comma?! Why?) raised by her Aunts instead of her mother because she needs to be prepared to fulfill (Yes, hun. 'fulfill' is spelled with 2 Ls) the "Old Scriptures" which say that she is the only Magician on Earth."
edit: about the "fulfill" or "fulfil", I found out "fulfil" was the non-american spelling, but her profile says she was raised in the US. Which means I'm going to leave it here and let you make up your own mind, you're old enough for that.
Apparently, RY also has a thing for Capitalizing Important Words. Not only did she do it on her blog, but here too ?! Maybe I should capitalize Random words, Too.
3."she will have to get married to the “Holy Golden Dragon”, the King of the Dragons, a huge Earth Dragon with magical talents".
Three 'dragons', people THREE! That's 2 too many. Also, what's with the quotation marks for irrelevant shit?
4."She is prepared by her “Master” in Magic and grows up with witchcraft in her life as normality. Her Aunts are witches."
"Master" and '"Magic"'. Need I go on? I'm pretty sure there are a few words missing in these sentences, too.
5."She cannot believe that she is the “Chosen One”, who has to protect the Dragon Species, the Nature and finally the Earth."
Please, don't make me repeat myself. I won't survive it.
6." But when she turns a Teenager it seems, that the Old Scriptures are right."
Well, RY, I'm thinking there shouldn't be a comma here. BUT THAT'S JUST ME.
7."Compared to what she had thought, Dragons really exist."
I wouldn't have said "compared" here, but I'm not so sure how I could replace it so... I'll leave this one. But don't worry, there's still the "she had thought" issue tomake us want to kill ourselves entertain us.
"She had thought" implies she stopped thinking that a long time ago, and I'm guessing that's not what she RY wanted to say here.
8."The Earth-Dragon was a beautiful huge creature, growing in length up to 90 feet."
Translation: "growing up to 90 ft in length", or "growing up to up to 90 ft in length."
*takes a deep breath "before" going Back to hell*
9."There were some extremely rare examples whose scales showed an unexplainable purple, but obviously at the moment the „Red Earth-Dragon“became pronounced extinct."
Why is it obvious ? Why ? Why ?
Also I'm pretty sure "became pronounced extinct" is not english.
10."The Water-Dragon was a conceited, extremely elegant creature, built a little bit smaller and more fragile than the Earth-Dragon. His scales went from silver grey over turquoise and ocean blue up to the deepest midnight blue, which gave him a sparkling cool beauty.
By the development of his back legs to fins his suffered a little bit under the limited ability to fly, but in his element, the water, he was of unprecedented elegance. He only went for short flights and only for nutrition, since he felt most comfortable in his home under water."
Why are you describing thedragons Dragons in your blurb?
11."The Fire-Dragon had to take care for his scales with his oily spittle to beware them from drying out by the constant heat."
"had to take care of his scales with his oily spittle to keep them from..."
I can't comment on this, I'm too mad right now.
12."There were three different kinds of Dragons."
...
"The Earth-Dragon was..."
...
"The Water-Dragon was..."
...
"The Fire-Dragon..."
...
"And finally there was the Holy Golden Dragon..."
Here's what you can find in the "about me" section of her blog:
"[She] holds a Bachelor’s Degree in Business Administration"
HEY !!! Did you know you didn't need to know how to count to 4 to get your Bachelor's Degree in Business ???
12.The magician would also be..."
OH. MY. GAWD. She forgot the capital letter !!!!! RY, what were you thinking ?
13.After their marriage Shalima lives with her husband, the Holy Golden Dragon in the Dragon’s Empire and fulfils her duty when they discovered an old parchment roll which announced the End of the World."
Yes, of course. "Fulfils" with "discovered". Of course.
14." A terribly evil creature would overtake the Earth if they didn’t act.
Translation: "A terribly evil creature would have overtaken Earth if they hadn't acted."
Wait. Is that the hint of a plot I'm detecting?
Suspense...
"And they did act."
Well, who was I kidding anyway?
15."They leave the Dragon’s empire to look for helpers, for keys to rescue the world and for their own little army to fight the evil."
I can't even.
16."When the battle takes place the Holy Golden Dragon loses his life and the Dragon Species dies. Shalima is left back with the Dragon’s last present: His children…"
Didn't it already take place? And isn't the HGD the one who can father Dragons ? If so, why does the species die ? Makes no sense.
Also we've got a lot of suspense here, guys. Will the children be brats? Will they attend school? Will they get a Bachelor Degree AND be able to count to four ? So many emotions...
You know what the worst thing about all this is? That:
"Before criticizing my grammar and typos, please make sure your review is impeccable, otherwise you might not be taken seriously."
This is not a blurb, people. It's a disaster.
Original review:
It's just so nice of Raani York to save my TBR from drowning in books.
In a recent blogpost, (http://www.donotlink.com/framed?616205) RY decided to instruct the reader on how to review her books:
A good review is a 4- or 5-Star review. And as new upcoming Authors we do need every possible star, the more the better! I therefore hope you will forgive me if I’d list a few wishes I have, as an Author, when it comes to reviews:
Then she gives a list of things we should do when reviewing her book. My favorite is the first:
1. If you aren’t convinced of our work, and you don’t feel it deserves a 4- or 5-Star review, please contact us in private and let us know why you are not the biggest fan of our book. When you find constructive criticisms we understand, but still have good words about our writing, we can decide together, whether or not a quite positive 3-Star review can be published.
This is not an illusion. This is not a nightmare. You are not hallucinating.
She really wants us to talk about it... together (You can picture me laughing hysterically at this point)
Next time I'll make sure to contact you before posting a negative review, Ms York. Your authorization is just so important to me.
Then again, I won't be reading any of your books. But you get the point.
If you've followed the link, you will also be able to notice that her WP theme is the same as STGRB. <-- Not a good idea, RY.
You know what she said when an author told her this might lead to harsher critics ?
"Until you mentioned it I have never heard of STGRB – who has, by the way, the same WP theme as I have – not the other way around, since their blog exists since January 2013 – I have started mine Valentine’s Day 2012."
That's not childish at all!!
I'm going to stop here because I'm becoming madder and madder.
Apparently GR has been deleting a lot of reviews lately, but I'm hoping they'll skip mine.
You should also know that they changed the blurb, but the one I talk about in my review was the old one.
Edit 15/01/15
I managed to gather enough courage to read the blurb. It pissed me off so much I decided to explain point by point why this is an utter disaster.
1. The thing is waaaaaay too long. Seriously, did she have to write an essay?
2."Shalima, “Daughter of the Light” and is born under special circumstances, is raised by her Aunts instead of her mother because she needs to be prepared to fulfil the “Old Scriptures”, which tell us, that she is the only Magician on Earth."
There are so many things wrong with that first sentence, I don't think I can cover them all.
I'll translate it for you : "Shalima, "Daughter of the Light", is born (and not "and is born") under special circumstances and (Why the comma?! Why?) raised by her Aunts instead of her mother because she needs to be prepared to fulfill (Yes, hun. 'fulfill' is spelled with 2 Ls) the "Old Scriptures" which say that she is the only Magician on Earth."
edit: about the "fulfill" or "fulfil", I found out "fulfil" was the non-american spelling, but her profile says she was raised in the US. Which means I'm going to leave it here and let you make up your own mind, you're old enough for that.
Apparently, RY also has a thing for Capitalizing Important Words. Not only did she do it on her blog, but here too ?! Maybe I should capitalize Random words, Too.
3."she will have to get married to the “Holy Golden Dragon”, the King of the Dragons, a huge Earth Dragon with magical talents".
Three 'dragons', people THREE! That's 2 too many. Also, what's with the quotation marks for irrelevant shit?
4."She is prepared by her “Master” in Magic and grows up with witchcraft in her life as normality. Her Aunts are witches."
"Master" and '"Magic"'. Need I go on? I'm pretty sure there are a few words missing in these sentences, too.
5."She cannot believe that she is the “Chosen One”, who has to protect the Dragon Species, the Nature and finally the Earth."
Please, don't make me repeat myself. I won't survive it.
6." But when she turns a Teenager it seems, that the Old Scriptures are right."
Well, RY, I'm thinking there shouldn't be a comma here. BUT THAT'S JUST ME.
7."Compared to what she had thought, Dragons really exist."
I wouldn't have said "compared" here, but I'm not so sure how I could replace it so... I'll leave this one. But don't worry, there's still the "she had thought" issue to
"She had thought" implies she stopped thinking that a long time ago, and I'm guessing that's not what she RY wanted to say here.
8."The Earth-Dragon was a beautiful huge creature, growing in length up to 90 feet."
Translation: "growing up to 90 ft in length", or "growing up to up to 90 ft in length."
*takes a deep breath "before" going Back to hell*
9."There were some extremely rare examples whose scales showed an unexplainable purple, but obviously at the moment the „Red Earth-Dragon“became pronounced extinct."
Why is it obvious ? Why ? Why ?
Also I'm pretty sure "became pronounced extinct" is not english.
10."The Water-Dragon was a conceited, extremely elegant creature, built a little bit smaller and more fragile than the Earth-Dragon. His scales went from silver grey over turquoise and ocean blue up to the deepest midnight blue, which gave him a sparkling cool beauty.
By the development of his back legs to fins his suffered a little bit under the limited ability to fly, but in his element, the water, he was of unprecedented elegance. He only went for short flights and only for nutrition, since he felt most comfortable in his home under water."
Why are you describing the
11."The Fire-Dragon had to take care for his scales with his oily spittle to beware them from drying out by the constant heat."
"had to take care of his scales with his oily spittle to keep them from..."
I can't comment on this, I'm too mad right now.
12."There were three different kinds of Dragons."
...
"The Earth-Dragon was..."
...
"The Water-Dragon was..."
...
"The Fire-Dragon..."
...
"And finally there was the Holy Golden Dragon..."
Here's what you can find in the "about me" section of her blog:
"[She] holds a Bachelor’s Degree in Business Administration"
HEY !!! Did you know you didn't need to know how to count to 4 to get your Bachelor's Degree in Business ???
12.The magician would also be..."
OH. MY. GAWD. She forgot the capital letter !!!!! RY, what were you thinking ?
13.After their marriage Shalima lives with her husband, the Holy Golden Dragon in the Dragon’s Empire and fulfils her duty when they discovered an old parchment roll which announced the End of the World."
Yes, of course. "Fulfils" with "discovered". Of course.
14." A terribly evil creature would overtake the Earth if they didn’t act.
Translation: "A terribly evil creature would have overtaken Earth if they hadn't acted."
Wait. Is that the hint of a plot I'm detecting?
Suspense...
"And they did act."
Well, who was I kidding anyway?
15."They leave the Dragon’s empire to look for helpers, for keys to rescue the world and for their own little army to fight the evil."
I can't even.
16."When the battle takes place the Holy Golden Dragon loses his life and the Dragon Species dies. Shalima is left back with the Dragon’s last present: His children…"
Didn't it already take place? And isn't the HGD the one who can father Dragons ? If so, why does the species die ? Makes no sense.
Also we've got a lot of suspense here, guys. Will the children be brats? Will they attend school? Will they get a Bachelor Degree AND be able to count to four ? So many emotions...
You know what the worst thing about all this is? That:
"Before criticizing my grammar and typos, please make sure your review is impeccable, otherwise you might not be taken seriously."
This is not a blurb, people. It's a disaster.
Original review:
It's just so nice of Raani York to save my TBR from drowning in books.
In a recent blogpost, (http://www.donotlink.com/framed?616205) RY decided to instruct the reader on how to review her books:
A good review is a 4- or 5-Star review. And as new upcoming Authors we do need every possible star, the more the better! I therefore hope you will forgive me if I’d list a few wishes I have, as an Author, when it comes to reviews:
Then she gives a list of things we should do when reviewing her book. My favorite is the first:
1. If you aren’t convinced of our work, and you don’t feel it deserves a 4- or 5-Star review, please contact us in private and let us know why you are not the biggest fan of our book. When you find constructive criticisms we understand, but still have good words about our writing, we can decide together, whether or not a quite positive 3-Star review can be published.
This is not an illusion. This is not a nightmare. You are not hallucinating.
She really wants us to talk about it... together (You can picture me laughing hysterically at this point)
Next time I'll make sure to contact you before posting a negative review, Ms York. Your authorization is just so important to me.
Then again, I won't be reading any of your books. But you get the point.
If you've followed the link, you will also be able to notice that her WP theme is the same as STGRB. <-- Not a good idea, RY.
You know what she said when an author told her this might lead to harsher critics ?
"Until you mentioned it I have never heard of STGRB – who has, by the way, the same WP theme as I have – not the other way around, since their blog exists since January 2013 – I have started mine Valentine’s Day 2012."
That's not childish at all!!
I'm going to stop here because I'm becoming madder and madder.
not-for-me
January 15, 2015Holy crap. That blurb needs an editor...
(Copied here for posterity)
(Copied here for posterity)
not-for-moi
March 5, 2015Here's what I say:
Too bad....I kinda love dragons.
Too bad....I kinda love dragons.
January 18, 2015
DNF at 67%.
I went far enough into this novel considering the plot lacked some key points to gain its way into my interest.
I rolled my eyes immediately after eyeing the poorly written blurb, but decided to move forward anyway. You’re apparently supposed to do that with books who are given to you as gifts, but I honestly don’t see why bother.
The concept was decent enough to make a strong novel, but the lack in characterization was screaming through every page. It could easily be rid of a hundred pages since it’s full of ideas but faulting on the execution.
Also, insta-love. Thou art a heartless bitch.
I know it’s been pointed out before, but what’s the deal with coincidences? There are numerous ways to move a plot forward besides just “destiny” or whatever that was.
This book is self-published, but it would have been greatly improved by the keen eyes of an editor. But considering how far the mess went, maybe even an editor couldn’t help it. Clusterfuck of ideas indeed.
P.s: I won’t say much concerning the blog post of the author. I sincerely couldn’t care less since I doubt I’ll give her novels another chance.
Still, I wish Goodreads would start to punish the behavior of authors instead of just patting them on the head. But you can’t get everything you want in life. That’s part of your lessons once you grow up. My point is: part of being an adult is understanding that you can’t get everything.
I went far enough into this novel considering the plot lacked some key points to gain its way into my interest.
I rolled my eyes immediately after eyeing the poorly written blurb, but decided to move forward anyway. You’re apparently supposed to do that with books who are given to you as gifts, but I honestly don’t see why bother.
The concept was decent enough to make a strong novel, but the lack in characterization was screaming through every page. It could easily be rid of a hundred pages since it’s full of ideas but faulting on the execution.
Also, insta-love. Thou art a heartless bitch.
I know it’s been pointed out before, but what’s the deal with coincidences? There are numerous ways to move a plot forward besides just “destiny” or whatever that was.
This book is self-published, but it would have been greatly improved by the keen eyes of an editor. But considering how far the mess went, maybe even an editor couldn’t help it. Clusterfuck of ideas indeed.
P.s: I won’t say much concerning the blog post of the author. I sincerely couldn’t care less since I doubt I’ll give her novels another chance.
Still, I wish Goodreads would start to punish the behavior of authors instead of just patting them on the head. But you can’t get everything you want in life. That’s part of your lessons once you grow up. My point is: part of being an adult is understanding that you can’t get everything.
nope
January 15, 2015So I didn't need to read the book - the premise told me the story. And yep, it's terrible. Not only is it one of those examples of fantasy fiction that brings shame to the genre, the blurb itself is horribly punctuated, with bad sentence structure galore.
And that folks, is your number one red flag when it comes to reading.
The second red flag was when the author tried to come to a compromise with reviewers to give herself four or five stars. Ha ha ha.
February 7, 2015
Pre-read: Guess who decided to foot the $4.99 bill on Amazon and read this book?
Guess who's going to read this sometime this weekend and review it critically?
I'm perhaps partially bonkers, but I'm also a scientific mind. I have no regrets.
(And frankly, I'm reading Pierce Brown's "Golden Son" so I think I have a good buffer read to counter to this one if it's not my cuppa.)
Post-read: So I ended up surviving the whole read.
Bought this on Amazon for $5.35 ($4.99 plus tax), managed to read this over four days time. Decided I'm not returning it to Amazon. I think my notes on it are ones I'll want to return to on how not to write fantasy.
It wasn't very good to be honest. Very few moments where I could say it had potential as a respectful fantasy tale, but there were too many problems. Some points I was offended, some points I was bored, other points had lacking development and awkward transitions as well as translation (and yes, this book was translated, but even then, I think the content had problems as well as the formatting).
I've been brainstorming a few ways to write this review, but I decided I'd better just stick to standard and explain the issues I had with it. I have a feeling that this review would've never been posted had I asked the author's permission. =/
Full review:
This review will probably end up breaking the character limit (or coming somewhat close), but I'm going to try to streamline this into sections to make following this easier. There's much to cover.
Intro
I think there are other people who have articulated issues regarding York's ill thought, naive blogpost much better than I. I picked up this book in light of the controversy, because I was genuinely curious at how it came across. If a single 1-star review triggered that particularly censoring "wishlist" for people perusing and reflecting upon this book, then what was it about this book that worked/didn't work? I didn't read the original blurb (at first) that this book had while on Goodreads, but it seems that it was cleaned up to clarify what was essentially a full on summary that felt too long, too tedious to read (and that probably should've told me what I was in for in the long run).
Unfortunately, that amended blurb doesn't really tell you much about the meandering story this book contains, and really - "Dragonbride" had little standing for plot and establishment for a fantasy novel. It's false advertising, because while the MC is said to be Shalima, a witch who trains and plays a role in fulfilling a prophecy that could mean the end of the world, the book starts in a completely different place. It takes the route (first, because there's no chapter 1, it has to start at chapter 2, which seems to be a formatting error, and some of the chapters are broken up into decimals, which I have no idea why and it seemed extraneous/tedious) of describing a vague setting, then transitions to a translation of a prophecy involving the birth of a girl named Ardelia and a woman named Imra.
So if the MC's Shalima, why does this start with Ardelia/Imra? Keep reading, you'll find out.
Ardelia's birth has all the grandeur of a stereotypical TCO (The Chosen One). She's beautiful, her mother was beautiful but died because her father "was too cheap" to get a proper midwife (and somehow the author makes it clear it was his fault his wife died). Ardelia was (at first) sent to another family but since the woman (Imra) had too many children to take care of, she sends Ardelia back to her father, who sells her as a sexual slave. SHE'S REPEATEDLY RAPED, including an attempted rape by her father, who "couldn't get it up" in Aurelia's words, because he was too drunk to do so.
And the attention to the rape(s) are a fixation I do not understand in this narrative, on multiple levels. It wasn't so much the fact that rape was mentioned as it was portrayed in the narrative that left a bad vibe with me.
Take this quote, for instance. It has to do with Imra and Ardelia when Ardelia worries about a dragon potentially eating her since a certain type of dragon feeds on virgins, when she realizes that dragons are a real entity in their world.
Imra says:
"Don't worry, Ardelia. Only Water Dragons eat virgins, but since you're no longer a virgin, you have little to worry about..."
What kind of thing is that to say to a child who's been repeatedly raped? From a character that's supposed to be sympathetic, and why was this detail even important? On one hand, Imra says that what's happened to Ardelia's a horrible thing (as does the villagers who witness Irma buying the child from her abusive father), but there are suggestions later on that despite Ardelia's victimization, she's not someone whom "anyone" would want. I'll get into more of that a little later.
There's a bit of an Interlude/Intermission (between theFirst Second chapter) of another story of a Golden Dragon which makes the narrative even more confusing to follow, because there's multiple stories going on at one time. It isn't until 12% in the novel that we meet Shalima, and the book trades back and forth between Third Person and First to show the differences between Ardelia and the Dragon's experiences. versus Shalima's. I think at some point the author decided it was a bad idea to keep going back and forth between First and Third Person, so eventually, it just becomes Shalima's story in First, but it wasn't a transition that was done well at all. It felt like large dumps of info instead of being resonant and intimate to the characters involved.
The dialogue between Ardelia and Imra was frequently very static and stilted, and part of me realizes that might've been the translation, but it was still very detrimental to the pacing of the novel in the part, even for one (long) chapter.
Middle - Instalove and Call to Battle
Shalima's story is probably the longest and most tedious part of the novel because it's a combination of a play by play of her instalove with her marriage to a Golden Dragon (matter in point THE Golden Holy Dragon), who has three names that are frequently confusing to follow: Dagron (obvious human to dragon name is obvious), Draco, and Golden Dragon and her training as a witch (which some of it I liked, others I didn't). And the names of Shalima's lover were so similar that I had a hard time keeping up with them because all three names referred to the SAME person/being and were used interchangably. I almost wish the author would've chosen just ONE.
The author took the time to fully (agonizingly so) telegraph the exchanges between the Golden Dragon/Draco/Dagron and Shalima; there was very little intimacy between them despite suggested (and really generic) sexual interludes, and constant pet names for each other, which made it cheesy. There was even the unveiling of Draco's true form as a dragon when Shalima saw him just before they were to be wed, and he shed a single Dragon Tear (which was an inconsistency for a later quest when Shalima had to gather a Dragon Tear and Draco says "Dragons don't shed tears!" and they have this long process of trying to get him to cry in his dragon form.)
According to a prophecy though, Shalima's training as a witch is needed, since marrying Draco (I'll call him Draco from now on) means she's now a "dragon princess." So how does Ardelia play into this? Shalima saves Ardelia's life by casting a spell that forced Ardelia's father to leave her alone, but somehow at the expense of Ardelia becoming mute for the rest of her life (so now she's repeatedly raped and mute, poor girl). But Ardelia can mentally communicate with Shalima since Shalima's a witch (don't ask me how this make sense, I don't know). At one point Shalima and Ardelia shame Ardelia's condition, saying that "no one would want her" because of her so called sexual history (for crying out loud, she was RAPED!) and her disability. But conveniently later on, Ardelia meets a "dark skinned" man named Li whom she shares a fondness for, which I had a hard time seeing also because the whole matching was a part of a prophecy that Shalima mentioned.
Matter in point, a whole heck of a lot of things in this novel are explained by way of convenient prophecy, which is a cop out for the world building and development to make these relationships hit home if they were even to be remotely established. This becomes a problem with the establishment of the greater conflict of the novel, as Shalima has to step up to the plate to battle a force of evil that means the end of the world.
Ending - Where the eff was the villain/conflict; possibly meaningless sacrifices?
So, the whole novel is supposed to culminate over a final battle that means a fight to prevent the end of the world, but you never really know who the villain is until the very end of the novel, and by that time, it's really hard to care because the only motivation that the villain has is 1. He's evil and 2. It's a part of the prophecy. Not to mention Dragons are said to become extinct as a part of the "prophecy", and Shalima realizes with horror that it means the sacrifice of one she loves.
And the narrative literally goes on and on and on for chapter sections about his purported demise, and I'm to the point where it's telegraphed so blatantly that I want to say "Just get to the scene, already!" I found it hard to care, because if you keep saying that a character is going to die over and over again for prolonged sections, it kills the tension of when the event actually happens. There was even another character that was killed (he wasn't in the novel long enough to matter, just someone to reconfirm the "prophecy") that served as just one of those throw in things after a long stretch of nothing happening in the novel but massive infodumps.
After the final battle, Shalima has to move on in her role as the TCO *cough* Dragon Princess, when she figures out she's pregnant and things for her kingdom have to move on from there. And the novel ends for the promise of a sequel that follows the family from there.
Honestly, I think someone could've made this story work in more resonant ways than what it provided, because the story wasn't bad for theory for an epic tale, but the execution was terrible and even offensive in points for the way it expounded on sensitive things like rape and disability, and not to mention it infodumped constantly, cut tension in places where it could've been very impactful, static character development, stilted dialogue, and very lazy worldbuilding where every conflict and resolution was predicted by a vague "prophecy". Plus, no true villain with motivations other than the fact they were "evil."
In the end, I've read more vested fantasy tales, and I won't be following this series or buying future installments - it wasn't worth the long slog and it was incredibly tedious to read. I did buy this from Amazon, but the thing about it is, I won't be returning it because this is a good example of what not to do with a fantasy tale. I took copious notes and highlights in my copy, some of which I couldn't quote in this entire review. Whether by translation or just by the writing in itself for origin, I can't tell, but I think it's warranted to say that York has a lot of work cut out for her, to be able to respect variant opinions of her work, respect her readership, take criticism, as well as use it to improve her craft tremendously.
Overall score: 1/5 stars
Guess who's going to read this sometime this weekend and review it critically?
I'm perhaps partially bonkers, but I'm also a scientific mind. I have no regrets.
(And frankly, I'm reading Pierce Brown's "Golden Son" so I think I have a good buffer read to counter to this one if it's not my cuppa.)
Post-read: So I ended up surviving the whole read.
Bought this on Amazon for $5.35 ($4.99 plus tax), managed to read this over four days time. Decided I'm not returning it to Amazon. I think my notes on it are ones I'll want to return to on how not to write fantasy.
It wasn't very good to be honest. Very few moments where I could say it had potential as a respectful fantasy tale, but there were too many problems. Some points I was offended, some points I was bored, other points had lacking development and awkward transitions as well as translation (and yes, this book was translated, but even then, I think the content had problems as well as the formatting).
I've been brainstorming a few ways to write this review, but I decided I'd better just stick to standard and explain the issues I had with it. I have a feeling that this review would've never been posted had I asked the author's permission. =/
Full review:
This review will probably end up breaking the character limit (or coming somewhat close), but I'm going to try to streamline this into sections to make following this easier. There's much to cover.
Intro
I think there are other people who have articulated issues regarding York's ill thought, naive blogpost much better than I. I picked up this book in light of the controversy, because I was genuinely curious at how it came across. If a single 1-star review triggered that particularly censoring "wishlist" for people perusing and reflecting upon this book, then what was it about this book that worked/didn't work? I didn't read the original blurb (at first) that this book had while on Goodreads, but it seems that it was cleaned up to clarify what was essentially a full on summary that felt too long, too tedious to read (and that probably should've told me what I was in for in the long run).
Unfortunately, that amended blurb doesn't really tell you much about the meandering story this book contains, and really - "Dragonbride" had little standing for plot and establishment for a fantasy novel. It's false advertising, because while the MC is said to be Shalima, a witch who trains and plays a role in fulfilling a prophecy that could mean the end of the world, the book starts in a completely different place. It takes the route (first, because there's no chapter 1, it has to start at chapter 2, which seems to be a formatting error, and some of the chapters are broken up into decimals, which I have no idea why and it seemed extraneous/tedious) of describing a vague setting, then transitions to a translation of a prophecy involving the birth of a girl named Ardelia and a woman named Imra.
So if the MC's Shalima, why does this start with Ardelia/Imra? Keep reading, you'll find out.
Ardelia's birth has all the grandeur of a stereotypical TCO (The Chosen One). She's beautiful, her mother was beautiful but died because her father "was too cheap" to get a proper midwife (and somehow the author makes it clear it was his fault his wife died). Ardelia was (at first) sent to another family but since the woman (Imra) had too many children to take care of, she sends Ardelia back to her father, who sells her as a sexual slave. SHE'S REPEATEDLY RAPED, including an attempted rape by her father, who "couldn't get it up" in Aurelia's words, because he was too drunk to do so.
And the attention to the rape(s) are a fixation I do not understand in this narrative, on multiple levels. It wasn't so much the fact that rape was mentioned as it was portrayed in the narrative that left a bad vibe with me.
Take this quote, for instance. It has to do with Imra and Ardelia when Ardelia worries about a dragon potentially eating her since a certain type of dragon feeds on virgins, when she realizes that dragons are a real entity in their world.
Imra says:
"Don't worry, Ardelia. Only Water Dragons eat virgins, but since you're no longer a virgin, you have little to worry about..."
What kind of thing is that to say to a child who's been repeatedly raped? From a character that's supposed to be sympathetic, and why was this detail even important? On one hand, Imra says that what's happened to Ardelia's a horrible thing (as does the villagers who witness Irma buying the child from her abusive father), but there are suggestions later on that despite Ardelia's victimization, she's not someone whom "anyone" would want. I'll get into more of that a little later.
There's a bit of an Interlude/Intermission (between the
The dialogue between Ardelia and Imra was frequently very static and stilted, and part of me realizes that might've been the translation, but it was still very detrimental to the pacing of the novel in the part, even for one (long) chapter.
Middle - Instalove and Call to Battle
Shalima's story is probably the longest and most tedious part of the novel because it's a combination of a play by play of her instalove with her marriage to a Golden Dragon (matter in point THE Golden Holy Dragon), who has three names that are frequently confusing to follow: Dagron (obvious human to dragon name is obvious), Draco, and Golden Dragon and her training as a witch (which some of it I liked, others I didn't). And the names of Shalima's lover were so similar that I had a hard time keeping up with them because all three names referred to the SAME person/being and were used interchangably. I almost wish the author would've chosen just ONE.
The author took the time to fully (agonizingly so) telegraph the exchanges between the Golden Dragon/Draco/Dagron and Shalima; there was very little intimacy between them despite suggested (and really generic) sexual interludes, and constant pet names for each other, which made it cheesy. There was even the unveiling of Draco's true form as a dragon when Shalima saw him just before they were to be wed, and he shed a single Dragon Tear (which was an inconsistency for a later quest when Shalima had to gather a Dragon Tear and Draco says "Dragons don't shed tears!" and they have this long process of trying to get him to cry in his dragon form.)
According to a prophecy though, Shalima's training as a witch is needed, since marrying Draco (I'll call him Draco from now on) means she's now a "dragon princess." So how does Ardelia play into this? Shalima saves Ardelia's life by casting a spell that forced Ardelia's father to leave her alone, but somehow at the expense of Ardelia becoming mute for the rest of her life (so now she's repeatedly raped and mute, poor girl). But Ardelia can mentally communicate with Shalima since Shalima's a witch (don't ask me how this make sense, I don't know). At one point Shalima and Ardelia shame Ardelia's condition, saying that "no one would want her" because of her so called sexual history (for crying out loud, she was RAPED!) and her disability. But conveniently later on, Ardelia meets a "dark skinned" man named Li whom she shares a fondness for, which I had a hard time seeing also because the whole matching was a part of a prophecy that Shalima mentioned.
Matter in point, a whole heck of a lot of things in this novel are explained by way of convenient prophecy, which is a cop out for the world building and development to make these relationships hit home if they were even to be remotely established. This becomes a problem with the establishment of the greater conflict of the novel, as Shalima has to step up to the plate to battle a force of evil that means the end of the world.
Ending - Where the eff was the villain/conflict; possibly meaningless sacrifices?
So, the whole novel is supposed to culminate over a final battle that means a fight to prevent the end of the world, but you never really know who the villain is until the very end of the novel, and by that time, it's really hard to care because the only motivation that the villain has is 1. He's evil and 2. It's a part of the prophecy. Not to mention Dragons are said to become extinct as a part of the "prophecy", and Shalima realizes with horror that it means the sacrifice of one she loves.
And the narrative literally goes on and on and on for chapter sections about his purported demise, and I'm to the point where it's telegraphed so blatantly that I want to say "Just get to the scene, already!" I found it hard to care, because if you keep saying that a character is going to die over and over again for prolonged sections, it kills the tension of when the event actually happens. There was even another character that was killed (he wasn't in the novel long enough to matter, just someone to reconfirm the "prophecy") that served as just one of those throw in things after a long stretch of nothing happening in the novel but massive infodumps.
After the final battle, Shalima has to move on in her role as the TCO *cough* Dragon Princess, when she figures out she's pregnant and things for her kingdom have to move on from there. And the novel ends for the promise of a sequel that follows the family from there.
Honestly, I think someone could've made this story work in more resonant ways than what it provided, because the story wasn't bad for theory for an epic tale, but the execution was terrible and even offensive in points for the way it expounded on sensitive things like rape and disability, and not to mention it infodumped constantly, cut tension in places where it could've been very impactful, static character development, stilted dialogue, and very lazy worldbuilding where every conflict and resolution was predicted by a vague "prophecy". Plus, no true villain with motivations other than the fact they were "evil."
In the end, I've read more vested fantasy tales, and I won't be following this series or buying future installments - it wasn't worth the long slog and it was incredibly tedious to read. I did buy this from Amazon, but the thing about it is, I won't be returning it because this is a good example of what not to do with a fantasy tale. I took copious notes and highlights in my copy, some of which I couldn't quote in this entire review. Whether by translation or just by the writing in itself for origin, I can't tell, but I think it's warranted to say that York has a lot of work cut out for her, to be able to respect variant opinions of her work, respect her readership, take criticism, as well as use it to improve her craft tremendously.
Overall score: 1/5 stars
February 19, 2015
Not interested in this book.
My advice, make sure to check out the Look Inside before purchasing. It's definitely not "amazing" by any stretch of the imagination.
I believe you'll see what I saw, an amateurish effort that needs a lot more work before it could be considered any where near a reasonably retail quality book.
My advice, make sure to check out the Look Inside before purchasing. It's definitely not "amazing" by any stretch of the imagination.
I believe you'll see what I saw, an amateurish effort that needs a lot more work before it could be considered any where near a reasonably retail quality book.
January 25, 2015
Actually it is nice. And it being her 1st book(I suppose?) we should give her some support.
Why are people are just writing hateful reviews? If you want to criticize this book, why not be it a constructive criticism?
Why are people are just writing hateful reviews? If you want to criticize this book, why not be it a constructive criticism?
Want to read
September 12, 2016Good lord, what a mess has grown around this poor book. Ms. York made a mistake that, if she'd paid any attention to the indie reader/writer world (or listened to those who did warn her), she should have known better than to make. And she paid the standard price for it, as readers took offence at being told, AGAIN, how an author would like their book reviewed.
Generally happens something like this, one person or multiple people simultaneously see the post, maybe makes some noise about it, rate and/or review the book. That rating/review is seen on the feeds of all their friends, some of which check it out, have a similar reaction and take a similar action. Thus, that book moves on to the feeds of all of their friends, etc. etc. etc. And as we've all seen this before, the standard reaction has become a 1✮-I'm-not-interested rating. It's not so much organised as organically developed into a routine.
I've never been a fan of 1✮ing a book, but I recognise that GR's TOC allows it and respect readers right to rate/review a book based on anything they like. I quote someone else, who used not liking orange covers as a perfectly legitimate reason to 1✮ a book. It is, like it or not.
But now there appears to be an effort to counter the 1✮ ratings with 5✮ ratings. On Jan 23rd alone, 250 5✮ ratings were submitted, many from brand new accounts with no other books listed. That seems to have more than made up for the 38 1✮s and it's hard to imagine it could be anything but an actual campaign to inflate the book's rating average.
For one, there is no pre-established behaviour that individuals are falling back on, as there is with the punishing 1✮s. For another, it would be difficult (though admittedly probably not impossible) for the book to be sweeping through feeds so quickly, especially without accompanying reviews to advise the friends what the rating is about and prompt enough curiosity to investigate. And they certainly can't be seeing friends' ratings on feeds they don't yet have on their brand new, friendless profiles. So, I can only conclude someone somewhere has arranged to return fire on Ms. York's behalf.
And this is significantly different that the 1✮ carpet-bombing that has become a ritualised behaviour among reviewers. In that case it's a series of individuals deciding on their own to take a certain action. Yes, that action has been pre-established through past experience, but it's still individuals (in this case, 38 of them) who chose on their own to do something. They each carry the weight of their own actions. In this new 5✮ flood, it's a single individual who has contacted his friends to instruct them to a certain action. Yes, it's still individuals choosing to follow those directions, but it's a single person prompting a following to 5✮ one author and 1✮ another, carrying the responsibility of impetus for at least 250 other people. That is a horse of a different color, indeed
I'd be interested to know if this was with or without Ms. York's consent, because I don't see this helping her at all. For one, when her rating was in the dumps due to a 1✮ carpet-bombing, it was easy for future readers to see what exactly happened and why exactly the rating was so low. They could then choose whether to ignore those ratings/reviews or not. (Many readers, myself included, tend to ignore a numerical rating and pay significantly more attention to the content of a review.) Now, however, the event that led to the low rating in the first place is being concealed, buried under a mountain of even hollower 5✮ ratings. And as they are review-less and will garner fewer likes, they are unlikely to ever climb above the 1✮s to top the review lists. They remain largely unseen.
This muddies Dragonbride's value even further and can only hurt it in the end. Because now, it's not readily apparent that Ms. York sustained what some would call an attack, but it appears as if she's inspired others to manipulate her book's rating. And it will always be obvious, as the nice little review graph will show heavy 5 & 1 star ratings and almost nothing in between. Just in case anyone needs to be told, this doesn't look good for an author. It trashes their credibility.
Even more confusingly, in conjuncture with the 5✮ carpet...can it still be called carpet-bombing...there seems to be a simultaneous campaign to 1✮ another author (though either on a much smaller scale or much less successfully, but over several books). Again, the simultaneous occurrence and too fast for believable snowballing, leads one to question if it's not coordinated. I'm not sure why this second author was chosen for retaliation. I never noticed her being particularly out to get York or unusually vocal about her book.
Again, this can only make Ms. York look bad. And as the one thing she's done right in all of this is not engage people and be polite, I suspect it's not at her behest. I could be wrong, of course, but one does wonder. Whether she sought people to start this or not, she's certainly aware of it. She's been online since this started. She friended the person who sent out the call to action. Now that it's not needed to float her book's average, she's removed her own 5✮ rating for the book. She's liked the few 5✮ reviews, knowing they can't have actually read the book in the time available. (Not reviewing a book if you haven't read all of it was on her own initial wish-list of reviewer behaviours.) She definitely knows it's happening and has been as silent on it as she had the negative attention.
I've been fairly active in discussing Ms. York's blog post and eventual apology. I see value in doing so. It's through such discussions that opinions develop, grow and change. Participants and observers both learn from it. I understand and support the right of readers to rate a book anyway they like, even unfortunately in an organised, retaliatory fashion (though I find it distasteful). But I'm feeling increasingly sorry for Ms. York. Either she has some exceptional skill for always doing just the wrong thing to benefit herself or she's stuck in the middle of, not only people academically discussing her posts and publicly shaming her behaviour (frequently different people in the same threads) but also a tit-for-tat war with star ratings as artillery. (Personally, I suspect it's a bit of both. I think she leans toward victim-centered behaviour that leads to actions that alienate readers and someone else took advantage of that to help her out.Unfortunately, that appears to be more about his agenda than actually helping her and it's just making her look petty and unscrupulous, which isn't really a help to her.)
No one is benefitting from this—not the author, not the book, not the rabble-rousers, and certainly not the poor reader who one day wants to know what other readers thought of Dragonbride and can't make heads or tails of the hundreds of reviews/rating cluttering its feed.
It's just my opinion, of course, but there it is.
Edit 1/30/15: Since I posted this, last week, there have been further waves of drama. I figured I might as well add them to the list. A representative of Dragon Knight Chronicles, which I believe is some sort of author collective that functions as a publishing group (though I could be wrong on the details) commented on several threads that they had picked Dragonbride up and were having it reedited. This garnered some hostility as their own book doesn't appear much better edited than Dragonbride, in the opinion of some readers.
What's more, it was stated that Raani York's doctor took her computer access away for mental health reason, suggesting that she had been pushed toward mental breakdown by this affair. (This despite her Goodreads status showing her active in the same time period.) To me, this seems a bit over-dramatic and in a very real sense felt like one more person, that wasn't actually Ms. York, jumping on the bandwagon and stirring the pot and making it worse.
The 1-star campaign against Linda Hilton has evolved to include death threats and, I believe, even a report to the FBI for cyber crimes. (I don't know much about this situation, but it seems utterly beyond the pale--the threats, not the report.)
Now it would appear that Zoe Desh, author of Authors vs. Goodreads (which is an aniti-Goodreads pamphlet) has taken on Ms. York's cause by posting tweets like the following:
Zoe @zoedesh
ROFLMAO -
Full scale rating nuclear war just broke out on #Goodreads:
http://bit.ly/1LjJWAH (Linda Hilton, excommunicated)
vs
Zoe @zoedesh
Follow
http://bit.ly/1uDSisv (Raani York, still standing)
When is Goodreads rating system going to embarrass #Amazon?
#authors paying attention?
So, here's one more pot-stirrer jumping in the mix. I notice Ms. York has now taken her blog, her Twitter and her GR accounts down. It would appear she really is either trying to disappear or been driven into exile.
I hereby declare this to be the most clustered clusterf*ck I've so far encountered here on Goodreads. (Though, unlike Desh, I don't blame that on Goodreads.) Too many people trying to "help" poor little Raani York and just making things worse, if in no other way but by keeping it from dying. Might I suggest that it's time to just leave it alone.
Generally happens something like this, one person or multiple people simultaneously see the post, maybe makes some noise about it, rate and/or review the book. That rating/review is seen on the feeds of all their friends, some of which check it out, have a similar reaction and take a similar action. Thus, that book moves on to the feeds of all of their friends, etc. etc. etc. And as we've all seen this before, the standard reaction has become a 1✮-I'm-not-interested rating. It's not so much organised as organically developed into a routine.
I've never been a fan of 1✮ing a book, but I recognise that GR's TOC allows it and respect readers right to rate/review a book based on anything they like. I quote someone else, who used not liking orange covers as a perfectly legitimate reason to 1✮ a book. It is, like it or not.
But now there appears to be an effort to counter the 1✮ ratings with 5✮ ratings. On Jan 23rd alone, 250 5✮ ratings were submitted, many from brand new accounts with no other books listed. That seems to have more than made up for the 38 1✮s and it's hard to imagine it could be anything but an actual campaign to inflate the book's rating average.
For one, there is no pre-established behaviour that individuals are falling back on, as there is with the punishing 1✮s. For another, it would be difficult (though admittedly probably not impossible) for the book to be sweeping through feeds so quickly, especially without accompanying reviews to advise the friends what the rating is about and prompt enough curiosity to investigate. And they certainly can't be seeing friends' ratings on feeds they don't yet have on their brand new, friendless profiles. So, I can only conclude someone somewhere has arranged to return fire on Ms. York's behalf.
And this is significantly different that the 1✮ carpet-bombing that has become a ritualised behaviour among reviewers. In that case it's a series of individuals deciding on their own to take a certain action. Yes, that action has been pre-established through past experience, but it's still individuals (in this case, 38 of them) who chose on their own to do something. They each carry the weight of their own actions. In this new 5✮ flood, it's a single individual who has contacted his friends to instruct them to a certain action. Yes, it's still individuals choosing to follow those directions, but it's a single person prompting a following to 5✮ one author and 1✮ another, carrying the responsibility of impetus for at least 250 other people. That is a horse of a different color, indeed
I'd be interested to know if this was with or without Ms. York's consent, because I don't see this helping her at all. For one, when her rating was in the dumps due to a 1✮ carpet-bombing, it was easy for future readers to see what exactly happened and why exactly the rating was so low. They could then choose whether to ignore those ratings/reviews or not. (Many readers, myself included, tend to ignore a numerical rating and pay significantly more attention to the content of a review.) Now, however, the event that led to the low rating in the first place is being concealed, buried under a mountain of even hollower 5✮ ratings. And as they are review-less and will garner fewer likes, they are unlikely to ever climb above the 1✮s to top the review lists. They remain largely unseen.
This muddies Dragonbride's value even further and can only hurt it in the end. Because now, it's not readily apparent that Ms. York sustained what some would call an attack, but it appears as if she's inspired others to manipulate her book's rating. And it will always be obvious, as the nice little review graph will show heavy 5 & 1 star ratings and almost nothing in between. Just in case anyone needs to be told, this doesn't look good for an author. It trashes their credibility.
Even more confusingly, in conjuncture with the 5✮ carpet...can it still be called carpet-bombing...there seems to be a simultaneous campaign to 1✮ another author (though either on a much smaller scale or much less successfully, but over several books). Again, the simultaneous occurrence and too fast for believable snowballing, leads one to question if it's not coordinated. I'm not sure why this second author was chosen for retaliation. I never noticed her being particularly out to get York or unusually vocal about her book.
Again, this can only make Ms. York look bad. And as the one thing she's done right in all of this is not engage people and be polite, I suspect it's not at her behest. I could be wrong, of course, but one does wonder. Whether she sought people to start this or not, she's certainly aware of it. She's been online since this started. She friended the person who sent out the call to action. Now that it's not needed to float her book's average, she's removed her own 5✮ rating for the book. She's liked the few 5✮ reviews, knowing they can't have actually read the book in the time available. (Not reviewing a book if you haven't read all of it was on her own initial wish-list of reviewer behaviours.) She definitely knows it's happening and has been as silent on it as she had the negative attention.
I've been fairly active in discussing Ms. York's blog post and eventual apology. I see value in doing so. It's through such discussions that opinions develop, grow and change. Participants and observers both learn from it. I understand and support the right of readers to rate a book anyway they like, even unfortunately in an organised, retaliatory fashion (though I find it distasteful). But I'm feeling increasingly sorry for Ms. York. Either she has some exceptional skill for always doing just the wrong thing to benefit herself or she's stuck in the middle of, not only people academically discussing her posts and publicly shaming her behaviour (frequently different people in the same threads) but also a tit-for-tat war with star ratings as artillery. (Personally, I suspect it's a bit of both. I think she leans toward victim-centered behaviour that leads to actions that alienate readers and someone else took advantage of that to help her out.Unfortunately, that appears to be more about his agenda than actually helping her and it's just making her look petty and unscrupulous, which isn't really a help to her.)
No one is benefitting from this—not the author, not the book, not the rabble-rousers, and certainly not the poor reader who one day wants to know what other readers thought of Dragonbride and can't make heads or tails of the hundreds of reviews/rating cluttering its feed.
It's just my opinion, of course, but there it is.
Edit 1/30/15: Since I posted this, last week, there have been further waves of drama. I figured I might as well add them to the list. A representative of Dragon Knight Chronicles, which I believe is some sort of author collective that functions as a publishing group (though I could be wrong on the details) commented on several threads that they had picked Dragonbride up and were having it reedited. This garnered some hostility as their own book doesn't appear much better edited than Dragonbride, in the opinion of some readers.
What's more, it was stated that Raani York's doctor took her computer access away for mental health reason, suggesting that she had been pushed toward mental breakdown by this affair. (This despite her Goodreads status showing her active in the same time period.) To me, this seems a bit over-dramatic and in a very real sense felt like one more person, that wasn't actually Ms. York, jumping on the bandwagon and stirring the pot and making it worse.
The 1-star campaign against Linda Hilton has evolved to include death threats and, I believe, even a report to the FBI for cyber crimes. (I don't know much about this situation, but it seems utterly beyond the pale--the threats, not the report.)
Now it would appear that Zoe Desh, author of Authors vs. Goodreads (which is an aniti-Goodreads pamphlet) has taken on Ms. York's cause by posting tweets like the following:
Zoe @zoedesh
ROFLMAO -
Full scale rating nuclear war just broke out on #Goodreads:
http://bit.ly/1LjJWAH (Linda Hilton, excommunicated)
vs
Zoe @zoedesh
Follow
http://bit.ly/1uDSisv (Raani York, still standing)
When is Goodreads rating system going to embarrass #Amazon?
#authors paying attention?
So, here's one more pot-stirrer jumping in the mix. I notice Ms. York has now taken her blog, her Twitter and her GR accounts down. It would appear she really is either trying to disappear or been driven into exile.
I hereby declare this to be the most clustered clusterf*ck I've so far encountered here on Goodreads. (Though, unlike Desh, I don't blame that on Goodreads.) Too many people trying to "help" poor little Raani York and just making things worse, if in no other way but by keeping it from dying. Might I suggest that it's time to just leave it alone.
avoiding-to-read-atm
March 12, 2015EDIT:
ETA:
I decided to just link the rest of my old review on alternate sites, so here is the link.
ETA:
I decided to just link the rest of my old review on alternate sites, so here is the link.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
January 16, 2015
Since my previous review was taken down. Apparently it pissed someone off. then I hope you like this one better.
Fuck this book. This book fucking sucks harry balls. Be warned guys do not touch with a 100ft pole.
Seriously.
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Fuck this book. This book fucking sucks harry balls. Be warned guys do not touch with a 100ft pole.
Seriously.
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never-ever
January 16, 2015Is that supposed to be Khaleesi or something?
nope
January 16, 2015I already know what happens at the end.
So I'm not reading this one. Also, the writing is atrocious.
There are other reasons I can't explain because of Goodreads Review Guidelines, but you can message me and I'll give you all the details.
So I'm not reading this one. Also, the writing is atrocious.
There are other reasons I can't explain because of Goodreads Review Guidelines, but you can message me and I'll give you all the details.
January 24, 2015
This book skyrocketed from being below two stars to over four fucking stars? It wasn't like this when I last checked two days ago.
August 31, 2016
Apparently gifs of snowflakes aren't allowed...
Lets see if I am allowed to shelf it!
Lets see if I am allowed to shelf it!
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