Ratings13
Average rating3.8
Executive Summary: I enjoyed the last 25% or so, but that's just not enough for me to continue on in the series. 2.5 stars rounded up for a strong finish.
Audio book: I wasn't terribly impressed by Celeste Ciulla. I have a hard time deciding if some of the dialogue was bad, or if it was simply the inflections with with Ms. Ciulla read it. Overall she wasn't bad, but there were parts that made me cringe a bit/pulled me out of the story.
Full Review
I had been wanting to try Ms. Bear for about a year or so. Someone must have recommended this book/series to me at some point because it was already on my list when it was brought up to be read by my side reads group.
Then just before the read a few people either disappeared or backed out of the read, including the guy who suggested we read it. Maybe I should have taken that as a sign.
I think if I had read this book a few years ago I might have liked it more. As it was, I've read just too much fantasy that I like better.
The characters were interesting enough, but there just didn't feel like there was much plot. I was intrigued by how a person could be converted into a wizard, but very little was explained. Maybe both of these things won't be an issue in the later books. It's hard to say at this point.
The writing was decent, but not great. As I mentioned above, I'm not sure if some of the dialogue made me cringe, or if it was simply the inflection it was read. I'd say the best thing about this book was the protagonist's horse.
Overall I'd be willing to give Ms. Bear another chance, but not with the next book in this series.