Well, as I wrap up writing chapter 2 of my dissertation (a 54 page chapter, whew!), I got the awesome news that a sequel I'd been looking forward to just came out.
A few months ago, I used my student Amazon Prime account to borrow a book called Haven (first book in the War of the Princes Trilogy) by A. R. Ivanovich. I can't remember if I read about it somewhere or just came across it while browsing, but it was a fabulous find.
Haven tells the story of a young woman named Katelyn Kestrel, who lives in an idyllic country cut off from the rest of the world. Over the course of the book, she discovers the terrifying reality of the outside world and has to fight for her life in order to get back home. The book seamlessly combines fantasy and steampunk elements, and, if you're anything like me, you will NOT be able to put it down. Ivanovich does some absolutely fascinating stuff that sets her world apart from other steam/fantasy settings, and her characters are rich, lively, and engaging. It may technically be YA, but it doesn't hit the same pitfalls that so many others do. If you liked Hunger Games, definitely pick these up. I honestly think War of the Princes is better than Hunger Games in a lot of ways, and Ivanovich's Kat is a much more relate-able character without being a Mary Sue.
The second book, Dragoon, just came out (and is on sale until July), and it definitely does the first book justice.
I think Haven was a little better (and most reviewers seem to be in consensus on this), but it's still fantastic. The world grows in complexity and depth, there's a great villain (I wish we could have gotten more of her!), and the plot engages with real and weighty consequences for the characters' actions and decisions. There are a few moments when I felt characters' reactions to certain events were a little off, but these were relatively minor and usually resolved well. My sense of dissonance there may have also been due to how fast I read the books. Maybe I just didn't give my brain proper processing time. ^_^;;
If I have any complaint at all about the books, it's a really minor gripe: one male character is supposed to be extremely attractive, and it gets a little annoying to constantly hear the main character mention it. Even though it's "he's a jerk despite his appearance" rather than "and he's beautiful and I love him", it still gets redundant. But that is seriously SUCH a minor gripe, and it lessens as the story goes on.
It'll probably be a while before book 3 (two just came out a few days ago), but don't wait to read them. The second book recapped the first well without being repetitive, and they're totally re-readable.
By the way, the author's pretty amazing. A. R. Ivanovich did her own cover art on both books, and she seems like a really awesome person. Seriously, if she lived in my town, I'd invite her over for dinner and gaming fun. Go check out her blog if you want to learn more about the books, the art, and their author: The Official Site of A. R. Ivanovich
Wednesday I should have some pictures of my CLEAN study, and hopefully other cool info. Maybe it'll be my day to glorify Guild Wars 2 and talk about my characters. And next Sunday, we should have some dress updates!
No comments:
Post a Comment