For over a decade, Robin
McKinley's richly woven saga has gripped the imagination of readers and
caused critics to hail her as a master of fantasy. It is the story of
Aerin, haunted since childhood by the legend of her mother-a
"witchwoman" who enspelled the king and then died of disappointment
after giving birth to a daughter, rather than the heroic son the kingdom
needed. But little did the young princess know the long-dormant powers
of her mother would wield their own destiny. For though she was a woman,
Aerin was destined to be the true hero who would one day wield the
power of the Blue Sword...
Review:
The book started out so well, the tale of a young princess who doesn't quite fit in with her royal counterparts and has so little understanding of who her mother is and what her roots might be. The book is split into two parts and I thought that the first part was simply perfection. However, once it turned to the second part, I found myself mentally lowering my rating of this book.
Now, this is not to say that the second half of the book is bad, it was very good and very entertaining. But it didn't feel at all like it was the same story revolving around the same woman. I understand that Aerin develops quite a bit, but she seemed to lose so much of herself and become someone new, someone who I didn't admire as much.
The thing that probably lowered my rating most, however, was the love triangle. Holy moly, I hate love triangles. They can be done well and tastefully, and usually they are annoying but I'm always happy with the conclusion. This love triangle though, was a nightmare. I think what made it so bad for me was the fact that there wasn't really a conclusion. There is, and there isn't. I don't want to spoil anything, but oh lord, I was so unhappy.
That's just my personal preference though, and I think I could pick this book up again in a few years and have a completely different look on it.
3/5 stars
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