1.5 Stars
(The language used was this book's only redeeming quality)
OFFICIALLY FROM 60% IN AND A SKIM
OF THE REST OF THE BOOK
Rating: PG
Violence: PG
Language: PG (I think they use “bastard”)
Sex: PG
(Titus talks about mediocre lovemaking from the prostitutes, he and
Iolanthe kiss, as to be expected)
Drugs/Alcohol: G
I
have desperately tried to like this
book. I first started it in 2015, THREE YEARS AGO. Since then I have tried time
and time again to pick up the book and like it, gall dangit! But the literary
gods had other plans and it ended up just being a mess of a fantasy read. The
problem is that this book definitely had potential; it had LOADS of potential.
There was a diverse and complicated fantasy world, a prince, magic, a boarding
school. This story literally had everything in place to make it great. Instead,
it majorly exploded in a barrage of poor characterization, boring subplots, and
underdeveloped fantasy contexts.
I
liked Iolanthe to start out. I liked how the book began with a strike of
lightning caused by an elemental mage. I liked how Iolanthe hung out with her
mentor, Master Haywood, in a little house settled into a little, woodsy town. I
had hope. But how naïve I was. As soon as Iolanthe escaped and met Prince
Titus, things went downhill. The problem with these characters is that I have
read them all before. You have Iolanthe, the “chosen one,” the most powerful
mage of her time who doesn’t believe in her own skillset and says time and time
again that she’s nothing important so why would people want her? Then, there’s
Titus, the love interest, the prince, the guy who seems to be good at
everything but hides his tragic past behind a façade of sarcastic wit and a
devil-may-care attitude. We then have the traditional villain and the
Gandalf-like character and it just doesn’t settle well. There’s nothing about
any of the characters that makes me care about them.
I
got 60% into the book and at the 60% mark I still had no idea why Atlantis
needed a powerful mage or why they cared. They have an entire city of mages
that go unchecked so why the heck do they desperately need Iolanthe? Sure, she
can call down a bolt of lightning, but I’m unconvinced that she’s more powerful
than anyone else. (I’ve come to accept that I will be eternally confused by the
plot of this book, and I’m okay with that. But if someone would like to clarify
Iolanthe’s superiority or would like to help me understand why Atlantis needs
her so badly, please do, because I’m very confused). I felt like the world
lacked in development. The only thing I can tell you for sure is that this
fantastical world is set within the real world and there’s a High Inquisitor
that runs basically everything and a Callista who is a bad guy (I think). There
was also a whole ordeal with this book, The Crucible, that can take the mage to
a specific place and time and give them tasks or obstacles they must overcome.
This book came out of nowhere and I still am confused as to why Titus is adamant
that Iolanthe practice inside of it. Is it to be at her strongest when she
comes face to face with the Inquisitor who wants her for reasons unknown? If
this world would have been better explained, if there had been more development,
I guarantee that I wouldn’t have felt the way I do now.
Several
reviewers say to be patient with this story. I’d agree; it takes loads of
patience. Enough patience to last you through 60% of the book and skimming the
last 40% before deciding it’s not worth another minute of your time. The plot
fell flat, the characters fell flat, and the world itself fell flat. This book
did a lot of faceplants. Even if the world or the plot is underdeveloped, it
would have been a saving grace if there was good development of relationships
and of characters. I was supposed to want Iolanthe and Titus to succeed; I was
supposed to want them to be together, but the whole dynamic felt forced and I
just couldn’t take it anymore.
I
understand that many people have enjoyed this book. I’ve mentioned in other
reviews that I have a bad habit of disliking books that others have loved and
it seems the trend continues. I like my fantasy books well-rounded, others like
theirs simple and to the point. This story just wasn’t for me.
“What kind of person are you to live without honor or
integrity?”
His nails dug into his
palm. “Obviously, the kind chosen for what others are too decent to do.”
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May Fortune walk with you,
Lauren
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