Book-ish Fantasies

Thanks to Netgalley and publishers for providing a free copy of this book for an honest review.

There's mythology (Celtic), there's fantasy and there's mystery. I should have loved it. But even though the writing was good, and the pacing average, it didn't strike me much. The protagonist Cedar, for instance was again, like most of the protagonists, a love and hate. Love, because this character just acted nothing like a superhero after a tragedy whatsoever happened. She acted what a real life mother should act after discovering her child being kidnapped (adding her feelings behind her daughter's supernatural abilities) - she whined a lot, she easily became angry at everyone else around her, she panicked, she was clueless. However, I basically could put the book down from time to time to take a break from Cedar's too confused attitude. I have expected her to cool down a bit, open her mind and create a better strategy in the journey but she was too consistent, too dramatic for my taste in this genre, I can easily get tired of her.

Supporting characters that revealed the world with the Celts though was what made me interested nearly halfway through the book because even if I didn't have idea about this kind of mythology, the narration helped me understand the history gradually. It was told in third person that divided three scenarios of Cedar with the Dannans, Eden with the female antagonist Nuala, and a scene with Maeve, Cedar's mother. These three characters shared relevant yet different goals which created the conflict between them as they unraveled one mystery after another. It built the climax of the plot in the middle when all characters finally meet destinations thus adding a hint of action. But speaking of action, I thought I should hate the main antagonist Lorcan being a wicked High King and all, however he didn't play much role in this debut. He wasn't developed that much, and it felt like the story was forced to have a happy ending.

Lastly, the hint of love story from the beginning and reuniting it at 70% of the book somewhat captured my emotions. Finn actually made my day when he went back for Cedar. And since he's Cedar's initial weakness, he's the one who calmed the situation down as he comforted her and continued to give her hope that everything will be all right. Indeed, he was able to protect them and his race.

Overall, it's a fine read, just not so spectacular as I expected. Hopefully the next book will! :)