Waiting on Wednesday (35)

Waiting on Wednesday is a weekly meme hosted by Jill at Breaking the Spine where we all feature upcoming books we're eagerly anticipating.


I've altered things a little to include one book that hasn't come out yet and one that has already been published but I still haven't gotten around to reading yet.

The Glass Swallow by Julia Golding
Warrior Princess by Frewin Jones


Goodreads description of The Glass Swallow (October 28, 2011):

Rain

She designs exquisite stained glass for the windows of her city. But the law is clear — it is forbidden for girls to be part of the glassmaker's guild. To keep her secret hidden, she leaves home and travels to the strange new country of Magharna.

Peri

When he witnesses Rain's capture by a gang of bandits, both his fate and his heart becomes tied to hers. They escape the outlaws, but Peri and his family of falconers are untouchables who are scorned by all, and Rain is not allowed to be part of their lives.

Can Rain and Peri's love survive the prejudices against them? And with the city on the brink of disaster will they be able to stop their world from smashing apart?

Why I want to read it:

I like the companion novel Dragonfly enough to be interested in another book by Julia Golding. While pretty standard fare fantasy, the only real problem I had with Dragonfly was one of the main characters. The plot of The Glass Swallow sounds unique, so as long as I click with the main characters this should be great. I also loved Julia Golding's attention to detail with the two cultures she described in Dragonfly and I have high hopes for the same attention in The Glass Swallow.

Goodreads' description of Warrior Princess (February 1, 2009):

Fifteen-year-old Branwen's life is changed forever when enemy Saxon troops attack her homeland and her brother is killed. Branwen wants to jump into action and avenge her brother's death, but instead she is sent to a neighboring stronghold where she'll be safe from harm. Yet while she is surrounded by exquisite beauty and luxury in her new home—as a princess should be—she feels different from the other girls. Deep down, Branwen has the soul of a warrior.

Then a mystical woman in white foretells a daunting prophecy: Branwen will be the one to save her homeland. Suddenly forced to question everything—and everyone—around her, she realizes that the most difficult part of her journey is still to come. With no time to lose, Branwen must make a choice: continue on the path her parents intended for her . . . or step into the role of a true Warrior Princess.

Why I want to read it:

Princesses, warrior princesses, prophecies, pink cover. Yep, this one pretty much has my name written all over it. I'm pretty sure this is part one of a trilogy, and I think by now all of the books have been published.

Have any of you read either of these books? Would you recommend them? 

Don't forget, if you're participating in Waterfall Wednesdays (or doing anything else to promote this series, like, say, a Waiting on Wednesday post) you can enter your link HERE for a chance to win a signed set of the series, t-shirts, and more!

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Book Review: Dragonfly by Julia Golding

Dragonfly by Julia Golding
Release Date: October 20, 2009
Publisher: Marshall Cavendish 
Pages: 390
Received: Library
Rating: 3.5 out of 5 stars 
Goodreads Page

Summary

From Goodreads:

Princess Taoshira of the Blue Crescent Islands is appalled when she is ordered to marry Prince Ramil of Gerfal. And he's not too pleased, either. She is used to a life of discipline, ritual, and splendor. He is used to hunting and carousing. They hate each other on sight. But both of their countries are under threat from a fearsome warlord, and the only chance of peace is to form an alliance.

When Tashi and Ram are kidnapped, they fear there's no escape--from their kidnappers or from each other. Can they put aside their differences long enough to survive ambush, unarmed combat, brainwashing, and imprisonment? And will the people they meet on their adventure--including a circus strongman, a daring rebel leader, a sinister master of spies, and the best female fighter they have ever seen--help them or betray them to the enemy?

Review

Dragonfly held so much promise: A hate-turned-love romance, fantasy, questing, culture clash, battles. Oh gosh, the blurb sounded like a recipe for success, but unfortunately the actual story fell flat for me.

I’m a character girl

I need to love my characters, especially in a book like this. The hate-turned-love romantic device relies completely on the strength of the characters. They need to be interesting as individuals and there needs to be a spark between them. For me, neither of those factors was met with Tashi and Ramil.

Tashi was nice, but part of her personality was that she was very closed off and removed. This makes sense for her culture, and it was fascinating, but it also served to close her off to me. I felt like I was never able to get around her walls and know her on a deeper level. The glimpses I did see were likable. She began the book as a very timid girl, but she grew considerably through the book becoming a woman I would have loved if only she would let me.

Ramil pretty much killed the book for me. He irritated me so much with his bravado, impulsiveness, and stubborn inability to see beyond his own perspective. He’s supposed to be at least somewhat off-putting in the beginning, but I don’t think I was supposed to dislike him as much as I did. His growth was less apparent than Tashi’s, making him seem even more childish in comparison. Since I disliked Ramil so much, I had a hard time getting on board with their romance and I didn’t really feel that happy spark when they got together.

For fantasy lovers

The world Julia Golding described was both familiar and creative. The competing cultures were detailed and extremely interesting to learn about. Ramil’s culture is a lot more standard, but Tashi’s was unique. I loved learning all about the various customs and aspects of her culture. It was also interesting to see the clash of cultures. Julia Golding superbly highlighted the truly alien feelings that occur when two distinctly different cultures meet.

The plot itself was pretty standard fare for the high fantasy genre. The whole thing was very predictable and offered nothing new to the fantasy genre. I wouldn’t say this is necessarily a complaint though. I don’t mind predictable plots like this because it’s a storyline I enjoy reading. If the characters had captured my heart, I probably would have made this a five star book regardless of the predictable plot.

One thing I didn’t like about the plot was that I found it a plodding in places. Again, if I had loved the characters I probably wouldn’t have minded, but as it was I frequently found myself bored. The action parts were good, but even they needed that little boost that is usually filled in by the charisma of the characters.

Should you read it?

That’s really up to you. If the plot sounds interesting to you, then I think you should give it a try for sure. If you click with the characters then you’ll probably love Dragonfly. I’m glad I read this book and if I find it for cheap then I would buy a copy. I’m just disappointed I didn’t love the book as much as I was expecting.

FYI: Authors Julia Golding and Eve Edwards are apparently the same person! So if you like Eve Edwards' historical fiction books, then you might want to give Dragonfly a try.

 Explanation of rating system: Star Rating Key 

Do you have any questions about Dragonfly that I haven't addressed? 
Feel free to ask in the comments!

Looking for another book like this? 

You might like: 
 

Click on the covers to go to my reviews

This was reviewed as part of The All Male Review Challenge

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