ladygrey
Written on Oct 18, 2013
But I seem to get more and more frustrated with each book so it's hard to review because for all the good things there's a large dollop of annoying tossed in with them. And it's easier to review the annoying things.
The characters for starters. Jonah and Emma and Kenzie were cool and I even liked everyone else, even Rowan. But you know who I love? Jack and Seph and Ellen and Hastings. I've been through three books with them and I want more of them. That's the mounting frustration. Jack was awesome in [b:The Warrior Heir|213647|The Warrior Heir (The Heir Chronicles, #1)|Cinda Williams Chima|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1360575642s/213647.jpg|1072532] and the interplay between the characters was great and there was action and twists and a nice solid ending. So, when [b:The Wizard Heir|500743|The Wizard Heir (The Heir Chronicles, #2)|Cinda Williams Chima|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1298426467s/500743.jpg|488848] came along I was excited for more Jack. I was annoyed at how little he got to do in that story, but I liked Seph so after the first 50-100 pages of waiting for Jack to show up I enjoyed it. But then [b:The Dragon Heir|2866413|The Dragon Heir (The Heir Chronicles, #3)|Cinda Williams Chima|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1304657191s/2866413.jpg|2529437] was annoying again because I got hardly any Jack and now that I liked Seph I wanted more of him and Madison kept being obnoxious and whatever. The ending to that book was ok enough that I was annoyed with a good bit of it but didn't dislike it terribly.
But with [b:The Enchanter Heir|9409614|The Enchanter Heir (The Heir Chronicles, #4)|Cinda Williams Chima|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1366605696s/9409614.jpg|17769102] we get 25 pages total of Jack and Ellen and Seph and even Madison and I don't even like Madison that much. I am so tired of her creating these characters and getting the audience interested in them and then leaving them by the wayside completely in the next book. I get that she maybe doesn't want them to overtake the new characters and I understand that's a hard balance. But I spent 200 pages waiting for Jonah and Emma to connect with the group in Trinity or even connect with each other. And it just didn't happen. It would have been so much more of an interesting and dynamic story if it had because her characters are her strength and she just keeps abandoning them!
My second irritation with this book was the ending. There is no resolution and no closure. I get that maybe it's too much story to tell in one book. But give us something. There's a lot of questions and a lot of unexplained things and a few mysteries and absolutely zero answers. I would have much rather had a few answers that lead to bigger questions. The characters coming together and discovering things and open new doors in the adventure. But what I got was a book that is entirely set up. That's it. All set up and asking questions and absolutely no resolution about anything.
Plus, it's too obvious where some of the answers are going to come from for the characters to know so little. Thorn Hill was an experiment for sorcerers to modify Weirstones that went wrong and accidentally killed all the adults through their Weirstones. Gabriel was totally in the middle of all of it - I mean it was his land and he funded it. There's no way he doesn't know a lot more than he indicates and he's totally not on the up and up. And he's totally connected to Lilith. Emma is going to unravel the whole mystery in Tyler's songs - probably somewhere around the middle of the next book. Rowan is going to come around to the good side and be cool. Seph is eventually going to get in on the action some because they need a voice of authority. They're going to find a way to let the shades live and have peace. whatever. What I have to wonder is how will this book last? When [b:The Sorcerer Heir|910726|The Sorcerer's Heir (Sorcerer, #2)|Paula Volsky|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1357324729s/910726.jpg|895831] comes out and I finally have all the answers I want, will I end up liking this book enough to come back to it? Or will it just sort of fade into an oblivion?
I'm not saying the plot's not good, because there's still scenes rolling around in my head and things I'm thinking through and parts I'm remembering. What the hell Jonah - you don't even focus on the fact that Emma survived your touch! That's huge but you don't dwell on it at all. And also, if you'd just sat down and told her you know you what happened to her father and explained everything she'd be mad but also she'd be ok because she respects honesty above pretty much everything else. But I really liked the music and some of the moments between them.
I think overall it's a good book that could have been tighter and focused a little better. It earned those three stars as much as I complain because there were definitely things I like but also it drives me crazy.
And yet...somehow she knew that she'd seen him before. It was more the effect he had on her than anything about his appearance. It was like he gave off a scent that made her want to run headlong into trouble.
Reread: If I didn’t have the above review as proof to the contrary, I’d swear I’d never read this book. I had absolutely no memory of it and that just doesn’t happen to me.
So, reading it again for the first time all I could think was: zombies? really? I mean, I know it’s a world of wizards and sorcerers and dragons but zombies seem a little far fetched.
And it was odd that the story is so off center from the characters and plot of the earlier books. But I liked the characters, Jonah and Kenzie and Emma mostly, well and even Rowan. And I liked the music and the role it plays in everything. So the story world is turned a bit sideways, but it does a better job than the last book of characters interacting eith eavh other. Or, you know, interacting with someone and it’s a mildly amusing ride. Or not, depending on how well I remember it.
