Enchantress (The Evermen Saga, #1)

by James Maxwell

[Kate (Blogging with Dragons)]

Imagine my excitement when I found that I could borrow this book from Amazon for free! Unfortunately, you often get what you pay for. After slogging through this book for a couple of hours, I decided not to finish it. I am a firm believer in finishing what I start, so it is a testament to how boring I found this book that I put it down.

I was unable to form any sort of attachment to the characters--twins named Ella and Miro, who sought to be an enchantress and a swordsman respectively. With no parents, the twins were forced to make their own way. Tritely, Ella sells flowers to save for tuition at the enchanting Academy. Miro, on the other hand, takes swordsmanship lessons and hides his skill in order to minimize the abuse and jealousy of the other students. When Miro finally strikes back against his classmates, he is punished with a four month expedition to a foreign country. It is then that the author not only delves into different magics and cultures, but also when I started to fall asleep. I simply didn't care about a world that housed other lackluster and boring characters.

If the characters were poorly constructed, the magic at least had to be interesting, right? Wrong. How am I supposed to get excited over a deeply revered Animator entering a room with a staff that sprouts legs and leans itself against the wall? While I rolled my eyes at this childish display of power, Miro and the other characters were thoroughly astonished and impressed. If this Animator was what a fully powered enchanter was like, I didn't want to read hundreds more pages to discover what drab magics Ella would learn at the Academy.

I think I could have forgiven the boring characters and magics if the writing were good, but unfortunately, it was very bland and detached. To me, it read more like a cliché synopsis for what the author thought a fantasy novel should be, instead of an actual story. Ultimately, if you’re looking for a great fantasy read with complex characters, a richly developed world, and mystifying magics, do yourself a favor and look elsewhere.