In the magic woods of Lyra, a noblewoman struggles to escape from a faceless man Trouble is brewing in Alkyra. While the kingdom's noblemen squabble, on their borders an ancient enemy, the Lithmern, raises an army. As the head of the Noble House of Brenn attempts to organize an alliance, the princess Alethia celebrates her twentieth birthday. She is a remarkable woman: quick-witted, beautiful, and handy with a throwing knife. But on the next night, she passes through a dark corridor on her way to the banquet hall, and never emerges from the shadows. The Lithmern have kidnapped the princess. When Alethia regains consciousness, an evil Lithmern with a face made of shadows is carrying her through the forest. These are magic woods, home to fabled creatures whose existence she has always doubted. To find her way home, Alethia will have to learn to trust in the old tales, whose legends of magic and daring hold the only hope of saving her kingdom. "Wrede's delightful voice is all her own." -School Library Journal "No doubt the charm, humor, and intelligence of Wrede's writing will continue to enthrall." -Publishers Weekly "High-style fantasy and adventure."
-The New York Times For over twenty years, Patricia C. Wrede (b. 1953) has expanded the boundaries of young-adult fantasy writing. Her first novel, Shadow Magic (1982), introduced Lyra, a magical world in which she set four more novels. Her other series include the Enchanted Forest Chronicles; the Cecelia and Kate novels, co-written with Caroline Stevermer; the Mairelon books, which take place in Regency England; and the Old-West Frontier Magic series. Wrede lives and works in Minnesota.
Mostly this was a good book and I have to wonder if I would have liked it more had I read an actual book and not a kindle version.
Because my main reticence in really enjoying this book is that it didn't have enough depth for me. And I know from past readings that sometimes that's a result of being introduced to a book first as a kindle book rather than an actual book.
The story moved quickly and was well plotted and the pacing was pretty great. But I didn't feel like I got to know the characters well enough. And I didn't think the romance was developed nearly well enough, though it was completely believable. I know (from the introduction) that part of Wrede's goal was for it to be an action story that moved quickly and she did that - and balanced it with quieter moments of rest and dialog but there was a lot of exposition in those quiet moments and not enough character development for my tastes.
Still, it was a fun read and I will check out the next book in this series.
