Book Review: Eragon

Author: Christopher Paolini
Series: Inheritence #1
Publisher: Knopf Books for Young Readers
Release Date: August 26, 2003
Pages: 503

Summary: When young Eragon finds a polished blue stone in the forest, he thinks it is the lucky discovery of a poor farm boy; perhaps it will buy his adopted family meat for the winter. But when the stone brings a dragon hatchling, Eragon realizes he has stumbled upon a legacy nearly as old as the Empire itself. Overnight his simple life is shattered, and he is thrust into a perilous new world of inescapable destiny, magical forces, and powerful people. With only an ancient sword and the instruction of an old,mysterious, hermit storyteller for guidance, Eragon and the fledgling dragon must navigate the dangerous terrain and dark enemies of an Empire ruled by a Emperor whose evil and power knows no bounds. Can Eragon take up the mantle of the legendary Dragon Riders? The fate of the Empire may rest in his hands…

LC's Take:

I went into this book looking for a totally amazing fantasy adventure that would basically transport me into another world and leave me dying for the next book in the series. I know, quite a tall order right? Well let me tell you, Eragon was everything that I was hoping it would be-- a fun, adventurous fantasy with lots of dragons, magic, elves, dwarves, and all the ale-drinking, spell-casting, and sword-fighting I could take. I went into this book expecting an epic high-fantasy story, and I definitely was not disappointed!

Eragon is just a normal farm boy from the small and isolated village of Carvahall. Nothing exciting has ever happened to him-- until he stumbles upon a very strange stone, that turns out to not be a stone at all. Before long, Eragon is being swept up into a story that started long before he was even born, and now he must learn to be the hero and legend his name implies-- one of the long-lost Dragon Riders who will fight to end the evil rule of the Empire's tyrant Galbatorix.

I loved Eragon's character, he was just like the quintessential young hero-- brash, slightly hot-headed, but underneath noble and true-hearted. Yes he could be annoyingly headstrong at times, but Eragon was absolutely a character I could root for. And after reading so many books with female heroines-- not all to my liking-- it was incredibly refreshing to read from a boy's perspective, free from sighing, swooning, whining, pining and otherwise driving me insane. I cannot WAIT to read more of Eragon's story and see what adventure awaits him next!

I also loved the friendship between Eragon and his dragon Saphira throughout the book. The way they communicate with each other, squabble together over things, but remain completely loyal and true to the other-- everything about their friendship was so genuine. And plus, c'mon now, who wouldn't want a dragon for their best friend?!? Yeah, definitely epic :D

The plot itself, while a bit slow towards the middle, was still captivating. This was the kind of story that I could just get totally wrapped up in-- the world-building, the characters, the dialogue-- pretty much everything about this book had me wanting more.

There were definitely parts to Eragon that strongly reminded me of Lord of the Rings-- not that that's a bad thing, but it's something to keep in mind if you were thinking of starting this series. For example, the murderous Urgals were very much like Orks, Orik reminded me of the belligerent yet lovable dwarf Gimly, Murtaugh reminded me a little of Aragorn, Farthen Dur reminded me of the mines of Moria, and a lot of the language, vocabulary and names for places reminded me of those from Middle Earth. I wouldn't say that there was anything that was a direct copy, just parts that seemed extremely reminiscent to me. But once again, this in no way took away from my enjoyment of the story and I actually enjoyed this book much more than I did the LOTR books!

So altogether, I am in love with this series so far. This was one of those books that as soon as I finished, I had to race to the library to pick up the next one, that's just how addicting the story is! The very best thing about a book for me is how it takes me to another time and place and makes me feel like I'm right in the middle of the story. Not all books are able to accomplish this feat, but Eragon is in the elite few that really made me fall head over heels into another world. I can't wait to start Eldest and return to Alagaesia for the rest of Eragon's adventure!

~Cover Talk~

Totally LOVE this cover! I'm sorry, but that dragon is freaking SWEET. As a whole, I am absolutely in love with the covers for this series, as each book features a different dragon. Here we have Saphira, Eragon's dragon. She doesn't look like anyone you'd want to mess with, but at the same time she has that crooked smile and gentle eyes , which fit her character perfectly. Saphira is definitely not a whimpy dragon and will tear her enemies limb from limb, but she is fiercely loyal to Eragon and would sacrifice herself to protect him. Awesome, awesome book cover!!

LC's Rating:

To any high-fantasy fan, this book is a must-read! Eragon gets 5 stars for transporting me into a whole other world, full of dragons, magic, quests, and adventure. I cannot wait to read the rest of this series!

Book Review: Vanish

Author: Sophie Jordan
Publisher: HarperTeen
Series: Firelight #2
Release Date: September 6, 2011
Pages: 294
Read it in: 2 days
Source: The library

Summary: To save the life of the boy she loves, Jacinda did the unthinkable: She betrayed the most closely-guarded secret of her kind. Now she must return to the protection of her pride knowing she might never see Will again—and worse, that because his mind has been shaded, Will’s memories of that fateful night and why she had to flee are gone.

Back home, Jacinda is greeted with hostility and must work to prove her loyalty for both her sake and her family’s. Among the few who will even talk to her are Cassian, the pride’s heir apparent who has always wanted her, and her sister, Tamra, who has been forever changed by a twist of fate. Jacinda knows that she should forget Will and move on—that if he managed to remember and keep his promise to find her, it would only endanger them both. Yet she clings to the hope that someday they will be together again. When the chance arrives to follow her heart, will she risk everything for love?

LC's Take:

CAUTION: RANTING AHEAD. (Not the whole thing, but I had a lot to get off my chest with this one lol)

First I need to say just how much I love the covers for these books-- I really liked Firelight's, but I think I like Vanish's even more-- and when you put the two side-by-side, it's just like, **wow.** Love them! So now we know what Jacinda and Tamra look like, I wonder who we will be seeing on the third cover?!

Alright, so now onto the actual story.

The number one reason that I enjoyed Vanish so much more than Firelight was because I accepted some basic truths about the series before I started reading:

Truth #1.) It is a teenage love story-- therefore yes, there will be angst, love triangles, whining-and-pining, hormones galore, and lots o' drama.

Truth #2.) It will be cheesy as all get out-- embrace it and enjoy.

Truth #3.) It will not be a high-fantasy adventure with lots of battles a la Lord of the Rings. Deal with it.

Now with Firelight, I had assumed that this series was going to be something totally different than what it actually was, which led to a lot of ranting from yours truly. But I wanted to give the series another chance. So as I started reading Vanish, I told myself: "OK, I'm just going to enjoy this story for what it is instead of trying to turn it into something its not. Embrace the teen angst and love triangles and Mary Sue-esque main character!"

And you know what? Once I did just that, I started to appreciate the series a lot more. Now that is not to say I won't be indulging in some mild ranting here-- like with Lauren Kate's Fallen series, I liked reading Firelight and Vanish, not so much for their literary merit, but more because they're purely entertaining. Maybe that's unfair of me, but I'll try to fill you in as best I can on what I did and didn't like about this latest draki drama-fest.

*****

So Vanish begins with Jacinda, Tamra, and their mother being taken back to the draki pride after the whole face-off with the hunters at the end of the first book. Jacinda-- the pride's only fire-breathing draki-- is in deep trouble for not only revealing herself to hunters, but also for falling in love with Will, one of the hunters who kill draki for their skins. Once taken back to the pride, Jacinda is treated like an outcast and her mother becomes depressed for making the mistake of leaving in the first place. And then Tamra, Jacinda's twin sister, is revealed to be-- oops! I'm not saying, that would spoil the BIG surprise in the beginning!! You'll just have to read it for yourself ;)

~Likes~

First of all, I think that most of the characters seemed much more multi-dimensional in this book than the first one, and we really get to see their strengths and weaknesses and more interaction between them. Cassian became much more vulnerable and likable while Will became a whole lot more of a controlling and manipulative jerk-wad. I really can't decide which I like or dislike more to be perfectly honest, but I don't understand at all why Jacinda is so convinced that Will is "it," when there is nothing there between them but physical attraction-- Cassian cares about her just as much, if not more than Will does! Sorry, I just don't get Jacinda's head-over-heels fascination with Will. He's kind of a creep-- and the only major connection they shared in the entire book was a make-out session that I'll talk more about in just a minute...

Second, the relationships in Vanish became a lot more interesting-- Tamra is still in love with Cassian, but Cassian only has eyes for Jacinda, and Jacinda only wants to be with Will-- she thinks! Love triangles abound, and I found that if I just accepted the whole love triangle plot line instead of getting annoyed with it, I actually started to enjoy seeing the dynamics play out between all the characters. I was also really happy that this story took place in the draki pride and not so much in the human world, like the first book did (This was my biggest beef with Firelight). 

Finally, this book transitioned extremely well from the first one-- I never felt lost or confused about what had happened in Firelight and thought that the plot ran very smoothly and was easy to follow from one book to the next.

However...

Oh yes, that is a big however.

I have some things I need to discuss about this book-- some large, glaring things that just beg to be addressed.

~Dislikes~

I know I said I accepted Jacinda, the Mary Sue draki, but still, I'm going to rag on her a little. C'mon now, I swear it's all in good fun.

Why, you may ask?

Because I have no clue why everyone is so in love with her.

Cassian's obsessed with her, Will's obsessed with her, Corbin's creepy-stalker obsessed with her--  and do we know why? Nope! Not really. She's a fire-breather, but other than that there isn't anything terribly special about good ol' Jacinda. She's whiny and angsty and pretty darned selfish. She likes to fly, which doesn't seem too out of the ordinary, considering the fact that she has wings. The only other thing she does in her spare time is sit around and watch TV and occasionally cook dinner. Oh, and fantasize about Will. No other hobbies, special talents, desire to help others... I wish we could see something interesting or fierce or noble about her, but really all we have are endless angsty descriptions about how she wants to live her own life and be free and independent, while in the meantime she makes incredibly stupid decisions that get her and everyone else in deep trouble.

Oh yes-- and she whines and pines about Will. A LOT.

Also, the draki pride really, really annoyed me. As a group, they made zero sense. I mean, first they're dead set on clipping off Jacinda's wings with a pair of garden shears because she's put everyone in danger so many times, and next thing you know they're leaving muffins on her doorstep when she does what they want by bonding with Cassian. Kind of ridiculous in my opinion.

ALSO, despite my great attempts to start loving this series, I have to mention my numero uno MAJOR dislike-- which goes for any book-- and it's called the "To Much Information Love Scene."

Yes, I know that Sophie Jordan writes adult romance novels-- complete with your run-of-the-mill covers featuring shirtless guys with rippling muscles (oh yes, they ripple) and doe-eyed gals who look like they're about to pass out...

I just wish she left all the hot-and-heavy action OUT of her teen books, because I'm seriously not interested in reading detailed accounts about people getting it on. If I wanted to do that, I'd go pick up some 99-cent Harlequin Romance in the check-out line at the grocery store, you know?? Lines like "his warm palm a rasp on my cheek as he swallows up my moan" and "the mere texture and taste of his mouth completely devastating me" just make me want to vomit. **Blech!** Please, spare me the details, this is waaayyyy more than I want to know!

Oh, and it only gets better...

"My body cradles his, instinctively welcoming him. I breathe a greedy sound, not even thinking we might be moving too far, too fast. There's only need. Hunger. I'm tired of being denied." ~p.202

Really??? Seriously?!? Please just gag me with a freaking spoon. Dearest fellow readers, if you're like me and can't stand the TMI love scenes, I recommend just skipping chapter 20 altogether... I mean really, Jacinda actually starts growling while they're making out. And then Will starts growling right back.

Yup, growling.

Not speaking-- growling.

And breathing greedy sounds.

I'm not making this up, so please humor me here and tell me this is freaking weird. Growling??? Is this supposed to be sexy or romantic or something? Because it just makes me think Jacinda and Will need to go to the doctor's, maybe get on some meds. Not hot. Just ridiculous to read about. Sorry, maybe it's just me-- but I don't want to hear about moaning, growling, swollen lips, tender spots-- just yuck.

In fact, you know what? I'm taking a whole star off just for the TMI make-out sessions. Yup, sorry, it's my review, and that's how I roll.

That's what you get for grossing me out Jacinda.

(I think for the heck of it I'm going to try breathing some greedy sounds a little later today and see what happens-- my guess is I'll scare the living bejeezus out of some random people... sounds like fun.)

And another thing-- repeat yourself much?? There have got to be like half a dozen recycled lines in these books, all of them slightly re-worded but basically stating the same darned thing over and over (and over) again.

I can think of a few right off the top of my head!

"I could feel my inner draki."
"I tensed and had to release my inner draki."
"About 300 more interchangeable lines about MY INNER DRAKI."
"I could sense Will nearby."
"I missed Will. He loved me for me."
"I missed Cassian. He loved me for me."
"Don't leave, he GROWLED."

Shall I go on? No, OK, I'll spare you. 

And last but not least, I thought the ending was frustratingly anti-climactic. The last half of the book was building up to some big, action-packed event (which I won't give away) and then in the last few pages we learn that, oh sorry! You'll have to wait to see what happens in the next book because CLEARLY two books can't contain THIS much awesome.

So we'll end this one with Will and Jacinda sitting around a campfire eating Twinkies.

No, I'm not making this up. Will and Cassian roll on the ground for like 15 minutes and a less-than-menacing black bear makes a brief appearance for about 2 paragraphs-- and that's pretty much the extent of the action in this book.

*****

Alright, so now that I've gotten all that out of my system (and have tried numerous times to erase the memory of Jacinda and Will growling at each other), I will conclude with this-- When you approach a book or series with preconceived notions about what it "should" be, and then it turns out to be something totally different, I think it's important to re-think what the book is trying to accomplish. Otherwise, you'll probably end up annoyed and disliking it because you tried to force it into a genre that it's not even in. But if you can appreciate the book simply for what it is and not for what you think it should be, it becomes a lot easier to just enjoy it. (Did I mention I did actually like reading this book? Yeah, I know, I like ranting too...)

So I embraced the cheesiness. I embraced the angst-iness. I embraced the Mary Sue-ishness. Yes, I still ranted a lot, but making-out aside, Vanish was still a huge improvement over Firelight, with greater character development and a refreshing change of scenery. I admit that this series is growing on me and  I am looking forward to the last book in the trilogy!

LC's Rating:

3 stars for fun readability and entertainment! Vanish was definitely an entertaining sequel to Firelight--just beware the TMI love scenes!!!

Book Review: Firelight

Author: Sophie Jordan
Publisher: HarperTeen
Release Date: September 7, 2010
Pages: 323
Read it in: 2 days

Summary: Marked as special at an early age, Jacinda knows her every move is watched. But she longs for freedom to make her own choices. When she breaks the most sacred tenet among her kind, she nearly pays with her life. Until a beautiful stranger saves her. A stranger who was sent to hunt those like her. For Jacinda is a draki—a descendant of dragons whose greatest defense is her secret ability to shift into human form.

Forced to flee into the mortal world with her family, Jacinda struggles to adapt to her new surroundings. The only bright light is Will. Gorgeous, elusive Will who stirs her inner draki to life. Although she is irresistibly drawn to him, Jacinda knows Will's dark secret: He and his family are hunters. She should avoid him at all costs. But her inner draki is slowly slipping away—if it dies she will be left as a human forever. She'll do anything to prevent that. Even if it means getting closer to her most dangerous enemy.

Mythical powers and breathtaking romance ignite in this story of a girl who defies all expectations and whose love crosses an ancient divide.

LC's Take: 

Alrighty, so I just finished this book. Overall, you know, it wasn't bad. The premise of the story is different, which I definitely liked-- I mean, a book about a girl who descends from dragons? That's cool. But... I don't know, try as I did, there were just things about this book that left me slightly frustrated. It's not that I didn't like it-- more that I think it had the potential to be a lot better.

As the story started out, I was super excited-- Jacinda and her friend Azure sneak off to transform into glittery, iridescent dragons and fly over lakes and mountains, and I was like, sweet! This is going to be an awesome, high-fantasy adventure, all Lord-of-the-Rings or Brisingr-like with dragons and magic and battles... yeeeah, not so much. About 5 pages later, Jacinda and her sister Tamra are in a beat-up old car with their mom, escaping from the dragon "Pride" for some small town in Nevada.

Goodbye, magical world. Hello, stereotypical high school and teen angst-ridden love story.

The biggest problem I had with Firelight was the choice of setting. Like I said, the story starts out in this forest with an enchanted village where the draki live, and it's all nature-y and magical, and I'm all ready for this crazy whirlwind dragon adventure. But then, the story takes this huge, random swing over to some modern-day school near Las Vegas-- and now all of a sudden we're in Been-There-Done-That territory.

What???

I don't get it.  Why take such an amazingly unique plot and turn it into the same ol' same ol'?? What happened to the dragon/draki mythology?

I wouldn't have minded the juxtaposition of the two worlds-- draki and everyday-- but we barely got to see anything about the draki. I am seriously hoping that the next book takes place in the draki world, because honestly, I am not a fan of the overdone, cliche high school drama-fest.

Sorry, I'm just not.

So let's talk about Jacinda's love interest, Will. Once again, he's not horrible. The opening scene where he sees Jacinda in the cave and whispers, "Beautiful" pretty much made me fall in love with him, too. Yes, he's got the whole "I'm-bad-stay-away-from-me" vibe going on, all handsome and irresistibly mysterious, and of course Jacinda can not stay away. Since Will is from one of the hunter families who kill draki for their skins, it was a good conflict to have Jacinda--a draki-- fall in love with him. Overall, I liked Will. (Umm... except the part where he went into Crazy-Stalker-Mode and looked up Jacinda's school records-- to see where she lived-- and then SHOWED UP there-- in the middle of the night-- totally uninvited. Yeah. I know.)

Jacinda herself was an easy enough character to like-- I just didn't think it made any sense to portray her as a typical, average teenager. I mean, she comes from an ancient line of freaking DRAGONS, right?! I just think she should have had something more mystical and ethereal about her-- more depth and connection to her dragon heritage. She just seemed too... normal. And she gets kind of whiny at times. I don't want to read about a whiny dragon-- I want to read about a fiercely awesome, fire-breathing, scare-the-pants-off-you, courageous, warrior-princess dragon!

Sigh... I know, I demand way too much from my books.

Basically, I just wish that Jacinda stood out from any other teenage character I've read about, because she's a dragon for crying out loud (wow, have I made that point clear yet?)-- not to mention, she's the only fire-breather dragon to exist in over 400 years! Because of this, I wanted to see her be a little more kick-butt and assertive, and a little less (ugh, here it comes) Mary Sue. But also, I do realize that Jacinda had A LOT to deal with in this book, and she's been pulled around by the Pride pretty much her whole life, so it may take her some time to come into her own. Well, I am looking forward to seeing her become a strong female character in the later books! :)

Also, totally did not buy the romance. Sorry, but no. So Jacinda can "sense" Will. Big whoopdee-doo, and I mean crap, we're only told this like five billion times that she lights up like a Christmas tree and starts hyperventilating whenever Will is within a five mile radius. Wonderful. Is this supposed to make me believe they're in love? Because um... it doesn't. Oh-- and how about the fact that Will and his family HUNT AND KILL Jacinda's species and rip them to pieces for their skins?? Hmmmm... I don't know about you, but I would say that's a wee bit of a turn-off, no? 

Finally, the writing style was not my favorite. It wasn't horrible by any stretch of the imagination, and it was able to tell the story between Jacinda and Will. I just don't like when writing. is. choppy. And fragmented. And breaks up sentences. Into phrases. Like, every. Other. Line. (Know what I mean?) It's OK if it's to create a feeling or a mood during a scene, but it's just so dang difficult to follow throughout an entire book!

I will be reading Vanish when it comes out. Because really, I feel like this story has a unique premise and that a lot can still be done with it to make it stand out. I'm really hoping that we find out more about the draki- about Azure, Cassian, Nidia, Severan-- honestly, those are the characters I wanted to be reading about, forget about the dumb cheerleaders! How do the draki live? What do they do with the gems? Are there dragon battles between the different prides? Can Will become a draki? Will Jacinda's mom rediscover her inner draki and kick some butt? What exactly are the Enkros? I am dying to know!

So all in all, this story has captured my interest, despite not quite meeting my expectations so far. I still have hopes that the next book in this series will answer some of my questions and deliver some of that fantasy and magic I'm looking for. And I know I sounded a bit harsh for a 3-star review, but I think it's mostly because I was expecting something totally different from this book, NOT because it was a bad book-- because it wasn't! I would say-- as I do with all my other books-- give this one a chance and read it for yourself, because opinions can differ so much. Firelight may surprise you in a good way!

LC's Rating:

This story has a lot of potential, but I felt like there was something missing in the delivery. I was just expecting it to be something else entirely, and I am hoping that the next book in this series has a more fantasy-adventure spin to it with lots of draki mythology, instead of taking the well-worn path of teen angst and high school drama.