As much as I liked the previous cover for Broken Angel, I feel it did not fit well with the mood and look of the series and it did not properly represent Kamlyn and her style while she is in her training to be a Huntsman at the Chamber of Darkness. When I found this image for my cover I was over the moon in how perfect it is! I would love to hear what you think about the new cover too. Leave your comments below!
I have to be honest when I say I picked up this book really not knowing much about it and having never read any of Adrienne Young’s books before. But I kept seeing it everywhere on Instagram and the cover was too beautiful for me not to own it. I went in knowing very little. I knew it was YA and it was about pirates. That’s all. I haven’t read a YA novel in quite some time so it was a little hard to get back into that mindset. I’ve been reading a lot of historical fiction, so very different. It took me at least 25-40% of the way through the book to really get into it.
There was not enough scenery description for me to actually envision Jeval and Dern and the places she went. Even the ship. There was also very minimal character description beyond hair color, scruff, and occasionally skin color. I’m a reader that likes a lot of detail to be immersed.
The story itself was a good one. When it was to the point where it looked like Fable was actually going to find her dad I was into it and ready to see that play out. I was not so much into the romance part of the story. I think if there had been a little more depth to the characters then I would have been more excited to read it. I did enjoy it, though, especially toward the end, and I will be picking up Namesake to continue the story when it comes out.
For those of you that don’t know what Fable is about the story follows a teenager named Fable. At fourteen she was abandoned by her pirate father on a dangerous island the day after her mother went down with his ship (great guy, eh? Why she would even want to find him is beyond me). For two years a ship crewed by equally aged teenagers came into port and bought gems from her, which she dives to the bottom of the ocean to recover. This crew has helped to keep her alive. Otherwise she would have starved to death there on Jeval, the pirate island. She has saved her coin and finally at eighteen she has enough to pay for passage to find her father. The ship that takes her is the same teenage crewed ship that’s been buying from her. Not to give too much away but they have some adventures as they stop on an island called Dern and then make their way to Ceros where her father is doing business with his ship empire. She has come for her inheritance, a spot on his crew. The entire time I was reading I was like “WHY? WHY WOULD SHE WANT TO CREW FOR HIM?” I think if I were in her position and he did to me what he did to her, I’d rather starve to death than work for that man, but that’s just me. Because of this I found it hard to relate to Fable.
The book was worth a read, and I do think if you are more in the YA novel/teenager mindset it would be a fast-paced, action-packed pirate read for something different!
This might be a lengthy review because there is so much I have to say about this book! (Good and not so good) I just wanted to lay there out there from the beginning. Let me start by saying that I have watched the movie Practical Magic every single fall season multiple times for almost 25 years. It is a favorite movie of mine, it never gets old, and to me it is perfect! So, it’s only natural that I might have some issues with the book, especially when the book is so greatly different from the movie.
Major differences between the book and movie:
Anyway, those are my top complaints off the top of my head, but there was a lot that was different. You’ve been forewarned!
If I separate the book from the movie and just look at the book in itself, it was actually pretty good. I found myself forgetting that I was reading a witchy story and it ended up feeling more like a women’s fiction family drama, which isn’t terrible, it’s just not my first choice of read. I found myself identifying mostly with Gillian who made all these terrible love choices, had failed marriages, and couldn’t seem to stay out of trouble when it came to love. She had poor choice in men and she let men use and abuse her for most of her life. I had a very similar past with love and thankfully I am on the other side of that now with a wonderful husband, but I could really relate to her terrible times. When Gary was introduced I was excited because I had been waiting for him and knew that Sally needed a love interest soon to give it that happy ending, but his character actually made me uncomfortable. He was a crier. And I don’t mean something terrible happened and he cried, I mean Sally puts a cup of coffee in front of him and he cries over it. They’re getting hot and heavy in the car and he cried. I know the author was trying to make him this sensitive man who was in tune with his feelings because that’s what we women are supposed to want in a man, but honestly if my man cried that much over not much I would be a little more than confused by it, which I was with Gary too.
The story had a good pace and was laid out nicely, but I was really frustrated with the length of the chapters. They were so long and had no good stopping points. I can’t read fifty pages in one night, I just don’t have the time, and sometimes one chapter would go on longer than that. I found myself just picking a paragraph at random to stop hoping I’d remember what was going on when I picked it up again to read. I find the best layout is short chapters because then I actually end up reading more because I’m like “Oh, the next chapter is only three more pages. Oh, the next chapter is only six more pages.” Then, I keep going and going. With this set up of epic chapters I was like I’ll just stop here because who knows what’s coming up or if I’ll be able to stop if I read another chapter or two.
Another aspect that shocked me about the book was some of the vulgarity. The F-bomb was dropped multiple times by Sally and Gillian, something I could not picture them actually saying in the movie, but that I guess I could see if I pictured the book them. Also, the vulgar sexual description. The best example I can give is when Kylie is running from a stranger (male) who is saying all sorts of gross sexual things to her because he wants to rape her. It was a thrilling scene as she was running away and I felt for her and was invested, but the language just grossed me out. Again, I understand what she was trying to do, it just caught me off guard.
All in all, it was a good book, but I love the movie way too much to give this a five star rating. It had its faults. I have read the other two books in the series which were written as prequels later in the author’s career and I absolutely LOVE those.
Tis the season for Harry Potter (Halloween, Christmas, end of July, all year really). But I decided to make my way through the movies hoping to get my five-year-old daughter interested. It’s been quite a while since I immersed myself into the Wizarding World, a few years actually, and I didn’t realize just how much I missed it! I decided today to listen to all the instrumental soundtracks while I went about my work day. Occasionally, I’ll take a stroll around the back parking lot to stretch my legs and get some fresh air (because our tiny office with no light and no window depresses me to no end on that level). It was on one of those morning walks with the HP harps and chimes playing softly in the background of my left ear that I got a brilliant idea! (You always think your ideas are genius and brilliant when you first have them, don’t you?) I was greatly inspired to write an ongoing series of Harry Potter fan fiction novellas. Without going into too much detail, they would be modern day and they would follow a Ravenclaw girl (because that’s my very own Hogwarts House). The style of writing would be on the same level as J.K. Rowlings in the sense that it would be for young adults, easy to read and age appropriate, but whimsical and magical (just not as…how do you say it? Queen of YA Storytelling level, of course, because who is really? I would do my very best though) I’ve also read many blogs and articles from professionals in the writing world that say fan fiction is a great way to open up your work to more readers. Sure, they read your fan fiction for free but then they might start wondering what else you write and if its as captivating and good. Boom! You’ve got yourself some new fans. At least that’s how I interpret their advice. Anyway, my real question is how many people out there really do read fan fiction? Because I have to admit, I am not one of them. But it interests me. Have you ever read Harry Potter fan fiction and what’s your thoughts on it? Any insight you can give me into this new world of Fan Fiction would be greatly appreciated! Please take my poll below if you have a second to.
This is a journal for women who need some empowerment and encouragement in their lives, who need to be reminded just how wonderful they are inside and out. There’s space to reflect on your day, your accomplishments, your goals, your dreams, your mistakes, what you’ve learned, to love on yourself and others, and even a place to rant away (because, hey, we all have to let it out!)
