I received this book for free from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.
Chasing Ravens by Jessica E. Paige Series: Standalone
Published by Booktrope Editions on December 16th 2014
Genres: Action & Adventure, Fantasy & Magic, Fiction, Love & Romance, Young Adult
Pages: 172
Read it as: eARC
Source: Netgalley
My rating:
Check it out in Goodreads
Synopsis
Orphaned at a young age, 15-year old Anouk's punishment for being too outspoken is an arranged marriage worse than any she could imagine. Fleeing on horseback, yet without a sense of where to turn, she stumbles upon an idyllic village where she finds safe haven. Could this be home? When a curse threatens to kill the villagers she's come to love, Anouk takes on the dangers of the natural and magical worlds to save them. Her journey takes her deep into the Dark Woods where she must draw on all her strength to survive, but will come to realize that these magic woods hold the key to discovering a gift she never knew she had. Ultimately, it will lead her to confront the very face of death, yet amidst the danger and darkness, she meets a handsome woodsman and finds a glowing blue flower with power beyond her wildest dreams. Inspired by Russian fairytales and steeped in ancient folklore, Paige's novel is ripe with fantasy, love, and courage.
I liked this book, but I didn’t love it. The russian culture was weaved in pretty nicely, which is probably my favorite thing about it. The main character is quiet, but smart and brave, and I also appreciated that.
But the problem was the plot, I think. It wasn’t clear what the point of the story was. I don’t feel much happened. At the beginning, there was too much exposition. So much I was already dreading the next pages, the next half, the whole book.
I managed to get over it when the MC started moving at last, and I liked the concept of girl against world it presented (because it usually is that way).
But then FILLER FILLER FILLER ATTACKS AGAIN
You get the point. IT WAS EVERYWHERE. No one was safe o.o
One thing that especially bugged me was this weird romance with Pavel. The guy doesn’t appear until the last quarter of the book, which kind of blew it for me, since I was expecting romance, but um… maybe she should have found the way to introduce it earlier, or give poor Pavel more scene time? And even then, though the chemistry is there, they don’t talk to each other a lot. But there is talk of love? When did that happen?!
The overall problem that prevented me from fully enjoying the hidden gems of this book is that it had too much stories crammed into one. They related to each other, sure, but they felt disconnected to me. Anouk first leaves her Uncle’s house, and her disgusting could’ve-been husband, but there’s no mention of them again, so… Why make us read about them in the first place? It could’ve easily been sumed up as backstory instead of being an entire chapter.
I have to praise the fantasy element of the story because it was handled beautifully. I just wish the rest of the book had been as well.
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