Brightly Woven by Alexandra BrackenMy rating: 3 of 5 stars
Brightly Woven was an OK YA fantasy. Too light on the world-building, and unfortunately heavy on the teen attitudes and fit-throwing. There was some interesting magic, and hints at an interesting world, but it was vague in many places. There were times when I thought something exciting was going to happen (like seeing a dragon defeated!) but then it was barely referred to. Instead we got Sydelle sewing, or waiting in a cabin, or being safely placed on a hill during all the interesting action.
I could tell it was a debut novel. So many aspects could have been filled out more. Also, this is currently a standalone novel but feels somewhat unfinished. I'm not sure if it's just that gaps were left, but I could see there being a sequel someday.
I also found the character development - and thus the romance - to be kind of spotty and the shifts in opinion awkward. Sydelle was a judgmental brat for a long time. She took reluctance to leave home past the point of believability. I felt like she was angry for no good reason, and blindly hated North for taking her away when he actually rescued her. Then I missed the part where she changed, because suddenly she wasn't that person anymore.
All that said, once I managed to get into the flow of it, the story did keep my interest. Otherwise it would have been 2 stars.
No comments:
Post a Comment