Helpful Score: 3
It's the strangest thing. Whenever I see a copy of this book I feel compelled to buy it. Mel Gibson's character in Conspiracy Theory was the same way with Catcher in the Rye. I don't get it, since it's hardly the only book I've ever really enjoyed, but I guess this is one I must really want to share!
I love this book. It's techinically a young adult novel with a slight touch of fantasy, but it's not kiddie fare. The main character is great, and her transformation from teen to young woman is well done and fun to watch. There's also the transformation of a villian, moral dilemmas, a little romance, and a huge - but secret! - mystery to be solved! Or should it be solved? This is a smile of a book that I would have loved as a young teenager and love now.
The only odd thing is that the very last chapter of the book has a disjointed quality, as if it was meant to be tacked on later like an epilogue although it clearly isn't. I wasn't disappointed with the storyline, but it seems like the transition to the end of the book could have been smoothed out just a little...
I love this book. It's techinically a young adult novel with a slight touch of fantasy, but it's not kiddie fare. The main character is great, and her transformation from teen to young woman is well done and fun to watch. There's also the transformation of a villian, moral dilemmas, a little romance, and a huge - but secret! - mystery to be solved! Or should it be solved? This is a smile of a book that I would have loved as a young teenager and love now.
The only odd thing is that the very last chapter of the book has a disjointed quality, as if it was meant to be tacked on later like an epilogue although it clearly isn't. I wasn't disappointed with the storyline, but it seems like the transition to the end of the book could have been smoothed out just a little...
Helpful Score: 1
This is the first book I've read by this author . . . Why did I waste all that time? Great book.
Corie was a girl with a talent for witchcraft and a taste for adventure--The illegitimate child of a royal lord, she longed for a man who could never be hers. And she lived for her summers at Castle Auburn.
Now she is a woman who has grown accustomed to standing alone. What she once loved, she has lost. Where she once saw joy, she now sees terrible injustice. And at the castle where she once lived in peace, she now walks in fear for her life.
The author has also written, THE SHAPE-CHANGER'S WIFE, ARCHANGEL, JOVAH'S ANGEL, THE ALLELUIA FILES, WRAPT IN CRYSTAL, and HEART OF GOLD.
Corie was a girl with a talent for witchcraft and a taste for adventure--The illegitimate child of a royal lord, she longed for a man who could never be hers. And she lived for her summers at Castle Auburn.
Now she is a woman who has grown accustomed to standing alone. What she once loved, she has lost. Where she once saw joy, she now sees terrible injustice. And at the castle where she once lived in peace, she now walks in fear for her life.
The author has also written, THE SHAPE-CHANGER'S WIFE, ARCHANGEL, JOVAH'S ANGEL, THE ALLELUIA FILES, WRAPT IN CRYSTAL, and HEART OF GOLD.
Helpful Score: 1
Aww... it made me cry. It did. (In the happy way.) A completely sweet fairytale romance with castles and royalty and wise healer women and brave guards and good-natured tavern keepers and villagers and all that good stuff, along with a dosage of politics, intrigue, injustice, cruelty and illegitimacy. Oh, and "elves". And themes of personal freedom and justice and love....
No great quests or saving the world, but more of a focus on a young woman's growing up and coming to terms with the world...
No great quests or saving the world, but more of a focus on a young woman's growing up and coming to terms with the world...
Helpful Score: 1
Theres a special shelf in my mental/virtual bookcase. Until now, only Crown Duel resided there, a little proud in being the only one to make it onto that shelf but getting kind of lonely.
AND THEN! ANOTHER BOOK TEARS THROUGH THE LONELINESS AND SPREADS ITS SUNSHINE ON THE SHELF/MY LIFE! Its SUMMERS AT CASTLE AUBURN! It, too, contains that rare phenomenon where the characters and the romance make me squeak with glee while not skimping on the fantasy world-building!
HURRAH!
I did think about writing a more official review but I think I about covered all I have to say about this book. Squeeeeee.
AND THEN! ANOTHER BOOK TEARS THROUGH THE LONELINESS AND SPREADS ITS SUNSHINE ON THE SHELF/MY LIFE! Its SUMMERS AT CASTLE AUBURN! It, too, contains that rare phenomenon where the characters and the romance make me squeak with glee while not skimping on the fantasy world-building!
HURRAH!
I did think about writing a more official review but I think I about covered all I have to say about this book. Squeeeeee.
