What an amazing idea for a story! Who doesnt love tales about alternate worlds? I know I do. However, ENCHANTED IVY cut some storytelling corners that unfortunately made it hard for me to invest in the story as fully as I wanted to.
As far as the premise goes, its extensive, but Sarah Beth Durst does an admirable job of condensing it to a magnitude appropriate for a YA novel. She creatively reimagines Princetons campus as one containing magical secrets in the most obvious of places. For anyone whos acquainted with the universitys campus, as I am, or anyone who has felt the awe-inspiring austerity of an old and regal college campus, its not much of a stretch to imagine the gargoyles as hibernating magical professors and gateways existing everywhere.
Oh, how I wish this book had gone on for another 200 or so pages! And not exactly because I didnt want it to end, but because I think that had the book been longer, elements of the story could have been explored more thoroughly, and the book wouldnt have given me a harried, rushed feeling as I read it. There is just so much packed into 320 pages that I dont think many elements were allowed breathing room to grow into fully realized beings. Many of the characters seemed like flat projections of people, from the villain of the story to the boys who help Lily on her quest. In particular, when Tye proclaims to Lily within hours of them meeting each other that, due to their similarities, which I wont divulge here because of spoilers, they are obviously soulmates, I wanted to howl, Noooooo! How could you resort to such a paranormal romance cliché?!?! At that point, I still felt so lost with the story that I couldnt fully invest in Tye as a love interest yet. Likewise with the purposes of many other characters.
That was the danger of having the pacing of this book be all snap-snap-snap, one dramatic event/revelation after the other after the other. No sooner was one crucial key to the plot revealed, and I was still digesting it, when another piled on top, and so on. The rushed pacing unfortunately made this book read almost like a parody of its intent: I knew this book couldve been extremely awe-inducing and breath-stealing in the best way, but I couldnt help but feel like it attempted to do too much in too little space that little was allowed to reach its potential.
Still, ENCHANTED IVY had the power to surprise and delight me with its twists, turns, and revelations. If youre the kind of reader who is often ensnared by an incredible premise, action, and a magical gothic-like setting, do give this book a try.
As far as the premise goes, its extensive, but Sarah Beth Durst does an admirable job of condensing it to a magnitude appropriate for a YA novel. She creatively reimagines Princetons campus as one containing magical secrets in the most obvious of places. For anyone whos acquainted with the universitys campus, as I am, or anyone who has felt the awe-inspiring austerity of an old and regal college campus, its not much of a stretch to imagine the gargoyles as hibernating magical professors and gateways existing everywhere.
Oh, how I wish this book had gone on for another 200 or so pages! And not exactly because I didnt want it to end, but because I think that had the book been longer, elements of the story could have been explored more thoroughly, and the book wouldnt have given me a harried, rushed feeling as I read it. There is just so much packed into 320 pages that I dont think many elements were allowed breathing room to grow into fully realized beings. Many of the characters seemed like flat projections of people, from the villain of the story to the boys who help Lily on her quest. In particular, when Tye proclaims to Lily within hours of them meeting each other that, due to their similarities, which I wont divulge here because of spoilers, they are obviously soulmates, I wanted to howl, Noooooo! How could you resort to such a paranormal romance cliché?!?! At that point, I still felt so lost with the story that I couldnt fully invest in Tye as a love interest yet. Likewise with the purposes of many other characters.
That was the danger of having the pacing of this book be all snap-snap-snap, one dramatic event/revelation after the other after the other. No sooner was one crucial key to the plot revealed, and I was still digesting it, when another piled on top, and so on. The rushed pacing unfortunately made this book read almost like a parody of its intent: I knew this book couldve been extremely awe-inducing and breath-stealing in the best way, but I couldnt help but feel like it attempted to do too much in too little space that little was allowed to reach its potential.
Still, ENCHANTED IVY had the power to surprise and delight me with its twists, turns, and revelations. If youre the kind of reader who is often ensnared by an incredible premise, action, and a magical gothic-like setting, do give this book a try.
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