Skip to main content

Onyx and Ivory by Mindee Arnett

Title: Onyx and Ivory
Author: Minee Arnett

My Rating: 5 stars

I'm not in love with the cover or the title, but the book? Absolutely! This has earned its spot in my top 3 of the year!

In this young adult fantasy, the main characters are around 19-20.  Kate's father was a traitor, having tried to kill the king, and that has left her with the name "Traitor Kate." Plus she has had to hide her wilder magic ability to speak with and control animals else she be judged for that as well, since wilder magic is illegal. But then she rescues her old friend, Prince Corwin, from a drake attack and things begin to change.

Corwin doesn't want to rule. He has accepted that his brother, Edwin, will likely be the heir. Then he sees Kate again as she rescues him from the drakes and old feelings are rekindled.  But there are more important issues at hand...why are the drakes, typically called nightdrakes, attacking during the day? Is wilder magic involved?

Right at 500 pages, this one is lengthy, but I enjoyed it all.  It didn't drag for me.  This is the start of a new series, and I can't wait for the next book!

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

Shiver and Linger by Maggie Stiefvater - Slight Spoiler Alert

Review written on August 7, 2010 ** Mildly Spoilerish** Books 1 and 2 in the Mercy Falls series I read Shiver last year, shortly after it came out.  I did really enjoy the book and even voted to be sure it would appear on the list for the committee I'm on.  However, I always had one problem with the book -the "cure".  No one else seemed as bothered by this as me, but I just can't get past that.  I did like that there was some science involved with why they turned into the wolves when it was cold.  Despite the so-called cure, the book was good, so of course I wanted to read the second book, Linger . Only ten chapters in, I was highly annoyed by the book already.  The moment that Grace said that Isabel was cold and Isabel said it was Grace that was hot, I just knew that she was going to be sick and how she would be "cured".  At first I thought that Sam had gotten her sick somehow, but at least that wasn't the case.  At least what Cole d...

Initial thoughts on Mockingjay

Don't worry, I'm going to try and stay away from spoilers, at least for now!  In my opinion, the hardest part of writing any book or story is writing the ending.  I imagine that it's probably incredibly more difficult when you are writing the ending of a book that has been a popular series.  The author always knows that some fans will love it and some fans will hate it.  Of course you can't please everyone. That said, how do I feel about Mockingjay?  As I book, I loved it, and I wasn't disappointed at all.  The action was just as fast-paced and captivating as the two previous books of the series.  Suzanne Collins has mastered the art of keeping the reader from getting bored.  Around half way through the book, I got a little teary, but I won't say why just yet.  Nor will I reveal what part of the ending of the series made me cry.  Maybe later I'll come back, when more people have finished the book, or when I figure out if there's a wa...

Year One by Nora Roberts

Title: Year One Author: Nora Roberts Cover: A decent cover that represents the start of the plague and the crows that come with the darkness. *Mild Spoilers Ahead* Review: I will say first that I am not a typical Nora Roberts fan. In fact, I've only read three other books by her, that being the Seven Signs Trilogy that starts with Blood Brothers. If I remember correctly, those also had a fantasy/paranormal feel to them, while her typical books do not. It was the fantasy elements of this book that appealed to me. A plague strikes, first taking a family, but since it is highly contagious and they are traveling after the holidays, it quickly spreads, wiping out large numbers of the population. There are already some people with gifts before the plague hits, but after, these gifts grow stronger, and others gain powers as well. These people, from witches, elves, fairies, and more, are called the Uncanny, and some people blame them for the plague, or are just generally hateful...