I was really intrigued by the premise of this book and impressed with the complexity of its magic system with all its different magic branches and root magics and their variations and stuff. In fact, sometimes I found it almost too difficult to follow and I was as frustrated as Mr Frost’s first-year students were so often frustrated with him that there were so many things to keep in mind! But, like I said, I was really impressed! I’m sure I’ll get a better hang of it if I go on to the second book, but I’m still on the fence whether I want to plunge deeper into the series or not, because of the main character’s dour personality. I just found it too difficult to handle his constantly depressive mode, because right now my nervous system needs something a little bit more upbeat than what Dorian Frost can offer me. If only the second book was written in Milo’s POV! Naturally, Enchanter Evergreen has enchanted me (especially in contrast with his almost reluctant and permanently moody lover) and I’d love to see more of him. However, I had a peek into the next book and it seems to promise even more depression than the first. On the other hand, I’d love to see how Mr Frost’s students get on next term (especially Caleb, Kenzo, and both Gaels, who have become my favourites).
I’m ashamed to say that I have completely forgotten that I have this book. But I have this bookish problem that some of you might be familiar with: I tend to download and buy lots of books on a daily basis – hoard them like treasure and yet not read. However, as it is my plan to read as many books as I can this year, starting with the ones that have been waiting for their chance for a long time, I went back to see what books I have been neglecting and came across several written by my fellow authors. I know S.P. Sipal from our Harry Potter days. (Merlin’s beard, I miss those days!) I’ve read her excellent and extremely helpful “A Writer’s Guide to Harry Potter”“A Writer’s Guide to Harry Potter” that I would recommend to any budding writer out there looking for writing advice that works and now I’ve read her “Southern Fried Wiccan”, which I really enjoyed. Light-hearted and humorous, it kept me turning pages until the very end. I was actually planning to work on my own novel today, but instead I spent half of my morning in bed reading. I was drawn into this sweet and quaint small-town atmosphere with all these different characters, each standing out in their own way. This book also touched upon some very important questions connected with faith, spirituality, religion, self-identity, choices, stereotypes, and preconceptions. I have even copied down several quotes that I’m going to discuss with my students during our Speaking Club. I can’t say that I personally identified with any of the characters but it was very intriguing to have a glimpse into an entirely different life and my attention and interest were fully engaged throughout the book.
This was such a sweet yet poignant story. So heartfelt! Naturally, I thoroughly enjoyed it. I loved the author’s sense of humour and I loved the main characters, Dean and Ben. I loved that we got chapters from each boy’s point of view, which allowed us a good look into their lives, what they were thinking, feeling, going through, and it made observing the development of their feelings for each other so much more interesting. I loved reading about their interaction with each other and those sweet moments that they shared. However, my heart ached for poor Ben each time I read chapters from his point of view. I must confess that I didn’t expect such heavy family drama or what it would come to in the end. I was quite shocked. I just wanted to take Ben away and keep him safe and away from his horrible parents who seemed to have forgotten that they even had a child, which was such a contrast to Dean’s parents. Good thing that Ben had Dean to take his mind off things. I also liked Dean’s best friends, Tony and Ashley, and Ben’s best friend, Erin. Another thing that I greatly enjoyed was reading a book set in Ireland rather than in America, which provided me with some eye-opening discoveries. Of course, I must admit that I don’t know much about Ireland, so it wasn’t all that difficult. Unfortunately, intolerance and bullying that we witnessed on the pages of the book seem to be the same no matter what country the story takes place in.
A slow-paced, immersive, and atmospheric story that takes place in the days of yore. The author gives a very detailed description of the lifestyle, culture, religion, superstitions, and traditions of Norsemen (Danes and Vikings) who settled on the territory of what later became England in the area that was referred to as Danelaw. I happen to know something about it from my foray into “The Last Kingdom” series of books last year, which made it easy for me to understand a lot of the specific vocabulary used in the book, which made it sound quite authentic. There are some very distinctive characters like Yeru and Karl that make an instant impression, though for a while it wasn’t clear to me why so much of the story was dedicated to them, when it was supposed to be about Finn. I assumed that Finn or Thorfinn Agneson (his full name, though, by no means, his real name) was the main character because of his name in the title of the book and I was impatient for his story to begin. But just like famed skalds of those bygone days the author of the book generously libated us with stories of the past before returning to the present with befitting theatricality. Finn’s own adventure begins after an ill-fated trip to an old witch’s place alongside his elder brothers during which one of them gets cursed. Finn and the other brother return to that horrible place at night in order to kill the witch and save the brother from her curse. However, they soon learn that it is not easy to kill someone barely corporeal. While chasing the witch, Finn ends up in the Realm Between Realms, where he meets another intriguing character by the name of Ragacheep Nanawan or Raga as he tells Finn to call him, who can turn into a raven and who becomes Finn’s guide through the perils and the mysteries that await him now that his body (lich) and spirit (hug) are split between two worlds. I can’t really say much about Finn as a character. Despite the fact that he is a titular character, his own story appears rather sparingly on the pages of the novel, lost among many other tales and events, and he has remained largely a blank slate throughout the book. However, as it is only the first book in the series, I hope that he is yet to show himself. While I found the title of the book misleading and therefore not delivering the adventure that I was expecting, it is a very engaging novel with a great number of interesting characters, richly embroidered narrative, exciting adventures, and heart-warming atmosphere with a promise of more to come.
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