I’ve had the opportunity to meet the author, Marie Rutkowski, last fall when I hosted her as part of the Fierce Reads Tour at Towne Book Center & Cafe. She’s super smart and super great. She even gave me some great pink eyeshadow!
I wanted to love the book; I DID. I started it and then put it down. When it was nominated for a CYBILS spec fiction I thought oh great, i can finish it now!
But alas, I see why I didn’t finish the book the first time. I just couldn’t get into the characters and their world. Kestrel’s world of being the captain’s daughter left me feeling like she was a rich smarty pants who fell in love with her slave. I’m sorry, I still wince at the word slave and I didn’t see the magic in Arin that she did. The plot twist was interesting but not devastating enough to rock my world like I thought it would.
There were too many tricks and tests for me to fully appreciate the book and the ending was even more confusing. I’m sad I didn’t love this story more. Perhaps the second book will make things clearer? This is a clear case of don’t take my word for it; read it yourself and make an informed decision. Tell me if you’ve read it?