Madly

I fancy that this book is what would happen if you take any of the popular poison-maker YA fantasy books, cross that with some reality show like The Amazing Race and stir well. Add a dash of romance and a pinch of friendship and season with a supportive family. Serve warm.

Okay, so my simile got a little away from itself, but that's how I feel towards this book. It's fun and odd and pretty much exactly what I was expecting it to be.

The story follows Sam, our young potion maker - think more apothecary or herbalist and less alchemist. Most of the story is told from her perspective. (First person present tense interspersed with a few chapters of third person past tense. Which gave me a kneejerk reaction, but wasn't as awful as I expected. Would have liked it more if it had been consistent.)

As it was, I'm not sure if it was the POV shifts, but I never fully connected with Sam. I like her. She's got a long list of good traits and a healthy dose of flaws. But I never felt like rooting for her.

Same with the other characters. I like them all. They are all great and inoffensive and there are strong family ties, there are strong friendships and there are strong women. (And the book has a pretty strong ‘pro-women/feminist' vibe going for it.) But...I never once felt breathless wondering what was going to happen next, if they were going to get out of this mess or die. I never clicked emotionally with any of the people.

Mentally, you bet! I was fully engaged mentally while reading this story, but not at all emotionally.

Ordinaries dominate any job that requires interaction with technology - pilots and computer engineers are, for the most part, magicless.

One thing that I do love, love, love about this story is the blend of technology and magic. This is a fantasy world, make no mistake about that. But they have cellphones, satellite TV, automobiles that run on gas, helicopters. All mixed with royalty and that special blend of magic.

I love this! I know something like this isn't going to be for everyone, but I love when a typical fantasy setting is turned on it's ear. I love stories where science and magic have to struggle against each other. And this book shows at least a little of that, especially with the ‘pharmacies' that have started making lab created alternatives to the fresh herbs and plants that the poitioners have used for decades. (And I love the way that parallels the state of this world.)

This book has also made me want to be an apothecary even more than I did before reading it!

(Originally posted on my blog: pagesofstarlight.blogspot.com)