Monday, August 19, 2013

Review: Raven Flight by Juliet Marillier

From Goodreads: Neryn has finally found the rebel group at Shadowfell, and now her task is to seek out the elusive Guardians, vital to her training as a Caller. These four powerful beings have been increasingly at odds with human kind, and Neryn must prove her worth to them. She desperately needs their help to use her gift without compromising herself or the cause of overthrowing the evil King Keldec. Neryn must journey with the tough and steadfast Tali, who looks on Neryn's love for the double agent Flint as a needless vulnerability. And perhaps it is. What Flint learns from the king will change the battlefield entirely - but in whose favor, no one knows. 

My Rating: 3.5 hearts 

Thoughts on the Novel: In Raven Flight by Juliet Marillier, Neryn has recovered her strength after the events of the previous book, Shadowfell, and plans on seeking the Guardians’ help in spring. But with the conditions of a potential ally’s aid being time bound, she’s forced to speed up her learning of what it means to be a Caller, and so decides to start her journey by going west to find the Hag of the Isles instead of north to seek the Lord of the North.

Accompanying Neryn on her journey is Talia, a girl who serves as Neryn’s foil. Whereas Neryn is physically weaker and morally struggles to use her canny skills for the greater good at the expense of individuals, Talia is a survivor who always puts the rebellion first. Talia also considers love to be a sign of weakness and can’t believe that Neryn and Flint are willing to get closer to each other, knowing that the enemy can easily use their love against them.

While Shadowfell was full of Flint’s presence, he is only given a brief amount of page time in Raven Flight. This means that the tentative romance between Neryn and Flint doesn’t get much deeper, but it does serve to highlight Flint’s perilous role as a member of the rebels.

Although I’ve liked both books in the Shadowfell trilogy so far, I still haven’t fully fallen in love with this series because it’s so slow. Nevertheless, I’m looking forward to Caller and expect there to be a lot more action in it since Regan’s Rebels will finally be going up against Keldec and his army.

Raven Flight was released by Knopf Books for Young Readers in July 2013. 

Comments About the Cover: I like the use of darker colours because it lends some bleakness to the scene chosen since it was a time of loneliness for Neryn. 

In exchange for an honest review, this book was received from the publisher (Random House) for free via NetGalley.

8 comments:

  1. Yeah, I remember how slow the first one was, as well... it wasn't a terrible thing, but it could probably use some injection of excitement in there. I'm kind of bummed to hear that Flint is hardly in this one! I don't know, I recall thinking Neryn and Flint's sort of relationship and interactions with each other were my favourite part of Shadowfell. Well, while this doesn't sound like the most thrilling sequel, I do still want to read it. Especially if it sounds like the action is going to rev up in the third book! Thanks for the helpful review, Zahida! Well done.

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  2. I just recently bought Daughter of the Forest on audio and it's going to be my first Marillier book, which I'm kind of embarassed about. Everyone seems to enjoy her books so much, I think it's time I joined the party.
    Great review!

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  3. It's a shame that you haven't yet fallen in love with this series completely, but I'm glad that it's going fairly well at least. I still need to read something by this author! Like Maja, I recently bought Daughter of the Forest, so I'm looking forward to starting that soon. Great review, Z. :)

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  4. I'm looking forward to Caller too. This are more slowly paced than many current fantasy novels, but I think it suits them.

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  5. This sounds like a really fascinating series, but it's a shame both books have been so slow and haven't given you quite enough to really fall madly in love with them. As a lover of romance in books, I know I'll want more of Flint in this one, so I hope he's more prominent in book three and that you finally get the epic showdown you've been waiting for Z!

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  6. This sounds like a really interesting series. But I usually don't have the patience for slow books :P

    Hope Caller will take the cake!

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  7. I'm kind of afraid to start a Juliet M book because so many people love her so much, and I have a hit or miss relationship with fantasy. I'm glad you enjoyed this overall, though, at least enough to continue with the series.

    Wendy @ The Midnight Garden

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  8. Sounds to me its like its one of those series that you just want to finish anyways because you've already read the first two books. Hope the last book will be better and that there will be a good ending.

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