RAVE REVIEW: A Shadow Bright And Burning
Curse the bastards who didn't like this book.
Curse them all.
Hey, reader nerds, how's it going?
Today I bring to you on a silver platter another book review. A RAVE book review. It's the only way to do it, right? And what's the book I'm raving about?
A Shadow Bright And Burning, by Jessica Cluess
That's right people-who-hated-this-book, I'm talking to you. I would consider anyone who didn't enjoy this book just a miserable sonofab*tch. But who's calling names? Not me. Have your wands at the ready to dual me if you please, or your staves in this case.
Let's embark on a journey...
A 4 star journey. 👊 I just punched all of you haters in the virtual face. Did you feel the blow? I hope you did.
What's the book about?
Sit down and I will briefly explain it in a song. Cue the violins and hum the melody to Once Upon A Time's "Emma's Song":
🎜Once in Victorian London, A prophecy foretold. Of a bright, young, sorcerer, the first one in years born. She would slay the ancients, wielding fire so strong, and the world would be in peace all the days long. 🎜
Well, now that I got that out...
But yeh. Henrietta so happens to be that girl (or is she? butican'ttellyouthatsorry). She ventures off to Victorian London, accompanied by her dear friend Rook and Master Agrippa, where she will train to defeat seven disgusting Ancients.
Let's talk about Henrietta.
Let's just call her Howel, because in this book sorcerer's normally refer to each other by their last names. I dig it.
I liked Henrietta. She wasn't afraid to be selfish, she wasn't afraid to protect herself, and she wasn't afraid to speak out. Sadly orphaned, she lived and taught at a girls school called Brimthorn, A place run by a nasty, disgusting, old, perverted ass hole. And I hated that guy. Howel's childhood friend, Rook, was injured by an Ancient many years ago and is deemed "unclean" by whatever ass hole deemed it. Poor guy. No, I'm not being sarcastic. Seriously, poor guy.
So Howel is abused, and it happens that one day one of the grand sorcerer's, Master Agrippa, comes to the school she works at. Howel is afraid because she thinks she is a witch. Why should she be afraid of that? I'm getting to it, alright! Through some turn of events, Agrippa finds out she's a sorcerer instead (maybe?) and takes her to London to train with other young sorcerers. Did I mention there hasn't been a female sorcerer in awhile?
Anyways, I can understand why some readers didn't like Howel. Shit to them. Shit to all of them. I liked her because she was damn realistic. She caved under emotional pressure, she didn't care what the consequences were when it came to saving her bff Rook - how is that not realistic? Sounds like a bunch of complaining book reviewers to me. I liked her. End of story.
Blackwood and Magnus and Rook...oh my!
These are two guys I like. They are two of the male sorcerer's that Howel is training with. Blackwood is Mr. Darcy in every way. And I am a huge Mr. Darcy fan.
It's okay. I'll show you how. 😁
That's right. Pride and Prejudice. Mr. Darcy. I drank that tea 'til its end. I don't know if they will be a romantic pairing in the second book, but jeez, that angst. Blackwood, George Blackwood, is so cold, rich, stern, and privileged. But he has his reasons. Oh yes. But that's for you to read and find out. Mmm. It was truly delicious. Please, author, if you're listening, make Blackwood her true love. I love him so much.
Then there's Magnus, Julian Magnus. Dashing. Sexy. The works. And such a die hard flirt. But he is a character you could devour. Every scene he was in was fun. EXCEPT. I can't say. Sorry nerds. And maybe, just maybe he likes Howel and they have a thing. A thing.
And Rook. I adored Rook. He was always there for Howel and would remain her constant companion no matter what. He reminded me so much of Sam from The Lord of The Rings. He had a sweet, kind, gentle nature about him. The hurt he received from the Ancients pisses me off. Why? He's such a sweet, beautiful soul.
Blackwood and Magnus aren't all of the other sorcerer's she trains with, but to keep this from becoming a full blown novel, I thought they were worth the mention.
The Bad Guys
I haven't read a YA book in awhile that had such gross, awesome ass, violent bad guys who are just plain bad. And freaking creepy. They are called the Ancients. And apparently years ago a crazy witch and a magician let them all lose from who knows where. They're disgusting, brutal, and extremely violent. Finally. Actual villains. Reading about them was pretty disturbing. Thank you, author. 😕 All of the monsters terrorize only England for some odd reason. Where are the French? Where are the Americans? The Germans? Irish? Does no one give a shit? And aren't bad guys bent on taking over the whole world? Hmm. We'll see in the next book.
The Magic System
In this book there are witches, magicians, and sorcerers. It is said that sorcerers are allowed because they are the most disciplined. Witches are slaughtered and so are magicians. Magicians, though. I adored reading about magicians. Apparently they are more powerful than sorcerers because there magic really doesn't have much of a limit. And Howel - whoops, I'm getting ahead of myself. But anyways, magicians seem pretty bad ass. I understand the reasoning for outlawing their use of magic, but dammit they could actually be pretty freaking useful.
My Conclusion
Hm. Don't know where I lucked out on that one.
Anyways, I really enjoyed reading this. I enjoyed Howel's personality, the world they lived in (although I need questions answered), Blackwood playing the part of Mr. Darcy (swoon), the story line, and the whole cast of characters. After I read it I was just so excited. Now I know some people are like, oh my gosh, but it's like HP. So. The. Hell. What. The authors awesome, her book is awesome, and if you don't think so, sorry friend.
Off to go cry if Blackwood and Howel aren't a couple in the end. 😬
Lot's of 💙, 🍵, and a full dosage of Mr. Darcy,
Liz
Knowledge is power, fools:
Loki being low key 😏: https://media.giphy.com/media/KiaAwaemKWhVu/giphy.gif
Mr. Darcy, my love: https://giphy.com/search/fitzwilliam-darcy
Curse them all.
Hey, reader nerds, how's it going?
Today I bring to you on a silver platter another book review. A RAVE book review. It's the only way to do it, right? And what's the book I'm raving about?
A Shadow Bright And Burning, by Jessica Cluess
That's right people-who-hated-this-book, I'm talking to you. I would consider anyone who didn't enjoy this book just a miserable sonofab*tch. But who's calling names? Not me. Have your wands at the ready to dual me if you please, or your staves in this case.
Let's embark on a journey...
A 4 star journey. 👊 I just punched all of you haters in the virtual face. Did you feel the blow? I hope you did.
What's the book about?
Sit down and I will briefly explain it in a song. Cue the violins and hum the melody to Once Upon A Time's "Emma's Song":
🎜Once in Victorian London, A prophecy foretold. Of a bright, young, sorcerer, the first one in years born. She would slay the ancients, wielding fire so strong, and the world would be in peace all the days long. 🎜
Well, now that I got that out...
But yeh. Henrietta so happens to be that girl (or is she? butican'ttellyouthatsorry). She ventures off to Victorian London, accompanied by her dear friend Rook and Master Agrippa, where she will train to defeat seven disgusting Ancients.
Let's talk about Henrietta.
Let's just call her Howel, because in this book sorcerer's normally refer to each other by their last names. I dig it.
I liked Henrietta. She wasn't afraid to be selfish, she wasn't afraid to protect herself, and she wasn't afraid to speak out. Sadly orphaned, she lived and taught at a girls school called Brimthorn, A place run by a nasty, disgusting, old, perverted ass hole. And I hated that guy. Howel's childhood friend, Rook, was injured by an Ancient many years ago and is deemed "unclean" by whatever ass hole deemed it. Poor guy. No, I'm not being sarcastic. Seriously, poor guy.
So Howel is abused, and it happens that one day one of the grand sorcerer's, Master Agrippa, comes to the school she works at. Howel is afraid because she thinks she is a witch. Why should she be afraid of that? I'm getting to it, alright! Through some turn of events, Agrippa finds out she's a sorcerer instead (maybe?) and takes her to London to train with other young sorcerers. Did I mention there hasn't been a female sorcerer in awhile?
Anyways, I can understand why some readers didn't like Howel. Shit to them. Shit to all of them. I liked her because she was damn realistic. She caved under emotional pressure, she didn't care what the consequences were when it came to saving her bff Rook - how is that not realistic? Sounds like a bunch of complaining book reviewers to me. I liked her. End of story.
Blackwood and Magnus and Rook...oh my!
These are two guys I like. They are two of the male sorcerer's that Howel is training with. Blackwood is Mr. Darcy in every way. And I am a huge Mr. Darcy fan.
It's okay. I'll show you how. 😁
That's right. Pride and Prejudice. Mr. Darcy. I drank that tea 'til its end. I don't know if they will be a romantic pairing in the second book, but jeez, that angst. Blackwood, George Blackwood, is so cold, rich, stern, and privileged. But he has his reasons. Oh yes. But that's for you to read and find out. Mmm. It was truly delicious. Please, author, if you're listening, make Blackwood her true love. I love him so much.
Then there's Magnus, Julian Magnus. Dashing. Sexy. The works. And such a die hard flirt. But he is a character you could devour. Every scene he was in was fun. EXCEPT. I can't say. Sorry nerds. And maybe, just maybe he likes Howel and they have a thing. A thing.
And Rook. I adored Rook. He was always there for Howel and would remain her constant companion no matter what. He reminded me so much of Sam from The Lord of The Rings. He had a sweet, kind, gentle nature about him. The hurt he received from the Ancients pisses me off. Why? He's such a sweet, beautiful soul.
Blackwood and Magnus aren't all of the other sorcerer's she trains with, but to keep this from becoming a full blown novel, I thought they were worth the mention.
The Bad Guys
I haven't read a YA book in awhile that had such gross, awesome ass, violent bad guys who are just plain bad. And freaking creepy. They are called the Ancients. And apparently years ago a crazy witch and a magician let them all lose from who knows where. They're disgusting, brutal, and extremely violent. Finally. Actual villains. Reading about them was pretty disturbing. Thank you, author. 😕 All of the monsters terrorize only England for some odd reason. Where are the French? Where are the Americans? The Germans? Irish? Does no one give a shit? And aren't bad guys bent on taking over the whole world? Hmm. We'll see in the next book.
The Magic System
In this book there are witches, magicians, and sorcerers. It is said that sorcerers are allowed because they are the most disciplined. Witches are slaughtered and so are magicians. Magicians, though. I adored reading about magicians. Apparently they are more powerful than sorcerers because there magic really doesn't have much of a limit. And Howel - whoops, I'm getting ahead of myself. But anyways, magicians seem pretty bad ass. I understand the reasoning for outlawing their use of magic, but dammit they could actually be pretty freaking useful.
My Conclusion
Hm. Don't know where I lucked out on that one.
Anyways, I really enjoyed reading this. I enjoyed Howel's personality, the world they lived in (although I need questions answered), Blackwood playing the part of Mr. Darcy (swoon), the story line, and the whole cast of characters. After I read it I was just so excited. Now I know some people are like, oh my gosh, but it's like HP. So. The. Hell. What. The authors awesome, her book is awesome, and if you don't think so, sorry friend.
Off to go cry if Blackwood and Howel aren't a couple in the end. 😬
Lot's of 💙, 🍵, and a full dosage of Mr. Darcy,
Liz
Knowledge is power, fools:
Loki being low key 😏: https://media.giphy.com/media/KiaAwaemKWhVu/giphy.gif
Mr. Darcy, my love: https://giphy.com/search/fitzwilliam-darcy
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