ASIN: B00PBV1HKK
Pages: 333
Source: Xpresso Book Tours
Pages: 333
Source: Xpresso Book Tours
Appearance:
Summary:
Modern-day Camelot. Where knights no longer carry swords. Magic is dangerous. And those who seek control are not to be trusted.
Sixteen-year-old Morgan le Fay is a fire user. An ordinary girl with an extraordinary skill, she has the ability to create and command fire at will. Her dream is to become the Maven—the right hand of the future King Arthur. In the chance of a lifetime, Morgan is selected to join Arthur’s Round, an elite group of young magic users from which the new Maven will be chosen.
Along with the other fire, water, and wind users in Arthur’s Round, Morgan is rigorously trained and tested. The handsome Merlin, a brilliant water user, takes a particular interest in her. Is his friendship to be trusted, or is Merlin simply trying to win the position of Maven for himself? Among the many rivals Morgan faces is the current Maven, Mordred, who seems determined to see her fail.
But Morgan has a secret—years ago, her mother was executed for using fire magic, and Morgan’s desire for justice makes her more than ready to take on the challenge before her. Can she prevail in Camelot’s tests of survival and magic? Only time—and Morgan’s powerful fire—will tell.
Realm Lovejoy is an American writer and an artist. She grew up in both Washington State and the Japanese Alps of Nagano, Japan. Currently, she lives in Seattle and works as an artist in the video game industry. CLAN is her first book. You can find out more about her and her book at realmlovejoy.com
Sixteen-year-old Morgan le Fay is a fire user. An ordinary girl with an extraordinary skill, she has the ability to create and command fire at will. Her dream is to become the Maven—the right hand of the future King Arthur. In the chance of a lifetime, Morgan is selected to join Arthur’s Round, an elite group of young magic users from which the new Maven will be chosen.
Along with the other fire, water, and wind users in Arthur’s Round, Morgan is rigorously trained and tested. The handsome Merlin, a brilliant water user, takes a particular interest in her. Is his friendship to be trusted, or is Merlin simply trying to win the position of Maven for himself? Among the many rivals Morgan faces is the current Maven, Mordred, who seems determined to see her fail.
But Morgan has a secret—years ago, her mother was executed for using fire magic, and Morgan’s desire for justice makes her more than ready to take on the challenge before her. Can she prevail in Camelot’s tests of survival and magic? Only time—and Morgan’s powerful fire—will tell.
Hi everyone! Welcome back to another tour stop! I apologize for being really inactive this week, I actually planned a bunch of reviews, but never got around to writing them...
But next week is February Break so I have no excuse then. Anyway, back to the present, today is my tour stop for Henge by Realm Lovejoy and as always, click the tour banner up above to check out some other amazing stops!
Morgan le Fay is a fire user, a person who can call out fire from within her and bend it to her will. Her dream, ever since she saw her first vision at the Henge, was to become Prince Arthur's Maven - the right hand magician of the king of Camelot. When she enrolls into the Royal Competition and actually wins second place to participate in Arthur's Round, she's ecstatic and determined to become Maven. When she arrives at Camelot, she discovers that while she's talented, there are many others who possess great skill and she has to fight for the position of Maven, especially when the man who killed her mother will stop at nothing to see her fail.
This book was everything I could possible ask for! I consider myself a huge Arthurian Legend buff, I've been obsessed with the legends since I was super little and when I got older the obsession only grew stronger. As many of you guys know, BBC Merlin ended a couple years ago, and to say that my life has been pretty bleak is quite the understatement. Henge was like a breath of fresh air, a fun re-telling of the legends with a new twist that allowed me to experience the amazingness one more time. Since this is Book 1, you don't get to know a lot about the development of the story as the plot for book one focuses on Morgan's trials in Arthur's Round. However, it sets everything up perfectly! So perfectly to the point that I'm just dying right now because there's no sequel out yet!
When I first read the synopsis of the story and found that Morgan was a fire user, it all made sense. She's stubborn, strong willed, and incredibly determined. While the other contestants are competing for a chance in life, she's competing because she has to win for her mother. Morgan's mother is Morgause, a once extremely talented fire user who was sentenced to death by Maven Mordred for the murder of Sir Lot. Since her mother's death, Morgan's been honing her skills and preparing for the day when she takes Mordred's place and rights his wrongs. She wants magic to be something embraced, not locked under strict rules and guidelines. As a character, she's complex and wonderfully crafted. It is so easy to understand her distrust of others and feel a surge of pride when she overcomes a challenge.
Merlin on the otherhand, I actually didn't like that much. I think it's because I was so strongly entwined with Morgan's character, I viewed him through her eyes. He's a great guy, with all the right qualities for a good friend, yet Morgan's distrust translates onto how I view him overall. There's no doubt that he's incredibly talented, but you desperately want him to fail because you want Morgan to win. There are a bunch of other memorable characters such as Vivian, who I still don't quite understand, and Guinevere who is possibly one of the sweetest characters ever. I honestly feel like Guinevere is always portrayed as an angel, but you can't help but love her, even if she's all goody-goody. Then you have Arthur. He's actually younger than everyone else in the book, but you are constantly reminded of his potential. What I found really interesting was how reluctant he is to become king. You're reminded that he's a kid who is essentially thrust into the spotlight and you just want to give him a big hug.
Then you have Mordred. He's a very complex character and half the time you don't even know what to do with him. Yes, he's cruel and evil for what he did to Morgan and her mother, but there's that hint of mystery that just makes you want to know so much more. Why did he do what he did and why is he trying so hard to eliminate Morgan from the competition? All these unanswered questions keep swirling throughout the book and it's driving me insane!
Okay, I've talked enough about characters, let's talk a little about plot/story building. Like a said before, I loved every single moment of this book, but it did leave a lot of things answered (also mentioned above). I want to know more about the pagan cult, I want to know more about the history of the Pendragons, I want to know more about Mordred. There are just so many loose ends that really build up the suspense throughout the book. That can either be a good thing or a bad thing depending on how you look at it. All I know is that I'm dying, literally dying for the second book!
My final thoughts are pretty self explanatory if you've made it this far down my review: GO READ THIS BOOK! It's fantastic and fun and reading a re-telling about Morgan and Merlin just makes me so deliriously happy!
GIVEAWAY
AUTHOR BIO
Realm Lovejoy is an American writer and an artist. She grew up in both Washington State and the Japanese Alps of Nagano, Japan. Currently, she lives in Seattle and works as an artist in the video game industry. CLAN is her first book. You can find out more about her and her book at realmlovejoy.com
Author links:
4.5 out of 5 stars
Foreverly Obsessed,
Awesome review, Riv! I'm not familiar with the Arthurian legend much, but reviews of this book have me so curious! It sounds like a very well written book, and the characters sound especially well developed, too, which is a huge plus for me! I'm also happy I'm not the only one who delays writing reviews lol! >.<
ReplyDeleteThis book is fantastic!! Highly highly highly recommend it! Ahaha, I really need to start posting my reviews, the list just keeps getting bigger! Good luck!! Thanks so much for commenting!!
Delete~Riv
Thank you so much for reading Henge and taking the time to write a detailed review on your lovely blog, Riv! I'm so thrilled that you enjoyed the book, especially since you love the Arthurian legends! I hope you'll like the next book, too. It's coming out later this year.
ReplyDeleteNo problem! Thank you for letting me relive the fun again!! I can't wait, I'll definitely keep an eye out! :)
Delete~Riv