ARC Review: Treason by S.M. Boyce

Treason by S.M. Boyce
Series: Grimoire Saga #2
Publisher: Caffeinated Books Publishing 
Release Date: October 27 , 2012
Buy: Amazon

Goodreads Summary

Kara Magari ignited a war when she stumbled into Ourea and found the Grimoire: a powerful artifact filled with secrets. To protect the one person she has left, she strikes a deal that goes against everything she believes in. But things don’t go as planned.

Braeden Drakonin can no longer run from who—and what—he is. He has to face the facts. He’s a prince. He’s a murderer. He’s a wanted man. And after a betrayal that leaves him heartbroken, he’s out for blood.

To survive, both Kara and Braeden must become the evil each has grown to hate.

I requested this book earlier this year but it took me a while to get around to it, mostly because of my ADD and huge reading-list. When I did get around to it, I was disappointed. Treason just didn’t impress me as much as Lichgates did.

I shared a love/hate relationship with the main characters in the book. There were times when they fell completely flat and times when they took such a huge leap in character development.

I am going to start off with our Stelian Prince. His real identity came out at the beginning of the book so that was somewhat of a relief. What I loved most about that however was the fact that instead of glooming around he actually decided to embrace his identity. Even though he isn’t completely comfortable with what he is, there is no point in hiding it, it was time for him to finally act like the heir he is. One of the other things I really liked was how he backed off when Kara said she didn’t want a relationship. She is capable of making her own decisions and should be treated like the ‘adult’ she is/ What really bothered me about Braedan however was how he was ready to do anything to protect Kara, at least Kara tried to think things through, he however would go head face into danger without considering other solutions just to protect Kara. She isn’t a little girl. She can take care of herself.

It was mostly Kara I had problems with. Some of her interactions with the Vagabound and later on another entity (that must not be named so as to avoid spoilers) just fell completely flat. The conversations that took place were so preachy, like the purpose of these interactions was to discuss philosophy or just to make Kara look smart, like she knew what the hell was going on. That didn’t sit well with me. Sometimes I also felt like she wasn’t taking her role as the vagabond seriously. She complained about the attention and kept on arguing with the first vagabond. While I am glad she didn’t obey him blindly and questioned what he had to say, it annoyed me when she couldn’t seem to grasp how big the role was. I mean she had a whole book to get used to the idea, it almost seemed like she was back to square one with all her whining. She also seems to be getting in the most messed up situations. She really should trust her instincts more. Although she always works her way out and doesn’t need Braedan to rescue her all the time.

My favorite character in the book was Deirdre. She is so fascinating. No one really knows her agenda. She manipulates EVERYONE. You cannot even be sure if she is a good or bad guy (well from Kara’s POV… she is a bad guy but for me as a reader, not so much).

Gavin remains his annoying self and I still cannot wrap my head around how Braedan still hopes that he would come back. Even Richard doesn’t feel a connection to Gavin yet Braedan still hopes. 

I do hope we spend more time with her army in the next book.

The plot itself wasn’t that great either. The romance seemed to become the life of the book with all the dancing around and neither of them willing to give in to their feelings. The twist in the end was rather bothersome too but I am starting to get used to the idea. I just feel like there were too many rescues going on as well. Like what ACTUALLY happened in this book? It seemed more like a bridge towards the next book.

With all that said I should say that the world of Ourea continues to amaze me.  This wonderful world S.M. Boyce has built is enchanting and even with everything I didn’t like the world building is still great.

After that awesome epilogue (well I liked it :P) I really hope that I won’t be let down again when I read Heritage.

Lichgates by S.M Boyce

Title: Lichgates
Author: S.M. Boyce
Series: Grimoire Saga #1
Publisher: Immortal Ink Publishing
Date Published: October 15 , 2011
Buy: Amazon

Goodreads Summary

Kara, a college student still reeling from her mother’s recent death, has no idea the hidden world of Ourea even exists until a freak storm traps her in a sunken library. With no way out, she opens an ancient book of magic called the Grimoire and unwittingly becomes its master, which means Kara now wields the cursed book’s untamed power. Discovered by Ourea’s royalty, she becomes an unwilling pawn in a generations-old conflict—a war intensified by her arrival. In this world of chilling creatures and betrayal, Kara shouldn’t trust anyone… but she’s being hunted and can’t survive on her own. She drops her guard when Braeden, a native soldier with a dark secret, vows to keep her safe. And though she doesn’t know it, her growing attraction to him may just be her undoing.

For twelve years, Braeden Drakonin has lived a lie. The Grimoire is his one chance at redemption, and it lands in his lap when Kara Magari comes into his life. Though he begins to care for this human girl, there is something he wants more. He wants the Grimoire.

This is a story about hidden lands, runaway princes, grimoires, hidden motives and powerful wizards

Welcome to Ourea, where only the cunning survive.

Wow. That is the only word I can think of that will sum up my reading experience. I haven’t read fantasy in quite a while and just wow. I happen to be a fantasy geek but I don’t read fantasy all the time because I like to devour fantasy novels, read them slowly (which means for me to not read it in one day). I read this book in about 2 days and I loved it.

I was browsing through titles on Netgalley when I came across this one. I was intrigued by the summary. It kind of reminded me of Alice in Wonderland; she stumbled into a library during a storm and discovered a whole new world.

So I decided to request it. Initially I thought it was more on the urban fantasy side but when I got the book and double checked I realized it was a high fantasy. Again I am a fantasy geek so I was worried this book would let me down. I am very glad it didn’t.

At first when I started the book I wasn’t sure I was going to like it, but I read on because the idea was still fascinating and little by little and then all at once I was in love.

Boyce does a FANTASTIC job with her world building. She just has a way with words, her descriptions are livid and I can feel the whole world come to life. Really this is a huge thing coming from me because I usually don’t talk about world building, I mean it’s always there in the back of my mind but you know I don’t really notice it. She has all these different settings within the kingdom and you can really feel the magic in the air. I sound super corny right now but I am just amazed by how great the world building was.

She never leaves loopholes either (as far as I can see), you wonder about how Kara communicates with them? She tells you. She doesn’t leave much room for criticism, even from me and I always look for something that makes the book less than perfect.

Kara is a great female lead. She isn’t stupid, she doesn’t deny stuff. Like in the begging despite all the proof she could have just said that this was all b.s. and that she was probably hallucinating. It happens quite a bit these days, main characters denying the truth. She embraces it.  Despite this she is also appropriately naïve, she is new to this world so if she were to stroll around with confidence that would make no sense. Being naïve doesn’t mean she is stupid. She makes a lot of good decisions but there are some bad ones in there too and she learns from her mistakes. Despite this she is also human, she has her weaknesses, she is also tempted by magic from time to time. I love how realistic her character is. She is neither too perfect nor too broken.  She has this great power but the author doesn’t make her seem all powerful because again she has her flaws, being the Vagabound doesn’t make her free from those.

Braeden is a great male lead. His determination is impressive. I just kind of love his voice. He is trying to overcome his fears but he desperately needs the Grimoire to help him gain the freedom he seeks. In the beginning he helps Kara mostly because he wants the Grimoire but slowly he opens up to her and starts to genuinely like her, this of course doesn’t change the fact that he still needs her help. Don’t look a gift horse in the mouth.

Their relationship develops really slowly and really because this isn’t a romance, the development is internal but it’s really fun to see how their feelings toward one another change ever so slowly.

The author does a great job with her secondary characters, none of them are flat, they all have some sort of depth to them. This is Ourea, everyone has their secrets.

The plot is well paced, it slowly picks up speed and then bam the book is over and you are left there wanting more.  I don’t want to discuss the plot simply because I don’t want to spoil anything; it’s something you should experience on your own.

I recommend this book to all fans of fantasy, it is a must read if you are a fantasy geek like me.