Author: BC Morin
Rating: 4/5
Genre: Fantasy
Recommend To: fans of the Iron King
There was loads and loads of fresh, fun, fantasy in Blood of the Sorcerer! It continues from Mark of the Princess with the rise of Samil aided by Maligo, and has the return of wonderful characters such as Alannah, Evyette, Brennus, Tristan, and Kaleb. The plot gets twisted and complicated, but remains engaging and full of magical confrontations and romance. Alannah continues her training and grapples with her feelings for Brennus who is set to marry Isibeal, who in turn is hiding a secret. Evyette continues to learn about her mysterious past with her love Tristan and friend Kaleb by her side.
The characters themselves are very complex with intricate personalities. The relationships between them are well explored and the world building is lush and full of sensory overload. The descriptions are full of detail and the settings are easy to visualize. Although the different magical creatures can be easy to confuse (Dorchae, Drow etc.) the story isn't hard to get into; you automatically become lost in the world.
Even better was the introduction of backstories for the villains. Originally they seemed flat, but with the added tales of how Samil and Maligo became the way they are, the story was enhanced and became better in general. The villains became 3-Dimensional and were easier to understand and sympathize with while still being fun to hate.
The romance was incredible. Although there was predictable love triangle stuff, it wasn't drawn out and overly boring, plus the constant misunderstandings (especially between Alannah and Brennus) were frustrating but amusing. The tension between Alannah and Brennus was tangible (as in really WOW) and drunk Brennus is so SEXY. My gosh. Evyette and Tristan were also so adorable.
[ I'm just sad about the end, Tristan's death felt almost uneccessary. So much time was spent building their relationship and instead he just dies? And Kaleb gets the girl? No thanks I'll pass. Sigh, I don't know, I felt zilch amounts of chemistry between Kaleb and Evy. (hide spoiler)]
With all this glorious stuff there seem to be no flaws but sadly, the writing itself was not exceptional. I suppose it is a self-published book after all, but it was hard to ignore the awkward sentence structure. The dialogue was stilted at times, made to sound overly archaic and then almost modern, and it was occasionally predictable. For example, this quote is just wordy and awkward, and tries too hard to sound antiquated.
"You seem to ask a question to which you may know the answer to. Do you not, old fae?"
There were also some very cliche moments like "Huh, the last mysterious scroll is on some dark, deserted island overrun by wild beasts where NO FAE EVER GOES. Who saw that one coming?" However, there was sarcasm and tinges of humor which were very refreshing and enjoyable.
Overall I enjoyed this book, it had well written characters, a gripping plotline, and positively steamy romance. Although the wording was unnatural it was still descriptive and built the characters and world well. I would strongly encourage high-fantasy lovers to read it!
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