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grav_ityAsian heroine, swords and stuff, religion, love comes softly, world-building extravaganza, etc.
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rj_anderson told me about this book a while ago, and then she loaned it to me and then I took FOREVER to get reading it, even though I knew there were about fourteen things that I ABSOLUTELY LOVE about the plot. Well, now I am finished this book, and I can't WAIT to read Zoë's other ones!
In the mean time, though, I would like to tell you a few things about this book that I adored. (SPOILERS, OBVIOUSLY!)
1. There was a marriage of convenience. Seriously. Boy moves fast. He pretty much proposed after ten minutes (which was the time it took him to outline all the reasons why getting married would be beneficial), and her reaction was JUST AMAZING:
"You're insane."
"You've said that before and you have been proved wrong."
"THAT WAS LUNCH! THIS IS MARRIAGE!"
AND THEN THEY WERE ALL ADORABLE AND HONOURABLE AND I CAN'T EVEN!
2. Super evil villain who believes in his own self-fulfilling prophecy and is uber creepy. UGH, he makes my skin crawl. And even though he didn't die in a fire, I feel good about the end of the book.
(Even though he kind of got a little bit of redemption? I don't know. I hate it when jerks get redeemed, but I suppose THAT'S THE WHOLE POINT, and anyway this leads me nicely into...)
3. This was probably the best "religious" book I've ever read. Zahira's faith is so wonderful throughout the book (particularly the part where, after she gets her memory's back, she realizes that she still believes in God, but also that GOD IS A SCARY PERSON as evidenced by what Zahira has become), and I loved, loved, LOVED that God was female. JUST, LOVE.
4. On a similar note, I adored the slow combination of Zira and Zahira. The parts where she made "hard" decisions and then worried when they weren't actually hard at all...and the part where she and Rashna [spoilers] were amazing.
5. Attention to detail. What looked like a scene that was merely to demonstrate how much of a jerk the bad guy was, was actually an excuse to give a certain character a certain injury that would be important later, AND IT FLOWED COMPLETELY NATURALLY. UGH, I dream of someday having that kind of finesse.
6. Sorin. I WANT ONE, OKAY? The bit where he was That Guy? I mean, OBVIOUSLY THIS WAS HAPPENING, but *swoons*.
7. FIRE. I LOVE FIRE. THERE WAS SO MUCH FIRE! And some of it was great, and some of it was CREEPY (bad dude burns things a lot), and...yes. I LOVE IT.
8. Since Zoë is British, she uses the word "prise", which is pronounced like American "pry". I've been trying to convince my spell checker that this word is real FOR A DECADE, and seeing it in print always makes me happy.
9. I'm kind of surprised I am rational enough to make a numbered list, actually.
10. THERE ARE TWO MORE BOOKS TO REEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEAD!
(10. I should note here that #10 was nearly "Zahira's rebel force includes a girl who makes her look good", on the grounds that I ADORE IT when Random Blonde Girly Girl is all "I may be helpless, but dammit, you are going to need to look your best for this, and I AM ALL OVER THAT.", except [spoilers] and the I was sad.)
9/10 for being one of the best fictional religious books I've ever read, for having a brilliant heroine and a marvelous back up dude, for making me VERY CONCERNED and then VERY HAPPY.
rj_anderson told me about this book a while ago, and then she loaned it to me and then I took FOREVER to get reading it, even though I knew there were about fourteen things that I ABSOLUTELY LOVE about the plot. Well, now I am finished this book, and I can't WAIT to read Zoë's other ones!In the mean time, though, I would like to tell you a few things about this book that I adored. (SPOILERS, OBVIOUSLY!)
1. There was a marriage of convenience. Seriously. Boy moves fast. He pretty much proposed after ten minutes (which was the time it took him to outline all the reasons why getting married would be beneficial), and her reaction was JUST AMAZING:
"You're insane."
"You've said that before and you have been proved wrong."
"THAT WAS LUNCH! THIS IS MARRIAGE!"
AND THEN THEY WERE ALL ADORABLE AND HONOURABLE AND I CAN'T EVEN!
2. Super evil villain who believes in his own self-fulfilling prophecy and is uber creepy. UGH, he makes my skin crawl. And even though he didn't die in a fire, I feel good about the end of the book.
(Even though he kind of got a little bit of redemption? I don't know. I hate it when jerks get redeemed, but I suppose THAT'S THE WHOLE POINT, and anyway this leads me nicely into...)
3. This was probably the best "religious" book I've ever read. Zahira's faith is so wonderful throughout the book (particularly the part where, after she gets her memory's back, she realizes that she still believes in God, but also that GOD IS A SCARY PERSON as evidenced by what Zahira has become), and I loved, loved, LOVED that God was female. JUST, LOVE.
4. On a similar note, I adored the slow combination of Zira and Zahira. The parts where she made "hard" decisions and then worried when they weren't actually hard at all...and the part where she and Rashna [spoilers] were amazing.
5. Attention to detail. What looked like a scene that was merely to demonstrate how much of a jerk the bad guy was, was actually an excuse to give a certain character a certain injury that would be important later, AND IT FLOWED COMPLETELY NATURALLY. UGH, I dream of someday having that kind of finesse.
6. Sorin. I WANT ONE, OKAY? The bit where he was That Guy? I mean, OBVIOUSLY THIS WAS HAPPENING, but *swoons*.
7. FIRE. I LOVE FIRE. THERE WAS SO MUCH FIRE! And some of it was great, and some of it was CREEPY (bad dude burns things a lot), and...yes. I LOVE IT.
8. Since Zoë is British, she uses the word "prise", which is pronounced like American "pry". I've been trying to convince my spell checker that this word is real FOR A DECADE, and seeing it in print always makes me happy.
9. I'm kind of surprised I am rational enough to make a numbered list, actually.
10. THERE ARE TWO MORE BOOKS TO REEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEAD!
(10. I should note here that #10 was nearly "Zahira's rebel force includes a girl who makes her look good", on the grounds that I ADORE IT when Random Blonde Girly Girl is all "I may be helpless, but dammit, you are going to need to look your best for this, and I AM ALL OVER THAT.", except [spoilers] and the I was sad.)
9/10 for being one of the best fictional religious books I've ever read, for having a brilliant heroine and a marvelous back up dude, for making me VERY CONCERNED and then VERY HAPPY.
