Firstly, can we please take a minute to drool over that gorgeous cover? I read this one on my Kindle so I haven't see the actual cover in person yet but it looks absolutely beautiful, and I think fits the vibe of the story really well.

The Ninth Sorceress is the first book in a new series, and it definitely felt like a first in a series book. There was quite a bit of background about the society and magic to be introduced, and I feel like this was done pretty well. The fact that Gwyn has led a fairly sheltered life so far means that she is learning at the same time as the reader, and I always think this is a nice natural way of introducing this kind of information.

I had a little bit of trouble figuring out some of the timing of the story, in terms of how quickly time was moving - I couldn't quite get a feeling for whether journeys were taking days or weeks, and this sometimes felt a little bit inconsistent to me. But, importantly, I did feel like enough time was passing for Gwyn to grow and change, and for her relationships with others to do the same. I liked the sense of frustration we got from Gwyn when things weren't happening easily for her. I also really liked that Gwyn is quite a reluctant - and maybe disbelieving - chosen one, and there was an authenticity in this portrayal of the chosen one trope that really appealed to me. Often it feels like she doesn't believe that she has any magic, but is just going along with it as a means to an end.

Something that really worked for me was the way that it is a story in a story - I loved that we had the 'present day' prisoner telling the story, and it made me really keen to try and figure out what would happen next as the story went along - who the prisoner was going to be and what had led her to be there. I thought this sort of mystery element of the book was really engaging.

Overall, a lot of the overall vibe reminded me of the book in the Throne of Glass series where Aelin spends a lot of time learning to use and control her magic, so readers who enjoyed that aspect of Aelin's story might also be really into this one. It read a little bit to the younger side of the YA age span and could be a good introduction to the genre for someone looking for something a little bit more grown up, but not as full on as some of the other series out there. I think The Ninth Sorceress set some great ground work for the next books, and I'm looking forward to seeing what Gwyn (and Bonnie!) has in store for us next!

xo Bron

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The Ninth Sorceress by Bonnie Wynne
Release: Out Feb 13 from Talem Press.
Source: I received a free ebook copy of from Talem Press for review. All views are my own.
Category: #loveozYA, fantasy, adventure, mystery, magic 

I thought Relic was an excellent starting novel for a new adventure-filled fantasy trilogy. I felt like the world building was pretty solid - the book is set in the city of Edriast, and we spend most of that time in the castle, but I felt like I got a bit of a sense of the larger world too. I felt like the amount of information we had was just about perfect for my reading preferences. While we don't necessarily know a lot about the Relics and their powers, we learn more about them as Kaylan does - I really like this technique of giving the reader more info at the same time as the protagonist is learning it too.

I also thought that there was good balance in the number of characters we meet in this first book - I felt like there weren't so many that I couldn't keep track of who was who, but at the same time there were enough to make the story feel full (if that makes sense).  Knowing that the story includes a rebellion, I really enjoyed trying to figure out who would be on which side - and who Kaylan would be able to trust.

I felt like Kaylan was a great protagonist - she was strong and clever and loyal to her friends and family. I loved that she had shades of grey about her, and that she was somewhat unsure about what her role should be - as much as I enjoy a "chosen one with surprise secret powers out to save the world" story, I found it refreshing to have kind of a reluctant hero protagonist. Also, I thought the bits about her working as a blacksmith were fascinating - I felt like her passion for the craft was really well conveyed and also relatable.