Hilari Bell

Ahvren returns from war with a compulsion for telling the truth and an extreme aversion to going back to war. He goes to T'Chin, a planet recently conquered by his people, the Vivitare, when his foster sibling, Sabri, asks for his help. Ahvren's father makes a deal with him: find out if the rumor regarding a rebellion against the emperor is true. If Ahvren can figure it out, he will have a whole year to figure out what to do with his life instead of going to Zodan to continue conquering, and show more he might even save Sabri from marriage to the odious son of the emperor.

I will try to be fair to this book, but the simple truth is, at least part of my rating has to do with the fact that this is one of my favorite authors, one of her first books, and not one of the first I've read. It just doesn't measure up to some of her later writing; I don't expect it to. The plot and characters were engaging, but there were definitely some shaky moments from an author who hadn't quite found her stride in plot development. Also, I may read a lot of fantasy and a fair amount of sf, but that doesn't mean I have a high tolerance for apostrophes in the middle of words, and the proliferation (T'Chin, K'Moth, N'Ssser to name a few) got old fast. An entertaining, quick read, but not one of Bell's best. show less

Unfortunately I did not get very far into this before I put it down. I think the concept is interesting, and Bell's writing is not bad, per se: technically and stylistically, it flows well and reads rhythmically, which is to say that we readers are not tripped up by the narration. However, the book lacked what I guess I'd have to call a human connection. The characters didn't seem to act the way people do: if a strange guy was basically stalking ME, I'd probably mention it to an adult pretty show more soon down the line, instead of just shrugging it off and not being thisclose to freaking out the next time he shows up. Kelsa and Raven's conversations felt stiff and unconvincing: during the little I managed to stomach of this book, most of their conversation seemed to go something along the lines of, "So, you ready to believe in magic?" "Who are you and why are you stalking me?" "Okay, I guess not, I'll come back when you're ready." Aaaand repeat. So on, ad nauseum. The characters felt like puppets being acted out, inside of actual people with natural, reasonable reactions. A fascinating concept is not enough to overcome a lack of humanity in books for me, and that's when I knew I had to put it down. show less

Fisk is a squire - at least, he is as of a week ago when he met Michael, an eighteen-year-old knight errant about 200 years after that was a fashionable trade. Michael wants to travel, so he chose this life of working hard and helping out his fellow man over his father's chosen profession for him: steward to his oldest brother. But when the boys are tricked into freeing a murderess, Michael's father Baron Seven Oaks redeems them. In order for Michael to be a free man again, they have to show more recapture Lady Ceciel and bring her for trial.

Much of this story is told over the course of a journey, so the plot feels meandering at times while Michael and Fisk try to track down Lady Ceciel or her steward all along the countryside. The story is much more focused, however, when it is read as the story of two young men becoming friends and learning to trust each other. Each chapter is told alternating between Fisk's and Michael's points of view, which can be difficult to pull off but works really well to give readers insight into both of their characters, not only by what they reveal about themselves, but what they say about each other. Fisk is funny and sarcastic, protesting just a bit too much that he wants to leave Michael the first chance he gets. Michael's narrative is sprinkled with "tis" and "mayhap," marking him as a nobleman's son, and his descriptions of others show how idealistic he is. This first in the "Knight and Rogue" series is recommended for older readers who enjoyed The Lightning Thief or Howl's Moving Castle. show less

Arisa, the young, female protagonist, has gotten over the glitter and pomp that life at court requires. So much so, that she allows her mother, the realm's military commander, to tempt her with fencing lessons. The catch? Arisa has to befriend the spoiled prince, Edoran. Except...he's not as spoiled as she thought. Is he? One thing's for sure. He's weird! But the more time she spends with him, the more Arisa sees that he didn't have any fun becoming the way he is.
When chance leads Arisa to show more a possible den of traitors, she leaps at the chance to investigate on her own. In fact, I got the distinct impression that she prefers scrubbing tavern floors to the dancing lessons! The investigation takes a dangerous turn, forcing her to confide in the adults in her life. And that's when things get really bad. The return of the Sword of Waters only complicates things further. At the end of the book, Arisa is between the proverbial rock and hard spot, and there's no squirming out of it. show less