The Lodestar of Ys

Beautiful and touching and romantic, but takes a while to get there through all the years of bickering and fighting and dislike :)

I honestly deeply loved this one. It was perfect in my eyes. I believed their shared hate/annoyance, then I believed their mutual physical attraction, then I felt their love and hope. The progression of their relationship was so very real. As King Snorri said, "Of all the people to make a love match..."

I burst out laughing many times at the things Celyn would say, was swept up in the progressively sweeter moments, and highlighted many sections.

Wonderful world building, too. I felt the inevitable invasion pressing closer and closer, the sadness of friends lost, and Sjurd's tunnel vision with the war and show more expectance of death. And then I felt as if I was floating in the dream-like lands of Ys with them, buoyed up with the islands and ships. And, then, it couldn't haven't gone anywhere better than it did in the end.

Added to my all time favorites list. So very highly recommended. show less

Well written and great world building, I just wanted to spend more time with the story and characters. I wouldn't quite call this enemies-to-lovers, more like two people who spent most of their lives being annoyed by each other realizing that in the right situation, "oaf" and "brat" can actually be terms of endearment. The "grumpy sunshine" pairing is one of my favorite tropes, (as long as grumpy doesn't mean cruel and sunshine doesn't mean airhead), and this one is delightfully developed. I loved watching Celyn grow from callow teenaged boy to a young man who is admired for his diplomatic skills, courage and talent in steering the giant flying ships of his people. Sjurd starts out as a serious warrior and ends up - well, as a serious show more warrior but one who has softened just enough to realize that Celyn is the perfect man for him. It says a lot about Durreson's writing ability that by the time this exchange happened, I found it to be completely and totally romantic:

Thoughts and feelings were skittering through (Sjurd's) brain like fallen leaves in a wind, fast and elusive, and he couldn't make sense of it all - what he feared and what he felt. At last, out of the muddle of it all, he said, "The first time I saw you, I wanted to kick you off the side of the ship."
Celyn chuckled against his forehead. "The feeling was entirely mutual."
"Things change," Sjurd managed, knowing he was getting this all wrong.
Celyn was quiet for a moment. Then, with a hint of amusement in his voice, he said, "Yes, they do." And he kissed Sjurd again, just as gently and tenderly as before.

The two very short post-epilogue stories included in this volume are cute, but only left me wanting more. This is my first book by Amy Rae Durreson but it won't be my last. show less

I ended up calling Sjurd Squirt Squid "Sword". I can't get past Sjurd *sigh*

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I want to read this book for a long long time. Or at least another 2-3 hundred pages :)

The story slowed down considerably towards the middle of the book, but it was never boring. It reminded me of Kirby Crow's "The Peddler and the White Wolf" - not rushed, not sprinkled with sex or murder in every chapter, yet still wonderful in almost each and every way.

A great enemies-to-lovers progression.

The Islands are incredibly beautiful, the universe is begging to be explored more carefully and much deeper, with added history of countries and the conflict.

I truly hope there is going to be more from ARD. Amazing work.

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Original picture, that prompted the story

3.5 stars

I loved the friction in this book but I wasn't totally happy with the resolution/ending - I wanted more! More explanation; more detail on their acceptance of each other; more satisfaction on their success. Just more :) Which is, of course, good. My other issue was that I dislike difficult names to pronounce - it really distracts me from the storyline. Eg: Sjurd; Hrolf; Ys; Dwynwen; etc. I spend half the time trying to work out to say them to my satisfaction.

4.5

I loved this! As usual, Amy Rae Durreson managed to create an expansive, complex fantasy world without smothering the reader with pages-long info-dumps.

Wonderful - this is a fantastic story of war and battles, friendship and love. A perfect way to start the new year.