Marianne CurleyCritiques
Auteur de Old Magic
Critiques
Hidden par Marianne Curley
I want to give it full marks because I LOVED it. It was a fantastic conclusion, and there's so many bits of it that were just amazing. Unfortunately there's a few things that keep nagging at me, so if you're someone who's a perfectionist, sorry there's a few holes in this one. That doesn't stop it being epic, funny, shocking and heart warming. It's just that some bits were too obvious, or didn't feel right. Maybe I'm too used to Marianne's writing style and was able to deduce her thought pattern and plans for the characters. I keep thinking back to her other trilogy end book, The Key, and can see comparisons that might have hinted at some things for me.
Sin embargo, muy pronto se descubre que Jarrod tiene mucho más que ver con la magia de lo que a él le gustaría. Su familia está marcada por un terrible hechizo y, para acabar con él, los dos amigos deben viajar al pasado e intentar contactar con los antepasados de Jarrod. Así que, con la ayuda de Jillian, se trasladan a la Edad Media en un viaje durante el cual, además de vivir grandes aventuras y enfrentarse a enormes peligros, nacerá algo más que una simple amistad.
Josh's life has been anything but peaceful. Orphaned at a young age he has experienced more loss and hardship in the last sixteen years then most have in their whole lives, and now just when he has met a girl that could be the one, he finds his short life is about to end. However as one deal is made to save his life, another may be made to bring it to an end.
Hidden is the story of an angel, a demon and a human boy all fighting it out for the love and life of a girl with violet eyes and untold powers. As the forces of good and evil turn earth into a battle field, one girl is trying to figure out who she is, what she wants and where she belongs. The beginnings of a new angel series that is sure to please.
Kate Warren lives with her Grandmother, after her Mother abandoned her as a baby. Kate has powers, and everybody at School knows that she's different. When Jarrod Thornton, the new kid at School, walks into the classroom, Kate is mesmerised by him, and has no idea why.
As Kate gets to know Jarrod, she senses that he's different too, and she must convince him that he has strong powers that need to be controlled. Jarrod goes along with her theory, thinking her mad, but he's mesmerised by her too.
Kate and Jarrod are about to embark on an incredible journey, one that will show them the truth behind Jarrod's cursed family. They will become involved in a battle of epic proportion, one that will determine both of their futures. As they face terrible dangers, they start to grow closer together, and achieve the impossible.
MY OPINION
I got this book as a Birthday present when I was a lot younger, and I've read it several times. The complex story, and the strength of the characters, keeps bringing me back to this book, and I always enjoy reading it. The plot moves fast enough for me, whilst still holding back enough to keep me interested until the very end. There's enough twists in the story to make it an incredibly enjoyable read. I would recommend it to anyone looking for a new Fantasy/Magic book, with a hint of Romance thrown in too.
THE AUTHOR
This book was written by Marianne Curley. I haven't actually read any of her other books, but I intend to in the near future. This book was incredibly well written, it had just the right amount of Romance, without making it into a full blown Romance Novel.
Ethan is a Guardian of Time; he travels to the past in order to keep evil denizens from the Order of Chaos from changing it, thus affecting the future. Of course Ethan's only a teenager, but he's already very good at what he does. So the Guard decides to test him by giving him the willful Isabel as his new apprentice. But Isabel's initiation brings a whole host of problems to the surface, most of them revolving around an ancient prophecy.
It sounds so wonderful, and so much could have been done with such a concept. Which is why it comes so close to painful to watch the story enacted quite a bit below its potential.
In fact, I think my irritation with this novel stems from the wasted potential. It was enjoyable on some levels, but all I could think was how much better it could have been. Ethan and Isabel have all the seeds of great characters, as do others they interact with; Ethan's wise and ever-youthful mentor Arkarian probably comes closest to being a truly relatable person. But again, they never come to life; they remain flat and stiffly-written, shifting between easy teenage narration and speech too stilted to ever really come out of a mouth. I think this is partly due to the first person narration, something that most authors are either good at...or aren't. Curley unfortunately is not. The emotions are also only vaguely felt.
The story itself also grazes shallowly along the surface of its awesome premise. Plot bumps detract from the realism; it's too obvious how the author hand-waves the various parts of the Guard with magic, illusions, or mysterious powers. It's also a tad misleading; I was expecting the bulk of the story to involve the time traveling missions, but by the end more focus is put on old feuds with evil Chaos denizens then on anything historical. And the few missions sprinkled in do little to actually expose the reader to the time period, barreling through the process and tossing in some random historical figures like King Richard II and Abigail Adams.
The premise saves the story, giving it some decent moments and a pretty good climax and conclusion. I'm not sure I'll be reading the rest of the trilogy right away; it didn't reel me in as I'd hoped it would.
"Old Magic" was for me the fanfic before the fanfic, it has two teens forced to timetravel to the past and be fake married to discover how the curse placed upon one of them came to their family. It pretty much had me at pretend to be married, so totally self-indulgent pleasure for 15 year old me, to the point I made sure to re-acquire the book when I lost the first copy.
"Old Magic" was for me the fanfic before the fanfic, it has two teens forced to timetravel to the past and be fake married to discover how the curse placed upon one of them came to their family. It pretty much had me at pretend to be married, so totally self-indulgent pleasure for 15 year old me, to the point I made sure to re-acquire the book when I lost the first copy.
This book was very interesting i liked it alot it had good grammar. Also it didnt get perdictable durning the end the auther really did amazing job with it. She also gave alot of deatil. I thought it was interesting and misterical. i would not mind reading this book again.
Quick & Dirty: This was a fun paranormal book with action, romance, and an interesting plot. Unfortunately, I felt a huge disconnect with the characters.
Opening Sentence: Do you ever stare at your reflection and wonder who that person is looking back at you?
The Review:
Ebony is 16 years old and has been very sheltered her whole life. She grew up on a ranch with her parents and until recently she was home schooled. She has always been a little different, like having heightened senses where she can see and hear better than anyone else. She also has the most gorgeous set of violet eyes. Her life is pretty laid back and she has always been very happy, but her life is about to change forever. Ebony’s parents have always been really over-protective so when she wants to go to a dance club with her friends, one night of the course the answer is no, but Ebony decides to go anyway. When she gets to the dance club she literally runs into a really cute boy, and she feels a weird connection to him. Soon after that things start to go terribly wrong and Ebony has to find answers before everyone she cares about is taken from her.
Jordan has lived a really rough life. His dad is in prison, and his mom died years ago from a drug overdose. He has bounced from one foster home to another over the years. Then one night it seems like his luck is about to change, he goes to a club with one of his friends and meets the most beautiful girl. She runs into him and knocks him into the club wall. Jordan feels an instant attraction to the girl, and can’t stop thinking about her, than something crazy happens and Jordan dies. While he is dead he is visited by an angel that needs a favor. Jordan’s guardian angel was kidnapped as a baby and they need Jordan’s help finding her. Jordan gets a second chance at life, and he is really hoping his luck will change.
This was told from a dual point of view where we get to see inside both Jordan and Ebony’s mind. First you meet Ebony and I actually really liked her. She was strong and interesting. Once I hit about the middle of the book, she started to irritate me. She honestly could not make up her mind and it drove me nuts. I felt that there were a few conversations that just kept getting repeated because she would say one thing than do something totally different. She ended up being a very frustrating character that I ended up not really liking at all.
Next we meet Jordan. At first I sympathized with Jordan and really felt for him. He was dealt a pretty rough hand in life and I was hoping things would change for him. He gets in a better situation, but instead of appreciating it, I felt like all he did was whine about not getting what he wanted. He also was a very indecisive character and I didn’t like that. I felt that Jordan had some good qualities, but overall I just didn’t really feel much of a connection with him.
This was just an ok read for me. At first, I was really intrigued by the story and was excited to see where it would go, then in the middle of the book I started to lose interest. The plot was very predictable and I felt a big disconnect with the characters. The romance was cute, but it was instalove which is one of my big pet peeves. There were a few positive things about the book like good action, an interesting villain, and a beautiful cover. With all that being said, I do think that I will give book two a try. Even though I didn’t love this book, I think that there will be people out there that really enjoy it. So if the synopsis sounds good to you, you should give it a try.
Notable Scene:
I climb out of the vehicle in a hurry to find Amber before she walks into the club. But when both my feet are on the pavement I swing around and collide with someone standing still.
It’s a boy, and I hit him so hard I send him flying across the pavement, into the brick wall, where he slides to the floor with the wind knocked out of his lungs.
Oh, no!
I’m at his side before he opens his eyes. ‘Are you all right?’ He lifts his head at the sound of my voice and his eyes flutter open. I take his hand to help him back on to his feet. Not my wisest idea. My pull is more like a yank. He springs up in one go and slams into my chest. I hear something crack.
Oh no, no, no! Was that his rib?
Silently he looks at me, eyes wide open now – deep, dark blue and full of amazement at my strength. Terrified he’s going to fall, I keep my arm around his waist and a firm grip of his hand, forgetting how strong my grip can be until he yanks his fingers out and shakes them with a confused expression furrowing his brow.
Embarrassed, I offer my stammered apologies. ‘I’m so, so sorry, really, truly, so sorry. Is anything broken? Can you stand if I let you go?’
Finally he says, ‘I think I can manage.’
I breathe a sigh of relief. ‘Good. For a minute there . . .’ I stop mid-sentence when I realize he’s staring again, his eyes wide and focused directly on mine.
‘Are your eyes really . . . purple?’ he says.
‘They’re violet, actually.’
‘Does anybody have violet eyes?’
‘Apparently I do.’
FTC Advisory: Bloomsbury USA Childrens provided me with a copy of Hidden. No goody bags, sponsorships, “material connections,” or bribes were exchanged for my review.
Hidden refuses to follow the usual formulaic outline of a paranormal romance - the protagonists are strong and rather more mature than the average YA characters, the plot is amazingly paced, and the concept is cool and exciting. I think the book has a lot to offer. My favourite aspect of the book is that it's told in dual point-of-view. I think this story hinges on the reader being privy to what Jordan is experiencing, and I love it when I get to see both sides of the story.
Ebony is refreshingly intelligent and independent - she thinks her decisions through, is careful and never idiotically blunders her way into dangerous situations, and always has the welfare of those around her foremost in her mind. She is careful and initially distrusting of the strangers that claim they can help her, which I found more realistic than the blind faith some other YA heroines have. I think her sheltered lifestyle contributed to this, in part, and I really like this smart, conscientious girl.
I was fully expecting Ebony and Jordan, as the narrating protagonists, to randomly fall in love, as is the way of many YA novels and was pleasantly surprised at the romance in the book. I subsequently had my heart broken, and am still reeling from it all, but I love the clever way the author has handled the predictability of romance in YA, and I'm looking forward to seeing how everything falls out in future books.
I love the plot of the book, it seems well researched and is vividly painted. The fictional Australian setting is great, and I enjoy the idea that a little valley Australia can hide an angel so well! I did initially think that the book is too heavily foreshadowed, because I guessed so many things before they happened, but now that I have finished Hidden, I feel it was intentional on the author's part. Readers almost always know what is going to happen before the protagonists and it added a sense of desperation because I wanted the characters to figure everything out before time ran out.
I can't really praise Hidden any more - you'll have to grab a copy and experience the awesome for yourself! I'm really looking forward to the follow-up books and following Ebony's journey to find herself.
A copy of this book was provided by the publisher for review.
You can read more of my reviews at Speculating on SpecFic.
I walked into Half Price Bookstore, expecting to find a little treausure among all the discarded books. I mean, a person's trash can be another person's treasure, right? And guess what I foudn...Old Magic. The cover drew me in, the title hooked me on, and the summary sealed the deal.
This book had all the cliches of a fantasy/paranormal novel. New guy. Check. Cute. Check. Something freaky happens. Check. Secrets are found. Double check. But hey, we all need a little cheesiness in our lives right? Anyways, in this story, the roles are reversed. As many readers know, the new kid always has a mysterious past and is hiding a secret and the narrator is the oblivious one. Now, its vice versa.
Onto the author's writing style. I think Marianne has a nice writing style and the reactions are right and all that. There was one thing I hated though. One thing that constantly got on my nerves. One thing that was a big part of the story. Jarrod. Throught the story, he kept annoying me. Why? Because he kept denying over and over that he had magical, and powerful, blood. For half the book. Usually, denial only lasts one chpater. Here? Not the case. So if you're planning to read it, expect that.
Character time! As we all know, I hate Jarrod. So much in fact, that I started rooting for the antagonist. Seriously, I was just that pissed off...until I remembered that Kate would've been killed too...in some way. (I'm not spoiling anything) Anyways, slowly I started cheering for Jarrod, but you don't know how hard it was until he finally did something helpful. All in all, it was a pretty OK book. Not the best...not the worst...sorta close to it though.
Short story: It'll leave you mildly suprised, smug, and relieved. It'll make you twitch for one moment, then relax. Not enough for a scream or tears, but a twitch. Doesn't make sense? Well, that's the best I can say.
Review: I didn't go into this book with particularly high expectations - the blurb and the cover (and probably my summary up there, as well) all make it look like pretty run-of-the-mill YA paranormal romance. And, for the first half of the book, that's more-or-less what it delivered. I mean, good YA paranormal romance, but nothing particularly standout, other than the paranormal part was witchcraft rather than vampires or werewolves or what have you.
But the good news is, the book wound up pleasantly surprising me. About halfway through, the book takes a left turn into time travel and historical fiction, which added a very interesting layer onto the standard YA romance that I haven't come across before. I mean, I'm not sure that the metaphysics of time travel would play out like they did in this book, but there's something undeniably charming about forcing your two leads, who haven't even admitted that they like each other much, to play-act at being married, because why else would they be together unchaperoned in the Dark Ages? It was a fun twist to the story, and it's a much stronger book for not sticking strictly to formula.
I did have a few issues with this book. My primary one was that there was too much tell-but-not-show-ing going on, particularly when it came to the character development. Kate's chapters involve a lot of her telling Jarrod (and the reader) how much of a coward he is - primarily because he doesn't believe in magic - when his actions, even in the beginning of the book, don't really match that assessment. After a while, I was at the point of grumbling "He's not being spineless, he's being rational, you daft girl." every time it came up... which was a lot. I get that Jarrod developing his courage was supposed to be his major character arc, but I never entirely bought it, mostly because I didn't think he was that bad in the first place.
I'm also ashamed to admit how long it took me to realize that Marianne Curley was Australian. I spent an embarrassingly large part of this book thinking that it took place in the Pacific Northwest - my only reference for somewhere that has both rain forest and seasonal snow - and it wasn't until someone mentioned kookaburras outside their window that I finally twigged. And then I realized that what I'd been taking for strange narrative tics and weird turns of phrase were probably actually Australian colloquialisms. Whoops! 4 out of 5 stars.
Recommendation: Even if you're feeling burnt out on teen paranormal romance, I think Old Magic is a good choice for a light, fun read that manages to have a number of unique elements but still feels comfortable at the same time.
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