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ellemnope 's review for:
Birth of the Anima (Ancient Language of the Earth, #1)
by Kelsey K. Sather
adventurous
challenging
mysterious
slow-paced
This read was a very mixed bag for me. It was fantastic in some ways and quite meh in others. The premise was interesting and the writing was decent, but the arrangement and construction of the novel weren't quite what I was looking for.
The story is told in multiple time lines with protagonists from several different points in history. It traces the lives of the previous Animas (animal women) with the power to speak with animals and the responsibility to help reunite balance between humans and the world. These stories are interwoven with a timeline for the current development towards the birth of the 12th and final Anima. While this makes sense conceptually, it was a bit difficult to follow and it felt like it was presenting only small snippets of the previous Animas. This left the story feeling a bit sparse and didn't give the characters as much depth as I would have liked. The current storyline was more complexly followed and did give a greater picture of the characters, which made these parts much more engaging. I did like the storylines and the characters. I found them interesting and I liked the world that was created. I just needed a bit more body.
The pacing is somewhat slow as the world begins to make sense and the pieces start to connect into a cohesive story. This is high fantasy, so it's not a swift read. You have to invest the time to get to know the inner workings of the political and magical systems.
Things were going really well and I was gaining a bit more interest in the overarching plot when the story ended at a high crux moment. Though this did undoubtedly create a fantastic cliffhanger, it was incredibly frustrating. There was some good characters development, but the plot had just begun to really gain speed. I am curious where the story goes, but now I'm nervous to go into the next book, as this ending did not give me any satisfaction for the amount of time I put into reading this first installment. Whether I will continue the series is currently up for debate.
* Disclaimer: I received a copy of this novel from the publisher in exchange for an honest review. *
The story is told in multiple time lines with protagonists from several different points in history. It traces the lives of the previous Animas (animal women) with the power to speak with animals and the responsibility to help reunite balance between humans and the world. These stories are interwoven with a timeline for the current development towards the birth of the 12th and final Anima. While this makes sense conceptually, it was a bit difficult to follow and it felt like it was presenting only small snippets of the previous Animas. This left the story feeling a bit sparse and didn't give the characters as much depth as I would have liked. The current storyline was more complexly followed and did give a greater picture of the characters, which made these parts much more engaging. I did like the storylines and the characters. I found them interesting and I liked the world that was created. I just needed a bit more body.
The pacing is somewhat slow as the world begins to make sense and the pieces start to connect into a cohesive story. This is high fantasy, so it's not a swift read. You have to invest the time to get to know the inner workings of the political and magical systems.
Things were going really well and I was gaining a bit more interest in the overarching plot when the story ended at a high crux moment. Though this did undoubtedly create a fantastic cliffhanger, it was incredibly frustrating. There was some good characters development, but the plot had just begun to really gain speed. I am curious where the story goes, but now I'm nervous to go into the next book, as this ending did not give me any satisfaction for the amount of time I put into reading this first installment. Whether I will continue the series is currently up for debate.
* Disclaimer: I received a copy of this novel from the publisher in exchange for an honest review. *