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addyrunes 's review for:
Red Madrassa
by Terah Edun
Newly fresh YA voice, Terah Edun, delivers a nice, fast paced read full of adventure, magic, and a wee bit of romance.
I honestly thought that the book was really nicely written. I'm trying to get into the habit of reading indie books because self-published authors deserve some cred too! I was happy and honored to have the author herself contact me, asking to read her book and write a review. I accepted without hesitation because I absolutely love reading everything and anything. With that being said....let's move on to the review itself.
For the very beginning, I thought that it was a little confusing. It jumped around from p.o.v. to p.o.v and I had to physically take down notes to keep track of the characters. There are 4 p.o.v's altogether, but it's written in 3rd person. I felt like at some points the p.o.v's were the same...while other times they were wholly different, contrasting one another perfectly. Edun's voice is strong and I liked that because it drove the story, making it a light and fast-paced read.
After I got through the first few chapters of the novel, it got easier to read. I suddenly knew who Allorna, Sidimo, Vedaris, and Sitara were. I saw them as four teenage misfits, kinda running from the law and settling at a magic school. It made it easy for me to see them in that sort of analogy to go forth with the story, which is unique and inventive, all on it own.
If there is one thing I love about stories it's original plot lines and creative worlds. Edun does not disappoint in that aspect.
The other thing that I liked was the romance part woven into the novel. It wasn't sappy-first-love, which I detest. I loved that Terah actually takes the time to develop the romance between the two characters. Not going to say who cause it's SPOILERS, as River Song likes to say. It's quite refreshing to read that since most of often YA novels consist of "love at first."
All in all, I thought that Terah Edun's first novel in her YA fantasy Algardis series was a great start! It definitely introduced a nice handful of characters and built the world in which the story takes place. I'd definitely recommend this to YA fantasy lovers!
I honestly thought that the book was really nicely written. I'm trying to get into the habit of reading indie books because self-published authors deserve some cred too! I was happy and honored to have the author herself contact me, asking to read her book and write a review. I accepted without hesitation because I absolutely love reading everything and anything. With that being said....let's move on to the review itself.
For the very beginning, I thought that it was a little confusing. It jumped around from p.o.v. to p.o.v and I had to physically take down notes to keep track of the characters. There are 4 p.o.v's altogether, but it's written in 3rd person. I felt like at some points the p.o.v's were the same...while other times they were wholly different, contrasting one another perfectly. Edun's voice is strong and I liked that because it drove the story, making it a light and fast-paced read.
After I got through the first few chapters of the novel, it got easier to read. I suddenly knew who Allorna, Sidimo, Vedaris, and Sitara were. I saw them as four teenage misfits, kinda running from the law and settling at a magic school. It made it easy for me to see them in that sort of analogy to go forth with the story, which is unique and inventive, all on it own.
If there is one thing I love about stories it's original plot lines and creative worlds. Edun does not disappoint in that aspect.
The other thing that I liked was the romance part woven into the novel. It wasn't sappy-first-love, which I detest. I loved that Terah actually takes the time to develop the romance between the two characters. Not going to say who cause it's SPOILERS, as River Song likes to say. It's quite refreshing to read that since most of often YA novels consist of "love at first."
All in all, I thought that Terah Edun's first novel in her YA fantasy Algardis series was a great start! It definitely introduced a nice handful of characters and built the world in which the story takes place. I'd definitely recommend this to YA fantasy lovers!