{ about the book }
Even the Darkest Stars, book 1
Published September 5, 2017 by HarperCollins/Balzer + Bray
e-ARC provided by Edelweiss
Kamzin has always dreamed of becoming one of the Emperor’s royal explorers, the elite climbers tasked with mapping the wintry, mountainous Empire and spying on its enemies. She knows she could be the best in the world, if only someone would give her a chance.
But everything changes when the mysterious and eccentric River Shara, the greatest explorer ever known, arrives in her village and demands to hire Kamzin—not her older sister Lusha, as everyone had expected—for his next expedition. This is Kamzin’s chance to prove herself—even though River’s mission to retrieve a rare talisman for the emperor means climbing Raksha, the tallest and deadliest mountain in the Aryas. Then Lusha sets off on her own mission to Raksha with a rival explorer who is determined to best River, and Kamzin must decide what’s most important to her: protecting her sister from the countless perils of the climb or beating her to the summit.
The challenges of climbing Raksha are unlike anything Kamzin expected—or prepared for—with avalanches, ice chasms, ghosts, and even worse at every turn. And as dark secrets are revealed, Kamzin must unravel the truth of their mission and of her companions—while surviving the deadliest climb she has ever faced.
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{ my review }
♫ ♫ ♫
This book is… complicated for me to explain, really. I just know that I wasn’t the biggest fan of it, but at the same time, it wasn’t the worst book I’ve read either.
See, the thing is that a lot of things don’t happen for a lot of the book. This book is slow, very slow. I felt that nothing was really happening, and in the occasion something was, I wasn’t all that into it. I wasn’t excited or eager to continue. I was bored, so, so bored.
The thing is—a lot of the things, action-y things, didn’t happen all that often, honestly. Like I said, this was slow paced; it focused more of the setting, the atmosphere. Some books like that work out for me, but I was expecting more action from this debut, so it ended up failing to grab and hold my attention. The writing was good, but I’m not about poetic landscapes. I need action.
Then there’s the matter of the romance. It’s not… really a love triangle, but there is the potential of it being one. It’s not that either party was bad or that she was even torn between the two guys—she was clearly attracted to one, only her best friend was harbouring feelings for her, too. The thing is that, the build-up, the growing attraction between River and Kamzin… sometimes I felt it overwhelmed whatever else was happening. With a book that doesn’t have much action, the romance overtaking what was going on wasn’t something I was a fan of, alas. And the thing between River and Kamzin? Well, the romantic interactions were whatever for me, so there’s that as well.
This book is a personal preference kind of book. The writing and general setting of the book was well done, and it’s a wholly unique fantasy! A book based off of, well, mountains and climbing, essentially, that’s not a regular fantasy novel that takes place is some far off land. It’s clear Fawcett really worked on the world-building and I appreciated it.
But, it just wasn’t for me.
Also, I was hoping there would be more of a focus on witches? I mean, they’re mentioned sparingly, always as villainous creatures that cause havoc. But the lore behind them, more depth to them would’ve been great.
Overall, an okay debut. I personally didn’t like it, but I can see other people appreciating it more than me. 3 stars!
I was born and raised in Vancouver, Canada, where I enjoy wandering around in the wilderness and only occasionally getting lost. I’ve also spent extended periods of time in Italy, where I learned very little Italian but ate quite a lot of pizza, and Ireland, where I searched half-successfully for puffins and selkies.
Before becoming a writer I worked, among other things, as an archaeologist, a technical writer, and a backstage assistant for a Shakespearean theatre company (which I could write several novels about). I have a Master’s degree in English Literature and briefly considered becoming a professor, before I realized it involved more than reading books, drinking excessive amounts of tea, and wearing colourful elbow patches.
I’m represented by the amazing Brianne Johnson at Writers House. EVEN THE DARKEST STARS, my first novel, was purchased by HarperCollins/Balzer+Bray at auction in a six-figure, two-book deal.
See, the thing is that a lot of things don’t happen for a lot of the book. This book is slow, very slow. I felt that nothing was really happening, and in the occasion something was, I wasn’t all that into it. I wasn’t excited or eager to continue. I was bored, so, so bored.
The thing is—a lot of the things, action-y things, didn’t happen all that often, honestly. Like I said, this was slow paced; it focused more of the setting, the atmosphere. Some books like that work out for me, but I was expecting more action from this debut, so it ended up failing to grab and hold my attention. The writing was good, but I’m not about poetic landscapes. I need action.
Then there’s the matter of the romance. It’s not… really a love triangle, but there is the potential of it being one. It’s not that either party was bad or that she was even torn between the two guys—she was clearly attracted to one, only her best friend was harbouring feelings for her, too. The thing is that, the build-up, the growing attraction between River and Kamzin… sometimes I felt it overwhelmed whatever else was happening. With a book that doesn’t have much action, the romance overtaking what was going on wasn’t something I was a fan of, alas. And the thing between River and Kamzin? Well, the romantic interactions were whatever for me, so there’s that as well.
This book is a personal preference kind of book. The writing and general setting of the book was well done, and it’s a wholly unique fantasy! A book based off of, well, mountains and climbing, essentially, that’s not a regular fantasy novel that takes place is some far off land. It’s clear Fawcett really worked on the world-building and I appreciated it.
But, it just wasn’t for me.
Also, I was hoping there would be more of a focus on witches? I mean, they’re mentioned sparingly, always as villainous creatures that cause havoc. But the lore behind them, more depth to them would’ve been great.
Overall, an okay debut. I personally didn’t like it, but I can see other people appreciating it more than me. 3 stars!
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{ buy the book }
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{ about the author }
Before becoming a writer I worked, among other things, as an archaeologist, a technical writer, and a backstage assistant for a Shakespearean theatre company (which I could write several novels about). I have a Master’s degree in English Literature and briefly considered becoming a professor, before I realized it involved more than reading books, drinking excessive amounts of tea, and wearing colourful elbow patches.
I’m represented by the amazing Brianne Johnson at Writers House. EVEN THE DARKEST STARS, my first novel, was purchased by HarperCollins/Balzer+Bray at auction in a six-figure, two-book deal.
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