{ about the book }
Published September 16, 2011 by Mandorla Publishing
Outspoken and independent, Kendra Irisavie has always played by her own rules.
She's an ondine, a water elemental gifted with the powerful magic of Empath Virtue and trained to be a fighter. Pursued by Aquidae demons, she and her mother remain Rogue, hiding among humans to avoid becoming casualties in an ancient war.
Everything changes when violence erupts on Kendra's seventeenth birthday. A dark stranger appears, promising answers to her mysterious past and stirring unexpected feelings in her fiercely guarded heart.
But as Kendra uncovers the truth about her heritage and future, she realizes just how deep the lies and deception run.
Now, in the face of unthinkable odds, she will need all her wits, skills, and magic to fulfill an extraordinary prophecy.
The first in a sweeping urban fantasy series, Whirl is the beginning of a young woman's exhilarating journey for survival, love, and hope as she fights for her place in a world where she doesn't belong.
•*´¨`*•.¸¸.•*´¨`*•
{ my review }
♫
Don't you guys love impulse reads? Up until this week, I'd never even heard of Whirl, much less knew it existed. Considering the fact I'd been looking for a fun urban fantasy book for a while now, and the general reviews I read of the book, my interest was piqued.
A lot of the reviews compared this to Vampire Academy. I didn't think much of it—we compare one book to another all time, like every circus book to The Night Circus. I expected small things to warrant it... Not, like, the entire goddamn book.
I'm not going to bother saying anything good about Whirl because other than it being readable, there was not much else that really made me like it. This isn't just because it's such a blatant copy of the first two books of Vampire Academy. It's because I really thought it could have had the potential to be it's own thing, to be unique, but even that wasn't done right.
I'm talking about the world, all of this Ondine thing. For a book based around water elementals, there were so many ways it could've been done to make it stand out. But the world—it was lacklustre, underdeveloped, and confusing. Part of it is because Raveling dropped a lot of terms too early on. If there wasn't a glossary, or that little bit of info in the synopsis, this book would've been one giant question mark for me. I know that this is the first book in a series, but it didn't really set the stage well. Raveling failed to make the Ondine race something that stood out, and only revealed enough to hit a superficial mark.
Not only that, none of the characters were really unique. And an awful lot of them were royals or someone Terribly Important. The main character, Kendra, is the granddaughter of the Governess. Not only that, but she's The Chosen One, too. And then two of the love interests—yes, two. Part of me thought this was a reverse harem novel before those became a thing—are princes, apparently. Other side characters were treated poorly—and this is becase of Kendra being independent, apparently. They were sidelined and felt like they were only there to provide information or something.
Kendra was my biggest issue. She's supposed to be like Rose—the flirty attitude, snarky, outspoken—mixed with Lissa—the royal thing, the magic that differentiates her from other Ondines. But what makes Kendra stand out is that she's incredibly annoying and childish. After I finished, there seemed to be no character development whatsoever. She's reckless and childish, making the same mistakes over and over again, then expressed how unfair the punishment was. Every time she pushed someone away, she refused to change this issue and refused to communicate it her friends, adding unnecessary drama.
Guys, I'm tired. Thinking about this book makes me tired. There's so much more I wanted to say about Whirl, but I can't even begin to articulate it. The whole special snowflake ordeal, Kendra never knowing when to keep her mouth shut, the awful love-shape... I'm just tired.
So, closing off here. Honestly, you're better off reading Vampire Academy (again, in my case). Part of me hates myself for this, but... I might read book 2. I want to give it another chance—I mean, what are the chances of the sequels being rip-offs too?
A lot of the reviews compared this to Vampire Academy. I didn't think much of it—we compare one book to another all time, like every circus book to The Night Circus. I expected small things to warrant it... Not, like, the entire goddamn book.
I'm not going to bother saying anything good about Whirl because other than it being readable, there was not much else that really made me like it. This isn't just because it's such a blatant copy of the first two books of Vampire Academy. It's because I really thought it could have had the potential to be it's own thing, to be unique, but even that wasn't done right.
I'm talking about the world, all of this Ondine thing. For a book based around water elementals, there were so many ways it could've been done to make it stand out. But the world—it was lacklustre, underdeveloped, and confusing. Part of it is because Raveling dropped a lot of terms too early on. If there wasn't a glossary, or that little bit of info in the synopsis, this book would've been one giant question mark for me. I know that this is the first book in a series, but it didn't really set the stage well. Raveling failed to make the Ondine race something that stood out, and only revealed enough to hit a superficial mark.
Not only that, none of the characters were really unique. And an awful lot of them were royals or someone Terribly Important. The main character, Kendra, is the granddaughter of the Governess. Not only that, but she's The Chosen One, too. And then two of the love interests—yes, two. Part of me thought this was a reverse harem novel before those became a thing—are princes, apparently. Other side characters were treated poorly—and this is becase of Kendra being independent, apparently. They were sidelined and felt like they were only there to provide information or something.
Kendra was my biggest issue. She's supposed to be like Rose—the flirty attitude, snarky, outspoken—mixed with Lissa—the royal thing, the magic that differentiates her from other Ondines. But what makes Kendra stand out is that she's incredibly annoying and childish. After I finished, there seemed to be no character development whatsoever. She's reckless and childish, making the same mistakes over and over again, then expressed how unfair the punishment was. Every time she pushed someone away, she refused to change this issue and refused to communicate it her friends, adding unnecessary drama.
Guys, I'm tired. Thinking about this book makes me tired. There's so much more I wanted to say about Whirl, but I can't even begin to articulate it. The whole special snowflake ordeal, Kendra never knowing when to keep her mouth shut, the awful love-shape... I'm just tired.
So, closing off here. Honestly, you're better off reading Vampire Academy (again, in my case). Part of me hates myself for this, but... I might read book 2. I want to give it another chance—I mean, what are the chances of the sequels being rip-offs too?
•*´¨`*•.¸¸.•*´¨`*•
{ buy the book }
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