Ravenspire #2 The Wish Granter

Presenting Ravenspire #2 The Wish Granter by C.J. Redwine.

Here is the summary of the book:

An epic, romantic, and action-packed fantasy inspired by the tale of Rumpelstiltskin, about a bastard princess who must take on an evil fae to save her brother’s soul, from C. J. Redwine, the New York Times bestselling author of The Shadow Queen. Perfect for fans of Graceling and the Lunar Chronicles.

The world has turned upside down for Thad and Ari Glavan, the bastard twins of Súndraille’s king. Their mother was murdered. The royal family died mysteriously. And now Thad sits on the throne of a kingdom whose streets are suddenly overrun with violence he can’t stop.

Growing up ignored by the nobility, Ari never wanted to be a proper princess. And when Thad suddenly starts training Ari to take his place, she realizes that her brother’s ascension to the throne wasn’t fate. It was the work of a Wish Granter named Alistair Teague who tricked Thad into wishing away both the safety of his people and his soul in exchange for the crown.

So Ari recruits the help of Thad’s enigmatic new weapons master, Sebastian Vaughn, to teach her how to fight Teague. With secret ties to Teague’s criminal empire, Sebastian might just hold the key to discovering Alistair’s weaknesses, saving Ari’s brother—and herself.

But Teague is ruthless and more than ready to destroy anyone who dares stand in his way—and now he has his sights set on the princess. And if Ari can’t outwit him, she’ll lose Sebastian, her brother…and her soul.

REVIEW ==

Magic always comes with a heavy price..... Somehow despite knowing that people still tend to go about dealing with this stuff and we tend to ohhh and ahhh at it all (can't believe I wrote this with a straight face). In a long trend of adaptations, re-tellings and re-imagings of old classic novels, folk lore and fairytale that have been sweeping the market these days, "The Wish Granter" is not only one of them but it sure makes an impression on us all.

The second book in the Ravenspire series by C.J. Redwine. It beings us as name might indicate, the story of Rumpelstilskin, in a brand new avatar. Redwine's imagines a vibrant and enigmatic world through the pages of the book and skillfully intertwines the stories of Ari, Thad, Teague or be it Sebastian, with a dexterous hand that definitely leaves us rooting for the good guys and not for the bad guys.

Love is a powerful emotion. A powerful weapon in its own right and capable of wreaking the most havoc of them all. Every character throughout this story of Ravenspire (again) does what they can to save the ones they love from despair and ultimate ruin. Thad wants to save his sister. Ari likewise wants to save her brother. In all, the 'Wish Granter' Alistair Teague plays the pivotal role of the nemesis. He is definitely not the conventional Rumpelstilskin, there are definitely influences from other adaptations (majorly of ABC's Once Upon A Time). But he is bold, rather ruthless and capricious enough to warrant caution.

Definitely a game of Cat and mouse but The Wish Granter in my opinion was a lot better than 'The Shadow Queen'. Maybe I was much more invested in these characters than I was with the ones in the first book or these characters had much more substance than what came before. I liked Thad's perseverance, Ari's resourcefulness and love for her brother and cool and brooding Sebastian. Teague was a great villain as i already stated and really like all villains, he didn't start out bad..... Will I recommend it ..... Definitely! Because at the end of the day what's within these pages manages to tether us to our seats.

"Exciting, exotic and a fascinating re-imaging of Rumpelstilskin"

Genre :     Young Adult, Fairytale re-telling, Romance, High Fantasy

Publisher: Balzer + Bray

Release Date: 14th February, 2017

My Copy: publisher & edelweiss

Rate:             4/5 (Really Liked It)

Other Books by the Author(review links):
         #1 The Shadow Queen

Buy:         Amazon | Book Depository 

Ravenspire #1 The Shadow Queen

Presenting Ravenspire #1 The Shadow Queen by C.J. Redwine.

Here is the summary of the book:

Lorelai Diederich, crown princess and fugitive at large, has one mission: kill the wicked queen who took both the Ravenspire throne and the life of her father. To do that, Lorelai needs to use the one weapon she and Queen Irina have in common—magic. She’ll have to be stronger, faster, and more powerful than Irina, the most dangerous sorceress Ravenspire has ever seen.

In the neighboring kingdom of Eldr, when Prince Kol’s father and older brother are killed by an invading army of magic-wielding ogres, the second-born prince is suddenly given the responsibility of saving his kingdom. To do that, Kol needs magic—and the only way to get it is to make a deal with the queen of Ravenspire, promise to become her personal huntsman…and bring her Lorelai’s heart.

But Lorelai is nothing like Kol expected—beautiful, fierce, and unstoppable—and despite dark magic, Lorelai is drawn in by the passionate and troubled king. Fighting to stay one step ahead of the dragon huntsman—who she likes far more than she should—Lorelai does everything in her power to ruin the wicked queen. But Irina isn’t going down without a fight, and her final move may cost the princess the one thing she still has left to lose.

Snow White meets Snow White & the Huntsman & Once Upon A Time (Tv show). The Shadow Queen by C.J. Redwine puts in a new twist to the classic of Snow White. Part of a series, each a standalone (as far a I know) called Ravenspire ..... and I will definitely not be able to see apples the same way again.

Lorelai was a strong protagonist, possess an analytical mind, with a penchant for over thinking the situation. She has something the conventional Snow White never did, magic. After the tragedy Lorelai, her brother Leo and their guard flee the castle, bidding their time and amassing support before they make their play. In a very Robin Hood-esque way they steal from the Queen and give to the people suffering starvation. A well laid plan but then Prince Charming enters and all of her well laid plans go astray.

Kol, the new King of the neighboring kingdom is a dragon (cool). More like he is a human, who can also shift to a dragon form. Their country is facing extinction against the horde of Giant. In a bid to gain support Kol enters Ravenspire thinking with its widespread drought & starvation they would claimer to get all the help needed ..... but he realizes the futility of the situation, when in return the Queen traps him to hunt Lorelai down and bring back her heart.

Gorgeous writing from Redwine. The world building was also very well placed and the characters were very well placed about the plot. While Lorelai was all that is analytical and aggressive and somewhat proud. Kol was all charm with the added dragon. It also wasn't insta romance but a gradual build-up and I loved experiencing their journey through the pages. The magical showdown throughout the pages were epic enough to set our hearts racing and rooting for the good.

But really that was all of it. Somehow I still got bored through the ordeal a lot. Really the good guys were just good and the bad guys felt just as bad. Even the evil Queen didn't really have much to add just that she breached new levels of evil with pretty much everything she did. Where was the dynamics, the hidden spices in their characteristics. They don't really add anything new to what's been done, so many times before.

So, verdict is good .... but it just didn't have that feeling of excellent to it but i'm definitely looking forward to the next story in the series.

"An exciting magical take on Snow White. And there are Dragons too"

Genre :     Young Adult, Fairytale re-telling, Romance, High Fantasy

Publisher: Balzer + Bray

Release Date: 16th February, 2016

My Copy: publisher & edelweiss

Rate:             3/5 (Liked It)

Buy:         Amazon | Book Depository