Thanks to Shane at Itching For Books for organizing this blog tour!
Author: Amy Butler Greenfield
Publisher: Margaret K. McElderry
Publication Date: May 7, 2013
Pages: 336
Source: E-ARC/Edelweiss
Purchase: Amazon
Lucy’s Chantress magic will make her the most powerful—and most hunted—girl in England.
“Sing, and the darkness will find you.” This warning has haunted fifteen-year-old Lucy ever since she was eight and shipwrecked on a lonely island. Lucy’s guardian, Norrie, has lots of rules, but the most important is that Lucy must never sing. Not ever. Now it is 1667, Lucy is fifteen, and on All Hallows’ Eve, Lucy hears a tantalizing melody on the wind. She can’t help but sing—and she is swept into darkness.
When she awakes in England, Lucy hears powerful men discussing Chantresses—women who can sing magic into the world. They are hunting her, but she escapes and finds sanctuary with the Invisible College, an organization plotting to overthrow the nefarious Lord Protector. The only person powerful enough to bring about his downfall is a Chantress. And Lucy is the last one in England.
Lucy struggles to master the song-spells and harness her power, but the Lord Protector is moving quickly. And her feelings for Nat, an Invisible College apprentice and scientist who deeply distrusts her magic, only add to her confusion...
Time is running out, and the fate of England hangs in the balance in this entrancing novel that is atmospheric and lyrical, dangerous and romantic.
Review: Overall I thought this was a good book! The first thing that really pulled me into the story was the thing about not singing! I was just so curious about what would happen if Lucy gave into it. Well. When she did she was taken back to England where its not such a good thing to be a Chantress. Even worse, Lucy didn't even know how to really be a Chantress... So not only was she not safe in England, but she didn't even know how to use her powers to protect herself. I didn't get why Scargrave was so intent on getting rid of Chantresses at first. I mean he had found out that they weren't the cause of the explosions in the past, but he still went after them anyways. Then we learned he was just power hungry. If there were no Chantresses left then no one would take away his precious Shadowgrims. He was just desperate to hold on to every ounce of power he had, even if it meant trying to kill any Chantresses. I think Lucy was right to fear him at first, but I also thought it was great that she was willing to stand against him when she knew she had the power to. Lucy showed a lot of growth throughout the book and that in itself made the book great for me. One thing I absolutely love is seeing a character really grow into someone strong and Lucy made that change.
I didn't like how long some things were dragged out though... I really felt that Lucy's training with her Godmother was dragged out. It got kinda boring to read during that whole period. It was just a repeat of Lucy trying to do song-spells, failing a lot and then finally succeeding. I only enjoyed those chapters when her Godmother would fight with her. Because it gave Lucy that much more determination to get things right and master her song-spells. I also didn't like how her Godmother treated her sometimes. She put so much pressure on Lucy to learn the song-spells and just got frustrated with her so easily. I hated when she yelled at Lucy because she wasn't getting everything down in her time frame.
Nat. I had mixed-feelings for this guy for most of the book. I couldn't get a feel on him. It was like one minute he showed genuine interest in Lucy, but then he was all serious and back to business and doubting her powers. He didn't keep one mood long enough to figure out how he really felt about her. It annoyed me a lot that he kept going back and forth because not only was in confusing to Lucy but it was also a little confusing to the reader trying to figure him out. But by the end of the book I was finally able to tell which way he was truly leaning and I lightened up on him. I think he's an overall good guy and I really cant wait to see where his relationship with Lucy will go in the next book. I also cant wait to see what happens with Lucy in relation to her powers...
4 Stars!
Amy Butler Greenfield was a grad student in history when she gave into temptation and became a writer. Since then, she has become an award-winning author.
Born in Philadelphia, Amy grew up in the Adirondack Mountains and later studied history at Williams College, the University of Wisconsin-Madison, and Oxford. She now lives with her family in England, where she writes, bakes double-dark-chocolate cake, and plots mischief.
Official links: www.amybutlergreenfield.com | twitter.com/ab_greenfield
Born in Philadelphia, Amy grew up in the Adirondack Mountains and later studied history at Williams College, the University of Wisconsin-Madison, and Oxford. She now lives with her family in England, where she writes, bakes double-dark-chocolate cake, and plots mischief.
Official links: www.amybutlergreenfield.com | twitter.com/ab_greenfield
Playlist!
Ok, So until I figure out my prob with being able to post YouTube vids into my blog posts like I should be able to I'm only gonna post one song. But when I get my Blogger/YouTube issue solved I'll add more. But I just don't have the patience to fight with formatting with how I have to add in vids at the current moment. So one song it is for now (hopefully I figure out this vid prob soon though).
The song that I really felt for me just summed up the entire book was this:
Do You Believe In Magic by Aly & AJ
This song was just in my head throughout the entire book and I think it just fits this book so well overall.
Giveaway: