Saturday Snippet Reviews | The Pirate’s Wish & Origin

There are times when Heather, Aly & I finish a book, but don’t have time to write a full, comprehensive review… or even a shorter “flashbulb” review.  BUT we still want to share our thoughts with you on what we’ve been reading. That’s why every Saturday we’ll be featuring 3 “snippet” reviews — short, sweet, to-the-point reviews that we’ll try to keep to 2-7 sentences.  So we hope you enjoy these!!

 

 

The Pirate’s Wish summed up in two words? Delightfully torturous.  The relationship between the pirate Ananna and the assassin Naji has never been what you might call easy or smooth.  Bound to each other by a curse, Naji must complete three impossible tasks to be free of it… and of Ananna.  Tasks that seem even more impossible than ever given the fact that they’re stranded on a mystical, sinister floating island with no hope of escape.

Or maybe their situation’s not so impossible?

When Ananna helps Naji complete one of his impossible tasks, their uneasy relationship becomes decidedly strained, but it also allows for the possibility that maybe the curse isn’t as unbreakable as they thought.

Or is it?  Or isn’t it?  Or is it?  Confused? Good.  So am I.

What I’m not confused about is that The Pirate’s Wish was even better than The Assassin’s Curse, and here’s why…  The character development for Ananna and Naji is fantastic, but especially for Ananna.  This is her story.  Yes, there’s a romance (AND IT’S FANTASTIC) and Naji’s awesome and all that great stuff, but this is the story of a fierce, fiery, independent, a little bit reckless, a little bit wild, and wonderfully flawed girl coming into her own her own way, and I love it.  And the relationship tension!  It’s tense, y’all!  And the story is just exciting.  It’s what an adventure should be — fast moving, lots of action, new allies, old friends, persistent enemies, planning, plotting, escapes, rescues, magic and mayhem, danger, swashbuckling, feats of derring do, a little bit of unrequited love, lots of traveling through a rich and fascinating world, and a manticore.  The way Cassandra Rose Clarke approaches her fantasy — fresh, a little irreverent (as viewed through the eyes of Ananna) and somewhat unexpected — also sets this particular fantasy duology apart from the rest.

Overall? Absolutely wonderful (and, as previously stated, delightfully torturous).

 

Disclaimer:  This is the 4th book in a series.  I’ll try not to be too spoilery but there’s definitely the potential for some spoilerage.  You’ve been warned.  =)

Ok so in an attempt at full disclosure, I didn’t love the 3rd book in the Lux Series, Opal.  I liked it, but I didn’t love it like I loved Obsidian and Onyx.  So, Origin had me a little concerned.  I didn’t know where the story was going, and I wasn’t as invested in the characters as I had been before; however, I’d say Origin has reinvested me.  =)

Origin starts off with Daemon and Katy separated.  And while I get the desperation of each of them and Daemon’s utter need to get to Katy, he honestly came off very melodramatic and over-the-top at first.  The first third to half of the book left me rolling my eyes and laughing  a lot at moments that I’m not sure were supposed to be funny.  Yet, Jennifer Armentrout has this ability to suck me in with her writing style and I wasn’t willing to give up on Origin, and I’m so glad I didn’t because the second half…WOW!  Origin may have had a rough start but it has an epically, made of awesome conclusion.  When the action starts, it’s like a switch is thrown and it’s a complete sprint to the end.  I have no idea where JLA is going with this story but I’m in.  I’m aaallllllll kinds of in!  There is character, world, plot, romance, everything development with all kinds of incredibly fantastic potential.  If you like JLA’s Covenant series, think “end of Deity” development.

So, overall, I enjoyed Origin quite a lot and look forward to seeing the end of Daemon and Katy’s story in Opposition.

Happy Reading!