Title: Pawn of Mine
Author: Tabitha Vale
Book Summary:
“The
world never ended in fire and ice. The
people were consumed by it and now control the elements. The Fires have harnessed the power down to an
art while the Waters cower in fear of their abilities, remaining weak and
hopeless. Seventeen-year-old Sage
Sinclair hopes to dispel the weakness of her Water people because she knows
that if she doesn’t do anything, no one will. When she discovers something special about
herself, she seeks Humble Narcissist Ruler Agni in the great fire city, Saint
Firefly. Once she gains his seal of
approval, she’s admitted into Erra
Academy where she
secretly sparks a revolution among her ennui peers—a revolution to fight back
against the Fires. She has every hope in
her movement, just as long as her feelings for a handsome and frivolous Saffron
Larkspur don’t get in the way—that, and Agni’s sudden fascination with her.”
If I had the ability to use water
or fire, I would probably sit in my room all day amusing myself with lights
flying around everywhere. Sage, however,
knows there’s more to life than waiting around.
In fact, Sage Sinclair is on a mission, and she won’t let anything get in her way. Her mission?
Lead her fellow Water people back on the path to equality and prove to
them that they are not weak or submissive by nature. The problem?
No one listens or takes her seriously.
Sage will not let anything so trifling stop her though, and she sets out
to complete her mission. Who cares if a
few things go wrong here or there? So
what if she makes a few enemies? Sage’s
mulish stubbornness and dedication to her sister’s cunning plan can accomplish
anything… she hopes.
When I first read the premise, I am
a little concerned. The premise for Pawn of Mine reminds me strongly of the Avatar: The Last Airbender cartoon that
I really liked when I was little. Except
for the missing air and earth elements, it kind-of has a Katara vs. Zuko sound
to me. I am nervous about how this is going
to go over because I really likthe Avatar:
The Last Airbender shows and would not like a knockoff… it’s a good thing Pawn of Mine turns out TOTALLY
different.
As I read Pawn of Mine, the first thing I notice is that the magic is so very
unique. In this world, to use magic the characters must draw from the power of
the stars. I love that Vale mixes
elemental powers with specific gestures and star points just like I imagine a
wizard or witch using. The gestures and
points are explained as the “users” hitting the points in the
constellation. When this happens, their
water or fire takes on the form of the drawn constellation . The more accurately a character hit the
points the stronger the created form… pretty cool right?!?
Sage herself is a very unique
character with a defiant voice and fiery passion. She is strong and fearless (from what I see),
but she also has a recklessness that gets her into some really stupid
situations. I am completely surprised at
her best friend Zane’s ability to not constantly chant, “I told you so”. He is obviously a better person than I would
be. I likedthat even though Sage chooses
to do some pretty silly things without listening to words of warning,
everything doesn’t always work out. Okay,
SOMETIMES it works, and at these times I am just shaking my head and thinking
how lucky Sage is, but many other times she realizes that she’s being a little
rash. The only frustrating part is that Sage
never seems to outgrow this rashness.
She just jumps back into the fray with another crazy scheme. Lucky for her, craziness is a talent in which
she is quite proficient!
The entire romantic plot of this
book is very well written, though Sage seems completely oblivious to who she really
should be liking *ahem*, and the guy she goes for just keeps falling flat in my
eyes. I really don’t know what she sees
in him! The whole book is an amazing
rollercoaster that I cannot wait to get on again for round two. The ending is AHH-mazing and, even though I don’t
really like what happens, it is a great mini-mystery (not quite a cliff-hanger)
that keeps me hooked (and not too angry) for book two, Knight of Mine.
The Cover:
Personally, I really don’t like
this cover. I think the story is
fantastic, and the cover doesn’t seem to reflect any of that awesomeness. The girl’s face is hidden, but not in an
intriguing way, and though it looks like there is something in the very middle
of the cover, even on ZOOM I cannot tell what it is. I wish this cover reflected more of the
magical, astrology parts of the story.
I give Pawn of Mine 4.5 out of 5 hearts: Very Highly Recommended!
For more on Tabitha Vale visit her blog here: http://tabithavale.blogspot.com
Buy Pawn of Mine here:
Paperback Ebook
I loved this book and can't wait for knight of mine! And I agree about who she needs to get with ;)
ReplyDeleteBri @ Kindling the Fire
Knight of mine will be AWESOME!
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