Brightly Woven by Alexandra Bracken

Brightly Woven

By: Alexandra Bracken

This book was read and reviewed as a part of the 2010 Debut Author Challenge hosted by the Story Siren

Synopsis (From Goodreads): Sydelle Mirabil is living proof that, with a single drop of rain, a life can be changed forever. Tucked away in the farthest reaches of the kingdom, her dusty village has suffered under the weight of a strangely persistent drought. That is, of course, until a wizard wanders into town and brings the rain with him.

In return for this gift, Wayland North is offered any reward he desires—and no one is more surprised than Sydelle when, without any explanation, he chooses her. Taken from her home, Sydelle hardly needs encouragement to find reasons to dislike North. He drinks too much and bathes too little, and if that isn’t enough to drive her to madness, North rarely even uses the magic he takes such pride in possessing. Yet, it’s not long before she realizes there’s something strange about the wizard, who is as fiercely protective of her as he is secretive about a curse that turns his limbs a sinister shade of black and leaves him breathless with agony. Unfortunately, there is never a chance for her to seek answers.

Along with the strangely powerful quakes and storms that trace their path across the kingdom, other wizards begin to take an inexplicable interest in her as well, resulting in a series of deadly duels. Against a backdrop of war and uncertainty, Sydelle is faced with the growing awareness that these events aren’t as random as she had believed—that no curse, not even that of Wayland North, is quite as terrible as the one she herself may carry.

My Review: I was really intrigued by the synopsis of this book and I was so excited when I got a copy of this book in the mail from Egmont. First of all, the cover is gorgeous, don't you think?

But, beyond the beautiful cover, this was a fantastic book! My favorite books are the ones that have deep characters and complex relationships. This book had plenty of both. Sydelle was a wonderful heroine. She was compassionate, but always stood her ground with North when necessary. It was really refreshing to read the different ways that she was able to get herself and others out of trouble.

North was fascinating. In many fantasy books I've read, wizards are almost invincible and infinitely wise. That was not the case in this book. North's character flaws were glaring, but not so much that he was a despicable person. Despite his shortcomings, it's obvious that he's a caring person and really tries to do the right thing.

The one complaint I had about this book is that there wasn't enough of Henry or her family from back home. I would have liked to have seen a little more interaction and a pull from home keeping Sydelle conflicted.

Overall, this was a wonderful fantasy book by a very promising debut author. I am really excited to read more of her work in the future. This book was released today, March 23, and it's definitely worth buying/checking out.

Book-A-Likes: Howl's Moving Castle by Dianna Wynne Jones (Wizard with a temper); Dragon Slippers by Jessica Day George (Weaving and sewing talented heroine)

Rating:

I gave this book a hearty 5 stars!

Profanity: None

Drugs and Alcohol: Mild; North doesn't have a lot of control when it comes to alcohol

Sexuality: None

Violence: Moderate; Some of the fighting descriptions were a little graphic

Acknowledgement: I was sent a copy of Brightly Woven to review by Egmont USA. I was not compensated for this post, and all opinions are my own