Trent, Tiffany By Venom’s Sweet Sting, 291 p. Mirrorstone, 2007.
MS – OPTIONAL
Corrine may have survived the fire that destroyed her school, but she is still not safe. She is just beginning to learn about her magic, but she has no real passion for the learning. Her journey to Scotland with her mentors and her two best friends is fraught with danger. There is no way for her to now whom she can actually trust; every person she comes in contact with has hidden agendas. It may just be too easy for the Elf Prince to get his hands on Corrine and manipulate her into doing his bidding.
It looks like there are ten titles planned for this series. I can only hope that Corrine gains some guts, brains and heart - and pretty quickly. So far I am alternately intrigued (I love books about evil fey), bored (the books lack description – throw some backdrop here, maybe even some wardrobe or weather), and annoyed (Corrine needs a backbone and why is she so uninterested in learning the magic that can save her life?). I am going to give this series one more chance – I have the next title on hand and things has better improve! On the other hand, it is a pretty quick light read for those who like Libba Bray, plus it is in paperback already.
Cindy Mitchell – Library-Teacher
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2 comments:
WOW...Well I hate to be negative here but if we are really reading the same book then I think you complete missed the greatness of this one.
First you’re bored, so you want the author to talk about the weather?? I think this book has just the right amount of well-placed and time appropriate detail in setting (weather included). I mean that whole steam ship section was astounding (ok so I may have a thing for creepy historically accurate occurrences) and rich in detail but not so overblown and wordy as many writers tend to be. I mean I am personally sick of the wordy unnecessary description of every little thing and color of someone’s hair in three different lights... Its just filler and that is BORING..
Second, on your comment about Corrine needing guts, brains, and heart. This is a historical fantasy and the portrail of Corrine as the person she would have been in that historical setting is dead on. I mean women, especially young unmarried women, of that time weren’t taught to think for themselves or do for themselves, so to make Corrine a gutsy and forward woman would just take away from the historical accuracy (again an important aspect for me...thus probably why I could never quite get through the Libba Bray attempts at historical accuracy)
I personally think this series has been the most unfairly underrated historical fantasy, and I would highly recommend it to all libraries and young-adult readers.
Jules Sanderson – Teen reader
Hey Jules! Thanks so much for your comments - very insightful - and I appreciate the difference of opinion. I have started #3 and am still having a hard time. I love Clare Dunkle's books so much, that maybe I am just comparing in my head too much. Plus, I love really complicated adult fantasy - Feist, Jordan, Lackey, Michelle West.
Please keep us on your radar and comment again. -Cindy
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