Rating: 4 stars!
Received ARC in exchange for honest review.
Blurb:
The night Quin Kincaid takes her Oath, she will become what she has trained to be her entire life. She will become a Seeker. This is her legacy, and it is an honor. As a Seeker, Quin will fight beside her two closest companions, Shinobu and John, to protect the weak and the wronged. Together they will stand for light in a shadowy world. And she'll be with the boy she loves--who's also her best friend.
But the night Quin takes her Oath, everything changes. Being a Seeker is not what she thought. Her family is not what she thought. Even the boy she loves is not who she thought.
And now it's too late to walk away.
*I received this Advanced Reader Copy in exchange for my honest review*
I really enjoyed this book and I'm looking forward to the second book, Traveler, which is set to be released in 2016! The author, Arwen Elys Dayton, takes great care in elegantly detailing her characters and the world she has created. I could see all of the characters quite clearly in my head and picture the locations and plot situations perfectly. The story of Seeker was quite unique to me and the end left me wanting more, soon!
What I enjoyed:
The unique plot. A trio of friends- Quin, Shinobu, and John have trained their entire lives to become Seekers. Seekers come from centuries of old family lines that are supposed to use their training and ancient weapon, the athame, to rid the world of evil-doers. Unfortunately, on the night of their Oath, they find that being a Seeker may not be as noble as they thought.
Maud. Maud was, by far, my favorite character. She is the youngest of the three Dreads who are in place to ensure Seekers abide by the three ancient laws: do not steal another family's athame, do not kill another seeker, and do not harm mankind. Knowing that, over time, these laws have fallen by the wayside, I love how Maud takes it upon herself to right the wrongs while her companion, Middle Dread, chooses to look the other way.
The mystery. Most of the mystery I refer to revolves around an old book supposedly filled with Seeker secrets. It is also implied that there are some secrets about Middle Dread in the book, and he'd break Dread code and kill anyone who learned them.
The alternating POVs. Honestly, without the alternating points of view, Maud would have just been straight up creepy, I would have had no sympathy for John, and I wouldn't have liked Shinobu as much.
What I didn't care for:
Grandpa Gavin. I felt the story could have done without him. So far, it seems as though he is only there to provide an endless amount of wealth for John to tap into to fund his mission of retrieving his family's stolen athame.
Quin and John's romance. I think I would have liked it better if they were enemies because Quin and John were clearly in love, yet their actions spoke otherwise. I wanted to jump into the book and yell at Quin whenever John begged her for help in taking the fox athame as rightfully his. From his POV chapters, you understand the history of his family and it is very sad. Still, I don't like that it drove him to keep harming Quin and her companions. I also don't like that he kept telling himself he didn't want to hurt her, but he had to do what he had to do. What kind of love is this?
Overall, I loved the book and I definitely recommend it to anyone who wants to read a refreshing young adult fantasy.
No comments:
Post a Comment