Friday, June 8, 2007

Warprize, by Elizabeth Vaughan [4]

****/***** (4/5)

Lords of the White Castle is something of an epic, and it looks like I'll be at that one for a while. In the meantime I'm cataloging reviews of other books I've read from the past.

Vaughan's WARPRIZE is a very endearing, enjoyable romance with an extremely satisfying ending. I found many parts of the novel funny as well, and the supporting cast of characters are all a delight to read. I'm looking forward to the sequels after this one.

Xylara (Lara) is our heroine, a very passionate healer, and Daughter of Xy. The Warlord and his barbarian host has been soundly defeating the Kingdom of Xy and the King of Xy (Xymund) acquiesces to the Warlord's demands for a "peace," one of the demands including a tribute to the Warlord, King Xymund's own half-sister Lara.

The book's heart rests with Lara and her struggle to balance her duties with her heart, which changes over the course of the novel.

I do have 2 complaints.

I find writing an entire novel in the first-person lazy. I thought Vaughn could have done a better job of building context, setting and history if the entire novel wasn't written in the first-person.

I thought the premise of the novel rested on Lara's trepidation to ask a simple question: what does being a Warprize mean? She finally asks Joden three-quarters of the way through and obviously, she is overjoyed.

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