Review of Colorless by Rita Stradling

Colorless
By Rita Stradling

Star Rating: 
Genre: Young Adult Fantasy/Historical
Number of Pages: 452

Date Started: December 26, 2017
Date Finished: December 27, 2017

Synopsis: (From Amazon)
In Domengrad, there are rules all must live by: Fear the Gods. Worship the Magicians. Forsake the Iconoclasts.

To Annabelle Klein, the rules laid down by the Magicians are the mere ramblings of stuffy old men. As far as she’s concerned, the historic Iconoclasts, heretics who nearly destroyed the Magicians so long ago, are nothing but myth. She has much more important matters to worry about.

Heiress to a manor mortgaged down to its candlesticks and betrothed to her loathsome cousin, sixteen-year-old Annabelle doubts the gods could forsake her more.

Then Annabelle is informed of her parents’ sudden and simultaneous deaths, and all of the pigment drips out of her skin and hair, leaving her colorless. Within moments, Annabelle is invisible and forgotten by all who know her.

Living like a wraith in her own home, Annabelle discovers that to regain her color she must solve the mystery behind her parents’ murders and her strange transformation.

Meanwhile, hundreds of the Magicians’ monks, with their all-black eyes and conjoined minds, have usurped control of Annabelle’s family manor. An Iconoclast is rumored to be about—a person who they claim goes unseen, unheard, and lost to memory, yet is the greatest threat to all of Domengrad. For the first time in a hundred years, the monks plan to unleash the dire wolves of old.

Their only target: Annabelle.

Review:
How do you put this book down? From the beginning there is so much that the reader doesn’t know, and to be honest, at the end, I still had plenty of questions that will now and likely forever more remain unanswered.

The most intriguing twist in this series is that of the “iconoclast”. Upon looking up the meaning of the word, it makes literal sense when used in the novel, yet there’s a level of mysticism never fully explained or realized, adding another depth to this story. The iconoclasts are woven so expertly with the religion that while learning about their beliefs, there’s no doubt that there is something more than what the average layperson understands.

I loved this story, and the ending, oh the ending, what I wouldn’t have given for another paragraph or two!

Author Biography: (From Amazon)
Rita Stradling is the author of The Deception Dance series, the Dakota Kekoa series and The Fourteen Day Soul Detox Novella Serial. She has a BA in Art History and a particular love for modern and medieval art.

Rita lives with her husband and son in Northern California.

She has an insatiable novel addiction and mostly reads young adult and adult: romance, paranormal, urban fantasy and high fantasy.

Review of Jinx by Sage Blackwood

Jinx
By Sage Blackwood

Star Rating: 
Genre: High Fantasy/Young People/Young Adult/Children

Number of Pages: 384

Date Started: June 22, 2016
Date Finished: June 23, 2016

Synopsis: (From Amazon)jinxThe highly acclaimed first book of a fantasy adventure series set in a mysterious forest, starring a daring new hero.

“Readers will thrill to journey with Jinx” (SLJ, starred review), a wizard’s apprentice, as he sets off on a quest through the dangerous Urwald, a magical forest full of wizards and were-creatures, and discovers that it is more complex than he could imagine, and that it needs him more than he could ever guess.

This humorous and smart tween fantasy adventure is perfect for fans of Septimus Heap, The Sisters Grimm, and Fablehaven.

Supports the Common Core State Standards

Review:
This story is magical.  I am so glad that this book is the first in a series because as I got further and further along I was really worried that I wouldn’t get to continue on and learn more about Jinx’s life.  The Urwald is perfect.  Simon is the perfect differentiation from Jinx’s stepparents.  Jinx is refreshing and unique without shoving anything in your face.  The characters are gripping, the plot is intriguing, and I found myself less and less willing to set the book aside.  I definitely think this book is along the lines of Howl’s Moving Castle but this book has such unique qualities that it’s hard to compare it to anything.  The magic seen is new, refreshing, and interesting.  Everything you thought you might have known about magic and magical creatures might be right, or it might be turned on its head, depending on the person.  There are great morals, and it’s overall an amazing book.

Author Information: (From Amazon)
Sage Blackwood was born in Chicago and grew up in New York State. She graduated from Antioch College and the University at Albany, and taught ESL for many years. Her first fantasy novel, JINX, was selected as a Best Book of 2013 by Kirkus, Booklist, School Library Journal, and Amazon.