Welcome to Unabridged Bookshelf's stop on the Chantress Blog Tour, organized by Shane @ Itching for Books! I have a review, small excerpt, and a tourwide giveaway today, but to check out all the awesome happenings on this tour click the banner above!
ABOUT THE BOOK
Title: Chantress
Author: Amy Butler Greenfield
Series: Chantress Trilogy #1
Publisher: Margaret K. McElderry Books
Publication Date: May 7, 2013
Lucy’s Chantress magic will make her the most powerful — and most hunted — girl in England.
“Sing, and the darkness will find you.” This warning has haunted fifteen-year-old Lucy ever since she was eight and shipwrecked on a lonely island. Lucy’s guardian, Norrie, has lots of rules, but the most important is that Lucy must never sing. Not ever. Now it is 1667, Lucy is fifteen, and on All Hallows’ Eve, Lucy hears a tantalizing melody on the wind. She can’t help but sing — and she is swept into darkness.
When she awakes in England, Lucy hears powerful men discussing Chantresses — women who can sing magic into the world. They are hunting her, but she escapes and finds sanctuary with the Invisible College, an organization plotting to overthrow the nefarious Lord Protector. The only person powerful enough to bring about his downfall is a Chantress. And Lucy is the last one in England.
Lucy struggles to master the song-spells and harness her power, but the Lord Protector is moving quickly. And her feelings for Nat, an Invisible College apprentice and scientist who deeply distrusts her magic, only add to her confusion…
Time is running out, and the fate of England hangs in the balance in this entrancing novel that is atmospheric and lyrical, dangerous and romantic.
Amy Butler Greenfield was a grad student in history when she gave into temptation and became a writer. Since then, she has become an award-winning author. Born in Philadelphia, Amy grew up in the Adirondack Mountains and later studied history at Williams College, the University of Wisconsin-Madison, and Oxford. She now lives with her family in England, where she writes, bakes double-dark-chocolate cake, and plots mischief. Website | Twitter
MY REVIEW
Chantress cast a spell on me with it story, and I could not put it down until I had finished every word. This historical fantasy has a magic all its own, and it is really takes you away to another time and place. Chantress is a delightful novel that I dove right into, and I did not come up for air until it was finished. With the demands on time in this day that is a feat in its self for me to read a book in one sitting, but I could not have read Chantress in any other way.
The characters of Chantress are fun to read about; especially the stubborn but determined Lucy. Lucy discovers she is one of the Chantresses, a person who can weave magic with a few simple notes. She realizes she is in danger, but instead of fleeing from it, she decides she must help those under the rule of a corrupt protector. From someone who grows ups shelter on an island, she is compassionate about her fellow man, and that is the part I loved about her most.
I do not read historical fiction of any kind all that often, but when I do, I am pleased when it feels authentic to the time. Chantress is set in 1667, and it is obvious that the author, Amy Butler Greenfield, did her research before describing the scenery and the background of London, England. As someone who really enjoys history, even when reading fiction it is those little details that really make a story what it is in my eyes.
I really think even readers who do not like historical fantasy would enjoy the magic of Chantress. It is a beautiful start to what could be a great trilogy. I am excited to see where Lucy is going to go next. I am also excited by the prospects of Nat, and cannot wait to see what develops between him and Lucy in the next book in the Chantress Trilogy.
*Unabridged Bookshelf recieved this book for the publisher, in exchange for an honest review**
Excerpt/Small Teaser
"But we never sand. We never even whistled or hummed. We had no music of any kind. And if anyone had asked me, I would have said I did not miss it at all...
Until now.
It was as if the singing had pierced a hole in me, a hole only it could fill. I sat silent, listening hard."
**Taken from an ARC, and maybe subject to changes**
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3 comments:
Nice review. Thanks for participating.
I have added to my TBR pile, the cover art is wonderful.
Great review! I've got Chantress on my reading list and am looking forward to reading it!
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