{Review} Brightly Woven by Alexandra Bracken

Sydelle Mirabil is living proof that, with a single drop of rain, a life can be changed forever. Tucked away in the farthest reaches of the kingdom, her dusty village has suffered under the weight of a strangely persistent drought. That is, of course, until a wizard wanders into town and brings the rain with him. 

In return for this gift, Wayland North is offered any reward he desires—and no one is more surprised than Sydelle when, without any explanation, he chooses her. Taken from her home, Sydelle hardly needs encouragement to find reasons to dislike North. He drinks too much and bathes too little, and if that isn’t enough to drive her to madness, North rarely even uses the magic he takes such pride in possessing. Yet, it’s not long before she realizes there’s something strange about the wizard, who is as fiercely protective of her as he is secretive about a curse that turns his limbs a sinister shade of black and leaves him breathless with agony. Unfortunately, there is never a chance for her to seek answers.

Along with the strangely powerful quakes and storms that trace their path across the kingdom, other wizards begin to take an inexplicable interest in her as well, resulting in a series of deadly duels. Against a backdrop of war and uncertainty, Sydelle is faced with the growing awareness that these events aren’t as random as she had believed—that no curse, not even that of Wayland North, is quite as terrible as the one she herself may carry.

Title : Brightly Woven

Author : Alexandra Bracken

Publication : 23rd March 2010

Publisher : Egmont 

354 pages

My review

Before starting this book I had seen a lot of positive and eager reviews. I'm a bit less enthusiastic but I nonetheless really enjoyed Brightly Woven.

What bothered me the most is that the transitions are sometimes a bit messy and I was occasionally a bit confused because there were no links between the scenes or time. What I mean is that sometimes you are in the middle of a scene and then without further warning Alexandra Bracken switches to something completely different. It feels as if some parts of the story were missing. I would also have appreciated more descriptions and more information about the wizards and the use of magic. Sometimes I had difficulties to visualize and imagine the characters, the inhabitants but also the landscapes.

All this is especially true in the first half of the plot and Alexandra Bracken offers us a second part really surprising and much better. In this second half of the book the plot is fast-paced, very interesting and it kept me spellbound.

The characters were really interesting. At the beginning there're full of mysteries and secrets and I wanted to know more about them and their story. Syd is quite a strong character she's determined, even if she is sometimes a bit stubborn. North seems a bit gruff but he's in fact big-hearted.

Besides the lack of transitions, Alexandra Bracken's writing is quite smooth and pleasant. It's a fantasy novel but it's quite easy to read and you don't need a dictionary or a lot of explanations about the terms. There is a bit of humor, a bit of romance and a lot of suspense.

What I loved the most was perhaps the atmosphere: the world developed by Alexandra Bracken looks so vivid and alive that it was easy for me to dive in. I utterly enjoyed the mythology, the wizards, the magic and the talismans. It is quite unique and intriguing. And the fact that Syd is a weaver is also brilliant and pristine.

To sum up, even if, in my opinion, there were a few weaknesses, I really enjoyed this book. I especially liked the characters and the atmosphere that is quite original. The second part kept me spellbound all along and after closing the book I was a bit sad to leave this unique world. If you love fantasy novels, with a bit of romance and an awesome ambiance you should definitively check out this one. It was a great debut for a very young author and I will buy her next book, Black is the Color, without a doubt because it sounds really promising.