Saturday, December 24, 2011

QUICK REVIEW: "Anathema" (Cloud Prophet Trilogy) - by Megg Jensen


“ANATHEMA” (Cloud Prophet Trilogy #1)
by Megg Jensen

REVIEWED BY: Books4Tomorrow

OVERVIEW
Sheltered from the outside world with no hope for escape, slave girl Reychel dreads her fifteenth birthday - when her master’s symbol is burned on the back of her bald scalp. Her best friend disappears the night before, leaving her to face the branding ceremony alone. She soon discovers nothing is as it seems when people desperate for freedom beg for Reychel's help. 

Can Reychel learn to believe in herself?

REVIEW
The first book in the Cloud Prophecy series, “Anathema” was an awesome read! I downloaded it as a free book from kindle, and wasn’t in a rush to read it. But once I got started, I was hooked! Before I got to the end of the book, I was already looking forward to the next two books in this series by Megg Jensen.

I loved everything about this book. It was an easy and fast read, with an uncomplicated, yet unpredictable, plot line. The story moves at a comfortable pace and each setting is so well-described, it effortlessly drew me into the book.

I quickly fell in love with the characters, especially with the main character Reychel. She is a down to earth character, accepting her life as a slave without complaint. What I also enjoyed about this character, is how she grew as a person throughout the book, while staying true to her unassuming and sincere nature. The one thing that annoys me, is when female characters are portrayed as weak and helpless. This is not the case with Reychel, or any of the other characters, and in my books that makes her so much more likeable.

Supporting characters, good and bad, were also well crafted and the author skillfully blended them into the storyline.  The romance between Reychel and her love interest was subtle and tastefully written.

I would’ve liked if Kandek’s character could’ve been a little more developed, and it would’ve added a lot more to the plot if certain things were seen from his point of view, but hopefully this will be done in the next two books. It doesn’t really take anything away from the story though.

The ending is a bit of a cliffhanger, but as this is the first book in the series, some points are neatly tied up and others are left open to be developed in the next book. Fellow readers, I highly recommend this stunning book to young and old alike!

BOOKS4TOMORROW star rating5/5

READ more REVIEWS

“Anathema” by Megg Jensen has 98 reviews on GoodReads. Read the reviews here - http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/10574690-anathema 

PURCHASE LINKS


MEET author MEGG JENSEN

I've been a freelance parenting journalist since 2003 and began writing YA novels in 2009. I co-run DarkSide Publishing, am a member of SCBWI, and I blog about writing while juggling freelancing, volunteering, and family life. I live in the Chicago suburbs with my husband, two kids, and our miniature schnauzer, Ace. 

AUTHOR LINKS


BOOKS 2 and 3 in the CLOUD PROPHET TRILOGY by Megg Jensen

OUBLIETTE
Reychel thought she was finally free. She was wrong.

Everyone saw her gift of prophecy as a blessing, but her gift is uncontrollable. No one alive can teach her to manipulate her unique gift and the answers she needs lie buried within a madman’s journals.

She’s thrust in the midst of a brewing war and the only uniting factor for her people is their belief in the Prophet. Will Reychel learn to control her gift or will she be forced to deliver a false prophecy that could lead her people into a violent, unwinnable war?

SEVERED
Reychel knows her gift of prophecy will lead to madness and now she is at her most vulnerable. The enemy army will attempt to sever her from everything she's ever known: her homeland, her friends, Mark, and her gift. Even at her weakest, she refuses to give up on her desire to end the war between the Malborn and the Serenians. Reychel would do anything, even come back from the dead, to conquer the enemy and reunite with Mark.

ALSO by author MEGG JENSEN

“SLEEPERS” (Book 1 in the SWARM TRILOGY)
An adoptee raised in a foreign land, sixteen-year-old Lianne was content with her life as handmaiden to the queen, until a spell cast on her at birth activated. Now she's filled with uncontrollable rage and access to magic she thought had been bled from her people years ago. Even her years of secret training in elite hand-to-hand combat and meditation can’t calm the fires raging inside her.

Her heart is torn between two boys, the one she’s always loved and the one who always ignored her. But when the kingdom threatens to tear itself apart due to rumors surrounding the queen’s alleged affair, who will Lianne protect and who will she destroy?

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