Wednesday, November 10, 2010

Mistwood by Leah Cypess Review

Note: Photos will lead to GoodReads


The Shifter is an immortal creature bound by an ancient spell to protect the kings of Samorna. When the realm is peaceful, she retreats to the Mistwod.

But when she is needed she always comes.

Isabel remembers nothing. Nothing before the prince rode into her forest to take her back to the castle. Nothing about who she is supposed to be, or the powers she is supposed to have.

Prince Rokan needs Isabel to be his Shifter. He needs her ability to shift to animal form, to wind, to mist. He needs her lethal speed and superhuman strength. And he needs her loyalty--because without it, she may be his greatest threat.

Isabel knows that her prince is lying to her, but she can't help wanting to protect him from the dangers and intrigues of the court . . . until a deadly truth shatters the bond between them.

Now Isabel faces a choice that threatens her loyalty, her heart . . . and everything she thought she knew.


Excerpt:

"Isabel held her head up, swamped by a swirl of confusion, conflicting feelings. Cheif among them was a fierce urge to protect her prince, but from whom?

Her prince...The possessive came to her mind without forethought, and accepted it without question. He had summoned her to him, and she would keep him safe from any danger that threatened him. Even if she still had no idea why, or what that danger might be."

I can define this book in three words if I wanted to but I'll make the effort and explain why this book in my opinion was for the most...forgettable.

Prince Rokan sets out to find the shifter so that it can protect him form assassins and death in general:
by the way this fact was reminded constantly throughout the whole book so don't worry, you wont miss it or get confused in the slightest...
Isabel, the shifter who was taken from Mistwood by the prince himself, has the misfortune of forgetting her past from before she was taken which I thought was pretty intriguing but lets' focus on the characters for now shall we...Clarisse, soon to be King Rokans sister, is some what of a "bitch" which is fine but it wasn't painted with that old fantasy aura that I had hoped for...rather, she seemed a lot like Regina George from the movie Mean Girls.

The land and setting descriptions of the book didn't hold my interest to well either.

I don't understand, was this book dystopian...set in medieval times...what? There was a lot of times where the dialog matched a high school setting....words like bitch and sweet sounded weird in the conversations. The whole book was half "Graceling by Kristen Cashore
" half "Mean Girls movie written by Wisman and Tina Fey." As for the romance, I lost track from all the flirting and Rokans' lonely cries...did I mention he was to be crowned king and described as a live alone die alone kind of guy. Confusing.

There were times of admiration...but only to be suspended by dissatisfaction. Half way through the book; things got abrupt and infuriating, which I didn't like. I can't say I didn't like it because
I did. Sometimes it was so new and enticing but the book never held my interest enough to be memorable or satisfying. It's too bad, I really liked the cover.

2/5






As for sequels...There is "
A stand-alone companion novel..."

Nightspell by Leah Cypess (Mistwood #2)










4 comments:

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  2. I wasn't overwhelmed by this book either. I guess I expected something more like Graceling, but it fell a bit flat.

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  3. I had high hopes for this book because it sounds good. But then I read reviews and people were saying basically what you are saying and it sounds like I probably would feel the same way. So I've skipped it so far. If it fell in my lap I'd probably give it a try but I'm certainly not going to pay money for it or even take time out of my schedule to reserve it at the library. Too bad it was disappointing.

    Thanks for linking at Saturday Situation!

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  4. I also thought this one was a kind of wannabe-Graceling. Honestly I'd half-forgotten the plot bfore reading your synopsis, which is rare-- I rarely forget a book. I didn't know that there's going to be a sequel.

    Awesome new blog you have-- I found you via the Saturday Situation. I'm following now and can't wait to see what you come up with next. :)

    Kat @ http://www.amyriadofbooks.blogspot.com

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