Until All Curses Are Lifted

RATING - 4/5

Marshal is born cursed. He cannot speak, and can barely communicate. He manages to communicate by nodding/shaking his head, and sometimes has trouble remembering this as well. His mother is his world, because no one else has made the effort to understand or befriend him. 

Seri is training to be a mage at Zes Sivas. Her goal is to become the first female mage ever. She quickly becomes friends with her fellow acolytes, and finds out something about herself that will change everything. 

These two storylines are running parallel to each other. This is seen quite often in fantasies and epic fantasies (at least the ones I've read), and it does quite well under Frankovich's hand. At no point did I feel like I was losing touch with either of them, and I was able to immerse myself into what I was currently reading. 

The characters are well-written, and quite likeable. There's no 'oh, I love them so much' but there also isn't a feeling of complete disconnect. Their reactions are very realistic to their circumstance, and I can't quite tell what age they are? Does anyone know?

The world-building is quite good as well. It's not extraordinary (looking at you, LotR, TSC, thanks for the high expectations), but it gets the job done and leaves a little to yearn for. It's a surprisingly cruel world for one that has magic: the law of Bindings and Curses that don't really allow anyone to live a full life, the unfair loophole that the Lords of the lands have made where their first-born children are cursed for their actions, the imbalance in the magic. But I could sense that all of this was very well thought out. Although very new and raw, nothing truly seemed out of place at the end.

Overall, a very good read for fans of epic fantasy and a long book to dive into. (I would say it's YA, but I can't quite tell?)

A well written young adult fantasy novel that kept my interest thought the book.  The world that the author created was very enjoyable and the two story lines kept me picking up the book every night.  I am ready to read the next book in the series.

This story grabbed me from the beginning with the plight of Marshall. The story has an intricate cast of characters that are well developed. The pacing is just right. It gives me a sense of the mystery and adventure while giving me little crumbs to figure it out. 

Now that I have come to the conclusion, I know that I will be in mourning from the loss of my new friends and crave their return as many craved the Starshine. 

If you’ve read Kristin Cashore’s Graceling series, Tolkien’s Lord of the Rings, or Lewis’ stories of Narnia, you would enjoy this magical coming of age adventure. 

This is a clean, coming of age story filled with magic and adventure. A must read!

When I read the description I was excited to maybe find my next great epic fantasy read. This book did not disappoint! It took me a little longer than normal to get into it but once I was I couldn’t put it down!

ARC from NetGalley

4.5 stars

Well. I've just finished the book, and I'm buzzing. I had to pee so bad, but I couldn't put it down. The beginning of this book was a bit slow, it took me at least 50% to get really into it. From probably about 70% to the finish it was absolutely excellent. 

Marshal, man the crap you've gone through. I hope you get some joy in the next book. You deserve it. 

Seri, seeing your powers grow gave me this strong female thrill like, yeah this chick kicks ass. Yes she will hand your ass to you. 

I tend not to give a rundown of the book in my reviews because there are already enough of those. I don't read reviews to learn about the plot, I read reviews to learn whether or not the book was enjoyable and if so, why. There's just so much satisfying action in this book. So many things that were so wrong for so long become every so slightly right and it just moved through me like wave after wave of energy. Sorry, that's vague. I don't want to spoil anything. Just know that there is a bit of a slow start putting all the Jenga pieces in place so that Tim Frankovich could eventually punch the carefully constructed tower right in the face and send all those pieces flying, much to my delight. I'm really looking forward to the next book. This book doesn't end on a cliff hanger, but it does end on an "OMFG I MUST KNOW WHAT HAPPENS NEXT" note. You should read it.

i enjoyed reading this book, the characters were great and I really enjoyed the story itself. I look forward to more in the series.