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Reviewed by Ysabet Reinhardt MacFarlane In the kingdom of Savarin, it's not uncommon to have magical powers. But young Miel really isn't interested in developing her own, despite her family's history as some of the most important magicians in the realm. She's trying to live a more mundane life, much to the frustration of Sara, her older, over-achieving sister. Her life changes one day when she meets a young man who claims to be a stranger in town. Is it only a coincidence that he looks like the reclusive young Prince Radian? The first volume of The Lapis Lazuli Crown is a lot of fun. I haven't fallen head over heels for it, but there's plenty to like in here: the heroine, Miel, is spunky and a bit mercurial; she also has unusual physical strength and is determined to make her own way in the world. Well, except for the part where she'd be more than happy to marry into money, which she'd have a better chance at if she were able to hide anything about herself. Miel wears her heart on her sleeve and she has a bit of a tendency to throw herself into situations without thinking them through, but not to the extent of making me wonder how she's survived long enough to be a heroine, which is nice. The hero, Radi, is also enjoyable to read. So far he's always got more than one objective at a time, but he's not particularly manipulative and is cheerfully upfront about how much he likes Miel, even if he's initially misleading about his identity. Speaking of which, I also appreciate that--despite the back cover copy's attempt at making Radi's identity mysterious--Miel figures it out pretty quickly rather than it being a drawn-out plot point. Her reaction is much more interesting than a few chapters (or more) of "is he or isn't he?" would be. Since the story is primarily about Miel, not Radi, there's a lot of attention paid to her motivations for not applying herself when it comes to studying magic and learning to develop her abilities. Some of her reasons are better than others, but they're all fairly believable. I like that when she starts trying to impress Radi it's not only to make him notice her; she wants his attention, but is more interested in him than in the doors he can open for her, which is refreshing. Volume 1 of The Lapis Lazuli Crown includes an unrelated bonus story, "Daisy Romance", as well as several pages of author's notes. Review copy provided by CMX. Think you could have written a better review of The Lapis Lazuli Crown v1? Write us and we'll probably let you give it a shot! --EiC PC |
3 February 2010
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