Review: The Wizard's Promise by Cassandra Rose Clarke

Publisher: Strange Chemistry
Published: May 6, 2014
Pages: 336
Source: For Review from Strange Chemistry/NetGalley
Rating: 3 Stars

All Hanna Euli wants is to become a proper witch – but unfortunately, she’s stuck as an apprentice to a grumpy fisherman. When their boat gets caught up in a mysterious storm and blown wildly off course, Hanna finds herself further away from home than she’s ever been before.
As she tries to get back, she learns there may be more to her apprentice master than she realized, especially when a mysterious, beautiful, and very non-human boy begins following her through the ocean, claiming that he needs Hanna’s help.

In short: The Wizard's Promise by Cassandra Rose Clarke was not as engaging as its previous companion novels, but was still a good read nonetheless.

I knew I needed to read The Wizard's Promise, the companion book to Cassandra Rose Clarke's Assassin's Curse duology, the moment I heard about it. I simply adored The Assassin's Curse. I found it to be highly entertaining with a compelling plot and completely engaging, vibrant characters. Plus, I love the world building and magic system that Cassandra Rose Clarke has created and was eager to return to it. Unfortunately, I can't say I was as invested in the new protagonist, Hanna, and her story as I was with Ananna and Naji of The Assassin's Curse.

I can't exactly put my finger on it, but The Wizard's Promise seemed to be missing that special something that The Assassin's Curse had, leaving me largely disconnected from the characters and plot. I did like Hanna - she reminded me of Ananna in her determination and bravery - and I pitied her for the truly crappy situation she finds herself in. But I can't say I was much taken with any of the other characters. Romance-fans may be disappointed - and non-romance-fans may be refreshed - to hear that romance is notably lacking in this instalment - though I imagine this situation will change in the sequel.

But I think it was the plot - or should I say lack thereof - in which I was truly disappointed with in The Wizard's Promise. The pacing was very slow and events are repetitive and lacking in much excitement. I really needed to see more momentous developments and less concentration on day-to-day activities to be truly engaged. The lack of engagement in the plot was definitely the biggest letdown for me in The Wizard's Promise because I remember flying through The Assassin's Curse, I was so engrossed. I can only hope that Cassandra Rose Clarke will pick up the action in the sequel.

Overall, The Wizard's Promise was far from a bad read. Like I mentioned earlier, Cassandra Rose Clarke has created a magic system and world that is so intriguing to me; it is deceptively simple, and yet wonderfully enchanting. I enjoyed spending more time in this world and was interested in the unfolding of certain enigmatic elements that were explored. I just wish I could have been as engaged and invested in the story as I was with The Assassin's Curse. Hopefully the sequel, The Nobleman's Revenge, is faster paced and more enthralling!

Previously, my reviews of The Assassin's Curse and The Pirate's Wish.

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Cuddlebuggery
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Review: The Pirate's Wish (The Assassin's Curse #2) by Cassandra Rose Clarke

Publisher: Strange Chemistry
Published: June 18, 2013
Pages: 330
Source: For Review from Strange Chemistry/NetGalley
Rating: 3.5 Stars

After setting out to break the curse that binds them together, the pirate Ananna and the assassin Naji find themselves stranded on an enchanted island in the north with nothing but a sword and their wits. But Naji has unseen enemies, and Ananna must face the wrath of the Pirate Confederation.
Together, they must travel afar, defeat their foes and break the mother of all curses. With all this going on, falling in love would be such a bad idea... All of this and much, much more await, in the swashbuckling sequel to The Assassin's Curse.

In short: While The Pirate's Wish by Cassandra Rose Clarke wasn't quite as engaging as The Assassin's Curse, it's still a worthwhile story with charming characters.

I am a total mood reader and sometimes I wonder if the reason I loved The Assassin's Curse so much is because I was just in the absolute perfect mood for it when I read it. I completely devoured that book and I just loved the characters and the engaging romance. It was absolutely engrossing. The Pirate's Wish, however? Not so much engrossing. But then, at the moment I am incredibly stressed with a lot going on in my life, so I have to imagine I would have like it better if I had read it at another time. However, I did definitely have some issues with The Pirate's Wish that I think I would have had regardless of my mood.

In The Assassin's Curse, I was OBSESSED with Ananna and Naji's burgeoning romance. It was just oh-so-swoony, but also entirely frustrating in a good, addicting way. But I found that the spark had faded in The Pirate's Wish and that their frustrating-but-fun romantic tension had become more frustrating and annoying. There was just a ridiculous amount of tired romantic drama that seemed so silly and unnecessary to me. The romantic tension and drama in The Assassin's Curse was delicious; the romantic drama in The Pirate's Wish was overwrought.

The conclusion to the story was definitely anti-climactic, as well. Things seemed to have been set up so well at the end of The Assassin's Curse to make way for a truly exciting and epic sequel. But what we got in The Pirate's Wish was a meandering plot and way too easy answers. My expectations of finales is that they should go out with a bang, but the conclusion of The Pirate's Wish was resolved way too easily. And not only was it too easy, but the final resolution was just plain absurd to me, and completely illogical to my left-brained mind.

Okay, okay, I should talk about all the good stuff now, lest anyone think I disliked The Pirate's Wish. I did enjoy it on the whole, after all. It's hard not to enjoy Cassandra Rose Clarke's incredibly easy-to-read writing style and lovable characters. I still love head-strong and sometimes vulnerable Ananna. And of course I loved the manticore - who really ought to get her own story, I think. There were also some pretty noteworthy pirate ship battle scenes that were amazingly well done and exciting. Overall, The Pirate's Wish wasn't as good as its predecessor due to the overwrought romantic drama and the anti-climactic conclusion, but it was still a fairly worthwhile story helped along by Cassandra Rose Clarke's charming characters.

Previously, my review of The Assassin's Curse.

Other Reviews:
The Daily Prophecy
My Precious
Small Review

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Review: The Mad Scientist's Daughter by Cassandra Rose Clarke

Publisher: Angry Robot
Published: January 29, 2013
Pages: 400
Source: Won from Paranormal Indulgence
Rating: 3 Stars

The Mad Scientist’s Daughter is the heartbreaking story of the journey from childhood to adulthood, with an intriguing science fictional twist.
There’s never been anyone - or anything - quite like Finn.
He looks, and acts human, though he has no desire to be. He was programmed to assist his owners, and performs his duties to perfection. A billion-dollar construct, his primary task is to tutor Cat.
When the government grants rights to the ever-increasing robot population, however, Finn struggles to find his place in the world.

In short: The Mad Scientist's Daughter by Cassandra Rose Clarke is an angst-ridden robot love story. Unfortunately, it wasn't the book for me.

Don't be fooled by the mention of robots in the summary for The Mad Scientist's Daughter; the story is more of a tragic romance than science fiction. The Mad Scientist's Daughter tells the story of Cat and her relationship with an android named Finn. The story spans several decades of Cat's life, starting at age 8 and continuing to her mid-thirties, and follows her struggle to come to terms with her feelings for Finn. I was surprised at how different The Mad Scientist's Daughter was from Cassandra Rose Clarke's debut YA novel, The Assassin's Curse, which is a book I LOVED. Where The Assassin's Curse was light and fast-paced, The Mad Scientist's Daughter was almost depressing in tone and quite harsh to read in comparison.

The source of this depressing tone is Cat, the mad scientist's daughter, and the novel's narrator. She is also the main source of my frustration with The Mad Scientist's Daughter. She is a terribly broken person, struggling to find meaning in her life, and I am sympathetic to that - I am, really. But at some point I just wanted her to take control of her life, rather than drifting through it and letting bad things happen to her. She does do this eventually, but unfortunately very late in the story. Prior to that, she agrees to enter into a marriage she knows will not bring her happiness and that leaves her hollow and miserable. And she returns to an abusive relationship time and time again. She is also a terrible user - using Finn as an object for sex, never once bothering to think how that might make him feel despite her supposed care for him. I was never able to form an emotional connection with Cat.

The Mad Scientist's Daughter is above all a romance. An incredibly angst-ridden one, at that. Now, the focus on the romance is an automatic dislike for me as I prefer to read plots where the main source of conflict doesn't revolve around the romance. And throw in the angst into the equation and it was almost too much for me to take. I was bored. The plot DRAGS and though I felt this was a good reflection of the lack of meaning and tediousness of Cat's life, it was still incredibly boring for me to read. I would have liked to explore the world more as I felt there was loads of untapped potential surrounding the ethics and rights of owning a sentient being, and THIS was what I was interested in most.

Ultimately, The Mad Scientist's Daughter clearly just wasn't the book for me and my critiques are all reflective of my personal biases. I do still maintain that Cassandra Rose Clarke is a great writer with a talent for enduring romances. I also really enjoyed the subtle world building and the fact that it was light on the science fiction elements. I believe that there are many people that would enjoy and appreciate The Mad Scientist's Daughter more than I did and I hope it finds its audience. Recommended for romance and robot sex enthusiasts.

Other Reviews:
More Than Just Magic
The Nocturnal Library
Sarah Elizabeth's Bookshelf

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Review: The Assassin's Curse (The Assassin's Curse #1) by Cassandra Rose Clarke

Publisher: Strange Chemistry
Published: October 2, 2012
Pages: 320
Source: For Review from Strange Chemistry
Rating: 5 Stars

Ananna of the Tanarau abandons ship when her parents try to marry her off to an allying pirate clan: she wants to captain her own boat, not serve as second-in-command to her handsome yet clueless fiance. But her escape has dire consequences when she learns the scorned clan has sent an assassin after her.
And when the assassin, Naji, finally catches up with her, things get even worse. Ananna inadvertently triggers a nasty curse — with a life-altering result. Now Ananna and Naji are forced to become uneasy allies as they work together to break the curse and return their lives back to normal. Or at least as normal as the lives of a pirate and an assassin can be.

In short: With an instantly compelling plot, loveable characters, and a completely engaging romance, The Assassin's Curse by Cassandra Rose Clarke is one of the most engrossing books I've read this year.

Assassins seem to be the hot new trend in YA fiction lately, with the popularity of books like Grave Mercy and Throne of Glass, and it's no question why when such an addition brings instant danger and excitement to the reading. So what do you get when you have an assassin book, but then also add pirates and magical curses and an adventurous quest into the mix? Pure AWESOMENESS and one of the most addicting books I've read this year. The Assassin's Curse delivers on the entertainment with an incredibly compelling plot and some completely engaging characters.

The standout of The Assassin's Curse for me has got to be the romance between the pirate, Ananna, and the assassin, Naji. And I think that says A LOT because I am by no means a romance fan. In fact, I can't remember the last time I felt so passionately about how a romance played out in a book. But with Ananna and Naji's relationship, I was fully invested. I loved seeing stubborn and head-strong Ananna fall for Naji, adored her attempts to wheedle out the teensiest of smiles out of his stoic and vulnerable demeanour, swooned seeing how protective he was of her, and became ENRAGED seeing the flirty and manipulative Leila mislead and take advantage of Naji. I was OBSESSED with Ananna and Naji's relationship and I can't wait to see it fully take form in the sequel.

The Assassin's Curse opens with Ananna refusing to go along with an arranged marriage that would mean she would never get to be the captain of her own ship and making her getaway on a freaking CAMEL! It was instant love. I absolutely DEVOURED The Assassin's Curse, it was just THAT engrossing. The characters were perfect and the romance was full of tension-ridden goodness. I HIGHLY recommend The Assassin's Curse, releasing October 2, 2012, as it was one of my favourite reads so far this year. The sequel, The Pirate's Wish, is officially one of my most anticipated reads for 2013!

Other Reviews:
Booknook
Paranormal Indulgence
Planet Print

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