*Originally reviewed at Witchmag's Boekenplank*
Finally a book that grabbed my attention! It’s a fresh look on the main character who ends up in a new world, although the beginning reminded me a bit of Alice in Wonderland, minus rabbit ^^ We also have unusual elves, which makes it even more interesting. Although the age difference is something you’ll have to overlook… otherwise it’d be a little creepy ^^
The new world that Janine Spendlove creates is, despite some clichés, breath-taking. Even the situation Story (okay, not a big fan of the name…) finds herself in is a cliché, you know, prophecy, chosen one, saving the day and such, but it’s twisted in such a way that it turned into something new and interesting. And that’s something I love: take all the well-known elements, mix them together and create something new, that’s also familiar. Those are my favorite books to read ^^
Eirnin and Story are great together, exactly how I like my two main characters. At first they can’t stand each other and we have lots and lot of bickering. But they eventually open up and slowly but steadily…. yeah you got what I mean, right? Another plus is Story and her almost complete lack of swooning over Eirnin. It’s a relief to just read about love without anyone turning into an obsessed being / stalker. Story is too down to earth for that. Although she has the tendency to over-think. And I could totally see myself in her, I’m also an over-thinker, so Story and I bonded quite easily ^^
There’s also a time and place for Story to cope with her sorrow, the sorrow for her lost family. As the story continues you can feel how little by little she’s able to cope, to let go. To give it a place. It’s not always handled this gradually and naturally. I’ve read books where this process was herky-jerky. At the start they can’t live without said person and after a couple of crying fits, they are ready to move on with their happy life. That’s not how it works, so this book was a welcome change.
The only part I was not so happy with was the ending. If this book was a stand alone, I wouldn’t have had a problem with it, but this is book is part of a series. Usually there’s a cliffhanger, or at least an attempt at one, at the ending of the book. Just to raise your curiosity for reading the next one. But I didn’t get that feeling at all with The Human. Everything was neatly solved, there were no loose ends and no cliffhanger. Well there’s something you could define as an attempt at one, but that did not appear clearly. And it didn’t raise any curiosity to read the next book. For me this story is finished, even though I quite liked it.
Conclusion
3 HEARTS. It’s a refreshing and compelling story. It has some clichés, but they are given a nice, fun twist. It was very nice to read about Eirnin and Story, they have some chemistry there ^^The only thing that I liked less was the ending. It failed to raise any curiosity for the next book. For me this story has ended now.
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