Showing posts with label the vespertine. Show all posts
Showing posts with label the vespertine. Show all posts

Apr 22, 2012

The Springsweet, by Saundra Mitchell

The Springsweet, by Saundra Mitchell
(The Vespertine, #2)
Author Info: Website | Twitter | Youtube
Publisher: Harcourt Children's
Release Date: April 17, 2012
Hardcover: 275 pages
Genre: Young Adult - Historical Fiction
Buy: Amazon
Read it in: 3 days
Source: Publisher
Challenge: None
Rating: Photobucket
Shelf WorthyRecommend FavoriteTo learn more about my rating badges, click here!
Heartbroken over the tragic death of her fiancĂ©, seventeen-year-old Zora Stewart leaves Baltimore for the frontier town of West Glory, Oklahoma, to help her young widowed aunt keep her homestead going. There she discovers that she possesses the astonishing ability to sense water under the parched earth. When her aunt hires her out as a "springsweet” to advise other settlers where to dig their wells, Zora feels the burden of holding the key to something so essential to survival in this unforgiving land. Even more, she finds herself longing for love the way the prairie thirsts for water. Maybe, in the wildness of the territories, Zora can finally move beyond simply surviving and start living.
I was really excited to spring back into this world after reading The Vespertine, even though I didn't absolutely love the first book. Also, with the ending, I was kind of upset when I found out that Amelia wouldn't be the narrator in this book, but also a bit intrigued. I really liked Zora in the first book.

After a while, I got sucked in. Zora changed a lot since the first book, due to her loss, but I really like the change in her. I was really sad for her in the beginning of the book, but after a while she met two guys who could potentially be the one after Thomas.

When I wasn't reading this book, I was thinking about it. Historical Romance is definitely one of my favorite genres now. I've liked what I've read of Historical Romance, but I haven't read that much of it, but I definitely will be now! I love the late 1800s, with all the courting and seasons. It's so romantic! Imagine if we were back in that time period and a kiss was either a ruin or a way of marking someone as your own. Sealing your fate with a kiss! It's so romantic! Gah!

The writing and descriptions were so beautiful. They painted a vivid picture in my mind and I was so sucked in that I didn't even see anything in the world around me! The chapters are so long it seems, but so much happens and the book seems longer than 275 pages, which isn't a bad thing. It as really good with this book!

I want more! I want more Zora and Emerson, and I'm so happy with the last line on the book! But at the same time I was like, "IT CAN'T END LIKE THIS!!". I'm really looking forward to what is going to happen in the third book. There isn't a summary or anything yet on it, so I'll definitely be looking out for that, but I really hope it's with Amelia and Zora! If it's another narrator, I think I may cry and be very upset.

Zora is definitely my favorite of the two! And gah, I'm so intrigued by these random magics that are in these books. In the first book, Amelia has a gift of seeing into the future at sunset, and in this book Zora finds an infinity for water, which is AWESOME. And another special someone, I'm not saying who, has an infinity for the earth and can make flowers, and gardens grow!

Overall, this was a really great book. I really enjoyed it and I'm very eager to find out about the third book. I wish it was out. I don't have the luxury of finishing one and starting on the next anymore. If you like historical romance, this is definitely the series for you! =)
The third and final book in this series is called Aetherborne, it is set to release in 2013
Read my review for the first book in this series:



Apr 19, 2012

The Vespertine, by Saundra Mitchell

The Vespertine, by Saundra Mitchell
(The Vespertine, #1)
Author Info:Website | Twitter | Youtube
Publisher: Harcourt Children's
Release Date: March 7, 2011
ARC: 293 pages
Genre: Young Adult - Historical Fiction
Buy: Amazon
Read it in: 5 days
Source: Own
Challenge: Off the Shelf, TBR PileABC Reading,
Rating: Photobucket
Shelf WorthyRecommendTo learn more about my rating badges, click here!
It’s the summer of 1889, and Amelia van den Broek is new to Baltimore and eager to take in all the pleasures the city has to offer. But her gaiety is interrupted by disturbing, dreamlike visions she has only at sunset—visions that offer glimpses of the future. Soon, friends and strangers alike call on Amelia to hear her prophecies. However, a forbidden romance with Nathaniel, an artist, threatens the new life Amelia is building in Baltimore. This enigmatic young man is keeping secrets of his own—still, Amelia finds herself irrepressibly drawn to him. When one of her darkest visions comes to pass, Amelia’s world is thrown into chaos. And those around her begin to wonder if she’s not the seer of dark portents, but the cause. 
Although I thoroughly enjoyed this novel, and I really liked it, but I didn't love it. It is definitely a very intriguing book, but it wasn't one that I'm very excited to say, "OMG, this was amazing!". I find this book very hard to review and definitely very hard to rate. I was stuck in between rating is 3 and 4 stars, so maybe this book is really a 3.5.

The plotline was very intriguing. A historical romance with a twist of something that is paranormal. The main character, Amelia, can see into the future at sunset; or as she calls them, Vespers. I found it kind of confusing at times, because it would show her in Baltimore with Zora, but then it would switch--forward?--to her back with her brother, August, and her being ruined. It was confusing, but then in the end I think I got it.

But the characters were really interesting. I liked Amelia and Zora, though half the time I was like, "Go get Nathanial and Thomas already!!" but with their society, they couldn't exactly do that. That would suck living in their time! But at the same time, it's so romantic!

Nathanial was kind of weird. He was there, and then he was gone, POOF! Which was explained after a little while, but I never really understood how he did that. Another paranormal twist? I really liked Thomas, though, he was sweet and proper.

Overall, it is a great historical fiction novel. Not my favorite, but fun to read and very intriguing. I'm currently a chapter into the sequel now! I'm glad to be back in their world. I hope my review helped, though it was short and I couldn't really describe much! =)

The sequel is called The Springsweet. It was released on April 17, 2012. 


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