Finnikin of the Rock (Lumatere Chronicles, #1) in And So It Begins Reading Challenge

Mar 30, 2013 Skip rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: fantasy, e-books

Finnikin, son of the head of the King's Guard, has been in exile for a decade with Sir Topher, the King's First Man. After the violent takeover of his birthplace, Lumatere, by a usurper, a curse by a priestess has effectively shut Lumatere from the outside world, dividing its people. Finnikin meets a mysterious young woman, Evanjalin, in a monastery, who claims that Finnikin's boyhood friend Balthazar, heir to the throne, is alive, and she forces Finnikin to confront his destiny, by rescuing his ...more

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Mar 28, 2010 Nicole rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Definitely more like 4 1/2 stars. It was a great story that constantly kept me interested and there were very few slow parts. Full review to come soon :)

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Ok so here's the full review:
I grew to love this story. At first I was wondering where it was going, but then it was all answered at the end. I read on some other reviews that in the beginning it's confusing with all the different places and I have to disagree... I mean there's a map in the front and the back, one of Lumater Definitely more like 4 1/2 stars. It was a great story that constantly kept me interested and there were very few slow parts. Full review to come soon :)

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Ok so here's the full review:
I grew to love this story. At first I was wondering where it was going, but then it was all answered at the end. I read on some other reviews that in the beginning it's confusing with all the different places and I have to disagree... I mean there's a map in the front and the back, one of Lumatere and the other of all the other places mentioned. I admit though that some of the writing was a little vague sometimes and so it was hard to understand what had just happened or what had been realized. But there were twists I didn't expect and a few I thought would happen but never did. Overall a very good story, though nothing really too special. I enjoyed the fact that it took place in a different world though, so that was refreshing.

***SPOILERS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!***

I was so glad to see a strong-willed woman character, the novice Evanjalin. She could obviously take care of herself, though she often got herself into trouble for other people. As the book went on, I started to think that maybe she was Isaboe, the supposedly dead sister, and that Balthazar was never alive. I'm not sure I believed he was ever alive. When the novice Evanjalin turned out to be the princess (well more like the queen. And she knew it the whole time!), I hate how much Finnikin acted like a jerk. She did everything for the benefit of the kingdom, and there was no way Finnikin would have let her continue on if he had known she was the queen. But I'm glad that in the end they were to be married and had saved the kingdom. Finnikin was a frustrating character, but I liked the way he finally realized he was meant to be with Evanjalin and only her. I'm also glad his father played a big part and that they were brought together by Evanjalin.

The only plot part that really bothered me was when Evanjalin and Finnikin's first kiss was from the point of view of Froi, whom we had not yet come to like. I wanted to know what was going through Finnikin's mind and could feel what he felt. I could care less about what Froi saw! But I've gotten past that and moved on with my life.

There's so many more things I'd like to say about this book but can't really put it into words. And I can't really justify why I gave it 4 1/2 stars, I just really liked it and had few problems with it. The romance was beautiful and I love the way it growed, though it was very frustrating at times. I also liked the way Froi grew up, and the way Trevanion would do anything for his son and anything for his kingdom and the fact that his lover Beatriss was still alive and he still loved her. I liked the way everyone was still able to love each other even after Lumatere had been through so much. I just really liked it and would definitely recommend it. ...more

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