User Reviews
Rating: really liked it
It’s been a while since I’ve fallen so hard for a novel, but Bonnie Wynne’s debut swept me off my feet and refused to put me back down. Written in stunning prose, The Ninth Sorceress is a breathtaking book that’s brimming with worldbuilding you can almost touch, and a diverse cast of morally grey, but loveable characters.
This novel feels like ‘classic’ fantasy: epic adventures, magic and dark forces, as well as a beautifully crafted coming-of-age narrative. I can’t speak highly enough of this title. Would 100% recommend it to those who loved The Name of the Wind and The Queen’s Poisoner.
Rating: really liked it
WOW, I'm so surprised by this book! I really feel happy for having decided to read it.
It's a super entertaining fantasy with so many plot twists that keeps you hooked from minute one. I really like and appreciate the details that the author has put in this book in such a unique way and make it stand out from the rest.
It has a solid beginning, well-created characters and a captivating plot that's becoming more and more twisted. Maybe it has some details and situations that I 'd have changed or I'd have liked to have happened differently, but it's a super personal opinion, from my point of view, and I'll tell you more about it.
4/5 ⭐⭐⭐⭐
You can find more reviews and more content in my blog A Book. A Thought. It all begins in a dark cell inside the Mechanical City where they have imprisoned a young woman who will be the one who tells us this story, a story that follows Gwyn, a 17-year-old girl who lives in a traveling house with her caregiver through the Kingdom selling positions. She doesn't know much about her past or where she comes from, she only knows Acepis, the person who took her out from the streets and took care of her all her life. But one day everything changes for her when she discovers that she's wanted by the goddess Beheret and is there when she is introduced to a world she doesn't know, of chained gods and dark magic. With fearsome wizards and fierce hounds behind her, Gwyn must learn to survive while she meets a group of people who are willing to protect her. And while discovering her true identity, she must also take charge of a heavy destiny. I had a huge nostalgia feeling with this book because
reminds me a lot to old fantasy books, especially Harry Potter & City of Bones, you know when the "chosen one" must learn to use his powers and there's a lot of his life that they ignore and are almost thrown into a world full of dangers, and all this made it super fun. It has a super solid beginning, and one of my favorite things is that, in fact, the story as such is told by someone who you don't know who he is and then gradually reveals himself. I think that detail gives a whole new atmosphere to the book, super interesting, mysterious and intriguing as well.
I also like that the Wizards are like the "villains" of the story, not their totality, but the majority of them are a threat to our main character and that's something quite original for me. There are also
shapeshifters, which I adore,
it's always a good addition, I find it fascinating it's a type of magic that I enjoy seeing and also handles hundreds of possibilities for the plot. And then we also have
many ranks within the magic itself, but
I think it's worth highlighting the necromancy since I think it's one of the most interesting and dark branches to explore, and that topic is touched a lot in the book.
I think that, at the beginning,
it was very atmospheric and very beautiful, the places where the plot takes place are really nice, but
I think while the development of the world progress it's super confusing for me, I like the map and I know that it's very thought out, it just didn't resonate much with me. There are too many mentions of places that you don't know during the story or where you never go or just go through a place and has a super complicated name and at that moment I found myself lost, even so,
I know and I feel that this could be something amazing, so if you like world buildings, this could be a very interesting one to visit, although complex.I like the writing style a lot,
it's always a breath of fresh air when a writer gives you a plot that shows that it's complex but at the same time, it's well explained and easy to read despite being a very complete fantasy in all the senses. I would very much like to read more by the author in the future.
I think that one of the negative points, or at least not resonated with me, was almost towards the ending when more things begin to be revealed about the origins of the magic as such and the birth of the gods. On the one hand, I think the idea is great, I personally love when there are gods in books, but this time I felt that it was a lot of information for a single book and more when it's the beginning of a series.
It's difficult to keep all that information while many things are happening with many characters, at times it feels recharged and can make you feel overwhelmed, you know?. I loved the idea, though, that's not the problem, but in a book that has a plot with so many twists and so many stories, I think it might have been more prudent to go slower and not throw all the information in the first book. I liked the characters, especially
Acepis, that although it has little protagonist,
I usually love this type of character who are caregivers and masters who sacrifice themselves for others, I think it's very noble and I admire that. I like
Gwyn,
I think her decisions are decisions that I would make myself, I feel that she's easy to love and is a reasonable and quite mature person for her age, especially for all the super complicated situations that must happen, find out who she is, her relatives and the danger, is a lot for a young girl and she knew how to handle it quite well. With mistakes and everything, is a good main character that promises a lot of growth. There are many characters so I'll try to talk about the main ones: We have
Faolan,
he's like a necromancer master and at the beginning, I didn't like him very much, I was distrustful of him all the time, but in the end, I think he's a good character since he contributes a lot to the plot.
Lucian's great and
I enjoyed his relationship with Gwyn because although you know that there could be something happening there, never feels forced and is such a kind relationship of respect that I liked a lot, for now, I can say that it's a beautiful friendship.
Idris is a super mysterious character that will surely have thousands of secrets yet to know, I don't want to talk much about him because I think the fun thing is to find out who he is and what his role in the story is.
Ygriel's participation was super confusing at first, he appears in dreams and gives a lot of mystery to the plot and expectations of knowing who he is and what he will do,
is very well created, although I think he needed more development as a character. In general, I think everyone is solid and everyone can grow in the following books, without a doubt.
So, it's a great story, it's about discovering who you are and what your role in life is, it's also about family and that it will always be the one we choose for us and those who support us. There's a lot of magic going on, gods with incredible powers and a highly political side of a fairly tyrant city. I think it's a great adventure and that it's very worth discovering more about it while you read, it's full of twists and never stops bringing new things to the spotlight, so without a doubt, is an author that will surprise you in the future. I highly recommend it if you like the "chosen one" plot, if you like to explore different types of magic, blood magic, black magic and so on, if you like political intrigue and especially if you want to discover many hidden secrets behind a dangerous and crazy family lineage First Thoughts | 01-05-20
I enjoyed it a lot, in fact, much more than I thought I would!! It's such an entertaining fantasy with lots of adventure and interesting twists. I rememeber lot of my favorite fantasy series reading this one and now I can't wait for the next book! 😊👏🏻
Rating: really liked it
Gwyn was only seventeen, but her very existence brought fear to magic users. Could it be the powers she has always suppressed? Has the life she has known been a lie? Is she meant to stand tall and take charge of her destiny and the destiny of the world around her?
Elegant writing that colors the atmosphere pulls readers in slowly, but once that hook is set, this s a totally engaging tale rich in details. From the beginning, there is a feel of a story waiting to unfold, which it does without rushing, allowing readers to savor each event from the past to the present, while knowing that the future could be explosive!
The characters are well-fleshed out as good takes another stand against evil and one girl will discover who she was meant to be. Fantasy lovers will enjoy the buildup, the adventure and the seemingly insurmountable odds against Gwyn.
I received a complimentary ARC edition from Talem Press! This is my honest and voluntary review.
Series: The Price of Magic - Book 1
Publisher: Talem Press; 1 edition (February 3, 2020)
Publication Date: February 3, 2020
Genre: Fantasy Saga
Print Length: 360 pages
Available from: Amazon
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Rating: really liked it
Really enjoyed this book! Hard to believe it is the authors first!
Beautiful writing + world building that I wish was allowed the time to go slower especially towards the end where the histories and the magic system were explained. But nonetheless! Excellent debut, rekindled my love of fantasy after being in a fantasy rut!
Rating: really liked it
I got bored and quit reading. The writing is really good--word choice, sentence flow, apt metaphors etc. But I got tired of the main character's role as victim-who-doesn't-understand and keeps asking the same questions over and over, questions are are answered ambiguously just before another action scene forces more fleeing and running about. I just felt like I had read this book before.
Rating: really liked it
I was caught up in the story right from the start and loved everything about this book! It was all done so well, the world building, magic system, characters, were all interesting and engrossing. I can't wait for the next in the series...
Rating: really liked it
I received an advanced e-ARC from the publisher in exchange for an honest review. All thoughts are my own.
Probably the worst thing about reviewing advanced copies is that if you loved the book, you have to wait even longer for the next book in the series to come out - and this is my pain right now.
This book is AMAZING! I’ve been in a slump again for what has felt like forever, but The Ninth Sorceress has given me back what I had been missing for the past few months - my love for books and most importantly, my love for a damn bloody good fantasy.
We follow our main protagonist Gwyn through past and present situations - the novel starts off with her a prisoner and throughout the book we follow how she got there and also have chapters into the present again reminding us, the readers, that Gwyn is a captive.
I really really LOVED Gwyn, she was naïve due to her sheltered upbringing- a very intentional one-, but also so very strong. She trusts easily which sees her put in some interesting situations (aka a prisoner) - however, I didn’t find myself annoyed at her for her decisions. In other novels when the protagonist has been naïve and led to frustrating and bad situations I’d really be peeved off at the protagonist. But not in this case, I honestly felt so bonded to Gwyn throughout the whole novel that when her naivety come to play, I honestly felt for her and would have made the same decisions as her.
Whilst Gwyn does make “friends” throughout the novel, and we learn more about them and come to love most of them, the novel is really about Gwyn and her journey. It doesn’t get side-tracked by romance or complicated friendships, and for once I didn’t mind the lack of romance - I actually enjoyed it.
Goddesses (it’s never a good thing when Gods are involved), magic, necromancers (YES FROM ME!) corruption, secrets and lies set the scene in this novel and it packs a punch throughout it. The world building by Bonnie has been exceptionally done, the visualisation of each chapter played out in my head easily (this is a big must for me with any book – how can I fall in love with a book if I cannot picture it in my head!).
To say I loved the magic/sorcery in this book is an understatement. I thrived on it – I need MORE of it! It was fascinating and as readers we’ve only scratched the surface of what part it will play in this saga – one thing is for sure, a bloody big part.
The plot flowed so well, that I honestly would flick through pages with a dying need to know what happened next.
Whilst it did take me a little bit to get through the book, it wasn’t because of the book - it was my life. If I could have binged this book I honestly would have, I will honestly shut myself away when the next book comes out so I can binge it and then be sad that I finished it so quickly haha.
The Ninth Sorceress is a book that all fantasy lovers need in their life.
Bonnie has absolutely killed it in her debut novel and has left me wanting and needing more from this series and I honestly cannot wait to see what happens in the next book - I need more Gwyn in my life! (especially after that ending!!)
The countdown is on!
Rating: really liked it
DNF @321 pages
All those lovely 4 and 5 star ratings had me almost slavering to read this book. Boy, was I disappointed!
The first annoyance whacked me between the eyes when, once again, the word 'smirk' is used in the wrong context (smirk has vindictive connotations and should never be used as a synonym for smile or grin). The second incongruity is the complete lack of evidence of any kind of meaningful relationship between Gwyn and Ascepis (or between Gwyn and anyone else, for that matter). Instead, we are given a series of verbal interactions that are meant to serve as an indicator of relationships but which fail dismally.
Indeed, I found Gwyn to be irritatingly self-absorbed, self-righteous and afflicted with a sense of entitlement that she has no right to, most notably in Chapter 21, where she is being sheltered in Idris’ home and demands to know what is in the cellar, in the belief that ‘she had every right to be there’. Yikes, talk about arrogant!
What finally killed the story for me was when Gwyn is instructed by Faolan to remove her clothing before she’s supposed to climb into a tub of icy water; an attack of prudishness has her declaring “I am absolutely not going to take off my clothes” before this utter dimwit climbs into the water WITHOUT REMOVING HER BOOTS! I kid you not!!
There’s a lot more, but I don’t think I want to waste any further time on a book that I haven’t enjoyed. That being said, I commend the author for having had the courage to tackle a writing project of this size.
Rating: really liked it
You know what’s so great about the world of books? The fact that you will never run out of amazing books to read. Picking up my advanced proof copy of The Ninth Sorceress by Bonnie Wynne proved just that.
The first thing I noticed about Wynne’s book is her beautiful writing style. As an author myself, it made me want to be a better writer. Her sentences are like rich, delicious chocolate. Smooth, moreish, enticing. And her storytelling is much the same – I could hardly put this book down! Only when forced, my friends, only when forced.
Wynne’s story is a grand adventure, pure and true. The moment I opened the book, I was lost in the world she had created. I loved the opening too because it created so much intrigue. Peppered throughout the novel are snippets from the present day and I loved making the connections and trying to figure out what was going to happen. When the arc of the first book came together at the end, I was dying to know more!
It’s books like these that make me love reading.
This book is out next month and it is essential you put it on your Goodreads TBR list.
Plus, it has a STUNNING cover and needless to say it will make excellent #bookstagram photos 😉
Rating: really liked it
Hot damn!!!
I am so damn blown away by this amazing book!
I have never been so captivated by a book and so intrigued by an awesome cast of characters!
Bonnie writes in a way that paints a beautiful, vivid picture of the world and the characters inhabiting it, while maintaining a steady, gratifying pace.
Its been a long time since I have been this desperate to read the next book in the series!
Maybe not since Harry Potter as a child...
Please Bonnie, please let it be soon!
Rating: really liked it
This book was highly anticipated, and it definitely did not disappoint! A beautifully written, sweeping fantasy that drew me in from the first words on the page! What a brilliant debut. Can't wait for the rest of the series!
Rating: really liked it
Hello obsession. I am finally writing this review because I think this series deserves more than what it's getting. I never really thought I was a good judge of a book. If I finish a book and continue the series then it's a good book but I never really thought that why I happened to like a book was worth writing a review. However, I just read a review from someone who gave this book 2 stars because the author used "smirk" the wrong way and the main character was annoying. So maybe I can do this...
I started reading this series when the third book came out. I really thought that I hated it. I thought that it was too confusing and left me with too many questions. But that's why I continued reading the series. It had this mysterious ancient history angle that reeled me in. I thought the third book was the end but nope. It's an unfinished quintet and all of the books end with cliffhangers. When I found out that I had to wait for two more books, I was so mad and I think that's why I thought I hated the series. I needed this mystery solved and I'm an impatient brat. I was, and still am, certifiably obsessed. When I first finished the 4th book, An Echo Through The Veil, I was still upset because I didn't think that it answered enough questions. But then I started picking the series apart. I spent this last week going through the series from the beginning and putting all of the pieces together. If you're familiar with It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia and the Pepe Silvia conspiracy, that's me (still me). I even went to the author's website and joined the mailing list so I could get a download of the prequel novella, The Eighth Sorceress. It's not super necessary to understand the plot but it really helped me connect some dots. I hope my theories are validated in the fifth book. (Or maybe there will be another prequel novella before the fifth book!?)
The first book in this series lays a solid foundation for the rest of the series. The things that I loved about it besides the mysterious ancient history:
- The world building was explained by traveling to different places
- No royalty and politics involved
- There was no impending war with some evil neighboring kingdom to take up the entire plotline of the series. This trope is just so predictable
- The determination of the main character. My girl Gywn grows through so much through the series and damn she's not perfect but she tries so hard and for that I am proud of her.
Overall, I love this series. Yes, it's a bit confusing but pay attention and persevere because it does get explained further down the line. If you don't like it because it doesn't answer any questions then continue reading the rest of the books. If you don't like it because of how the author writes then get over it and move on.
Rating: really liked it
Having finish with this book, I am absolutely livid with it. Why? Because it was so. Darn. Good. I mean, the unholy child of Sabriel and Prince of Thorns (taking more after mother) kind of good. The kind of good that had me going - wait, I'm not reading it but I'm
thinking about it
all the time sort of good. Plus the cover; a pretty like that never hurts. A few niggles might have meant it wasn't the fivest-star 5 star thing I ever read ever, but
dang this books has got this plot driven fantasy business
down.
I get the feeling anyone looking for your usual YA fantasy won't find what they're looking for here, but that doesn't mean there's not plenty to love if you're in the mood for something less character and more world/plot centric.
I'm just so mad it was so good... And so sad it's part 1 of a planned 5 in a (currently - 2021) unfinished series. It could also do with a dash more character/relationship time, and a smidge of explanation to the world lore, but hey, I'm picky.
It's the story of Gwyn, a seventeen year old girl who lives with a travelling alchemist in a land where magic is highly regulated by the jealous Syndicate of mancers (or "wizards" if you want to be delightfully colloquial). Not that she or her mentor have anything to worry about in that regard, until suddenly mancers are appearing everywhere and they're looking for a girl like Gwyn. She has to put her faith in shapeshifter Lucian and the renegade necromancer Faolan to get her to the safety offered by a mystery man named Idris, avoiding the deadly magics and the rumours of vengeful gods that plague their journey. She must learn to master the magic sleeping inside her, and discover just how she came to be who - and what - she is.
The prologue harks to events after the story and starts us off on a dark note, which for me was an instant attention grabber. Those future interludes happen at times during the narrative to provide us with the perfect level of foreshadowing of things to come.
I won't lie and say Gwyn comes across as the most interesting of characters; in fact, the characters aren't exactly the stars of the show in the way a lot of YA fantasy novels insist they should be. They drive the plot without needing to stop for witty banter or snarking matches; one slightly awkward comment aside whereby Gwyn "notices" Lucian's chest, there isn't even a hint of YA romance that usually sets my eyes rolling. The focus is the story with the characters being only as built up as they need to be without feeling shallow or disappointing. Faolan's probably the strongest side character presence, if just because he's built up to be an unlikable person, though perhaps hiding a bit of gold inside that blackened heart of his. He's mean, but he has his reasons for being the way he is. I also really loved that Gwyn isn't an off-puttingly hormonal, bratty teen. Contrary at times, yes, but otherwise she's just... A person. She learns things, but never becomes an over-powered Mary Sue. Definitely a female character of the strong (well, strong-ish in terms of always being herself - she does get swept along by events rather than cause them) persuasion, but there's nothing about her that made me think a male reader would huff about this being a "girl" sort of book. Because honestly, it's not.
The world reminded me strongly of Mark Lawrence's Broken Empire: cold, nordic vibes with hints of earlier civilisations that are more advanced than you'd have thought. The "gods" too have something of the grimdark about them, even if the lands of the Ninth Sorceress aren't as on-screen brutal or adult. In tone, it's a lot more Sabriel. Descriptions are spot on, and there's plenty of lore to get your head around.
However, it was the world building that was where I had some problems. A few things aren't explained very well (such as when Gwyn first comments on "the Pyramid" and, other than assuming it's some kind of pyramid-shaped thing, I had no idea what it was (view spoiler)
[not to mention later how she knows the Well is, well, The Well, and I didn't remember being told about the inside of the Pyramid ever (hide spoiler)]), and the backstory of why the gods might have something to do with Gwyn's situation seemed to have a number of holes that I couldn't believe no one made note of. (view spoiler)
[For example, why did Nimet have to kill all the Scions? Why did it have to be done by binding them to Behemet? How did that even work? What were Behemet's powers that allowed for this to happen? And what was the all important blood curse? I had no idea why Behemet reacted the way she did to Gwyn's presumed "taint" in the end. (hide spoiler)] Gwyn herself also suffered from a bit of confusion about things. Her feelings about her miserly mentor Faolan could be a bit flip-flopped: magic is evil and he's a monster despite us seeing him doing some good things to help her, then later when he's doing some incredibly questionable things she's decided he's alright, until later on he's a monster again. She knows mancers are magic-users, but later queries if they're the same thing as "wizards". She knows nothing about magic, yet knows something about the lore surrounding the gods and sorceresses... But fails to share it with us (see "the Pyramid"). I hate to say it, but a basic fantasy glossary of gods and magic schools (those details wouldn't spoil anything) would have been a boon, because I couldn't keep track of who or what was why and how!
But the writing is darn captivating, and this from someone who looks for books based on character more often then plot. Simmering tension keeps the slower pace manageable, and each chapter made me want to know just that little bit more. Later on I'm not sure it felt quite as strong, what with the things that had me confused turning out to be very important to events and a few things feeling a bit rushed. (view spoiler)
[Also major disappointment at the big "showdown" that never happened. Beheret just... dies? Ygriel just... MIA presumed dead? Gwyn's in The Well one minute, the next wandering the halls in a haze and we don't get to know what happened. (hide spoiler)]The end, of course, is a to be continued. If I'd known it wasn't a finished series, I probably would have held off because it's such a complex amount of lore to keep in mind I was forgetting it while reading.
For all my complaints, I would wholeheartedly recommend this mildly grimdark YA gem to anyone who loves a good slow-boil plot without all the trendy YA trappings - basically, you want a good story that could be read by anyone YA and up with a twisted take on the usual fantasy world of myths and legends, this is it.
Rating: really liked it
Firstly, I'm so glad to see more Aussie fantasy YA out there (we've had some great contemporaries in recent years, but we can always use more fantasy). The first half of this book was incredible... this felt like it was building up to be a darker than usual take on many of the usual YA fantasy tropes, and I was rooting for Gwyn to both literally and figuratively throw off the shackles and take charge of her own destiny. I thought the divisions within the magical community, and the blurred lines between white and black magic were fascinating, and expected them to be a key source of tension moving forward.
Unfortunately, things petered out (or alternatively, ramped up) in the second half - there were constantly new villains, and new forms of magic to be mastered, and I suddenly felt a bit overwhelmed and like this book had lost sight of its core story. I was honestly struggling to keep track of who everyone was and all the various place names for a while there... I also felt like this book needed to show, rather than tell us, about the bonds between various characters. For example, (view spoiler)
[Gwyn literally gives up a year of her life in bondage to save Acepis' life (hide spoiler)] and then barely thinks about him again.
Finally, this book ends with a lot of plot points forgotten/as yet unresolved, but I'm not sure if I'm engaged enough with the characters to read the sequel (I'm on the fence at this point), which is always a frustrating place to be in, especially when this book started off so well.
Rating: really liked it
Phenomenal world building wasted on a bland main character. Gwyn. Poor thing. Never had a moment of real agency.
Gwyn has spent her life on the road with her guardian, Acepis. She's kept in complete ignorance about her parents, and about pretty much everything else. The one time she disobeys her guardian, she gets beaten back into submission (not by him). No making decisions for Gwyn! The narrative wants to keep Gwyn in line so she can puppet through the plot.
The world building is really good. There are the wizards who want to maintain their power at any cost. Different gods and goddesses who turn out to be something else. There are all the people who want to protect Gwyn by keeping secrets, and telling lies. For her own good, of course. Secrets and lies are always a good idea when you're trying to keep someone safe.
How the magic in this universe works turned out to be very interesting. I would have loved to have seen more of the machinations of the Scions. More of the wizards. More of pretty much everyone but Gwyn. *sigh*
