FAITHFUL
Author: Michelle HauckSeries: Birth of Saints #2
Source: Copy courtesy of Publisher
Publisher: Harper Voyager
Publication Date: November 15, 2016
Rating: 3/5 stars
Summary:
Following Grudging--and with a mix of Terry Goodkind and Bernard Cornwall--religion, witchcraft, and chivalry war in Faithful, the exciting next chapter in Michelle Hauck's Birth of Saints series!
A world of Fear and death…and those trying to save it.
Colina Hermosa has burned to the ground. The Northern invaders continue their assault on the ciudades-estados. Terror has taken hold, and those that should be allies betray each other in hopes of their own survival. As the realities of this devastating and unprovoked war settles in, what can they do to fight back?
On a mission of hope, an unlikely group sets out to find a teacher for Claire, and a new weapon to use against the Northerners and their swelling army.
What they find instead is an old woman.
But she’s not a random crone—she’s Claire’s grandmother. She’s also a Woman of the Song, and her music is both strong and horrible. And while Claire has already seen the power of her own Song, she is scared of her inability to control it, having seen how her magic has brought evil to the world, killing without reason or remorse. To preserve a life of honor and light, Ramiro and Claire will need to convince the old woman to teach them a way so that the power of the Song can be used for good. Otherwise, they’ll just be destroyers themselves, no better than the Northerners and their false god, Dal. With the annihilation their enemy has planned, though, they may not have a choice.
A tale of fear and tragedy, hope and redemption, Faithful is the harrowing second entry in the Birth of Saints trilogy.
Purchase:
Disclaimer: I received a free copy of this book and chose to review it. This in no way impacts my opinions.
So I have mixed feelings about this one. Because I really liked GRUDGING and was glad that I had access to the second book right away, but I was meh about reading FAITHFUL. In fact, I put it down for a while before I continued and ended up finishing it. But I am excited to see where the story leads to and will definitely be picking up STEADFAST!
I still really liked all the characters this time around, but I never felt as though they really grew from the first book to this one. There were some instances of "change" for them, but it wasn't enough for me to really get behind the new choices that they made. I thought that Claire and Ramiro were especially stagnant but that allowed some of the "minor" characters to flourish. I really liked seeing more of Father Telo in this one, especially his choices throughout.
But where in the first book having access to multiple POVs really fleshed out the story and gave urgency to the situation at hand, it seemed that the POVs in this one just bogged us down with too much information. There was no real sense of impending doom until the second half of the book which made the first half drag on for me. If there had been more urgent matters or more of a threat from the Northerners in the first half, I would have liked this one more for sure.
However, it was so interesting to learn more about their religion and culture. I think that there is still a lot more to learn, but the glimpses we got in this one were so intriguing that the last 30% of the book flew by for me. I really like how complex the Northern characters are and the choices they make really keep you on your toes. I like that there is uncertainty to what will happen next.
I guess my main issue is that the characters felt as though they weren't really growing and that it took too long to get into things. But I am really excited to see how this series ends and I will definitely be picking up a copy of STEADFAST as soon as I can!
I still really liked all the characters this time around, but I never felt as though they really grew from the first book to this one. There were some instances of "change" for them, but it wasn't enough for me to really get behind the new choices that they made. I thought that Claire and Ramiro were especially stagnant but that allowed some of the "minor" characters to flourish. I really liked seeing more of Father Telo in this one, especially his choices throughout.
But where in the first book having access to multiple POVs really fleshed out the story and gave urgency to the situation at hand, it seemed that the POVs in this one just bogged us down with too much information. There was no real sense of impending doom until the second half of the book which made the first half drag on for me. If there had been more urgent matters or more of a threat from the Northerners in the first half, I would have liked this one more for sure.
However, it was so interesting to learn more about their religion and culture. I think that there is still a lot more to learn, but the glimpses we got in this one were so intriguing that the last 30% of the book flew by for me. I really like how complex the Northern characters are and the choices they make really keep you on your toes. I like that there is uncertainty to what will happen next.
I guess my main issue is that the characters felt as though they weren't really growing and that it took too long to get into things. But I am really excited to see how this series ends and I will definitely be picking up a copy of STEADFAST as soon as I can!
I enjoyed this review, and have added this to my want to read list!! Very nicely done-thank you!
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What a nice review! Glad you got back to the book and can't wait to hear what you think about STEADFAST.
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