A light, young adult fantasy read where prophecy and fairy tale collide.
I won an Amazon Kindle e-copy of this book in a Goodreads Giveaway and I am so grateful to be given the opportunity to read and review it!
That’s a mouthful, yeah?
This book is not a retelling or reimagining.. The author has created her own fairy tale within the pages of what is, in essence, a simple fantasy. Don’t get me wrong, there is more to it than that but, basically? It’s the kind of story you can easily follow along with without the typical onslaught of information you usually see in the first of a series.
Enjoy!
Warning: Spoilers Ahead!
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Cecilia: The Last Croilar Tier by Sandra L. Rostirolla
“In the absence of good, the can be no evil. For there can be nothing at all.” – St. Augustine (354-430 AD)
First line: The sun, fog, and canopy were at it again, quarreling over who to blame for the forest’s chilly morning air.
Life for Cecilia was blissfully normal.
A dreamer, she’s often lost in thought, captivated by fantastical stories of a flower princess who slays five-headed dragons. One day, however, is different. Her brothers come to her with fear in their eyes and news that soldiers have come.. Soon their small and peaceful village is overrun. The townspeople of Plokton are slaughtered before Cecilia’s eyes but, while the invaders are sparing young men, her brothers put themselves between her and the soldiers. She knows it may be the only opportunity they will have to survive, and so she runs, leaving the only family she has left behind.
After a very close call with one of the invaders, Cecilia becomes confused and unsure on how she managed to escape with her life, she knows should be dead. Could it be connected to the strange dream about a beautiful woman who spoke of impossible things, of prophecy, and a fate she does not yet understand?
She has to believe that her brothers are still alive and so she determines to follow the men who took them, save what’s left of her people, and return them home. But deadly obstacles await our young hero and the many things she doesn’t know about the world outside of her small town.. may just be her undoing.
Three and a Half Stars!
This book won’t be for everyone but.. it’s not bad either.
About the book:
After her home is destroyed, and her brothers taken by enemy soldiers, Cecilia decides there’s no point in remaining in the remains of her decimated village. Following the soldiers trail through the forest and ruined land, she realizes with increasing concern that the world is a much bigger, harsher place than she ever imagined.
Completely ignorant of the world outside of her forest, Cecilia knows little of the massive buildings that lay ravaged by the desert, nor the dangers present.
And when a chance encounter with a stranger leads to an incident that has them both saving each other’s lives.. Cecilia finds herself bound and held captive by this stranger for reasons that he doesn’t appear interested in sharing.
Where is he taking her and why? Why did these people invade and destroy her home? Could she use him to lead her safely to her brothers?
While confused dreams that she doesn’t understand plague her nights, they move ever closer to their destination and, while allies and friends are made along the way.. Will it be enough to overcome what awaits them at the end of their journey?
Overall:
Cecilia is young and lacking in maturity that is made up for with a quick mind and soft heart. I found her rather fanciful, prone to daydreaming, and refreshingly authentic. She does whine about quite a bit, which derailed some of my interest in her character but, in all fairness, she has no idea what the world outside of her village is actually like. She’s a genuinely good person but.. I still thought the stoic Amalardh is much more intriguing.
Amalardh is quiet, serious, and no nonsense. He’s patient with Cecilia and doesn’t act like you would normally think a man sent to kill you would.
This man, while rigid in his demeanor, didn’t feel cold. Rough? Yes, but his coarseness seemed to come from a place of discomfort as opposed to pleasure. He seemed to dislike not only her, but himself, and everything else. She was a burden he didn’t want, yet wouldn’t let go of.
The romance is mild. It never really takes over the storyline.. but it’s also not a sweeping, passionate love affair either. Personally? I felt that the romance was just enough to not get annoying.
Little moments show the vast difference in the two character’s way of life.
Whether it was the wrong done to Cecilia’s people or a sudden moment of clarity, Amalardh has made a decision that he will no longer follow “The Senators,” those in charge of the army who destroyed Cecilia’s home in the search for whomever wore the symbol of her people.
Anyone displaying signs of creativity or curiosity were viewed with great concern. The leaders played up these things as a sign of a brain dysfunction. Symptomatic individuals were sent for counseling. In some cases, it worked; in others, the Citizen did not change. Over time, the need to amplify the seriousness of the condition increased.
An all too real potential future for humanity takes shape..
These two make their way through a world gone wrong, towards the vile leaders who have taken advantage of this, and their people.. Are they walking to their deaths or destiny?
Liked: Some really great lines. I enjoyed the writing and, despite Cecilia’s lack of knowledge about quite a bit.. these are intelligent and real characters you kind of end up rooting for. A fairytale turned prophecy.
I do have to give the author props. She’s managed to combine fantasy, dystopian, fairy tale, some supernatural elements and more! into a impressively cohesive story.. and she’s done it without making these young characters seem like angst ridden teenagers (or the impossibly perfect ones who seem to be great at everything immediately.) Serious kudos for that!
Disliked: Even with all the things that make this a good story.. I just couldn’t get absorbed in it. It was a decent read but I always want the end of a book to excite me as much as the beginning, to come away from it with a strong feeling of certainty on whether I loved or hated it and, this time? I didn’t.
Let’s go with.. I liked it. It was a good read and it wrapped everything up pretty well. The writing keeps pace, the history of the world had me more curious than anything, and the characters were likable enough.
Personally? I feel altogether neutral about this one and, in the end, everything fell just flat enough that this became more “average” than “exciting” for me. I can see it being quite popular with younger fantasy readers, though.
Do you enjoy the fantasy genre?
Light and simple or the epic kind of high fantasy?
I think average reads are sometimes the hardest to review, because they have good points and bad. It sounds like this was a decent YA novel, just nothing to jump up and down about. Good review, Sheri.
Thank you! And I agree! At least with the good or bad ones you have a strong, definite opinion of how you feel and what you thought.. the average ones just inspire a lot of shrugging and sighing.
I think there are some things I’d enjoy about this book and other things that would drive me crazy – just like you. I love that you actually won a book in a Goodread’s giveaway. I never do. Insightful review, Sheri!
You’re probably right about that.. I guess it depends on your taste but starting a new book is always a gamble! And I’m pretty surprised I did, too, I never thought the giveaways actually worked. 😳😋
Thanks for reading and commenting, Tessa, let me know if you decide to give this one a try!
Wonderful review Sheri! Sounds interesting that the author created her own story instead of using someone else’s and doing a retelling.
It was interesting.. I just wanted more, I guess. It had potential but it felt like the author played it safe and kept it pretty light.