Anathema by Megg Jensen is a prime example of what a good book cover can do for your sales. I bought this book purely on impulse because I liked the cover. It didn't matter to me (because it didn't occur to me, the cover really did that) that I have enjoyed only a handful of YA fantasy novels and almost all of them were written by Madeleine L'Engle. I wanted to read this book.
It wasn't bad. I was really interested in the Malborn/Serenian struggle, and I kind of hope that she has plans to write the initial Malborn takeover, because I'd really like to read that. Reychel, the main character, was quite compelling; I just do not like her name at all. (In all fairness, I just came off of several months examining baby names, so "unique" spellings make me cringe. It's a personal issue, not a book issue. Her name actually makes sense in light of some revelations at the end.) She's a good girl with a good heart. Her "gift" is pretty awesome, and her ignorance was, I thought, sensible. I feel like Ms. Jensen wrote a pretty solid character. Reychel made sense to me. The way she thought and felt about her position, the way she went about learning new things, and her transformation in the end seemed plausible.
There were so many twists at the end I felt like my head was spinning, but it was a good kind of spinning. It made me curious about the second book, which I think is the point of a well-done first book ending. The little love triangle even appealed to my inner teen girl.
I think my favorite thing, though, was the villain. I'm not going to give it away, but I really, really liked that particular twist.
If you're the sort of person who reads and likes young adult fantasy, this book is worth checking out. I'm really glad I read it.
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