The Women of Fantasy

quick summary: Alissa goes in search of a place to learn magic, meets cute guy Strell, both deal with loss and conflict. Much better than the Princess books.

Today I finally finished First Truth, by Dawn Cook. Now this book is a world apart from her later "Princess" series. It shows a depth and talent that the later series not only lacks, but it is almost as if a different writer wrote it. I would be glad to see Cook return to her former writing style.

First Truth is obviously a debut novel. It has all the typical mistakes. So why my rave review? Because the amazing things about this book far outweigh the fall backs. Cook has a real masterpiece here, and the ending really left me wanting the next book - fast. But she didn't get nearly as dramatic as her Princess books. Cook held back - with good results. She was able to portray intense situations and emotions without wiping out the reader by utilizing a third person narrative, unlike the first person in the other books reviewed. Multiple perspectives did not detract from the story whatsoever like they often can in a fantasy. Instead, I grew to truly care about the two main characters. The third perspective, of the books "bad guy" was helpful and I think necessary.
But it didn't get overly personal with him, and I was glad.

Anyways, go out and buy this book. I don't think you will be disappointed. :)

It's odd to see books that don't come in three's. There is some unwritten law about this. Well, I of course assumed Decoy Princess and Princess at Sea would have a third book. Here is the author's comment about Princess at Sea, from her website: (link at left) "This closes out the Tess books, though I may come back at a later date if Tess asks me to return." That really makes Princess at Sea a disapointment. Maybe Cook is doing the smart thing, however, if she recognized the faults of her book and can't write another without repeating them.

So why is it that so many emerging authors 2nd series really pale in comparison to the first? This seems to be the case with Dawn Cook. I just finished reading her two books, The Decoy Princess and Princess at Sea (see reviews below), and started First Truth. This is Cook's first book. In some ways it's hard to tell it's the same author!! She writes in 3rd person instead of 1st and tells the story from the perspective of two people instead of one. Really, this seems to work much better with the authors writing style. So far, and yes I do know it is too early to really tell, First Truth is much better than the Princess series. I really hope she does something with her next Princess book to fix those mistakes - maybe read her Truth series again??

As a reader, I would rather wait a long time for a book of quality from a favorite author than a short time for an ok read. How long did it take to write that first novel? Years? Then maybe they shouldn't churn the second out so fast....

OK - I finished this book two nights ago. Sometimes when a book keeps me up all night turning pages that means it is a great book - but sometimes, at least for me, it just means the book is too intense. This was the case with Princess at Sea. The term Princess, and the crown on the front of the book, are kind of misleading. Basically, Tess is technically a Princess, because she was adopted legally. But she doesn't really consider herself one. Getting past that though, there is the issue of the incredibly high drama in the book. In this story, unlike the first one, the 1st person narrative just doesn't seem to work for the intensity of the storyline. Tess undergoes alot of tortuous miserable experiences and for awhile I felt it would never end.

I also wonder what was going through the author's mind - because her character felt so guilty the entire book that it was kind of a heavy read. But to me, the reader, Tess's guilt wasn't necessary - actually kind of pointless. The other problem with this story was it had absolutely no tie in with the conclusion at the end of its prequel. I finished The Decoy Princess thinking the next book would start out a certain way, only to have no mention of that ending. This is a rather rude thing to do to a reader, in my opinion.

These complaints aside, Princess at Sea did have a satisfactory ending. I find myself looking forward to the next book - but hope the author will tie it in to this story - and also that our character will grow past some of these basic emotions she experienced on almost every page of the story. Surely the character Tess has a greater capacity for emotional intelligence and self-worth - that go beyond her magical skills. And I think this author has tremendous potential as well to give us more.

Overall a good read, despite its faults. I give it 2 1/2 out of 5.

Summary: Tess, Princess of Costenopolie, learns she is not the princess at all, but a decoy for the real princess who was raised in a nunnery. The blow is softened by discovering she is destined to be a player in a powerful game, and has magical abilities.

Review: This is Dawn Cook’s second fantasy series, her first being the Truth books. This first installment in the new series is a highly adventure packed read, written in first person – not overly common for the fantasy genre. There are places where Cook stumbles, and small parts of the story that do not add up, but nothing major. Tess is a strong, vital character with very un-princess like knife throwing skills and tolerance to deadly poison. She is a very likable character, and reacts realistically to the situation. We learn that being a princess isn’t so easy – but not knowing who you are is even worse.
I enjoyed this book for its ease of reading and the likable characters. There was enough romance to keep me entertained but not so much that it distracted from the story. Maybe not epic fantasy material, but a good read with an ending that made me go out and get the second book the next day.

Overall an excellent read. 3 1/2 out of 5.

Welcome to the Women of Fantasy Blog. Fantasy books with strong dynamic female heroines are my absolute favorite type of novel to read. This is by no means meant to be a complete list - there are many books I have yet to read. If you have recommendations, or reviews of your own, just add a comment. You have to join blogger to comment - but it's free and easy. Thanks for visiting my blog!