New Review! Cry of the Firebird by Amy Kuivalainen, 3 Cranky Stars

Cry Of The Firebird by Amy Kuivalainen
My rating: 3 of 5 stars



*** 3 Cranky Stars ***

Anya, traumatized by the murder of her grandfather, spends her days drinking her pain away on a small farm in Russia.



Visited by a strange man in a small cafe, a destiny unfolds. The man isn't an ordinary human, he's Tuoni, a Finnish God, who informs Anya that the fate of worlds rests on her novice shoulders.



Enter: Yvan, a Prince from the otherworld, who not only has a passenger, but also, a host of enemies lining up against him. He is both a boon and a bane to Anya. His presence sets off a chain of events, which throws Anya headlong into not only trouble, but her history and destiny.



I actually enjoyed this book. I liked the languid writing style and the work's foundation on Nordic and Russian mythology.



From zero to twenty percent, this book had me enthralled and then it went off the boil. It also became repetitive: Anya drinks, Anya is untrained, and yet, not a lot is done to fix the issues.



There is a massive cast of characters in this book and when they've been developed to a level you're interested in their fate, another one is introduced. Then the ones you've become interested in are relegated to background furniture. In fact, new characters were still being introduced at ninety percent of the book.



I also felt that this book missed the mark on action. There was great set up and then it was over all too quickly. I really did feel that this was a missed opportunity to really nail it.



In saying the above, I liked Anya and Yvan. Anya, for all her faults, was witty and brave. I loved the use of Nordic and Russian mythology in this work. I also thoroughly enjoyed the setting in Russia and Paris, which made a welcome change to what I'm used to reading.

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