Scan barcode
A review by roseice
Chantress Fury by Amy Butler Greenfield
3.0
One thing I liked about this series is it treaded a lot of ground. History and mythologies are incorporated smoothly into the narrative, and with each new book, Lucy faces a new threat. Delves right into these myths.
I think concept-wise, my favourite plot element was the sea creatures. This isn’t a mermaid book, thankfully, but the fury of the sea is the largest threat. It was a nice premise for conflict, but it was carried out in a really cliched manner. Where the Chantress books do attempt new things with each book, the execution always adheres closely to tropes that I’ve unfortunately seen way too many times.
I’m probably not the only one who pictured Ursula every time Pressina showed up. The love interest goes with Lucy into the ether, but is knocked unconscious and she needs to find/protect him. He’s also used by the big baddie to bargain for “the one thing the heroine possesses that can destroy the villain!”
I will say though, while each new book has a new plotline, one thing that’s constant is the politics. Lucy is King Henry’s “righthand man” (although we’re told that’s Nat), and while the political issues weren’t as dry as they were in the previous book, they still bogged it down for me. And also, the amount of conversation. When Lucy seeks information, it takes entirely too long for her to get it—this was worse in Chantress Alchemy, but it just makes for a ton of conversation that's quite boring to read.
Another thing I wasn’t a fan of: Gabriel’s portrayal. He had a larger role in the second book, but here he merely exists as the most watered down “love interest” I’ve read in a loooong time. Lucy doesn’t even try, here. She dismisses him right off the bat, again and again, and when Gabriel is finally about to “confess to her for real this time,” Lucy senses it and tries to escape, a la Lizzy and Mr. Collins. WOW. Gabriel may be annoying, but he deserved a decent amount of respect from Lucy. Instead, she just used him when convenient. I would’ve preferred it if his character was just fazed out after the second book. His “role” in this one is so weak and laughable that it’s mildly irritating.
Anyway, a simple, entertaining read, on the whole.
I think concept-wise, my favourite plot element was the sea creatures. This isn’t a mermaid book, thankfully, but the fury of the sea is the largest threat. It was a nice premise for conflict, but it was carried out in a really cliched manner. Where the Chantress books do attempt new things with each book, the execution always adheres closely to tropes that I’ve unfortunately seen way too many times.
I’m probably not the only one who pictured Ursula every time Pressina showed up. The love interest goes with Lucy into the ether, but is knocked unconscious and she needs to find/protect him. He’s also used by the big baddie to bargain for “the one thing the heroine possesses that can destroy the villain!”
I will say though, while each new book has a new plotline, one thing that’s constant is the politics. Lucy is King Henry’s “righthand man” (although we’re told that’s Nat), and while the political issues weren’t as dry as they were in the previous book, they still bogged it down for me. And also, the amount of conversation. When Lucy seeks information, it takes entirely too long for her to get it—this was worse in Chantress Alchemy, but it just makes for a ton of conversation that's quite boring to read.
Another thing I wasn’t a fan of: Gabriel’s portrayal. He had a larger role in the second book, but here he merely exists as the most watered down “love interest” I’ve read in a loooong time. Lucy doesn’t even try, here. She dismisses him right off the bat, again and again, and when Gabriel is finally about to “confess to her for real this time,” Lucy senses it and tries to escape, a la Lizzy and Mr. Collins. WOW. Gabriel may be annoying, but he deserved a decent amount of respect from Lucy. Instead, she just used him when convenient. I would’ve preferred it if his character was just fazed out after the second book. His “role” in this one is so weak and laughable that it’s mildly irritating.
Anyway, a simple, entertaining read, on the whole.