Scan barcode
A review by maddiementions
Onyx & Ivory by Mindee Arnett
5.0
**4.5 stars!!!!** *Also, LIGHT, MILD spoilers!
WOW, this book was so amazing!! I was so surprised at how well-written and incredible all of the characters were! There was SO much plot going on! And when the reviews said "slow burn romance", they meant SLOOOOW BURN, MAN. I almost DIED.
ATTENTION: THIS IS A BOOK WHERE THE FEMALE PROTAGONIST RESCUES THE BOY
Yeah, you heard me. Kate Brighton can kick butt and the whole world needs to know about it because I love it. I love Kate so much it's insane (Think of Jude from The Cruel Prince but not a murderer lol). She has so much strength, diligence, fiesteness, and emotion. Basically all of the things I love in a female protagonist. She is perfection. Also, in my opinion, I feel like she handles her feelings for Prince Corwin very well and naturally. She wasn't super caught up in them and freaking out about it every 3 seconds.
But, can we talk about Prince Corwin for a sec? What a man, you guys. Prince Corwin basically said, "Boring, stereotypical guys with no emotion? I respect it but it ain't me." This kid is so awesome. He's mature, kind, strong, and he's so in love with Kate he doesn't even know what to do with himself. I loved that we got chapters from Corwin's POV. It helped me understand who he is on a deeper level than what we would get if he was just a regular side character/love interest. There are so many things I could say about this guy's character that's just so awesome but we'd be here all night and I'd ruin the story sooooo... moving on!
A few things I struggled with:
•What's the big deal with the horses? Horses are basically spiritual beings in this book and it was a little weird lol. I get it. Kate can look into an animal's mind with her magic and control them and she loves horses to death, so why not. But why'd she only perform her magic on horses for half the book? And why is everyone in the kingdom of Rime so obsessed with horses? Not a major issue, just odd to me.
•So, like I said, Kate only uses her magic on horses for half the book. Then suddenly, Master Raith says, "Hey did you know you can persuade people's minds as well?" and Kate is like, "Oh snap, for real?" And by the end of the book she's knocking out an entire army and even kills someone with her mind, with minimum training. Literally, her entire life she's only used her magic on animals, had no idea she could use it on humans, trains that skill for 0.3 seconds and now she's unstoppable. Sorry...what? It just seemed a bit unrealistic, even though it was super cool.
Anyway, to summarize, this book was incredible. I loved how much politics, romance, magic, and danger was carved into the plot of this story. I was sucked into the book from the first page and stayed stuck up until the last one. I require book 2 immediately!!!
WOW, this book was so amazing!! I was so surprised at how well-written and incredible all of the characters were! There was SO much plot going on! And when the reviews said "slow burn romance", they meant SLOOOOW BURN, MAN. I almost DIED.
ATTENTION: THIS IS A BOOK WHERE THE FEMALE PROTAGONIST RESCUES THE BOY
Yeah, you heard me. Kate Brighton can kick butt and the whole world needs to know about it because I love it. I love Kate so much it's insane (Think of Jude from The Cruel Prince but not a murderer lol). She has so much strength, diligence, fiesteness, and emotion. Basically all of the things I love in a female protagonist. She is perfection. Also, in my opinion, I feel like she handles her feelings for Prince Corwin very well and naturally. She wasn't super caught up in them and freaking out about it every 3 seconds.
But, can we talk about Prince Corwin for a sec? What a man, you guys. Prince Corwin basically said, "Boring, stereotypical guys with no emotion? I respect it but it ain't me." This kid is so awesome. He's mature, kind, strong, and he's so in love with Kate he doesn't even know what to do with himself. I loved that we got chapters from Corwin's POV. It helped me understand who he is on a deeper level than what we would get if he was just a regular side character/love interest. There are so many things I could say about this guy's character that's just so awesome but we'd be here all night and I'd ruin the story sooooo... moving on!
A few things I struggled with:
•What's the big deal with the horses? Horses are basically spiritual beings in this book and it was a little weird lol. I get it. Kate can look into an animal's mind with her magic and control them and she loves horses to death, so why not. But why'd she only perform her magic on horses for half the book? And why is everyone in the kingdom of Rime so obsessed with horses? Not a major issue, just odd to me.
•So, like I said, Kate only uses her magic on horses for half the book. Then suddenly, Master Raith says, "Hey did you know you can persuade people's minds as well?" and Kate is like, "Oh snap, for real?" And by the end of the book she's knocking out an entire army and even kills someone with her mind, with minimum training. Literally, her entire life she's only used her magic on animals, had no idea she could use it on humans, trains that skill for 0.3 seconds and now she's unstoppable. Sorry...what? It just seemed a bit unrealistic, even though it was super cool.
Anyway, to summarize, this book was incredible. I loved how much politics, romance, magic, and danger was carved into the plot of this story. I was sucked into the book from the first page and stayed stuck up until the last one. I require book 2 immediately!!!