As an avid and insatiable reader with a tendency towards fantasy, I have hit my fair share of male-dominated literature. Heroes, not heroines, are prevalent. I understand and accept this, but it is nice to have female role-models in my preferred reading. So I was overjoyed at the prospect of reading a new series which focus on women!
I have happy memories of Tamora Pierce's novels and young adult fantasy tales. Perhaps this would add to my collection of books to share with my daughter eventually! Sadly, the further I read into this series, the more depressed I became. I rate the entire series as a whole with three stars because the writing is very solid, the characters are personable, and my own personal quirk; the story is NOT the traditional 'hero - quest - action - happy ending.' I am very taken with the writing, and the style of the tale. However, anyone with strong feminist tendencies will NOT enjoy this series, as the main theme is that of weak women, either through nature; portrayed by elven women, or through environment; displayed with shocking forthrightness by the 'human' sisters and eventual girl-children showcased in the story).
These women, time and again, are captured, kidnapped, stolen from their family/culture/preferred reality in order to be forcibly (in yet another brutal and shocking scene from the story - the wedding itself is a horrid travesty) wed to creatures dependent on outside blood to "strenghten" their genetic line. Despite this brutal introduction to the men of the tale, hardly any time passes before the women (perhaps weak in emotional control and mental powers as well? It's certainly suggested in the storyline) fall helplessly in love with their husbands, and proceed to aid their brutal adopted culture in inflicting the same fate on other helpless women.
In a way, I was almost anguished at the quality of this series. It BEGS you to like it, with lyrical prose and a gifted ability to show feeling as well as sense of place. To use such skills to portray a tale so deeply against everything modern women STILL fight to gain... it was saddening. The final straw was the author's website, where she commented that the tales were meant for her own teen and college aged daughters!
Read and enjoy, but THINK about what the author presents for you to accept.
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