Intended Audience: Teens
Genre: Fantasy / Romance
Notes for Parents: There is some mild violence and descriptions of violent deaths.
The Back Cover
Sometimes, one must do the unthinkable.For five centuries, a witch’s curse has bound the trolls to their city beneath the mountain. When Cecile de Troyes is kidnapped and taken beneath the mountain, she realizes that the trolls are relying on her to break the curse.
Cecile has only one thing on her mind: escape. But the trolls are clever, fast, and inhumanly strong. She will have to bide her time…
But the more time she spends with the trolls, the more she understands their plight. There is a rebellion brewing. And she just might be the one the trolls were looking for…
What the cover doesn’t tell
you:
This is the first book of the Malediction
Trilogy.
What’s good?
Interesting
world building highlights this unique story about trolls trapped under a
mountain by a curse. An engaging premise, a solid plot, and good writing making
this an attractive tale filled with magic, witchcraft, spells, curses, and
monsters. There is a struggle for power, a fight for freedom, and an intense
romance that guides the plot with action, drama, and even some humor.Best Part: Glass gardens.
What isn’t good?
It’s wordy. The infrequent change of point of
view from Cecile to Tristan is awkward. Cecile is a weak, shallow, gullible,
insecure girl. I was way more interested in the supporting characters, like
Anais, Marc, and Christophe. There was too much drama and not enough action. The
romance was unconvincing and the declarations of love were exhausting,
melodramatic rants. Stones and sky!Worst part: The trolls were beautiful, powerful, intelligent beings affected by iron. Doesn’t that make them fairies? Maybe this is addressed in subsequent volumes.
Recommendation þþooo
I bought the book based on a multitude of
reviews that said it was amazing and unbelievable, and the best book they’ve
ever read. I may have gone into it with too high an expectation, but
regardless, I found very little to my liking. The main character was so weak.
SPOILER ALERT: She’s kidnapped, dragged underground, and sold, but when she’s
told she’ll be bonded to a troll, her biggest worry is that he’ll be ugly. Enough
said. Not recommended by me, but loved by many others.
Jensen, Danielle L., Stolen Songbird. Nottingham, UK: Angry Robot, 2014.
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