Bests & Worsts Reviews from Amazon

I picked this up on a lark because I was snatched by the premise. I could tell right away that the main relationship, the critical point of interest, was going to be between the Dragon and the protagonist. At least, that's what I'd hoped for. Stories about two very different people who are forced to live and work together and then gradually come to understanding and affection as a result are my very favorites to read and write. First, I want to explain that I found the actual writing, the turn of phrase in this book, to be FANTASTIC. Beautiful, detailed, living imagery; such creative and tactile uses for magic. The author makes a real world, with real history, and the Woods are absolutely chilling--a breathing, moving villain in the story, though faceless. One becomes very afraid of this Wood as one reads, feeling its darkness creep up in the shadows all around. That writing is what kept me reading for the majority of the book, nonstop, even past one red flag, and a plot detour I didn't really feel like taking. (Spoilers ahead) I must confess, as I was reading the first few chapters, a strange feeling came over me--one that I expressed to a friend of mine who is an avid reader of fanfiction. It almost seemed, at first, that this was a story that had been converted from a fanfiction about Marvel's Loki. The Dragon just seemed so very like him in some respects. However, he didn't develop. I kept waiting for him to do so--because he starts out as frightening and a little abusive, but then loses all his fangs and claws almost right away in two shows of startlement and clumsiness. Beyond that point, he's just insulting, but none of his insults carried any sting for me, though they manage to frustrate the protagonist. Then, as he begins teaching the protagonist--since she shows talent for magic--he's always crabby and irritated, and opens up very little, if at all. We don't learn his actual name until halfway through the book, when someone else speaks it. He never tells Agnieszka, the protagonist, and there's not a good reason for that. How does she address him when he wants to get his attention? Does she call him "'Dragon"? She might, but it's never said. I feel this is a good moment--his revealing his name to her--that was lost. Then, their magics click together at one point, during an experiment, and they fall to wild kissing and fondling. This confused me greatly, because I could see that some faint sparks were gleaming between them before this--enough to warrant a sudden, passionate kiss before he pulls back and asks "What am I doing?"...but they almost go all the way before he comes to his senses, and she never does. This seemed like an overload. They weren't there yet. I didn't even know this Dragon, beyond that he was constantly in a sour mood, but not evil or totally heartless. I wanted them to talk about that incident afterward. I wanted to see a little more vulnerability from him. I wanted them to get to know each other truthfully--not just intimately know the workings of each other's magic. But my hopes were not rewarded. Instead, I got yanked on an arduous journey to the capital, without the Dragon. Yes, it was interesting, though very violent, but I didn't really want to be there. I wanted to go back to the tower, to the Dragon, and fight this battle alongside him whilst getting to know him better. Nieszka's relationship with her best friend Kasia figures centrally, pretty much replacing the relationship between Nieszka and the Dragon in importance, but though Kasia is brave throughout, and becomes superhuman, I failed to find her interesting. In fact, she's close to being a completely flawless person, and without quirks. And the author summarizes most of the girls' conversations, saying things like "We held each other's hands and wept about..." So I didn't get to know her, either, other than that she was brave and good. Throughout my stay at the capital, I began to grow worried that we weren't actually going to get back to the Dragon until the very end, and instead I was going to be pulled to the front lines somewhere with a hotheaded prince. I breathed a sigh of relief when this didn't happen, and we FINALLY got to go back to the tower for some much-needed character development. I mean, Nieszka had developed fine--she was interesting and flawed and strong and smart. But her counterpart had been neglected. I cheered when they all got pulled into that tower again, and the Dragon was there. My excitement didn't last very long. Instead of talking, REALLY talking, the two of them fell back to their...it isn't even banter. It was her asking questions, and him being slightly insulting and closed off. They came together once to make a spell, but I'd seen that done before. And then, out of nowhere one night, she suddenly can't handle her fears. Instead of completely collapsing (which she should have done, since the healer had warned her not to use magic or she'd die, but she kept on doing it--so I became confused about the magic rules) she spirals into a panic about what's about to happen concerning this evil Wood. She gets up and she goes to find the Dragon and I was very interested, hoping and HOPING that they'd finally have a real conversation. That at last, they'd actually become real friends, show some affection and understanding. Nope. They just have sex. I read all the way through that part (which explains things pretty graphically, so parents, be aware), with a frown on my face. What was this? Do these people even know each other? If they do, it's been summarized away and I missed it. Sure, they have had some special moments making magic together. But so what? He didn't even tell her his NAME of his own volition. He's shared one personal story with her, and that's it. And she doesn't seem herself when she's getting all frenzied like that. Her character slips away. In short, I was disappointed. I put the book down, all of the tension falling loose like a cut tether. I didn't care. The author wasn't going to give me what I wanted: a slow-burn, interesting, complicated relationship unfolding one piece at a time, until these two so-very-different souls knew each other so well that they couldn't live without each other. Instead, I'd been dragged out of the tower, forced to focus on other relationships that weren't as interesting, then yanked back and thrown into a bed. I hadn't wanted to be in any of those places. Yes, the writing is poetic.The villainous Wood and all its evil workings and creatures is the best creation in the book. Her magic systems are also very fun. But the chance for a REALLY interesting relationship dynamic, not just an excuse to jump in the sack, was lost. And I wish it hadn't been.