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dduell
Posted April 10, 2012
It didn't capture me like some I've read. Grant it I had a lot going on at the time I was to be reviewing but be that as it may I just couldn't get past what I felt to be the unfairness.
I found it a bit hard to follow at times. I grasped the concept and enjoy the interplay between mortal, witch and faerie alike, but I found myself bogged down by the details. The prologue the drew me in to why the Seer is the seer also made me frustrated with the entire book. I personally couldn't get past how (angry, frustrated I would be to have to watch the person I grew to love and spent most of my childhood with suffer, grieve, and fall for someone else). Yack! To experience Locke and Keleigh falling for each other from the view of the Seer who was once the girl in love with Locke was heart wrenching (this may be a draw for others) just not me. We then go straight into the main story. The concept of the book was very good. It had action, suspense, paranormal components and mythology, as well as, romance. As the book progressed, it didn't really slow which I appreciate. I don't feel though that I finished the book feeling as if I truly understood what had happened. At the end I felt like there were still so many unanswered questions. I understand with series there should be cliff hangers but nothing that should leave you still feeling clueless.
I enjoyed the plot, and the characters, adventure, and the general concept of it. I wouldn't want to be the Seer being responsible to watch over and protect a girl that took her place with her boyfriend and basically knowing you are dead because of her. Not that she did it but still. Dilemma maybe, reason to not do what you know you must, Definitely. Keleigh, the replacement with a lot of power and no knowledge of how to control it. What she does know is that magic exists and that her Mother had abilities in magic. She also knows that her Mother told her to never use magic and certainly didn't teach her how to control her own powers. When her parents are killed and Keleigh goes to live with Locke (the Seer's boyfriend when she was alive) she is made to see what she is and what she is capable of with her magic. Locke and his family are also ExtraOrdinaries. So when bad things start to happen, Keleigh is forced to learn more about who and what she is. She has to learn more about her abilities and magic. This is a struggle for her because her mother was always telling her not to.
Here are some basic facts within the book there is a bottle that is extremely important to the ExtraOrdinaries and it is in danger of being in the wrong hands. Keleigh and Locke are the ones that are meant to protect the bottle, however they dont' know where it is. Together they discover Keleigh's powers, what the bottle holds, why the bottle is so important, who wants the bottle besides them, and maybe how to go from resenting each other to falling in love. Will they be able to accomplish the tasks set for them or fail miserably?
ConstanceCS
Posted April 2, 2012
All’s Fair in Vanity’s War by Elizabeth Marx is an interesting story about the “real” witches in Salem. The story includes normal clueless humans and the supernatural elements all around them, most of which hail from Ireland, so of course it includes fairies and leprechauns. It is told mostly from the point of view of one of those ordinary humans who dies and is chosen to be the Seer. The Seer is destined to follow her boyfriend and the girl who is immediately thrown into his life and watch out for them while learning how much the regular people don’t know no matter how much it may hurt her to do so. I really enjoyed this story because it does not follow the typical teenage love story drama. Although it probably does still fall into the young adult fiction there is not all the sappy forbidden romance between two different types of peoples that seems to be all the rage right now. It made for a nice change, and the author made the storyline fairly easy to follow while still forming her own take on the world. Any parts that seem confusing because of her use of mythology are explained quickly enough so as not to lose your interest. This book also managed to surprise me more than once, when I felt I had the story all figured out as to what would happen next I would be wrong, and personally I love that in a book. I do not want to waste my time on something I figure out ten minutes in and I will admit I thought that this would be one of those in the beginning and it definitely wasn’t. All in all I really enjoyed this book.
Was this review helpful? Yes NoThank you for your feedback. Report this reviewThank you, this review has been flagged.All’s Fair in Vanity’s War was a novel that was unique from the start. In fact, I found the opening sentence of the novel so entertaining that I knew the entire novel would be comedic and supernatural at the same time. Besides the description of the novel (which totally drew me in), the main thing that caught my eye was the cover. I mean, come on, who doesn’t notice what a beautiful cover that is? And for those of you who are wondering, the person on the cover, glimpsing at the vanity is not the Seer. It’s *cough cough* Kaleigh *cough cough*.
Covers put aside, I found the novel so unique! I’m pretty sure I’ve said that twice now but it is unlike anything I’ve ever read before. Not only does it start off where our narrator suffers in a car crash and dies, then watches her (ex?) boyfriend throw a fireball. Pretty exciting? I think so. As the novel progressed, I did find the way that author Elizabeth Marx chose to write the story very interesting. While it was told from the point of view of the Seer who is examining the entire story as its taking place, I began to forget that I was watching the story through the Seer’s eyes and began to just think of it as written in the third person. Though I will admit that at certain points of time, it would begin to get confusing.
My personal favorite character was Kaleigh. I found her fun and quirky, not to mention that she had a fiery spirit to match her fiery red hair (hardy-har-har). The most memorable scene that I will never forget with Kaleigh is when she shares a kiss with a certain someone and says that she’s disappointed and was saving her first kiss. I found it adorable and funny at the same time. The rest of the characters weren't as favorable; I honestly disliked her best friend because her dialogue just seemed very childish and unrealistic.
The “supernatural” portion of the novel was very delightful. I found the novel just packed with different creatures from Banshees to leprechauns to Druids. The whole ExtraOrdinary and OtherWorldly portion of the novel was different and again unique. Especially when Kaleigh would contact her mother through the mirror. I have no clue why, but the “mirror, mirror on the whole” type scenes would always have me smiling and eager to read on. However, with the big mix of supernatural creatures, I would sometimes get confused (again).
I would recommend this novel to somebody who wants a romance story taking place from the dead ex-girlfriend’s POV (*la smiley face*) or just wants to read a very unique supernatural story. Unique. I feel like I’ve used that word a lot this review.
Asand
Posted March 8, 2012
This was surprisingly a wonderful read.
This story takes place in the very noteworthy town of Salem where all the witches were put to trial many many years ago.
There are so many different elements to this story there is no way anyone could get bored with it. You have the supernatural flair to it with Druids, and magic flowing throughout the book; there is a mystery brewing through out the pages and of course romance is always in the air.
The action picks right up in the first few pages of the novel and from there it is very hard to put it down. The Seer, who is a central character to the story, is also for the most part the narrator, and it helps to see things through her perspective.
Usually, in most fantasy books, seers are wise old people that always have a riddled saying to accompany the lesson. This Seer is the complete opposite except for her very Southern and funny sayings. I think the author, Elizabeth Marx, was very smart to write it like this because it is easier for the young adult population to relate to this character, since she is the just a teenager too.
Another wonderful, and probably my favorite, aspect to this story is the emphasis on the Celtic lore. I love all mythology, but is refreshing to learn about the Gaelic culture, when you hardly see many books written from this standpoint.
The dialogue was the only thing that concerned me. Sometimes, it was tricky to follow along as to who said what; but if I went back and re read it once or twice, I could easily see what was happening. It wasn't so major to distract from the story.
There are many emotions to be felt from reading this story. One moment I was practically in tears from the hardships the characters have to face, and other times I was laughing away at some of the snarky comments made by the secondary characters.
I feel this an excellent young adult paranormal novel for our young people to read today. It is a fiction story but there is some real messages that everyone can relate to. I like how the author shows us that it is okay to be different and to embrace all of your traits, albeit good or bad.
I would encourage everyone to give this book a shot. Yes, the title is a strange one, but if you can get past that I feel like you might just come away realizing something about yourself.
I am crossing my fingers and hoping there will be another book to go with this one. I believe this is a great first start to a wonderful series.
LendMe™
Overview
Salem’s always had sinister secrets. No one comes to understand this better than a sixteen-year-old girl who dies on Halloween night and is reborn a Seer.The Seer can’t imagine anything worse than being an invisible teenager with enormous black wings. Until she finds out she’s been sacrificed to watch over Locke’s new flame.
Locke Cavanaugh is a Druid and part of the Order, a clandestine organization entrusted with keeping its members cloaked in the Ordinary world. Physically scarred from the accident that took his girlfriend’s life, Locke is searching for the OtherWorldly magic ...