Liv The Book Nerd: {Review + Giveaway} Maiden by Chris Sorensen

Page Count: 298
Published on: April 29, 2016

Published by: Pond Publishing

Genre(s): Fantasy, YA, Romance, High Fantasy, Adventure, Middle Grade
Source: Paperback -- Sent by author

Age Rating: PG-13

Where To Find It: Goodreads // Amazon

My Rating: 2 stars

Goodreads synopsis:

PERFECT FOR MIDDLE-GRADE OR YOUNG ADULT READERS!

Jeanette is not like the other 17-year-old, gray-eyed girls in the war-torn kingdom of Amarin. While the other girls hope to regain the green eye color of their ancestors at spring festival and win the prince's favor, Jeanette has other plans to escape her stifled village life.

After the caravan arrives, Jeanette fears that she will have to trade one caged life for another. But a series of visions gives her the guidance and determination to break free and fulfill her true purpose - giving hope to her people and fighting to end the war.

MAIDEN is loosely inspired by the life of Joan of Arc.

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Hey, guys!

Chris Sorensen sent me his novel Maiden for an honest review.

I started this book very excited. The synopsis had me very intrigued, and I was afraid that I would be reading something very cliche and common. In middle grade and young adult fantasy, readers often find that they encounter "the chosen one" trope quite often, but this was not the case when it came to Maiden. When I got about 100 pages into the book, I was very pleased with how original it was. When Chris pitched his book to me (via email) he described it to be loosely based on the life of Joan of Arc. I'm not very familiar with her life, but I had read a little bit about her during my elementary school years. I admit, I don't remember much about her except that she was a badass and inspirational. After reading this book, I realize that I should have read a bit about St. Joan, but I haven't...yet...

Overall, this was an average fantasy novel, but there were elements that really drew me in. The beginning of this book was really great. It drew me in and the writing was excellent. I'm not sure why, but by the time I got about half-way through it, I got bored. I lost interest for about 75 pages towards the end, but I pushed through and I'm glad that I did. The last 30 pages were so well done. I definitely want to read the second book. The epilogue was especially gripping. I expected part of it, but Chris Sorensen threw in a twist that I didn't expect too. The focus on the different eye colors of the countries that corresponded with their special powers was really interesting to me. It reminded me of Kristin Cashore's Graceling trilogy and her focus on people with two eye colors. A fairly similar concept but both were done quite differently.

I also really liked that Sorensen didn't use violence. obscene language or sexuality to keep the story going. His story-telling ability and his writing style were a really nice experience.

I really didn't connect with the characters in this book, which is what caused the rating to be 3 stars instead of a 4 or 5-star rating. The main character, Jeanette did not act 17, and for a good part of the book, I didn't think she really was 17. I had a brain fart and forgot that the synopsis on the back of the book said that she was 17...oops. I really didn't like any of the characters. They didn't act their age, and they weren't as dynamic as I would have liked. They were very two dimensional in my opinion. Prince Braxton's attitude towards the end of the book was really obnoxious and his attitude changed really quickly without much of a struggle. It literally went from zero to ten really quickly...it wasn't done well.

Chris Sorensen has graciously provided a Rafflecopter giveaway for you, the readers, to get the chance to win a copy of Maiden!

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