Review: The Wizard's Promise by Cassandra Rose Clarke

Title: The Wizard's Promise
Author: Cassandra Rose Clarke
Series: The Hanna Duology, book #1
Publisher: Strange Chemistry
Publication Date: May 6, 2014
Source: from publisher via Netgalley
Purchase: Amazon | Barnes & Noble

All Hanna Euli wants is to become a proper witch – but unfortunately, she’s stuck as an apprentice to a grumpy fisherman. When their boat gets caught up in a mysterious storm and blown wildly off course, Hanna finds herself further away from home than she’s ever been before.

As she tries to get back, she learns there may be more to her apprentice master than she realized, especially when a mysterious, beautiful, and very non-human boy begins following her through the ocean, claiming that he needs Hanna’s help.

I am a super-huge fan of Cassandra Rose Clarke's The Assassin's Curse duology. It's fast-paced and full of awesome characters -- some human and some not. I expected much of the same from this first book in the Hanna duology, especially with this series being set in the same world. But CRC managed to make Hanna's story completely different by setting it in the far north in a much colder climate and focusing more on magic this time around. You can read more about the author's world-building in this post for the blog tour for The Wizard's Promise.

Hanna intends to learn magic and avoid life as a fisherman, which she seems destined for at present. All Hanna's heard from her mother since she was young were stories of Annana's adventures. Hanna's mother actually sailed with Annana before starting her own family, and Hanna is actually named after Annana. So, you can see why Hanna has such wanderlust, why she's so keen on setting out on adventures of her own.

But when adventure does finally find Hanna, it's not quite what she was expecting. Nor was it what I was expecting. Whereas the previous books in this world had been quite fast-paced and full of action sequences, I found the setup for this series to be much more subdued and much slower. It felt like I was being kept in the dark right along with Hanna, and it was a bit frustrating at times. I can appreciate the slower build-up on this book because I'm already familiar with some of the intricacies of this world because of the earlier books, like life spent on the water, the magic, and the Mists. But I think the thing that really kept me going was the promise of an Annana/Naji cameo in the future. I'm intrigued by what's happening with Hanna and Isolfr, but as of right now, their story pales in comparison to that of Annana and Naji.

That's not to say that any of the characters are lacking; I just think that the chemistry isn't quite there yet. The potential for it is, though. All of the characters in this book are as well-rounded or as mysterious as they should be, though maybe Kolur and Frida should have been a little more forthcoming a little earlier on in the story to save everyone a bit of trouble. But probably the most impossible character to figure out was Isolfr, a) because he was supposed to be crazy mysterious and b) he didn't get near enough page-time for my liking, making him even more of an enigma. That's probably also why he ended up being my favorite character in this story. That and his terribly frustrating riddle-speak. I usually hate it when characters beat around the bush, but I'll make an exception for Isolfr.

The Wizard's Promise is an interesting reintroduction to this world but also a veritable launch into new aspects of this world I've already come to love so well. But that would be the launch of a ship at sea, not like the launch of a rocket into space. Truth be told, this felt like a world-building second book, but that just means the next will be full of action and answers. And I'm very much looking forward to discovering what the Mists are all about and what the future holds for Hanna.

GIF it to me straight:

This was me for much of the novel...but as with The Princess Bride,
the ending is worth the wait.

About the author:

Cassandra Rose Clarke grew up in south Texas and currently lives in a suburb of Houston, where she writes and teaches composition at a local college. She graduated in 2006 from The University of St. Thomas with a B.A. in English, and two years later she completed her master’s degree in creative writing at The University of Texas at Austin. In 2010 she attended the Clarion West Writer’s Workshop in Seattle, where she was a recipient of the Susan C. Petrey Clarion Scholarship Fund.

Cassandra’s first adult novel, The Mad Scientist’s Daughter, was a finalist for the 2013 Philip K. Dick Award, and her YA novel, The Assassin’s Curse, was nominated for YALSA’s 2014 Best Fiction for Young Adults. Her short fiction has appeared in Strange Horizons and Daily Science Fiction.

Find Cassandra:

Website | Blog | Twitter | Facebook | Goodreads | Tumblr

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Labels: cassandra rose clarke, fantasy, magic, reviews, strange chemistry, the hanna duology

{Blog Tour} The Wizard's Promise by Cassandra Rose Clarke - Guest Post

Guys, if you know anything about me, it should be that I adore fantasy stories full of adventure and magic...and anything that Cassandra Rose Clarke writes. ;) So, when I had the opportunity to host a tour stop for her newest book, complete with guest post, I couldn't resist. Here's a little bit more about CRC's new book, and then we'll get to the fun stuff:

Title: The Wizard's Promise
Author: Cassandra Rose Clarke
Series: The Hanna Duology, book #1
Publisher: Strange Chemistry
Publication Date: May 6, 2014
Purchase: Amazon | Barnes & Noble

All Hanna Euli wants is to become a proper witch – but unfortunately, she’s stuck as an apprentice to a grumpy fisherman. When their boat gets caught up in a mysterious storm and blown wildly off course, Hanna finds herself further away from home than she’s ever been before.

As she tries to get back, she learns there may be more to her apprentice master than she realized, especially when a mysterious, beautiful, and very non-human boy begins following her through the ocean, claiming that he needs Hanna’s help.

So, I asked Cassandra if she would mind comparing the two series (The Assassin's Curse duology & The Hanna duology) and elaborate on what it means to write about different characters in the same world and whether we can expect any cameos from Ananna and Naji. (Of course I had to ask. :D) Here's her response:

I wrote The Wizard’s Promise because of The Assassin’s Curse, and I wrote The Assassin’s Curse because I wanted to stretch myself as a writer, way back before I was ever even close to publication. The first duology received a much bigger reception than I could ever have imagined, and I realized that I had done so much to develop the world in which it took place that I didn’t want to leave all of that behind just yet.

This is actually the first time I’ve ever built a world and then let myself play around in it beyond the initial story. I tend to worldbuild while I’m writing the novel (I did this with The Assassin’s Curse, actually) so writing the Hanna duology has been an interesting experience. I’ve said this before, but it feels a lot like writing fanfiction—the framework is already there, so I’m just building around it and expanding on certain elements that were touched on or implied in the first duology but not explored completely.

When I think about the two duologies, I do so in terms of temperature. Weird, right? But it makes sense in my head: the Ananna duology takes place in a hot part of the world, and the Hanna duology takes place in a cold climate. I think this one little fact is actually the basis for what makes the two duologies feel distinct from one another. Hanna’s is a world of snow and ice, and Isolfr, the love interest, has a touch of iciness about him, with his distance and general otherworldliness—in contrast with Naji, whose burn scars and mercurial temperament associate him more strongly with fire. Which is interesting to me, because I didn’t do that on purpose. The only thing I did do on purpose was decide to set the Hanna duology in the far north. It seems the setting filtered down to the characters without my making it happen!

Another difference between the two duologies has to do with the use of magic. Ananna is a very action-oriented character: she doesn’t have a lot of magical ability, and her strength is in swordfighting and swashbuckling. She’s a pirate, so this makes sense. Hanna, on the other hand, is very magic-focused. She wants to be a witch, and she spends a lot of her time learning and practicing her spells. Although she admires Ananna a great deal, they do have somewhat different personalities, and again, I think this is a result of the choice I made to have Hanna focus on magic. She’s a bit more studious, a bit more low-key. Not too much, though.

All in all, I loved having the chance to explore a different part of the world I created for The Assassin’s Curse. I loved getting to delve more deeply into other cultures in the world, and I loved being able to think more about how magic (and the Mists!) work. Of course, I couldn’t bear to leave Ananna and Naji too far behind, and they found their way back into the story—although not until the second book in the duology, The Nobleman’s Revenge. They like to keep you waiting.

I love this insight into both series, especially viewing the two duologies in terms of temperature because now that I think about it, that really does make sense. Everything about The Wizard's Promise felt cold while I was reading it, and the opposite is definitely true for The Assassin's Curse and The Pirate's Wish. And I can't wait to revisit Ananna and Naji in The Nobleman's Revenge, though I'm definitely intrigued by Hanna's story, even without their presence. ;0)

About the author:

Cassandra Rose Clarke grew up in south Texas and currently lives in a suburb of Houston, where she writes and teaches composition at a local college. She graduated in 2006 from The University of St. Thomas with a B.A. in English, and two years later she completed her master’s degree in creative writing at The University of Texas at Austin. In 2010 she attended the Clarion West Writer’s Workshop in Seattle, where she was a recipient of the Susan C. Petrey Clarion Scholarship Fund.

Cassandra’s first adult novel, The Mad Scientist’s Daughter, was a finalist for the 2013 Philip K. Dick Award, and her YA novel, The Assassin’s Curse, was nominated for YALSA’s 2014 Best Fiction for Young Adults. Her short fiction has appeared in Strange Horizons and Daily Science Fiction.

Find Cassandra:

Website | Blog | Twitter | Facebook | Goodreads | Tumblr

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Labels: blog tour, cassandra rose clarke, fantasy, guest post, strange chemistry, the hanna duology

Review: The Pirate's Wish by Cassandra Rose Clarke

Title: The Pirate's Wish
Author: Cassandra Rose Clarke
Series: The Assassin's Curse, book #2
Publisher: Strange Chemistry
Publication Date: June 4, 2013
Source: received from publisher via Netgalley
Purchase: Amazon | Barnes & Noble

After setting out to break the curse that binds them together, the pirate Ananna and the assassin Naji find themselves stranded on an enchanted island in the north with nothing but a sword, their wits, and the secret to breaking the curse: complete three impossible tasks. With the help of their friend Marjani and a rather unusual ally, Ananna and Naji make their way south again, seeking what seems to be beyond their reach.

Unfortunately, Naji has enemies from the shadowy world known as the Mists, and Ananna must still face the repercussions of going up against the Pirate Confederation. Together, Naji and Ananna must break the curse, escape their enemies — and come to terms with their growing romantic attraction.

So, the end to The Assassin's Curse came rather abruptly, and I was ill-at-ease to let the story go so suddenly.  These characters and their strange circumstances had made their way into my heart, and I was reluctant to see them go.  Lucky for me, I only read/listened to it a couple of months ago and didn't have to wait too long for the end to this duology.  And what a spectacular ending it was!

Image Source

I'm always intrigued yet leery of the new characters that are introduced in sequels, but I should have known better than to question such things when it comes to this author.  Especially since one of the new characters is a talking manticore named Ongraygeeomryn.  (Say that three times fast!)  A manticore has the body of a lion with a human face and a barbed tail like a scorpion, complete with poisonous spikes.  It can also have wings, like the one in Clarke's story and the image to the right.  Ananna forges yet another unlikely alliance with this mythical creature, and the trio sets out to break Naji's curse and free both Naji and Ananna from their bond.

I liked the manticore more and more as the story wore on.  She was tricksy but not in a completely evil way.  Under the guise of secretly helping Ananna to aide Naji in breaking one third of the curse -- the impossible task that we already know isn't quite so impossible -- she knowingly forces the duo to face their feelings, something neither would have done without the push.  Even so, it takes an achingly long time for them to get their act together.  Luckily, as with the first book, the focus of this story is not entirely on the romantic aspect but rather on the curse and the quest to break it.  Reunions are aplenty, as are pirates and assassins.  But I wouldn't have expected anything less from this story.

I love that with this story, we get to see so much of Ananna and Naji's world.  From the desolate floating island in the sky, to the torturous voyage across the sea, to the manticore's home on the Island of the Sun, I've been able to envision a lot of the beauty this world holds.  Though, it would still help to have a map to keep track of it.  I do so love maps of fantasy realms.  Even so, the lush imagery employed by the author, as well as her engaging prose, make it nearly impossible not to imagine yourself in this land of desert-dwelling assassins and bad-tempered pirates.

I can't tell you what ultimately happens with Ananna and Naji, but I can tell you that it was fitting in the best possible way.  Ananna is ill-mannered and foul-mouthed most of the time, while Naji continues to maintain control of his emotions and displays a knowledge that Ananna will surely never possess.  She is at home on the sea, and he will always be an assassin.  Their ending in this story is not perfect, but it is perfect for them, and I am supremely happy with the author for the way she finished their story. Even if there was a little less banter and a little more cold-shoulder this time around.  ;0)

I do hope that the author will revisit these characters in The Wizard's Promise series, since it is set in the same world as The Assassin’s Curse/The Pirate’s Wish series.  I'm still not ready to say goodbye to these characters, but at least I know they may pop up elsewhere in this world.  You can't go wrong with pirates, assassins, and magic. Full of unexpected surprises and three impossible tasks...I am unbelievably happy with how this duology turned out.

Rating: 

The Assassin's Curse series

I just love these covers!!!  :D

About the author:

Cassandra Rose Clarke is a speculative fiction writer living amongst the beige stucco and overgrown pecan trees of Houston, Texas. She graduated in 2006 from The University of St. Thomas with a bachelor’s degree in English, and in 2008 she completed her master’s degree in creative writing at The University of Texas at Austin. Both of these degrees have served her surprisingly well.

During the summer of 2010, she attended the Clarion West Writers Workshop in Seattle. She was also a recipient of the 2010 Susan C. Petrey Clarion Scholarship Fund.

Find Cassandra:

Website | Blog | Twitter | Facebook | Goodreads | Tumblr

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Labels: assassins, cassandra rose clarke, favorites, high fantasy, magic, must-read, pirates, reviews, strange chemistry, the assassin's curse, tx authors

Waiting on Wednesday: The Pirate's Wish by Cassandra Rose Clarke

"Waiting On" Wednesday is a weekly event, hosted by Jill at Breaking the Spine, that spotlights upcoming releases that we're eagerly anticipating.

This week's WoW selection is...

Title: The Pirate's Wish
Author: Cassandra Rose Clarke
Series: The Assassin's Curse, book #2
Publisher: Strange Chemistry
Publication Date: June 4, 2013

After setting out to break the curse that binds them together, the pirate Ananna and the assassin Naji find themselves stranded on an enchanted island in the north with nothing but a sword, their wits, and the secret to breaking the curse: complete three impossible tasks. With the help of their friend Marjani and a rather unusual ally, Ananna and Naji make their way south again, seeking what seems to be beyond their reach.

Unfortunately, Naji has enemies from the shadowy world known as the Mists, and Ananna must still face the repercussions of going up against the Pirate Confederation. Together, Naji and Ananna must break the curse, escape their enemies — and come to terms with their growing romantic attraction.

Why I'm waiting:  I just read The Assassin's Curse, closely followed by The Witch's Betrayal, and I knew I was going to like this story, but I just didn't know how much I was going to enjoy it.  And then the author goes and ends the first book right after the main character has this huge realization that could change the course of their quest!  I waited a long time before picking up the first book, but maybe I should have waited a little longer, at least until this book was released, anyway.  Someone could have warned me, at least.  :P

ETA:  This is up on Netgalley!!!  The WoW gods have smiled upon me again!  =)

What are you waiting on this week?  Feel free to share it in the comments or leave a link so I can stop by!

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Labels: assassins, cassandra rose clarke, fantasy, favorites, magic, pirates, quest, strange chemistry, the assassin's curse, waiting on wednesday (wow)

{Short Story Sunday} Review: The Witch's Betrayal by Cassandra Rose Clarke

image source

Short stories are awesome.  They give us in-depth insight into characters, providing anecdotal proof of why some characters are they way they are.  They entertain by creating a certain mood or focusing on a singular effect...some instance in a previous body of work (or one to follow) that might have been glossed over or ignored completely in a longer novel. 

And so, every Sunday for the foreseeable future, I would like to highlight short stories and novellas set in worlds I've already come to love and learn a little more about some of the secondary characters in my favorite novels.  I'll be underscoring some of my favorite aspects of these short works of fiction, in addition to offering up a mini review of each work.

This week I'm featuring a prequel story:

Title: The Witch's Betrayal
Author: Cassandra Rose Clarke
Series: The Assassin's Curse, book #0.5
Publisher: Strange Chemistry
Publication Date: February 5, 2013
Source: purchased
Purchase: Amazon | Barnes & Noble

An ebook original short story set before The Assassin's Curse.

You’ve read The Assassin’s Curse. You’ve met Naji. Now go back in time and see Naji in his earlier years, as he seeks a target and ends up clashing with Leila, the river witch.

Oh, my poor Naji.  It's no wonder he seems so hard and distant in The Assassin's Curse.  He's suffered, been betrayed by someone close, and he believes he's becoming the monster everyone already sees him as.  I knew there was more to him, but now I think I have a better understanding of his character and therefore a better understanding of his intentions.

All the while Ananna was taunting Naji in The Assassin's Curse, you could see that he was truly hurt and disparaged by some of the comments she made.  It took time for her to see the man beneath the cold, calculating exterior of an assassin.  I could tell he wasn't what he seemed from the moment they met, but getting this peek at who he was before their encounter cemented my earlier impressions of him.

If you were as intrigued by Naji as I was, I definitely recommend picking up this short story.  And if you despised Leila as I did in The Assassin's Curse, you'll definitely enjoy seeing her put in her place in this prequel story.  I'm hoping Ananna will one day learn the history between these two and know that although she may not be stunning like Leila, she is still a far better woman, even if she is a pirate.  :)


Rating:  

The Assassin's Curse series

I just love these covers!!!  :D

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Labels: assassins, cassandra rose clarke, favorites, magic, novellas, reviews, short story sunday, strange chemistry, the assassin's curse

{Audiobook} Review: The Assassin's Curse by Cassandra Rose Clarke

Title: The Assassin's Curse
Author: Cassandra Rose Clarke
Narrator:  Tania Rodrigues
Series: The Assassin's Curse, book #1
Publisher: AudioGO Ltd.
Publication Date: October 11, 2012
Source: purchased, received copy for review via Netgalley
Purchase: Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Audible

Ananna of the Tanarau abandons ship when her parents try to marry her off to an allying pirate clan: she wants to captain her own boat, not serve as second-in-command to her handsome yet clueless fiance. But her escape has dire consequences when she learns the scorned clan has sent an assassin after her.

And when the assassin, Naji, finally catches up with her, things get even worse. Ananna inadvertently triggers a nasty curse — with a life-altering result. Now Ananna and Naji are forced to become uneasy allies as they work together to break the curse and return their lives back to normal. Or at least as normal as the lives of a pirate and an assassin can be.

I love audiobooks.  I know I say that entirely too much, but if it weren't for the audio being on sale at Audible recently (and currently still $3.49 for members!), it would probably still be months before I made time for this book.  And I would be missing out on an awesome tale of pirates, assassins, curses, and magic. Everything about this book was screaming at me to read it:  the title, the cover, the whole premise.  And now that I've listened to it, I want a physical copy.  My shelves deserve to be graced with this book's presence, and I know this is a book I'll want to read again and again.

However, when I started the audio, I did so with slight trepidation.  The narrator has a British accent and she sounds a bit stuffy.  Pair that with the uneducated vernacular of the pirate (think Saba from Blood Red Road but a little less so, lots of ain'ts and got no's), and I thought the narration was going to drive me batty.  Talk about contradictions!  But as the story unfolded and I got to know Ananna's character, I could see why this narrator was chosen.  Not only does she give a unique voice to the protagonist, but she also makes every other character sound singular.  Considering how wary I was of her accent in the beginning, that is truly a feat.

I received a copy of this book for review from the publisher via Netgalley prior to its release last fall, but for some reason, I didn't make it a priority.  I don't know where the disconnect was because as I've already mentioned, this book was perfect for me.  There's no romance to speak of, though one is definitely in the works by the end of the story, and I found that immediately refreshing.  In a fantasy, especially one focused on a quest of some sort, I always feel like the romance should take a backseat to everything else in the story.  I'd much prefer it gradually develop and not overpower the more important aspects of the story, namely the search for the cure to the impossible curse in this story.

That's not to say that I don't like where the romance is headed.  Because I do.  Ananna and Naji are very unlikely allies, considering he's the assassin sent to deliver retribution for the jilted fiance.  Their uneasy alliance grows into friendship, though, as they set out to break the curse they unwittingly brought upon themselves, and it's easy to see that this will blossom into something more...eventually.  Remember the banter between Penryn and Raffe and how they barely tolerated each other at the beginning of their journey in Angelfall?  That's probably the best comparison I can make, just with a little less banter.  

The quest in this novel seems never-ending because as soon as they reach their destination, the assassin and the pirate discover that they need to continue their search elsewhere, which means we get to see a lot of scenery in this book.  The world-building in The Assassin's Curse was perfection.  The descriptions were not overly pretty or image heavy, but they were just enough that I felt myself enveloped in the mist or swaying aboard the ship with Ananna and Naji.

And I can't wait to return to this world in The Pirate's Wish, due out this summer.  As much as I enjoyed this book, I don't think I'll be waiting months before picking up its sequel.

Rating: 

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Labels: assassins, audiobooks, cassandra rose clarke, excerpts, favorites, magic, must-read, pirates, reviews, strange chemistry, the assassin's curse