Review: Brightly Woven by Alexandra Bracken

Brightly Woven

Author: Alexandra Bracken

Publisher: Egmont USA

Series: N/A

Pages: 354

Genre: Fantasy

Release Date: March 23, 2010

How Received: Library

Summary: The day the rains came was like any other, blistering air coating the canyon in a heavy stillness...

Just as the rains come after ten long, dry years, a young wizard, Wayland North, appears, to whisk Sydelle Mirabil away from her desert village. North needs an assistant, and Sydelle is eager to see the country—and to join him on his quest to stop the war that surely will destroy her home. But North has secrets—about himself, about why he chose Sydelle, about his real reasons for the journey. What does he want from her? And why does North’s sworn enemy seem fascinated by Sydelle himself?

My Thoughts:

This was one of the messiest fantasy novels I had read in... well, ever. The events are explained in such a confusing matter – I had to re-read a couple of them twice or three times to fully understand what transpired. I couldn’t even begin to fathom the whirlwind of jumbled words and thoughts at the beginning of the novel, but if you can get past the disjointed writing at the beginning, there is promise at the end. But even at the end I had a lot of clueless moments, so that isn’t saying much.

A lot of things in the book just didn’t make sense at all. It almost seemed like Bracken focused so much on making her major storylines flow and connect that she totally neglected the smaller, “insignificant” details. For example, North slipped out that a wizard poisoned the king. But Sydelle totally glazes over that fact. Instead, she asks about it 100 pages later. Another is when Sydelle cut her hair at the end. No one mentioned it, not even North. Her hair was a considerable length – there couldn’t have been no one to at least comment on it.

It was hard getting absorbed into Brightly Woven’s world. With fantasy, you have to have a knack with easing the reader into the world – I never got that with this novel. There was a lot of “transporting” – one moment they’re talking in the main room, the next they’re in Sydelle’s room, alone. Not enough was explained to us, and descriptions were almost non-existent.

The plot and pacing were okay, but I had figured out many of the plot twists before they were really revealed.

Sydelle, the main character, downright annoyed the living daylights out of me in the beginning. She was so obnoxious and whiny the entire first half of the book. I mean, come ON. She willingly went with North. She had the choice to go back. Actually, no I take back my first statement. She annoyed me all through the novel. She was just so dang stupid. She kept giving North attitude about him, when it was really her that was the problem. Half of the time, she’d get herself into situations where she refuses North’s help, but ends up needing it anyway because she fails. I despised her when she felt “betrayed” by North towards the end.

I really enjoyed North, though, although his character seemed off at times. He had no set personality until the end, really. I also loved Owain (and his ridiculous love for his horse, Vesta, haha). He made suffering through Sydelle’s whining bearable. The Queens character didn’t seem set, either. There was one moment when I was reading something the queen was saying and was like... “That so does not sound like the queen we met a chapter or two back...”

The romance was okay. I loved how it progressed, and there were a couple of times I found myself giggling. But it wasn’t something praise-worthy, though. Just so-so (I blame Sydelle). 

Cover Musings: I picked this book because of the cover. It is the epitome of gorgeous! I love the text and the brushes towards the bottom, and the model for this is gorgeousss.

Memorable Quotes:

"‘Thank you for bringing me back to the village,’ I said. ‘I don’t know that I’ve ever fainted before. I guess I was more overwhelmed than I thought.’

‘And here I thought you swooned at the sight of me.’ He gave me a crooked smile." (pg. 17)

"‘Well, have you ever thought of bathing?’ I asked, turning away. ‘No one wants to hire a wizard who smells worse than their outhouse. And who knows what creatures are living in that hair?’

‘Why do I need to brush my hair, anyway?’ He lifted his arm and gave a few experimental whiffs. ‘And I smell wonderful. All manly and whatnot.’" (pg. 66)

"‘You know, lass, the reason I was surprised to see you was because I thought that a pretty, delicate thing like yourself couldn’t possibly be there with Wayland North. He doesn’t bring many girls round unless they’re part of a job—but also ‘cause his smell can sometimes kill kittens.’" (pg. 80)

"‘You know we’re supposed to be together; it’s the way it’s always been!’

But it was no longer the way it could be. How do you tell someone that he is a part of your past, and not your future?" (pg. 319-320)

"‘You’ll have to treat me with a little more respect. They consider me a goddess in some countries, you know.’

North laughed loudly, reaching for me again. ‘Yes, but I’ve always considered you a goddess, Sydelle Mirabil.’

I smiled, letting him pull me close. Wizards, honestly." (pg. 347)

Overall Thoughts/Final Comments: I had really high hopes for this novel, being a fantasy lover through and through. It was just too jumbled and disjointed for me to really, truly love it. If it hadn’t been so messy, I might have liked it more. Overall, it was a good read, but definitely not stunning.

Rating: 3/5


**This review was submitted in the 2010 Debut Author Challenge!