I really wanted to like this book. I LOVE the cover. I LOVE the idea. But then the first 59 pages were daunting and frustrating. And then it got AWESOME. I fell in love with the main character Sylvi and her bound Pegasus Ebon. But then there were so many jumpy moments, where you were with Sylvi in the moment and then the story would venture to a flashback--so I would have to sort out where I was, where the story was, before I could progress.
And then the last 83! pages were a nightmare--truly a NIGHTMARE. Don't even get me started on the end of the book. Or NON-ENDING as many have said before me.
I will be honest. I probably wouldn't have read this book had I known there were more that were to follow. This is hardcover, therefore, the sequel won't be out for at least a year. NOT UNTIL 2012!!!
While Catching Fire ended with so many questions and the reader feels like it is a non-ending, the reader EXPECTS this type of ending in the second book of a trilogy! I might have peeked ahead to the end of the book mid-way (a bad habit I know!), and in my confusion did some research and THEN found out that this will probably be a trilogy as well.
McKinley is a good writer. But as a YA book, this is extremely wordy, it is frustrating to sort out all the names (that are very foreign and some are superfluous), the new language and landscape, and overall, the perfect match must be made between reader and book for this to be a true page turner.
I LOVED when Sylvi was in the Pegasi homeland--Rhiandomeer--I loved the conversations between Sylvi and Ebon, and Sylvi and the other Pegasi. But I skimmed Fthoom (the evil magician) and his speech about the dream he had about the Roc which basically set up the worst "ending" ever.
So now I have a bitter taste in my mouth, so I am going to reread when Ebon and Sylvi first were bound and their conversations. That makes me happy and fulfilled!
