Bloghopping *The Naming* by Alison Croggon

Kiirstin has been reading the Book of Pellinor series by Alison Croggon and her reaction and reviews so far have me totally excited about reading The Naming, the first in the series.

Here's a peek-see into her review:

"I was utterly amazed at how wrapped up I got in this book, although I probably shouldn't have been. It's definitely my sort of thing -- reading The Naming is a bit like coming home for me. My first reading love is fantasy and though I've been reading a wide range of things lately, The Naming is where my love of reading started: a strong female protagonist on a fantastical quest to save the world"

"Within the first few pages I was attached to Maerad, and I think Croggon's biggest triumph is in her characters. It's not just Maerad we grow fond of -- it's the supporting characters around her, even those who seem to flit in and out of the story such that we hardly get to know them before they're gone again. These characters are brave, smart, kind people we care about, who are about to be put through hell. But Maerad is the glue of the story, and she's a wonderfully courageous, practical, and intelligent character. She's also a little uneven in the way a sixteen-year-old would be expected to be uneven, with slightly irrational moods and angers, which peter out just as quickly. And she's mature enough to know when to cut it out. It's very well done"

"As a testiment to how much I enjoyed this book, I am still considering turning right back to the beginning and reading it again, because I'm pretty sure it would be better a second run through. I'm going to control myself, though, and wait until I've read the full series, and then read the whole thing through again"

Read all three (so far) reviews of the books in this series by Kiirstin!

The story sounds like it gets even better by the third book, The Crow. They are huge books, nothing to take on too lightly, but as Kiirstin says, you get caught up in the story easily. I'm looking forward to starting it!

Mandy