Chantress Alchemy

I really enjoyed this wonderful novel. Right from the start it grabs you, pulling you into its amazing magic. I thoroughly recommend it - a tale of mystery, intrigue and powerful writing. Thank you, Amy! Fantastic writing.

I agree with the other reviewers that this book is a little short on action for the first half. However, I did find Lucy a sympathetic character and I also liked Nat: his inscrutability and his love-disguised-as-hate for Lucy. I would have liked to know more about Nat's back history in his own words; we only find out about it from other characters.This book has a great concept; I love the idea of singing spells and I hadn't come across them before. I was also properly creeped out by the Shadowgrims. Ravens are creepy birds anyway, but this was like a Hitchcock version. Having said that, the author never actually showed us the Shadowgrims in action, which could have really heightened the tension. Similarly, we didn't see enough of the villain, Scargrave. We were always hearing about the bad things he'd done but we didn't see many of them. The middle section of the book is where Lucy is being trained by her grumpy cousin, who has escaped capture for many years. It is, of necessity, a bit 'talky' though I felt it was a good way of showing us how Lucy becomes frustrated at being held back.The last third of the book is a really fast, enjoyable read, and I liked the way Lucy threw herself into trying to save her friends. The stone she wears around her neck is supposed to protect her, but she does something at the end of the book that means things will never be the same again. This book is the first in a trilogy, and it will be interesting to see how Lucy's story develops in the next book. Despite some pacing issues in the middle, I enjoyed this book.

I thoroughly recommend this enchanting book! Filled with magic and female power, it very quickly wove a magical spell around me and I read it in less than a day! Absolutely beautiful and such a great story. Thankyou, Amy, for weaving such an enchantment.

This book had so much potential, the idea is awesome and interesting it offers something intriguing and a little bit different, but somewhere along the line this book just got lost for me.There were four real issues I had with this book. The first was the lack of action, not much seemed to happen for a lot of the book. There was a lot of sitting around and talking but not much else, I wasn't exactly bored by it but it didn't grip me either. I just needed more to happen.The second problem was the characters. They are alright but there is not enough to them. I knew very little about them and their personalities were never really developed. They were not funny, shy, happy or anything else. A few of them did have bigger personalities but generally these characters were unlikeable. The rest I found bland, including Lucy, who I struggled to connect with.Thirdly was the villain, I just didn't think he was bad enough. Sure, his motives and methods were nasty but like all the other characters there was not enough to him for me to actually see his villainous side, I wanted more from him.Lastly was the romance. The blurb said this book was romantic, but in my opinion there was not enough romance in this book to be considered romantic. I felt no chemistry or connection between Lucy and Nat and to be honest I didn't really like him for the first half of the book and neither did Lucy.To be fair it is not all bad news. The idea for this book is a good one which I found fresh and original and the writing was good. I had no problems envisioning this world and what was happening in it. I also enjoyed the few bits of action.Chantress is not a bad book, it is perfectly readable but it is not engaging enough to be a book that I will remember.

ChantressI have to confess, I was initially drawn to CHANTRESS by its pretty cover, followed swiftly by the blurb which made it sound like a Maria V. Snyder or Juliet Marillier style historical fantasy with a slow-forming romance in. Which as you may or may not know, is my own personal brand of book crack.To that end, however, it was slightly underwhelming. I found the writing engaging enough and the concept interesting (although I have read of Spell Singers before, it's certainly not something that's overdone at all), and the characters were likeable with good back stories. But the plot itself was a little too slow with too many pages dedicated to Lucy's endless training sessions and only a flurry of excitement towards the end. Also, the romance was a bit too minuscule for my liking. I like them subtle, because I like to concentrate on story and world-building, but this was blink and you'll miss it.At this point I'd like to say that despite this book being slow and full of set-up, I see quite a lot of potential for future books, but due to the game-changing events at the end, I actually have no clue where the author plans to take the trilogy from here.I think I'll likely check out some reviews for book two before I make my decision as to whether to carry on with this one or not.3 Stars ★★★ARC provided by the publisher in exchange for an honest review.