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iariaThe Daemon Prism by Carol Berg
The Collegia Magica series was great. I very much enjoyed all three books.
+ I did hate that Portier died for good at the end. I was hoping that in someway it wouldn't be permanent. I wish we could have gotten more of Portier's POV in the last book.
+ I thought the Anne/Dante romance was very well done.
+ The only thing I didn't like about the end was the revelation during Ilario's POV that he's been in unrequited love with Anne all this time. I don't know what the purpose of that was - especially since Dante came back. Which speaking of - I loved his revelation that there was still magic in the world and him sitting down to teach the others how to use it.
+ Back to Ilario; I think it would have worked far better if it had been revealed that it was Portier that Ilario had been in love with and I feel like it would have worked very well with everything that had come before (if it was so necessary for him to unrequited love someone.)
When the King Comes Home by Caroline Stevermer
It was a very easy read. I quite liked the POV character Hail and her interactions with everyone.
+ The one thing that really threw me at the end of the book was that Hail and Ludovic never got together. The whole book seemed to be leading towards it. It was fairly clear he was in love with her, and as the book went on it seemed clear that Hail had feelings for him even if they weren't something she would acknowledge to herself (her sketchbook being filled of him, her worry for his safety). That she ended up living her life alone with her art and he went off and married someone else was really unexpected! A part of me actually likes it for just that reason - it didn't conform to what books usually do - but on the other hand, I really liked Hail/Ludo and it makes me sad that they didn't get together.
+ Actually the whole end was very bittersweet - everyone she cared about got happy endings, she became a master and got to have her art but at the same time she never found love and the kingdom never really recovers. Instead there is the slow wearing away of the Lidian Empire and lessening of Aravis as a place of art and beauty.
+ Oh, also were we supposed to see Istvan/Julian/Andred? Because I really did.
The Collegia Magica series was great. I very much enjoyed all three books.
+ I did hate that Portier died for good at the end. I was hoping that in someway it wouldn't be permanent. I wish we could have gotten more of Portier's POV in the last book.
+ I thought the Anne/Dante romance was very well done.
+ The only thing I didn't like about the end was the revelation during Ilario's POV that he's been in unrequited love with Anne all this time. I don't know what the purpose of that was - especially since Dante came back. Which speaking of - I loved his revelation that there was still magic in the world and him sitting down to teach the others how to use it.
+ Back to Ilario; I think it would have worked far better if it had been revealed that it was Portier that Ilario had been in love with and I feel like it would have worked very well with everything that had come before (if it was so necessary for him to unrequited love someone.)
When the King Comes Home by Caroline Stevermer
It was a very easy read. I quite liked the POV character Hail and her interactions with everyone.
+ The one thing that really threw me at the end of the book was that Hail and Ludovic never got together. The whole book seemed to be leading towards it. It was fairly clear he was in love with her, and as the book went on it seemed clear that Hail had feelings for him even if they weren't something she would acknowledge to herself (her sketchbook being filled of him, her worry for his safety). That she ended up living her life alone with her art and he went off and married someone else was really unexpected! A part of me actually likes it for just that reason - it didn't conform to what books usually do - but on the other hand, I really liked Hail/Ludo and it makes me sad that they didn't get together.
+ Actually the whole end was very bittersweet - everyone she cared about got happy endings, she became a master and got to have her art but at the same time she never found love and the kingdom never really recovers. Instead there is the slow wearing away of the Lidian Empire and lessening of Aravis as a place of art and beauty.
+ Oh, also were we supposed to see Istvan/Julian/Andred? Because I really did.
