Book Review- Avielle of Rhia

(From Goodreads) Since the blood of her great-great-grandmother, Dolvoka, had sprung up in Princess Avielle-because she looked Dredonian-would Dolvoka's evil magic spring up in her, too? 

With her silver skin and silver hair, fifteen-year-old Princess Avielle of Rhia resembles her Dredonian great-great grandmother who practiced evil magic. Everyone in Rhia expects Avielle to turn evil, too. Shunned by those around her, she feels unloved and unable to love others. In addition, Rhia is on the verge of war with Dredonia, which suffers under the rule of evil wizard-priests: the Brethren of the Black Cloaks. They have placed impossible demands upon Rhia, but the king and queen have refused to acquiesce.

One terrible night, the Brethren attack, killing the royal family and hundreds of others. Only Avielle escapes. She must keep her identity secret to avoid death from the enemy. While hiding among the common people, she learns that she has a magical gift for weaving. But will this gift, rooted in her Dredonian blood, lead Avielle to the same evil that possessed her great-great grandmother? Or will it help her free her people from further attacks?

So I found this in my library one Saturday when I went to go to my writer's group. Only I found out that there wasn't writer's group that day and decided to browse the shelves for books. I got way too many books. 

Anyways, I happened across this book and I loved it! I could barely put it down, even when there was a demonstration about how the CSI solves crimes and stuff. 

I LOVED the characters, they were my favorite part and you could clearly see how Avielle grew and developed at the end of the story. I was so happy to see her finally get rid of her grief and come out of her great-grandmother's shadow. Avie was very realistic, she dealt with her grief and struggled with it. She had flaws and good things about her. You wanted to her to win, and to know where her gift of weaving would take her. In the end she struggled and won. It wasn't one of those I'm-so-awesome-so-this-ending-struggle-won't-be-hard, it was the final struggle that she had to work to overcome. 

There wasn't really any romance in this story although there was clearly the possibility for it. But then, the novel isn't about romance and I feel like I'm happy that the author didn't put romance into it because so many YA novels include it. 

The rest of the characters were awesome too. I was so sad when her family died although I wasn't so sad when her eldest brother died. I just wished we could have seen more of her siblings. They were only mentioned once and then never touched on again. I was sad when the lady (I can't remember her name) she stayed with died, and when all the other bad things happened to her. 

Another thing I loved about this book was how rich the culture was. It was so explored and didn't leave much to desire or many questions unanswered. Another thing that was dealt with very nicely was the topic of race and prejudice. It was very prevalent in the story and the author handled it with grace so that it left me with a good message. 

As for the plot, it was very good. I enjoyed seeing her struggle between good and evil and then eventually over coming her fears and embracing who she really was. And eventually saving her kingdom. I like how Avie learns eventually that its not what's on the outside that counts, but what's on the inside. I also enjoyed seeing Avie learn that she wasn't unlovable and seeing her return that love and kindness. 

I would enjoy seeing a sqeul to this. Unfortantly the author has never written one, although I think there certainly could be one. But the novel is fine on its own as it is. One thing I wish seeing a little more of was learning more about the other countries in the book. We learn a little about Dredonians about not really a lot. And I remember other countries being mentioned too. 

Overall it was a fantastic book and I'm happy to give it five out of five stars. 

On Goodreads: Avielle of Rhia

Website: Dia Calhoun

Sincerely,

Sareh