Hello!
Today the blog tour for Avery, the first book in Charlotte McConaghy’s The Chronicles of Kaya series, stops by and I’m sharing my review with you! But first, a little about the book:
Avery (The Chronicles of Kaya #1) by Charlotte McConaghy Published: February 2nd 2015 by Random House AU
Format: Paperback, 384 pages
Genres: Fantasy
Source: Publisher
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The people of Kaya die in pairs. When one lover dies, the other does too. So it has been for thousands of years – until Ava.
For although her bondmate, Avery, has been murdered and Ava’s soul has been torn in two, she is the only one who has ever been strong enough to cling to life. Vowing revenge upon the barbarian queen of Pirenti, Ava's plan is interrupted when she is instead captured by the deadly prince of her enemies.
Prince Ambrose has been brought up to kill and hate. But when he takes charge of a strangely captivating Kayan prisoner and is forced to survive with her on a dangerous island, he must reconsider all he holds true . . .
In a violent country like Pirenti, where emotion is scorned as a weakness, can he find the strength to fight for the person he loves . . . even when she’s his vengeful enemy?
Avery introduces us to a dark and war-torn world where the people of Kaya and Pirenti kill each other ruthlessly for some long-forgotten reason. It introduces us to the two Pirenti princes – Thorne and Ambrose – and their bittersweet love stories that somehow bloom in this dangerous world.
At the centre of this story is Ava, a Kayan woman whose bond-mate died while trying to kill the Pirenti Queen. But Ava is unnatural because she didn’t die with her bond-mate and now she’s doomed to live a half-life as a shadow who can’t feel, can’t taste, can’t smile. Travelling disguised as a boy, Ava is taken prisoner by the Pirenti and escorted to a prison isle by Prince Ambrose. Ava’s story is heart-wrenching and haunting. It’s very emotional seeing her come out of depression and start to live again, to see her come alive with Ambrose.
On the other hand, I had a difficult time with Thorne and Rose’s passages. I liked Rose a lot – her quirkiness and way of looking at the world intrigued me, but I disliked the relationship she had with Thorne. It’s abusive and wrong, and made me very uncomfortable.
Although the focus of the story is very much on the emotional journeys of its four major characters, its plot also involves Ava’s desire for revenge on the Barbarian Queen. Although it’s slightly predictable, I enjoyed the twists and turns and seeing everyone’s secrets come to light.
I was confused at first by the writing style of this book, because its rhythm kept throwing me off instead of pulling me into the story. But I ended up loving it once I got used to its strangeness, and there’s no denying that Avery has some beautiful passages in it. It’s written very well and I admire the author’s skill in showing us exactly how broken Ava felt, and how Ambrose was able to slowly pull her towards life.
Avery is an accomplished, riveting story and I think readers of fantasy will enjoy discovering the world and its characters. I enjoyed the story and can’t wait to see what happens in the next book, Thorne.
About Charlotte McConaghy
Charlotte grew up with her nose in a book and her head in the clouds. At fourteen, her English teacher told her that the short story she'd submitted was wildly romantic but somewhat clichéd, so she decided to prove him wrong – and write a novel. Thus began her foray into epic fantasy, with sweeping romances and heroic adventures, and as much juicy drama as she could possibly squeeze in.
Her first novel, Arrival, was published at age seventeen, followed by Descent when she was twenty, launching The Strangers of Paragor series, which is adventure fantasy for teenagers.
Soon she started her first adult fantasy novel, Avery, the prologue of which came to her in a very vivid dream. This novel didn't come together fully until she had finished a degree in screenwriting at the Australian Film, Television & Radio School in Sydney, and then all at once it seemed to fall into place. Avery will be the first book in a new series called The Chronicles of Kaya.
Charlotte currently lives in Sydney, studying a Masters in Screenwriting, which allows her to explore different aspects of her writing and indulge in her passion for film and television. She will, however, always be a novelist at heart, still unable to get her nose out of the books.
The first stop of the tour is at Aussie Author Challenge, where there is an interview and a giveaway, and the second post is at Book Muster Down Under, where there is a sneak peek! Check out all the other stops on this awesome blog tour here.
Rochelle Sharpe
I loved this. Having four first person POVs threw me off a little at first too, but once I got use to it, I actually really enjoyed it being written that way. I disliked Thorne’s character at first but I ended up finding him really fascinating. Yes, he was an abuser and that is wrong, but I found it interesting learning how he came to be the way he was and how he ended up trying to fight the beast within himself.
Great review, I’m glad you enjoyed it.
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