Other Peoples Reviews

Let's face it, my reviews SUCK. I'm sure you people out there can do MUCH better. So, if you've got a review and plot outline for any or all of the books, SEND IT TO ME! In case you've forgotten, my e-mail address is leah87@start.com.au. Yay! Someone finally sent in some reviews! Thanks go to Cody and Henri!

In Wild Magic a young girl named Daine meets up with a palace worker named Onuia and gets a job with her working to get horses to the palace.  Along the way, they get attacked by some immortals and Daine helps Onuia and Numair.  It's a wonderful story about trust and friendship.  I give it a 9 out of 10.

In Wolf Speaker, Daine and Numair go to help Daine's wolf friends.  Some people are cutting down trees and polluting the water.  When Numair gets stuck outside a magic wall, it's up to Daine and her friends to do everthing by herself.  This one is my personal favorite.  I feel it's Tamora Pierce at her best.  10 out of 10.

Emporer Mage has Daine going on a Deplomatic voyage to the Carthack Islands.  Daine is to help the Emporer's birds, who keep getting sick.  But Daine winds up finding and having to learn how to handle a new part to her power and help stop something evil going on in the palace.  This one has parts that just keep you reading non-stop for hours.  Definitly 9 1/2 out of 10.

In The Realm of the Gods is the forth book in the Immortals series.  Daine and Numair go to stop something evil and wind up getting trasported to the Relm of the Gods to keep from dying.  By the time they return, they need to get prepaired for a war.  This is by far the strangest book in the series, and Daine and Numair's blossiming romance isn't just blossiming anymore.  I didn't really like it that much, but it's still well written and a very good book.  It get an 9 out of 10.

Sandry's Book
Four "kids" are taken to Winding Circle temple in Emelan, where they discover they have magical abilities.  They move to Discipline, learn meditation, and get teachers.  They survive underground during an earthquake, and form an unbreakable bond.  A 9 out of 10, perfect for summer trips and rainy days.
-Leila Hythenzelay Jones

Alanna: The First Adventure
A cute story with an interesting and spirited young
heroine. I love the training sections but found the
whole Black City and the Ysandir at the end to be
random and contrived almost.
A 6 1/2 out of 10 (I really did not like the Black
City thing... there are better ways to reveal to
Jonathan that she's a girl)

In the Hands of the Goddess
Probably the best book in the series, Alanna finally
comes to grips with her femininity (yeah!), defeats her
nemesis (Duke Roger), and becomes a knight. Jonathan
and Alanna's little romance is charming and hormonally
charged. I love how the Goddess becomes an active
member of the story line.
9 1/2 out of 10 (I love it... I love it!)

The Woman Who Rides Like a Man
I know most people have a problem with this book,
but I loved it. It showed Alanna as a very human
person who doesn't quite know what to do with her life
and makes mistakes... sometimes many mistakes. The
desert setting is exotic and mysterious. Alanna is no
longer the little girl who disguised herself as a boy
or the brave maiden who was kidnapped and saved and
then went on to defeat the evil duke - she is growing
into a mature woman... sometimes very slowly and with
many rough spots along the way.
7 out of 10

Lioness Rampant
It felt as if this book should have been two
books--her quest for the Dominion Jewel and her defeat
of the Duke brought back from the dead. I liked the
first part, but the second was just down right
depressing--everyone died! Alanna has finally come
into her own--emotionally (realizing finally that
George is the man for her!), as a knight, and as a
mage. It was a good way to end the series.

8 out of 10

Cody MacBride

Protector of the Small

The First Test- Ten years (or was it thirteen? I forget) after King Jonathan made the law saying that girls may try for their shield if they wish one girl who has been training in the Yamani Islands for 6 years comes forward. Yes, Keladry of Mindelan has asked to become the first openly known female page in the Royal Training Palace in Corus. There she has to overcome many difficult tests such as: Lord Wyldon, the training master that dislikes female fighters and has put her on a year of probation, bullies that like custom a bit too much, a horse too big and tricky for her, foes who want her gone, and her fear of heights.

I loved this book I'll give it a 9 out of 10.

Page- Finally Keladry of Mindelan is a real page! No more probation for her. But even though her probation is over she still have many challenges to pass. There she discovers new feelings for her best friend Neal, a maid that flinches at the sight of her fighting, a dog that thinks he belongs to her, and foes that still want her out. But when she and friends are trapped by bandits she must show courage and take command to lead her friends to safety. And the foes that want her out tries again to cause enough disaster to make her leave. In the end will she hold her promise and honour to her maid and sacrifice what she worked so hard to do or turn her back on her maid and finish what she set out to do?

This book was great but a bit boring at some parts so it's a 8 out of 10.

Squire- Ah, squire at last. Keladry of Mindelan never expected to have a knight-master as who in their right minds would take The Girl? But she was wrong, now in service to her new knight-master Lord Raoul she sets out on adventure with the King's Own. In this book she finds herself over Neal. Instead she now likes Dom, Neal's cousin. She wonders if there's something wrong with her. Is she fickled-silly? Do other girl's feelings jump from guy to guy like hers did?  Out in the world with a bunch of men she helps fight bandits and repair damaged land. And she must prepare herself for her ordeal, will she pass the this final test for her shield or will she fail and never be a knight? She must get over her fear of the Chamber. Also, coming back at Midwinter, one of her close friends Cleon of Kennan reveals his true feelings for her. What's she to do now?

I loved this book! It's my favourite so far! So I give it a 12 out of 10!!

                                                                     Henri (<--internet nickname)

Alanna: The First Adventure
A ten-year-old girl with a magic gift decides that she
wants to become a knight at the palace instead of a
lady. She switches with her twin brother, and goes to
the palace to become a page. There she meets, Gary,
Alex, Raoul, Jon, and George (well, she meets him in
the marketplace). After brief sparks with Ralon and
the Duke, she follows Jon to the Black City of the
Bazhir. There they defeat the Ysandir, and he finds
out that Alanna is a girl. My rating: 8 1/2 out of
10.
In the Hands of the Goddess
Now Jon's squire, Alanna is given a gift by the
Goddess that she must find out how to use to save her
life, and Jon's. After the war with Tuisane, her
suspisions of Duke Roger grow, and after her Ordeal
she has the courage to find proof, expose, and duel
him. Also aided by a romance between her and Jon that
adds a great atmosphere. My fave, and rated: 9 1/2
out of 10.
-Leila Hythenzelay Jones