Title: Trinity
Author: Clare Davidson
Genre: YA, Fantasy, Paranormal
Publisher: CreateSpace
Publication Date: July 12th, 2012
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Review copy provided by the author in exchange for honest review.
Kiana longs to walk through a forest and feel grass between her toes. But she is the living embodiment of a goddess and has enemies who wish to murder her. Her death will curse the whole of Gettryne. Locked away for protection, she dreams of freedom.
Her wish comes true in the worst possible way, when her home and defenders are destroyed.
Along with an inexperienced guard and a hunted outcast, Kiana flees the ravages of battle to search for a solution to the madness that has gripped Gettryne for a thousand years. Pursued by the vicious and unrelenting Wolves, their journey will take them far beyond their limits, to a secret that will shake the world.
Trinity has an amazing cover. It may be superficial, but that was the first thing I noticed about this book, and the first reason why I wanted to read it. I didn’t care about the plot, at first glance I knew this book was giong to be something I enjoyed based on the cover alone. So then I went to read the synopsis, and I liked it. I thought it was a fresh and original take on our regular, well-known epic fantasy stories. And it was for young adults. Double win. So I said ‘yes’ to a review copy and began reading the book practically as soon as I got it in my mailbox.
Kiana is the living embodiment of a goddess. If she dies, the entire land will be cursed. To prevent that from happening, she’s locked up in a tower, surrounded by guards, handmaidens and teachers. What she wishes for more than anything else however, is freedom. Well, wishes have a strange way of coming true in ways you don’t expect, and don’t want to. The tower Kiana lives in is attacked by the Wolves, enemies of the goddess she represents. They kill many of her guards, and Kiana can barely escape. With the help of a guard who’s on duty for the very first time, but who would lay down his life to save hers, and a Wolf outcast who’s consumed from within by a dangerous and powerful magic every time he tries to protect himself, Kiana must make it out of the woods alive, and stay out of the Wolves’ claws.
The world author Clare Davidson introduces us to is vivid, imaginative and colorful. It’s a completely different take from the fantasy worlds I’m used to reading about, and that I enjoyed very much. The story is action-packed and mysterious, leaving the reader on the edge of their seat until the end when all (okay, maybe not all, but part) is revealed and the veil is lifted. As I said, the world building was fabulous. The writing was decent as well. The vocabulary wasn’t flowery when it didn’t need to, and that worked well. Since the book was primarily aimed at young adults, it didn’t dwell too much on descriptions, except, of course, to describe the world.
The plot itself was delightful as well. The action didn’t stop once. They’re on the run for their lives from start to finish. Add in a little mystery, betrayal and some nice plot twists, and you have an enjoyable story. I also liked the secondary characters. Each one seemed well-developed, especially since they only appeared briefly – and most of them really added something to the story.
What I didn’t like? Kiana. I know what you’re going to say – how can you enjoy a book when you don’t like the main character? Well, turns out it’s possible. I thought Kiana spend most of the time complaining, and granted, she had every right to complain, but she just complained for all the wrong reasons. She evolved, albeit slowly, but I failed to grasp why, and what exactly triggered her character progress at some points. After her guards have been slaughtered, she seems more interested in the Wolf outcast and making sure he’s all right than in mourning the loss of people whom she knew her entire life. I thought it was a bit odd, as if the deaths of those people were cast aside immediately and meant little to nothing. Her whole character progress seemed a little wonky at times.
However, I can easily forgive the unlikeable main character, since the plo was so good it kept me reading till the end, and the secondary characters made up for a lot of the main character’s failures. If you like epic fantasy and you’re up for something new, try Trinity. In terms of plot and world building, it will definitely not dissapoint.
Thanks for the review 🙂