Anathema (Cloud Prophet Trilogy #1) by Megg Jensen Published by DarkSide Publishing on Feb 5, 2011
Genres: Paranormal, YA
Format: eBook from Free Download
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Rating:
Magic. Lies. Manipulation
Reychel is a slave girl sheltered from the outside world with no hope for escape. The night before her dreaded fifteenth birthday, her best friend disappears, leaving her to face her branding ceremony – when her master’s sigil is burned on the back of her bald scalp – alone. She soon discovers nothing is as it seems when people desperate for freedom beg for her help.
Can Reychel learn to believe in herself in time?
This was a quick story that contained many unexpected secrets and twists. I wasn’t expecting some of them, which made for delightful surprises.
I love Reychel’s name. It is creative twist on a common name that makes an impact in a written story. I’m not sure it would be great in real life since it would always be mispelled, but it works great in a book. Reychel was a strong fighter who quickly grew to trust and believe in herself. SHe went through several traumatic events that seemed to enhance her instead of destroying her.
I was surprised at how quickly and easily she took to Mark and his friendship. It seemed a bit odd since she really didn’t have any experience with boys in her life as a slave. It didn’t really stand out while reading the story, but became more apparent when I looked back at it.
The ending left a bit rushed. Everything happened so fast that it was hard to absorb all of it while reading it. It ended a bit abruptly, and is definitely a series book. I hope that the next book reviews a bit of the final chapter of this one to helped sort out exactly what happened, and continue the story, of course.
Overall, this was a quick and exciting read. It takes place in a world with intricate class and magic rules. This isn’t explained in much detail, which makes sense based on how sheltered Reychel’s life was in the beginning of the story. I can only hope that there are more explanations in future books as Reychel herself learns more.
I gave this one a three too, still haven’t gotten round to reading book 2 even though I have it.
I hate it when an ending is rushed but I like the sound of the premise. Nice.