Title: Chantress
Series: Chantress #1
Author: Amy Butler Greenfield
Pages: 324
Published: 05.07.13
Acquired: From the Publisher - Thank you McELDERRY Books
Goodreads Rating: 3.84
My Rating: 4.0
Gooreads Synopsis:
Lucy, shipwrecked on an island at 8, is forbidden to sing by guardian Norrie. On All Hallows Eve 1667, at 15, she sings, and is swept into darkness. She wakes to hear powerful men hunt Chantresses who sing magic into the world. At the Invisible College she finds sanctuary, plots to overthrow the evil Lord Protector, and distrustful scientist-apprentice Nat. Only a Chantress can overcome the Protector, and Lucy is the last in England.
My Review:
I have to admit that the first time I came across this cover at a Barnes and Noble I was immediately drawn in to the gorgeous cover. My friend Amber liked it so much that she immediately purchased it. After reading it she told me how much she adored it and that she was dying for the sequel. Fast forward a year and when I noticed on Edelweiss that the sequel was coming out I immediately texted and her and asked her if I could borrow her book. Patri had been contacting authors to participate in our FFBC events and little did I know that she had contacted Amy Butler Greenfield until she had contacted us back giving us the green light to host the sequel to Chantress. I was already over the moon with excitement, and to put the cherry on top, her amazing publicist over at Simon Schuster actually said she would mail us a copy of the 1st book.
I picked up Chantress early last week and was immediately entranced by the story. As the synopsis above states, the story is about a 15 year old girl Lucy who had been shipwrecked on an island with her guardian Norrie. Lucy has no memory for the shipwreck, all she know is what Norrie has told her. She has a longing to go back home to England and a longing for her mother. When she uncovers a secret letter from her mother that Norrie has hidden from her she is outraged. Some of the letter I blotched, but she can make of it she finds out that she is a Chantress. What that means or what entails she's not quite sure. Suddenly she hears a song that calls out to her and she starts singing, even though she has been cautioned from Norrie against singing. The song engulfs her and pulls her a dark space and when she comes to she is actually in a library She's not quite sure where she is and before she gets a chance to get her bearings two 3 men come into the room an their conversation is basically about how all Chantresses should be found and killed. Luckily she is able to hide behind the curtain and is able to not be detected by the men who want to kill her. As she is trying to figure out a way how to get out of the house, she spots another man run in and steal a book and sneak into a secret door She follows him until he arrives home.
There she is discovered and Lucy is scared that these men might want to kill her too But instead they have the complete opposite goal in mind. They want to protect Lucy and in fact, they need her. The kingdom is in trouble and she might the only person who can save them!
So much more happens in this book, but I wanted to leave it out of the synopsis because I want all of you to go out and get it and discover it on your own. At first I was kind of confuse with what exactly a Chantress was. And I almost feel like we were meant to be confused, because Lucy herself was not aware that she was a Chantress and frankly there was no one there to instruct her quite yet. It so touching to see how Lucy deals with this new discovery. She wants to help them, but a) doesn't know exactly how to come across her powers and b) frankly doesn't know if she can trust them. In my opinion I found Lucy to be brave and strong. She has no one to confide in and her one confidante Norrie is missing.
The thing I like most about this book, was the slow sweet pace. As the reader we discover all of Lucy's abilities at he same time she is discovering them! Don't get me wrong just because the pacing is slow does not mean that the plot was lacking. There was A LOT going on. Tons of new characters and plenty of obstacles that occurred. But the author allowed you to grasp each thing as it comes and completely absorb and digest it before another twist comes in. This way you always know everything that is occurring and are not going back and forth trying to figure the plot out.
I also liked the slow forming relationship between Nate and Lucy. Frankly at first they both don't even know if they trust one another, but they must put their differences aside to accomplish the goal in hand.
All in all I really enjoyed this story. The pacing was beautiful, the plot was action packed and the characters were fun and real. I was so invested in this story that just after finishing it. I flew straight to book 2!
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