Enna Burning is the 2nd book in the Books of Bayern series written by Shannon Hale. I read the first book, Goose Girl, several years ago and loved it! I was eager to read this book but when I launched into reading it sometime last year I got side-tracked and never finished it. I, therefore, placed it on my New Year's Resolution list of books to finish in 2011. I chose a starting point not even remembering where I left off and found the reading to be a bit tedious... Enna is learning how to burn things, Enna wants to burn things, Enna is burning things to help the army, etc. I considered abandoning the project when Enna was captured by the enemy and the writing and the plot got a whole lot more interesting. I felt like I was poured into the story and I didn't want out. I think that I, like Enna, was mesmerized by Sileph, her captor. I would walk around when I wasn't reading, wishing I was.
Then I read the reviews. Bad idea. Many reviewers talked about the book not living up to their expectations and about the tedium of the middle section. Suddenly I wasn't sure if I liked the book anymore, or if I just liked that small section that I mentioned above. On contemplation, I did like the book. It is not as magical as Goose Girl, perhaps, but it has something very magical about it. Shannon Hale is obviously a good writer and she has created a very special place in Bayern and the surrounding countries. Her characters aren't perfect which makes them more interesting and realistic. So I was a bit bored with a portion of the book. No big deal! I felt a bit bored while reading some sections of Harry Potter books and I still loved them. Don't let this review put you off. Start with Goose Girl and form your own opinion.
I know what you mean by this book. I had read so many reviews stating that they didn't like this book and that it didn't live of to their expectations. Luckily, the reviews didn't bias my opinion. I just went into the book with a lower-expectation. I ended up loving the book. Like you, I thought parts were boring, but I think almost every book has a boring part in it. I really enjoyed the third book--River Secrets--too. I still haven't read the fourth one--Forest Born--though.
ReplyDeleteI also look up reviews of books from time to time, especially with those that range from "extreme dislike to meh" just to see if I missed something that other reviewers seem to find. I haven't read the Goose Girl series, but I do have them in my tbr pile somewhere. :)
ReplyDeleteOh I have the hardest time with that!!! I always skim reviews to see if I want to read the book, but I try not to read others' reviews too closely.
ReplyDeleteI know what you mean about reviews. I try not to read many reviews before I write my own, because I know they can bias me. I'll often read the reviews of others after I've written my own review, and I'll find my opinion changing!
ReplyDeleteI love this book
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