Mistwood
by Leah Cypess
Release Date: May 1, 2010
Publisher: Greenwillow
Age Group: Young Adult
Pages: 320
Source: Book Fairy Heather
Interest: Debut Author
Challenge: 2010 Debut Author Challenge
The Shifter is an immortal creature bound by an ancient spell to protect the kings of Samorna. When the realm is peaceful, she retreats to the Mistwod.
But when she is needed she always comes.
Isabel remembers nothing. Nothing before the prince rode into her forest to take her back to the castle. Nothing about who she is supposed to be, or the powers she is supposed to have.
Prince Rokan needs Isabel to be his Shifter. He needs her ability to shift to animal form, to wind, to mist. He needs her lethal speed and superhuman strength. And he needs her loyalty--because without it, she may be his greatest threat.
Isabel knows that her prince is lying to her, but she can't help wanting to protect him from the dangers and intrigues of the court . . . until a deadly truth shatters the bond between them.
Now Isabel faces a choice that threatens her loyalty, her heart . . . and everything she thought she knew.
(summary from Amazon.com)
Mistwood was such a beautifully written novel. If there was one thing that really blew me away it was the writing. It was exquisite, it really was. That alone will keep me seeking out more novels by Cypress.
However, I found the other elements of the story lacking. The plot was one big mystery. Both the reader and Isabel are in the dark for almost all of the novel. If I had to describe the plot in one word, I'd say confusing. I found that when you start a novel that takes place in a different world, you have to get in a few chapters before you really 'know' what's going on. Does that make sense? Well, that is what I was expecting to happen this time around, but I just found myself waiting for that moment of understanding or at least a smidgen of clarity... I did finally get it, but it didn't come until the last few pages of the novel. I think that made the plot seem a little slow for me as well, because I had a hard time becoming invested in the story.
The characters were all a little to flat and two dimensional for my tastes. The one character that I did start to enjoy, was killed off! So much for that... Isabel, despite her flaws, was a very perplexing character, but by the time I really understood her, I didn't care anymore. I wasn't particularly impressed with any of the characters even though I wanted to be.
Somehow I knew that two of the characters were going to fall for each other, but I didn't really see it happening, I just had this hankering. Um, yes, I did just say hankering. But once the proclamation of love is made... it just seemed so insincere! Something was missing. Perhaps that was just me though. I do love reading a good love story and maybe that's what I was wanting to see from those two characters and it's completely possible that I just missed some of the foreshadowing on that...? Am I alone in that revelation?
The ending, while it was the one thing I think I enjoyed the most about the novel, just sort of ended. This huge bombshell is dropped on the reader and you don't even have a chance to digest it, and neither do the characters. It's just kind of put out there and then... the END.
I'm hoping possibly that this is part of a series...? I would be interested in reading more about this story and know that it could be something magnificent.
Overall, Miswood was beautifully written, but just lacked some of the qualities that I like to see in a great novel.