Cover Love #23 - Froi of the Exiles

Aussie Cover

Summary:

Three years after Lumatere is united, Froi has adopted the ways of his new homeland, dividing his days between rebuilding the kingdom and training with the Queen’s Guard. Until a mysterious man arrives with a promise that he can grant a young assassin access into the palace of Lumatere’s enemy: to kill the King of Charyn. 
  
But once inside the secretive kingdom of stone, Froi is forced to protect the half mad Princess Quintana and her unborn child who will be the first babe born to Charyn in eighteen years.  And in breaking his bond to his beloved Queen Isaboe and Finnikin, Froi may just be the one to bring peace between two kingdoms and find out the truth to his past.

Melina Marchetta just revealed the cover for Froi of the Exiles in her site - and who would have thought Froi would look kind of hot in it? - LOL

Even though I didn't LOVE Finnikin of the Rock, I really liked it and the summary for this one sounds awesome!! So I'm definitely checking out. And I hope they do keep this cover when it reaches the US, as I'm not a fan of the cover of the hardback of Finnikin - plus, the book is MASSIVE, I don't know what's up with these massive hardbacks, they don't even fit in a standard bookshelf. 

US paperback cover

I was also told that the paperback cover of Finn is different (see to the right), and though I do like it a little better, it makes me wanna say "Thunder- Thunder. Thundercats!!!! OHHHH!!" 

Really, it's the first thing that comes to mind.

Anyway, Froi of the Exciles comes out October 3rd in Australia. There is no release date in the US yet.

Book Gossip 26 - Announcements

Wow! I hadn't done one of these in a while!

But two things happened in the last few that made me want to write another book gossip post!

First, a few days ago,  Melissa de la Cruz announced that the still untitled Book Seven of The Blue Bloods series, will wrap up the current narrative arc and bring conclusion to the Mimi - Jack-Schuyler storyline that we started with. She said that there might be more books in the same universe, but you know, conclusion finally!

I do love this series but I was starting to feel like the plot was stretching thin. 

Lost in Time (book six) will be released in October 4th, 2011, with book Seven coming sometime in the Fall of 2012. 

For more details, you can check Melissa de la Cruz's site.

And then, just yesterday, Melina Marchetta (she who writes the most amazing books you will ever read) posted the first description of her upcoming release Froi of the Exiles, which is coming out in Australia this October, on her blog.

  

Three years after Lumatere is united, Froi has adopted the ways of his new homeland, dividing his days between rebuilding the kingdom and training with the Queen’s Guard. Until a mysterious man arrives with a promise that he can grant a young assassin access into the palace of Lumatere’s enemy: to kill the King of Charyn. 

  

But once inside the secretive kingdom of stone, Froi is forced to protect the half mad Princess Quintana and her unborn child who will be the first babe born to Charyn in eighteen years.  And in breaking his bond to his beloved Queen Isaboe and Finnikin, Froi may just be the one to bring peace between two kingdoms and find out the truth to his past.

Sounds interesting, and even though I only Liked Finnikin, I'll still read this, I'm sure. No cover yet, though, and it will probably won't be published in the US until 2012, but I'm still pretty excited about it.

Also, Happy Birthday to Melina Marchetta - her birthday is today (or was today? since it's already another day in Aussieland?) Anyway, Feliz Cumpleaños. 

Finnikin of the Rock by Melina Marchetta

Finnikin of the Rock, son of the head of the King's Guard, has been living in exile since he was nine years old, thanks to a curse placed on his birthplace following the murder of the royal family of Lumatere. The curse prevents those inside to leave the kingdom, and those who left the kingdom before the curse was placed, to get back in.

Ten years later, Finn and his mentor Sir Topher find a young woman named Evanjalin who makes quite a few unbelievable claims: One that the true heir to Lumatere's crown - Finnikin's childhood friend Prince Balthazar - might still be alive. And two, that she can walk the sleep of those trapped inside Lumatere. With said claims, Evanjalin sets in motion a series of complex events that will force Finnikin to face his destiny.

It's so hard for me to review a book from an author I love, and I certainly love Melina Marchetta. Now, Finnikin of the Rock is very different from Ms Marchetta's other books yet it's also quite wonderful.

The book starts a bit slow and there is so much information to take in (with a few complicated names thrown in). I found the pace to be a bit uneven, sometimes it seems like everything is happening at once and some others it's like all you do is wait, that being said the storytelling is engaging. Sometimes I grew annoyed at Finnikin and Evanjalin but they also felt like friends, so it was all good.

Finnikin of the Rock is an epic and I do think that it has to be your kind of book, you either like it or you don't.

I did.

Grade:
1/3