Title: Magic-Price (The Crown of Stones #1)
Author: C.L. Schneider
Publication Date: January 4, 2014
Category/Genre: Adult/Epic Fantasy
Links: Amazon, Goodreads, C.L. Schneider's Website
RATING: 5 Stars
So. I’ve started this review a half dozen times and haven’t been able to come up with the right words to convey how I feel about Magic-Price (and the Crown of Stones series in general). I’ve read other reviews, seen how eloquently they talk about execution and pacing and plot, and wonder if I’ll ever be able to do this right.
Sigh.
Okay, so I’m just going to be real. I was drawn to Magic-Price when I saw the cover roll through my Twitter feed. Being a person who loves earth tones and gritty cover appeal, I promptly added it to my “Awesome Cover Art” board on Pinterest and then went straight to Amazon to read the prologue.
I was sucked in from the very first paragraph. I’m not typically a fantasy fan, although I do love Lord of the Rings and Game of Thrones (for completely different reasons). But the author’s writing style and the main character’s thought process immediately drew me into the story. I read as much as Amazon would allow and then downloaded the whole thing to my Kindle for Mac.
What do I love about this book? I don’t know that I can put my finger on it, just that whenever I pick it up, I can’t stop reading. Something about it resonates with me. The writing style is clear and descriptive (without being overly detailed). The concept is fascinating, and Schneider’s action scenes are so vivid that I don’t have any problem picturing them in my head. Sentences flow one to another in a way that keeps me reading…and reading…and reading.
I also enjoy the dialogue and interaction between characters. They're believable and easy to relate to. In particular, Ian Troy has a cocky, swaggering way of thinking and speaking that sort of takes my breath away. He’s full of reckless passion and anger that draws him to women (and them to him) and gets him into more trouble than any book character I’ve ever read about. I didn’t know whether to fall in love with him or just fantasize about him night and day. I’m rarely so intrigued by an MC, but this one captured my interest so much that I often found myself thinking about him. Wondering which woman he truly loved, which one he’d end up choosing (if any), how he would handle his addiction to magic, and if he would ever kill the man he hated so intensely.
Needless to say, this book gets 5 stars, though I wish I could give it more for speaking so deeply to my imagination. I devoured it and went on to the sequel (which is even better, OMG). All I can say is that I will read anything C.L. Schneider writes. I love the way her mind works, the characters she creates, her fluid and vivid writing style, and her world-building techniques.
Simply put, I’m hooked.
