Review: Knight's Curse

Reviewed by Jen
 

Let me start out with a warning that this is not a romance. I thought it might be from the blurb... but it's really an Urban Fantasy with a hint of a vague promise of a wispy tendril of a romance.

Chalice is something more than human. She has extremely sharp senses and she knows that whatever she is, her mother was the same. Unfortunately, the woman died moments after Chalice was born, so she never really understood her heritage. She was raised by monks in her early childhood, but then kidnapped and forced into slavery by a nefarious group of magic manipulators, called the Vyantara. Her handler is Gavin, a cruel and powerful man who has tied her life to a gargoyle... and through that tie, he forces her to steal magical artifacts. If she refuses or runs away, she'll turn into a gargoyle herself.

Her latest assignment puts her in the path of Aydin, another supernaturally enhanced being forced into servitude by the Vyantara. But he knows so much more about magic... even about Chalice herself. He helps her break through some of barriers she has built and the prejudices indoctrinated in her by Gavin and his cohorts. With his help, she learns about her heritage and her destiny and allows herself to finally hope for a better future.

The world-building was interesting here. It definitely felt fresh and unique. But I found myself always waiting for more. More resolution. More satisfaction. More between Chalice and Aydin. And I didn't get it. By the time I got to the end of the book, I felt more like I had just read a long a set-up than a complete novel. Don't get me wrong, it was entertaining, but it was equally frustrating. All the build, build, build and then it's over. It didn't even feel like a cliffhanger so much as that it just stopped midway through the story. Grr.

I guess it's telling that I want to find out what happens to Chalice. I want to find out the deal with her dad... whether that disembodied head will ever be reunited with its body... and what's up with the guardian angel. And of course, whether Chalice and Aydin will ever get PAST FIRST BASE. Maybe in the next installment. 3 1/2 stars.


P.S. (Click here if you have already read the book.) I was very disappointed in Chalice that she would suggest that Aydin should kill his gargoyle to save himself.  He made it very clear that he cared for the beast --that it was once a man and had a good heart. No way would he kill it to recapture his humanity. Fail.

*ARC Provided by NetGalley

Knight's Curse

by Karen Duvall

Release Date: August 23, 2011 

Publisher: Luna