Flamecaster (Shattered Realms #1) by Cinda Williams Chima

Overall Rating: 3.5 stars

Date Finished: November 18, 2016

I really liked the original Gray Wolf series and so I was so excited when I heard that there was going to be a follow-up series. Of course, part of that was the excitement to see characters from the previous book, but also to see their children and the state of the world...etc.

I liked the characters for the most part and there was plenty of action and intrigue...and yet, it just wasn't the same.

There wasn't the same suspense. Most of the book was just them kind of biding their time waiting for an opening and unfortunately a lot slower than I was hoping for.

And yet, other things happened too fast. The beginning with the introduction of Ash and the death of his father felt rushed. We're talking about the strongest mage in the kingdom yet the fight is over in minutes?? And with all of that happening so fast we never get to see his mother or his sisters and so we really get no follow-up on them or the kingdom itself. During other parts of the book Ash would reflect on the past but we really don't get much of a detailed update on his family at all. 

And the romance with Jenna was too rushed. They have some psychic moment and all of the sudden they're in love. They spend all their time together kissing rather than getting to know each other and so it didn't really feel like a romance at all. I wanted to the build up and the excitement and maybe even some butterflies, something! And the reality is that seeing inside of someone's mind doesn't make you love them, so I wanted some kind of building or trust or some time getting to know each other to really build that connection. 

And then we finally get to the ending where things are finally starting to happen but it all felt a bit rushed. The death of the king, and all of the interesting reveals that should have been given more time were ignored or brushed over. And even though we have the epilogue, that left more questions than answer.

Overall, there was enough of this book that I enjoyed that I will still keep reading and I do look forward to the next book. But I am still hoping for a little bit more from the next book.