Book Review: Lava Red, Feather Blue by Molly Ringle

I’m really disappointed in my response to this one…

The Goblins of Bellwether was one of my favorite books the year it was released. Ringle did an amazing job creating a world out of whole cloth, and populating it with characters who were fascinating and fragile and quirky and wholly engaging. Iwent into her second, All the Better Part of Me expecting to recreate that magic, albeit in a very different way – and was saddened to find that it was a book that just didn’t resonate with me.

It was a fine story, I just never found myself lost in it or its characters the way I did with the earlier book. Lava Red Feather blue, unfortunately, turns out to be in that same vein for me.

I thought, going back into fantasy, Ringle would hit her stride again and the story would magically sweep me away as Goblins did. Unfortunately I felt this one struggled a bit to decide what it wanted to be, and I just never felt connected to the characters or the story the way I wanted to. I never felt engaged with the story or the plot. It moved slower than I wanted it to, and there was a lot of written description that felt like it slowed the pace down rather than added to the complexity of the world that was being built.

There are a lot of people who really love this one – so definitely read more reviews before deciding for yourself. This one just didn’t do it for me… But OH MY GOODNESS, how gorgeous is that cover?! And how can you NOT want to try reading the book, just to see how the story plays out given that artwork??

Thanks to NetGalley and the author for my obligation-free review copy.