Book Review: Wild Magic by Tamora Pierce

Author: Tamora Pierce
Title: Wild Magic (The Immortals book 1)
Genre: Fantasy, YA, Adventure, & Sci-Fi
Pages: ebook
First Published: December 1st, 1992
Where I Got It: On my shelf (Online freebie)

"Young Daine's knack with horses gets her a job helping the royal horse-mistress drive a herd of ponies to Tortall. Soon it becomes clear that Daine's talent, as much as she struggles to hide it, is downright magical. Horses and other animals not only obey, but listen to her words. Daine, though, will have to learn to trust humans before she can come to terms with her powers, her past, and herself."




Another book from the book club I'm in. For this review, I shall divide and conquer:

The Good
- Some of the characters were very dimensional and I liked them.
- The author did a great job with the battle scenes.
- The author also did a great job making the world come to life.
- I loved how it took so long for Daine to master her wild magic; she wasn't perfect and still isn't and has a lot to learn still.
- It was a cute YA and I wish I had read this in my youth.
- It's great to see a strong female protagonist.
- THERE'S A DRAGON! I was so excited when it came around.
- The ending was a touch sad, but I liked it. 
- No real cliff-hanger, so I don't HAVE to read the next book in the series.

The Bad and the Ugly
-  Some of the characters were very "perfect"...like the Queen and King. It was annoying.
- A couple times it seemed that it was dragging. 
- There was sad part I didn't like at all. It made me furious and upset.
- How everyone LOVED Daine, besides for the baddie and the Queen of the Stormcrow. 
- I liked Cloud...but it seemed to have waaaay too much personality and human-like qualities for a horse.

Conclusion
It was a cute YA and I wish I had known about this in my youth. I know I would have been all over it, but alas, you can't change the past. The author seems to have some talent in writing; the battle scenes were great (not too gory and not too vague), the world came to life, the characters came to life, and many kuddos for adding a dragon (and it wasn't a baddie, yipee!). Even though some of the character were annoyingly perfect (like the King and Queen) I enjoyed them. I especially enjoyed Daine's character development; it seemed natural and not rushed. Honestly, I wish this wasn't a YA...I think it would have been absolutely awesome if it was written for an older crowd. 

This was certainly a journey. I'm not sure if I'd read the second one or not; maybe someday. We shall see. I would recommend this to those who like YA mixed with magic. Out of five stars I grant this 3 stars. 

Favorite Character(s): Daine, Numair, the dragon, and Onua
Not-so Favorite Character(s): The King, Queen, and the Sprinels (whatever they are called - they are half spider, half human....UGH!!!!!!!!!)