I am really glad I heard about this book. Not sure if it is an YA book or not; but it felt like one. And I'm glad for that :) The main character is 19, I suppose. And the main girl in 17, I think. So I do think it is an YA book :) But it felt a little more mature at some points; and not mature enough at other points. But either way, I really enjoyed reading this book.
Even though it was a bit hard to read it. Took me some time, actually. The writing is beautiful; but it is a bit hard to read and a bit hard to learn everything :) But I think I managed to understand it all. Mostly. Finnikin of the Rock has an amazing story. I loved the world it is set in. It is a bit like Graceling/Fire/Bittberlue by Kristin Cashore, but it is also very different. Meaning I enjoy and love them all :)
I don't want to give much about the plot away. Just that there is a kingdom. And there is a curse. And it is awesome. But there is so much hurt and pain and torture and it is all horrible. But it is also really amazing. The five days of the unspeakable was just so much pain. But it is written really well; so I liked that it was there. Then 10 years pass. And so much pain between those years. But there is hope.
And that's where Finnikin comes in. He is the main character; and I loved him a whole lot. Loved that the book is from his POV. A few pages from other people's POVs but not many. Finnikin is an amazing young man. He is kind, and strong, but he is also broken and full of guilt. And I just adore him so much. The best leading character :)
Finnikin has been away from their kingdom; Lumatere for 10 years. He has been travelling with his mentor; Sir Topher. I liked him at first, he was an great character. But then he started keeping secrets; and I didn't approve of that. I liked Trevanion a lot though :D He was awesome. But also a bit scary. Then there was Froi. I hated him at first. A very stupid, cruel kid. But I did end up liking him by the end :) He didn't really change at all, but I still liked him ;p
Then there was Evanjalin. I didn't really like her much. And I was a bit sad about that. Although she is an amazing character, and she is so strong and oh so broken. I hurt for her a lot. But I did not feel that she was kind to Finnikin. And I hated her for it. She lied to him so many times, and almost got him killed many other times. And I just hated how much he hurt.
Although I can understand why he fell for her. I just didn't see a part where she fell for him. I wanted her to show us more that she cared about him. I wanted her to fight for him. Because he should not have fought for her. Not after everything she did to him. And she never made up for it. And I'm sort of hating her for it. But I still sort of liked her. Most of the time :)
And I did like the romance. Sort of. There is a little romance in this book, and it is good. But it is also a bit sad, like I said. Which is why I don't know how to feel. Would have been happier if the sequel was also about Finnikin. But it seems to be about Froi ;p But then. Kristin Cashore did that with her books as well; and I adored those. Hoping I will love this as well :D
I don't know what else to say about this book. The writing is really good, and the characters is for the mostly amazing. And the plot is so so so good. It is painful to read at times; because there is so much hurt. But it is also so amazing to read. There is lots of action in this book, and lots of death. But also some romance. And it is good. I think you will love this book. Because it is really amazing.
