Reading Under the Willow Tree

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I had high hopes for this book, the blurb sounds amazing and Richelle Mead is one of my favourite authors of all time. She has a way of writing male characters that I fall in love with and female characters that I want to be like. In many ways this is exactly what I got from Gameboard of the Gods, the idea is amazing and the characters very likeable yet there was just something missing for me and I didn’t like this at much as I wanted to.

The world building and storyline is strong which is exactly what I would expect from someone like Mead. This is an awesome idea and there were moments that really came alive for me. Unfortunately there were a few times, especially in the beginning where I wasn’t really sure what was going on. There was so much to take in and I found myself a little confused but settled in after a while.

I really loved the characters. Mae is strong, independent and completely kickass. I admired her strength and courage. She was not just muscle she was also caring and at times considerate and I like the journey she is beginning to take. I didn’t really want to love Justin because there are aspects of him that I didn’t like but I just couldn’t help myself. He was completely adorable and I just wanted to smooch him.

I was unsure of the romance and I think that despite loving Justin I don’t know if I like him as the love interest. I failed to see the chemistry that Mead is normally so good at and it was a big disappointment.

Another issue was the length, I thought it was just far too long and that there was maybe something’s that just were not needed. It started so well but eventually felt like a bit of a chore and I felt like it could have been shorter.

This is still a good book it is just not as good as I thing this author can deliver. I will still wait with bated breath for the next book in the series and I still think there is a lot to like here. This is a strong first book in what looks to be an interesting series.


The publisher provided me with a free copy of this book in exchange for an honest review