Although Atwater-Rhodes has garnered much-deserved attention from critics and received several awards for her young adult stories, here on GR and on sAlthough Atwater-Rhodes has garnered much-deserved attention from critics and received several awards for her young adult stories, here on GR and on several other book-reviewing websites, her positive feedback has been moderate at best. I believe this is partially because of the age of most of her stories/series: most of them began before the Twilight era swept the world, and thus don't have the swooning heroines and brooding heroes that everyone has become accustomed to in more recent years. (They must feel as if there's something missing!) The relationships are wholesome and intriguing, sexy and provocative, but not overblown like most today.
Hawksong's premise is simple: Danica Shardae, last living heir to the avian throne, and Zane Cobriana, last living heir to the serpiente throne, must marry despite their deferences --- the former being a hawk shapeshifter and the later being a cobra --- in order to put an end to the age-old war between their species that has dwindled their numbers drastically and caused much heartache among them. It is this little plot that drew me to it years ago and that has brought me back for a second time.
Let me just say this: I, despite having read over 300 books since late 2008 (I wasn't big on reading before then), can count on one hand how many books I've taken the time to read more than once. This isn't because I'm exaggerating when I say I love a book, but because I simply don't see any reason to read something twice unless it spoke to me on a certain level the first time around. Very few have done this, but Hawksong, regardless of the years that have passed since I last turned its pages, stuck in my mind enough to make me want to read it again. And, I can honestly say that it stood the test of time; I think I even enjoyed it more now than when I read it so long ago.
Danica is the kind of heroine I wish YA authors created more these days: she's independent and strong enough to sit by the dying, holding their hand as they draw their last breaths; she's resilient and self-sacrificing, even in a case where she must commit herself to a life-long marriage with someone whom she's been raised from birth to fear, all just to try and make peace and save the lives of her people. Zane has a hard exterior with a soft heart underneath, and is just as determined to heal the damage caused by the war as Danica is. They go together very well, they just don't realize it until it's almost too late.
When I first read Hawksong, years back, I, for some reason that escapes me now, didn't take the time to continue with the series and follow it up with Snakecharm. Why, I'll never know; but in a way I'm glad I didn't, because now I get to follow these characters into their next chapter, for the first time....more
Loading...
