Author: Gennifer Albin
Series: Crewel World, #1
Genres: Fantasy, Dysptopian
Publication/Year: Faber and Faber • 2012
Page Numbers: 368
Synopsis from Goodreads:
"Incapable. Awkward. Artless.My Rating: ★★★
That’s what the other girls whisper behind her back. But sixteen-year-old Adelice Lewys has a secret: She wants to fail.
Gifted with the ability to weave time with matter, she’s exactly what the Guild is looking for, and in the world of Arras, being chosen to work the looms is everything a girl could want. It means privilege, eternal beauty, and being something other than a secretary. It also means the power to manipulate the very fabric of reality. But if controlling what people eat, where they live, and how many children they have is the price of having it all, Adelice isn’t interested.
Not that her feelings matter, because she slipped and used her hidden talent for a moment. Now she has one hour to eat her mom’s overcooked pot roast. One hour to listen to her sister’s academy gossip and laugh at her dad’s jokes. One hour to pretend everything’s okay. And one hour to escape.
Because tonight, they’ll come for her."
Quote(s) I Like:
"...that no matter how good their intentions, with absolute power comes corruption." - Adelice
"She's got more talent in her left pinky than you have in your whole body." - Loricel
"Stockings are the biggest sartorial change in my life. The first time I wore the flimsy hose I loved how the silk caressed my bare legs, but I soon realised that they leave a film of sweat on my skin. The seam is always running crooked up the backs of my legs, and the stockings constantly slip down." - Adelice
My Thoughts:
This was an okay book. I wasn't too impressed with the writing style or the storyline. Some parts were just a bit iffy for me. It took me a minute to love Adelice, but after her retrieval I loved her as a character. She knew how to fight for what she believed in without giving up. The love triangle she had going on with Erik and Josten who happened to be brothers was interesting. I could not stand Pryana, Maela or Cormac.
The storyline was mainly surrounded by a segregated world where boys and girls live separately. Men rule this "world" through a system called The Guild (of Twelve) and females are used as mere pawns. Simply around for sex and beauty. I will say, Adelice did a kickass job not sticking to the stereotype in her world and her sarcasm and quick remarks definitely made me laugh.
- Spoiler Alert -
The idea of a world where woman are only good for sex and beauty truly grinds my gears. This world was just not my cup of tea from the start, but I love how Adelice pulled through and disobeyed every order or rule that was given for women. She had such spunk! I feel bad that her family "died" meaning that her father was killed during her retrieval, her mother was ripped and her sister was remapped.
Maela is bitch for trying to teach Adelice a lesson by killing off Pryana's sister. And Cormac is such a pedophile I can't stand him. Him trying to manipulate Adelice into obeying, killing off people she cared about, wanting to marry her when she turned 17 and then trying to remap her brain ... I truly can't stand him.
The love interests where pretty cute -- I'm a fan of both Erik and Josten, but Josten just seems to be the perfect match for Adelice, but she did kiss both brothers. Her love for Josten just seemed much more real and genuine compared to her strong like for Erik.
I did not like the way Enora died. She was such a sweet mentor for Adelice and besides Loricel, the only real person there to truly help her out with answers. Cormac recreating her mind simply because she was a lesbian and to get Adelice in line was not an honorable whatsoever, but rather disgusting.
Arras is such a dangerous world. The idea of having your life ripped and just be a faded memory any second is scary to me. I felt bad that Josten had to see that first had with his wife as she literally faded away with his daughter. The ending where Adelice, Erik and Josten end up on earth is very interesting to me. Curious to know what that rip did in Arras, who she will end up with and how Cormac will go about retrieving her back.
Overall Conclusion:
Not too fond of the storyline, but I plan to continue reading this series and moving on to book #2, Altered, some time this year. Hopefully book two saves the series or I'll stop reading it.
Have you read this book?