The Amaranth Enchantment
Author: Julie Berry
Series: ---
Publisher: Bloomsbury
How Received: bought
When Lucinda Chapdelaine was a small child, her parents left for the royal ball and never returned. Ever since, Lucinda has been stuck in perpetual servitude at her evil aunt’s jewelry store. Then, on the very same day, a mysterious visitor and an even more bizarre piece of jewelry both enter the shop, setting in motion a string of twists and turns that will forever alter Lucinda’s path. In this magical story filled with delightful surprises, Lucinda will dance at the royal ball, fall under the Amaranth Witch’s spell, avenge her parents’ death, and maybe—just maybe—capture the heart of a prince.
Buy | Borrow | Brush Off
I liked The Amaranth Enchantment well enough; there wasn't anything wrong with it. It just doesn't stand out among the other fantasy novels sitting on my shelf.
Lucinda's stubborness and her attempt to just get through life and do what was right made her an admirable character; all of the characters had tiny quirks and interesting things that made them likable enough. They were fleshed out. Nothing was wrong there.
The plot was interesting enough, if rather predictable; the more you read, the easier it was to figure out what was going to happen, and with the exception of one plot twist, it was easy to figure out.
It was easy to read and enjoyable enough as I did it. I just don't think it's something I would pick up to reread again -- the characters were good, not great; the plot was interesting, but didn't keep me on the edge of my seat; the world was nice, but not something I'm overly invested in seeing again.
Overall Rating & Final Comments: 7/10. A solid fantasy, but doesn't stand out on the shelf.
Have you read The Amaranth Enchantment? Do you agree or disagree with my conclusion?
Note: I made an agreement with myself not to review Bloomsbury books while I was working for them. This review was set up in early June (before BEA, actually) before I started working with them because I schedule things really far in advance.