Thursday, October 11, 2012

Review: Crewel by Jennifer Albin

Crewel
(Crewel World #1)
by Gennifer Albin

Publication Date: October 16th, 2012
Publisher: MacMillan
Pages: 368
ISBN: 9780374316419

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Incapable. Awkward. Artless.

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 as a Spinster is everything a girl could want. It means privilege, eternal beauty, and being something other than a secretary. It also means the power to embroider the very fabric of life. 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 wove a moment at testing, and they’re coming for her—tonight.

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 stupid jokes. One hour to pretend everything’s okay. And one hour to escape.

Because once you become a Spinster, there’s no turning back. (Goodreads)
I really didn’t know what to expect when I started reading Crewel. I had heard really good things about the book, but I just didn’t think I would like it based on the summary.  I must say, Crewel was, by far, one of the best books I have read so far in 2012. Let me try to explain to you why I think this, without giving too much away!

I found the characters in the story to be very interesting, and each for their own reasons. The main character, Adelice, was a very smart and gifted young lady, who was even at times a bit snarky. (I love snarky characters!)  The best thing about Adelice, is that she grows stronger and more mature throughout the novel.  With all of the horrible things that happen to her throughout the book, she manages to stay strong. I always find that admirable.

There are two love interests in the story, Erik and Josten. While I found each boy to be mysterious and engrossing, I was rooting for Josten the whole time. I really felt that I connected with him more than I did with Erik, and I wonder if it is because Josten is basically the underdog. (That and he treated Adelice very well.)

Of course, while there are characters in the novel that you will love, there are also some that you are really going to hate. You will hate them with a passion!  I will let you discover who those characters are on your own, but consider yourself warned!

I love the plot for the novel.  I found it to be quite unique and refreshing. The idea of women being spinsters and actually weaving threads of time, it was so very unique. The plot and the wonderful descriptions definitely kept me turning the page. The ending leaves you on a pretty big cliffhanger, and it is one that will leave you begging for the next book!

The only problem that I had with the books was with some of the characters names.  They were really different from the normal, which is not a bad thing at all! I just kept going back over them trying to figure out how exactly they were pronounced. But after a while, I got used to them.

Overall, I really enjoyed this book, so much more than I expected to! (I love it when that happens!)  I’m definitely going to order a finished copy to add to my collection. And I can’t wait to get my hands on the next book in the series.

Happy Reading!

10 comments:

  1. I really loved this too. The whole world building was amazing. Thanks for the great review.

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  2. Beautiful review <3 <3 I loved loved loved this book! And Adelice omg she was such a badass character <3 And Jost <3 Anyway I agree, this book is one of the best books of 2012 for me as well <3

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  3. I don't think I've heard one bad thing about this book. I think that means I need to read it. :)

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  4. I liked this book a lot too, very surprising to me as I was in a bit of a bad book slump. I'm so intrigued to see what is going to happen in the next book-its summary is going to be spoiler filled after everything that happens in this book.

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  5. Oeh, I like snarky characters! The whole concept of this story sounds fascinating, so I'm glad that it works. It's great that you had so many feelings for characters; I always love it when I really hate a character. It makes the book believable and interesting. I can't wait to try this one out :) Great review.

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  6. I think I'm going to read this one next because there have been so many positive reviews like yours. I'm excited to find out more about Adelice's world because it sounds like such a unique one. Thanks for the review!

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  7. Oh how I loved this book!!! So unique and beautiful!
    Oh and thanks for posting the trailer, it's such a PERFECT Trailer :))

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  8. I really, really, really loved this book as well, though some of the worldbuilding was a little confusing. I did think the premise was brilliant though!

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  9. Yay! *happy flail* I fell for the book's cover, though the blurb didn't draw me in...until I picked it up and couldn't put it down. Loved the snark, loved the world.

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  10. I'm sooo glad that you enjoyed CREWEL so much, because I'm planning to read it myself soon and considering its quite unique concept, I was a bit scared I'd end up not enjoying it. But if you liked it so much, I'm sure I'll enjoy it, too. Thanks for sharing. Lovely review!

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Thanks for stopping by! :)