⇒ Read Finnikin of the Rock Melina Marchetta 9780670072811 Books

Finnikin of the Rock Melina Marchetta 9780670072811 Books

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Finnikin of the Rock Melina Marchetta 9780670072811 Books

Finnikin of the Rock was one of those books that I was extremely nervous to pick up because everyone seems to love it. Well, I sadly don't understand the hype. It was a good book, and I enjoyed it for the most part, but honestly, a lot of it was boring. High Fantasy by nature tends to be slow, with a lot of build up, which I do enjoy, but in this case I had a hard time getting into it. I would say that I didn't became invested in the story until the three-quarter mark, which is a long time to wait for a plot to get going. I do think that part of my problem was that I didn't care for Finnikin at all. What really made this book for me was Evanjalin and I started to become fond of Froi also. Without them this would have been a pretty lame read.

Finnikin of the Rock is not just a fantasy, adventure novel. It's very much a tale about dealing with loss, reclaiming your present, and building a better future. The kingdom of Lumatere has gone thought a terrible ordeal where the entire royal family was slaughtered, an imposter king as taken the throne and is terrorizing the people, a curse has trapped many citizens within the city walls, while others are left as refugees, scattered throughout other kingdoms. Now rumors that the prince, and rightful heir, is still alive and Finnikin must find him and bring him back. The only one with the knowledge of his whereabouts is a novice of the goddess, who has taken a vow of silence and has the ability to "walk the sleep" of the people trapped in Lumatere.

Once Evanjalin breaks her vow and starts talking, I adored her! I wasn't sure if I should trust her at first, since she is not what she seems at all. Finnikin is suspicious of her as well after catching her in a few lies. However, I admired the way Evanjalin would do what needs to be done in order to move forward. She's smart, fiesty, cunning, and manipulative, which isn't always a bad thing. She doesn't take crap from anyone, and I was always interested in what she would do next. Like I said at the beginning, she is the best part of the entire book, and she's the one running things on the mission with Finnikin. Girl power!

Froi is another character that I came to really enjoy. I despised him the beginning. He was just another thief and does some pretty horrible things to Evanjalin. Eventually she puts him in his place though! She does some awful things to him in the process, but she always came back for him. As the book moved on Froi's loyalty to her cements and while he's still not the smartest or most likeable person, I still enjoyed him as a character. Our hero on the other hand...well, I don't know why but I just don't like Finnikin. He's stuck in the past and stubborn. Yes, he went through some awful things as a kid, but so did everyone else in the book! He just refuses to move on or accept his destiny.

The romance was also disappointing. It's not in the forefront at all. It is there, but beyond underdeveloped. It's not insta-love which makes its lack of page time worse. Finnikin is just all of a sudden in love with Evanjalin, which should come as no surprise since she's the only female character around. We don't even get to see their epic moment from Finnikin's POV. We see it through Froi's eyes, which was simultaneously interesting and disappointing. However, the last handful of pages were super adorable. I loved their little romantic banter.

Maybe my expectations were too high, but Finnikin of the Rock didn't turn out how I was expecting. It drags in many places, but there are action scenes scattered throughout. There's also some humor there which kept it from being too dark. While I couldn't bring myself to care for the title character, Evanjalin certainly steals the show, and her journey is definitely worth the time spent reading. It does end neatly and happily despite being part of a series, at least for Finnikin and Evanjalin. However, after finishing the final book, I actually ended up liking this one less. It feels very disconnected from the other two books, and feels more like an extended prologue. The only important bits to come from Finnikin of the Rock, in my mind, were meeting the characters and establishing the bond between Froi and Evanjalin. Neither of which required 400 pages.


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Finnikin of the Rock Melina Marchetta 9780670072811 Books Reviews

I’m kicking myself. That’s how good this book is.

I’m kicking myself, because I can’t believe I didn’t read this sooner.

This series comes highly recommended by several of my trusted review sources, and, though it’s an amazing series (judging by the first book, at least), it’s also incredibly underhyped. And that makes me sad, because Finnikin has everything bookworms could possibly want in a good YA high fantasy strong and vivid characters, a steady-yet-unpredictable plot (the twist blew my mind, it was so clever), a wonderful romance that does not overpower the rest of the novel, and solid, detailed world-building. I was so happy.

I loved every single side character in this book (except for Froi, though he grew on me eventually). They’re all such fighters, so fierce and strong in their own ways (especially Evanjalin and Trevanion, both of whom I was cheering for SO HARD). They’ve all undergone hardship or trauma of some sort since the five days of the unspeakable (the name for the assassination of Lumatere’s royal family). The people of Lumatere are refugees, scattered and suffering, and I loved that Marchetta chose to portray a hurting, broken nation rather than one simply corrupt from the inside. Instead of focusing mainly on the cruelty of the current powers at hand, Marchetta focuses on the suffering and the humanity of the subjects, making their exile a matter of the heart rather than just a political issue. She characterizes the island of Skuldenore not by its boundaries or its nations, but by the people themselves and by the cultures and causes they hold.

It’s something I’ve seen before, but not the way she portrayed it. It felt so fresh and so real, and my heart ached for the people of Lumatere and sympathized with their plight. I was rooting for all of these characters every step of the way.

I’ve mentioned how the plot is steady, but unpredictable. What I mean by that is that the plot does not meander and stays course, but still has several twists which kept me on the edge of my seat. I won’t spoil it for you, but I’ll tell you this You’ll think you know exactly what’s going to happen, but, once you get to a certain point in this book, you’ll completely reevaulate your assumptions.

Finally, the romance. It was slow-burn and gradual and stubborn, just like the two characters it involved. I loved how fierce both of those characters are, and how they rub off of each other so well. They’re explosive, but in a slow and growing way, like rocks that create a spark, which expands into a fire that slowly warms you up. Even though they clash in several ways and they’re both strong-willed, they complement each other very nicely. (And, honestly, they’re probably one of my OTPs [One True Pairings].) Their relationship is a great reminder that nobody’s perfect and that compromise is necessary in relationships.

And the best part about it? Though it’s intense, it’s only an undertone to the main plot, never distracting from the rest of the story or the characters’ purpose. I loved that, just like I loved them.

If you enjoy YA fantasy and you’re looking for some great high fantasy, please, please, please check this book out. It’s very rare that I can love a book as completely as I loved this one. Books like this remind me why I love reading so much.
Finnikin of the Rock was one of those books that I was extremely nervous to pick up because everyone seems to love it. Well, I sadly don't understand the hype. It was a good book, and I enjoyed it for the most part, but honestly, a lot of it was boring. High Fantasy by nature tends to be slow, with a lot of build up, which I do enjoy, but in this case I had a hard time getting into it. I would say that I didn't became invested in the story until the three-quarter mark, which is a long time to wait for a plot to get going. I do think that part of my problem was that I didn't care for Finnikin at all. What really made this book for me was Evanjalin and I started to become fond of Froi also. Without them this would have been a pretty lame read.

Finnikin of the Rock is not just a fantasy, adventure novel. It's very much a tale about dealing with loss, reclaiming your present, and building a better future. The kingdom of Lumatere has gone thought a terrible ordeal where the entire royal family was slaughtered, an imposter king as taken the throne and is terrorizing the people, a curse has trapped many citizens within the city walls, while others are left as refugees, scattered throughout other kingdoms. Now rumors that the prince, and rightful heir, is still alive and Finnikin must find him and bring him back. The only one with the knowledge of his whereabouts is a novice of the goddess, who has taken a vow of silence and has the ability to "walk the sleep" of the people trapped in Lumatere.

Once Evanjalin breaks her vow and starts talking, I adored her! I wasn't sure if I should trust her at first, since she is not what she seems at all. Finnikin is suspicious of her as well after catching her in a few lies. However, I admired the way Evanjalin would do what needs to be done in order to move forward. She's smart, fiesty, cunning, and manipulative, which isn't always a bad thing. She doesn't take crap from anyone, and I was always interested in what she would do next. Like I said at the beginning, she is the best part of the entire book, and she's the one running things on the mission with Finnikin. Girl power!

Froi is another character that I came to really enjoy. I despised him the beginning. He was just another thief and does some pretty horrible things to Evanjalin. Eventually she puts him in his place though! She does some awful things to him in the process, but she always came back for him. As the book moved on Froi's loyalty to her cements and while he's still not the smartest or most likeable person, I still enjoyed him as a character. Our hero on the other hand...well, I don't know why but I just don't like Finnikin. He's stuck in the past and stubborn. Yes, he went through some awful things as a kid, but so did everyone else in the book! He just refuses to move on or accept his destiny.

The romance was also disappointing. It's not in the forefront at all. It is there, but beyond underdeveloped. It's not insta-love which makes its lack of page time worse. Finnikin is just all of a sudden in love with Evanjalin, which should come as no surprise since she's the only female character around. We don't even get to see their epic moment from Finnikin's POV. We see it through Froi's eyes, which was simultaneously interesting and disappointing. However, the last handful of pages were super adorable. I loved their little romantic banter.

Maybe my expectations were too high, but Finnikin of the Rock didn't turn out how I was expecting. It drags in many places, but there are action scenes scattered throughout. There's also some humor there which kept it from being too dark. While I couldn't bring myself to care for the title character, Evanjalin certainly steals the show, and her journey is definitely worth the time spent reading. It does end neatly and happily despite being part of a series, at least for Finnikin and Evanjalin. However, after finishing the final book, I actually ended up liking this one less. It feels very disconnected from the other two books, and feels more like an extended prologue. The only important bits to come from Finnikin of the Rock, in my mind, were meeting the characters and establishing the bond between Froi and Evanjalin. Neither of which required 400 pages.