Snakecharm

Rating:
Summary: A Slithering Disapointment
Review: Snakecharm, a book I have been waiting 4 ever to read was actually not very charming. In fact it is a major failure as a sequel to Hawksong. Atwater-Rhodes expands the reader's knowledge of Danica and Zane's world very little, by only introducing the falcons and their strict culture. Despite Atwater-Rhodes constantly describing their power, the falcons seemed only like bossy and stuck-up avians to me and Syfka got boring real fast. When it comes to the characters, Atwater-Rhodes failed to develop her main ones. Danica who was the narrator of Hawksong became unimportant and vague in Snakecharm. Zane, the narrator, was hard for me to connect with. Even though seeing the world through his eyes was interesting, I liked him better when I didn't know what was on his mind. This book also lacked the romance that Hawksong had. All the romance is sweet, but expected and even predictable. Romance wasn't the only thing Atwater-Rhodes neglected but the plot as well. The storyline which seemed so interesting at first, became stupid after a while and the little surprises made me want to stop reading all together. I found myself skipping pages to get past the boring parts (something I never did in any of her other books). The end of Snakecharm is rushed and ends rather abruptly which was not very satisfying to say the least. Overall, the book was a disapointment. Atwater-Rhodes could have done better. The main characters were distant, the falcons boring, and the story was so frustrating just to read, that I began to wish she had continued with vampires.

Rating:
Summary: A charming sequel to an excellent book!
Review: According to some of the other reviewers of this book, it "slithered" along slowly. Although the pun is clever, I find it innacurate. The second in this series is as exciting action packed as the first. This book is told through the cobra shapeshifter Zane's eyes, the king of both the serpents and the avians (birds, basically), and he rules with his hawk mate, Danica. When his beloved becomes pregnant, the story becomes even more interesting as the characters' interesting personalities are explored even more in-depth. Keeping her writing fresh and captivating, Atwater-Rhodes manages to add a plot that will keep you glued to the pages. The only bad thing I could say about this book is that the ending seemed a bit rushed, but she achieved her brillant finish all the same.

Rating:
Summary: Limp "Snakecharm"
Review: After several immature fantasy novels, Amelia Atwater-Rhodes takes a strike at a more serious kind of story. Unfortunately, "Snakecharm" falls just as flat on its face as her previous books, although in entirely different ways. It has promise for the future, but the most interesting person in the entire book is Zane's infant nephew.

Serpiente Zane Cobriana and his avian mate Danica Shardae have been happily married for awhile, even if the union is making both snakes and birds uneasy. Things get even more tense when Danica faints during a ritual dance, and is found to be pregnant with a half snake, half hawk baby. Zane is initially pleased, but there's the nagging question of which kingdom the baby will rule -- especially when someone tries to kill Danica, and healing them means she will only have one.

Meanwhile, a vicious, powerful falcon named Syfka has come to the serpiente city to find a renegade falcon, and she sows doubts in Zane's mind about whether the serpiente/avian alliance will last. Zane suspects that the renegade is someone in the Royal Flight that guards Danica, but the shapeshifting magic of the falcons means that it could be anyone. He has a choice -- find and turn in the renegade, or face destruction from the falcons.

"Snakecharm" has a typical problem: the first three-fourths read as if Atwater-Rhodes was dragging her feet, trying to figure out how to deal with the problems she had brought up. Then slam-bang, she tacks in quickie answers to all of them. Unfortunately, as in her previous books, her plot twists are never explored, and the conflicts are usually fixed in a few pages.

There are some interesting concepts, such as the falcon supremacy or the concept of the blended-race "Wyvern's Court." Sadly, the falcons just become sneering, two-dimensional nasties and the Court is rapidly accepted by everybody, including Danica's narrow-minded mother. Everything falls into place easily and dully. Atwater-Rhodes focuses solely on politics this time around, and her writing is equally dull and pedestrian. Apparently she has abandoned the nuances of Anne Rice's writing, and what results is un-descriptive (except for hair and clothes) and lacking in feeling. The most poetic phrase in the entire book is "heir to the kingdom of moon and mountain."

Atwater-Rhodes has plenty of characters to develop, and leaves them all two-dimensional. All but a few falcons are sneering, arrogant and evil. Zane and Danica act like a couple who is at least in their mid-forties, rather than a pair of teenagers. Danica doesn't show much spunk until the ending, and Zane is the dullest, most passionless narrator that could have possibly been chosen.

Amelia Atwater-Rhodes tries to grow up in her latest novel, but her writing is still blatantly, annoyingly immature. "Snakecharm" is proof positive that care and thought should be put into writing a novel.

Rating:
Summary: Fans beware
Review: Amelia Atwater-Rhodes latest book leaves much to be desired. After reading more than half of this book I was ready to banish it to the dark recesses of my bookshelf, never to be opened again. Forcing myself to finish it I was left with a feeling of acute disappointment. While the plot did pick up in the last 30 pages or so, the whole book was devoid of Atwater-Rhodes' usual wit and style. Firstly, the characters were flat and lifeless. Anyone looking for an Aubrey or Jaguar hero this is not the book for you. Even Zane, who was such a tantalizing character in the first book, is reduced to a simple narrator. Danica becomes a wishy washy mother-to-be with only one or two scenes where she stands up for her people and acts like a queen. Secondly, romance is well and truly dead. Atwater-Rhodes' fiery couples have entertained us for years, yet Snakecharm follows more closely to her first novel "In the forests of the night." Over all, this book was a limp, disappointing shadow of her other great novels. The only reason I give it 3 stars is out of loyalty to the author whom I adore. I hope her next book will be more in keeping with her ability to weave gripping tales with deep characters. Hopefully this will be an isolated incident and fans will never again be forced to waste our time on a book of this low caliber.

Rating:
Summary: Good but...
Review: i agree that it isnt amelia's best book but i still liked it. for me, it was easy to remember that the story is from zane's point of view. what surprises though! a few were obvious but some hit you like a punch in the gut from your best friend! you should read haksong first to fully understand this one and why the surprises really matter! definitely worth checking out from the library at the very least.

Rating:
Summary: Don't Miss This Exciting Sequel to Hawksong
Review: i have been in love with the charaters that amelia atwater rhodes has cooked up since i first read in the forests of the night, and one of my favorite books of all time is hawksong and have been counting down the days until she produced a sequel. To my great dissapointment this book was not as good as i expected after the sheer brilliance of hawksong. the premise of the plot i am unsure about because it jumps around, finding simple answers to questions leading up to a climax. i felt this book would have been better if amelia atwater rhodes had found a narrator that she felt comfortable with. As i was reading, i was struck by the shallow person that zane had transformed into, there was none of the fire that had been in zane before and no personality. it felt as though atwater rhodes would rather be writing danica's perspective instead of zane's as this failed horribly. also what should have been a brilliant climax, she just let it go and have someone else do the dirty work. the characters in hawksong seemed to fade, erica's mistrust of the serpiente, danica's unique comapssion, Rei completely changed and the only character that i found to be worthwhile was a'isha.

Rating:
Summary: Newest Joy
Review: In this continuation of the wonderful novel known as Hawksong, Amelia Atwater-Rhodes does the impossible: she improves. Although there are a few rather confusing parts, everything ties together in the end to create the most intense craving for more I've ever had.
Warning: If you plan on reading this book, be sure you have plenty of time to finish it. You won't be able to put it down!

Rating:
Summary: I'm just not sure
Review: Let me first of all say that I LOVED Hawksong! It was amaizingly good, and brightened my summer. So imagine my delight when I found out there was going to be a sequel.
I thought Snakecharm was good, but not quite as good as Hawksong. I liked Zane's narrative style, but felt that all of a sudden, he and Danica seemed like they were fifty years old. It just didn't have the same charm, and it didn't seem like they had the same passion for their lives as they had in the first. Maybe it was because this volume focused more politics than the two themseleves, but it just wasn't as good.

Rating:
Summary: Unfortunately...
Review: Let me say, to begin with, that I have LOVED all of Atwater-Rhodes books, especially Hawksong. Her characters and situations are vividly and intesely real. However, Snakecharm did not meet the high expectations I held for it. It is still a very good book, and worth reading, but it is not up to her usual standard in my opinion. I would have liked more interaction between Zane and Danica, that being the aspect I feel brought such emotion to Hawksong. I think her books are normally much more character based, whereas she tried to fit so much plot into this one that there was no room left for anything else.