Tuesday 27 November 2012

Review: Quintana of Charyn by Melina Marchetta


Quintana of Charyn (Lumatere Chronicles, #3)

  Quintana of Charyn by Melina Marchetta
  Publisher: Viking Australia
  Publication date: September 26th 2012
  My rating: 5 stars

 
 There's a babe in my belly that whispers the valley, Froi. I follow the whispers and come to the road . . .

Separated from the girl he loves and has sworn to protect, Froi must travel through Charyn to search for Quintana, the mother of Charyn's unborn king, and protect her against those who will do anything to gain power. But what happens when loyalty to family and country conflict? When the forces marshalled in Charyn's war gather and threaten to involve the whole of the land, including Lumatere, only Froi can set things right, with the help of those he loves.

My heart was filled with joy, and did a happy dance at the end of this story!  Quintana of Charyn was AMAZING!  I knew it would be, but I’m still stunned at how much I loved this story!  There are just no words adequate enough.   Still, I have to say, I’m sad to let this series go. 

For those of you who read Froi, you know we were left with so many things up in the air.  Quintana and Froi’s fates were unknown.  And after witnessing Phaedra and Lucian’s love creep up and grow right before our eyes, we were left with such a cruel situation at the end of Froi!! I was rooting for them the whole time, anxious to get back to their story each time the story switched focus.  They are my favorite couple in the series.  But I was invested in every relationship.  There are so many beloved characters, and with Melina’s gifted writing, she made me care about EACH and EVERY ONE!  I was even concerned about the traitors and their outcomes.      

Quintana had its share of revelations, plot twists, and action packed scenes that were filled with danger.  I was biting the sides of my cheeks in nervous anticipation!  But where Melina shines is in creating characters and relationships that are so compelling, you’re riveted to the pages to see what happens next.   My heart would shatter from cold brutality, and then would warm back up with immense kindness, love or fierce protection shown by someone completely unexpected.

What never ceased to surprise me were the bits of clever and subtle humor that’s laced throughout.  I’d be chuckling one minute, and crying the next.  The things that would come out of Quintana’s mouth were priceless!  When she outed Phaedra to Perri and Tesadora, I was laughing and cringing at the same time.  I loved the exchange between Lucian and Perri when Lucian supposedly wanted a peaceful and quite walk down to the valley.  I think one more word, and Perri might have cut Lucian’s tongue out!  I could go on and on.  You just need to read this for yourself!

If you haven’t picked up this series, I highly recommend that you do.  Melina Marchetta is one of my all-time favorite writers, and this does not disappoint.  I only hope that she plans on writing more books but I’m scared because I haven’t heard of anything in the works.

Favorite Quotes:

“Do you love me?” he asked instead. “Because if you don’t, I’d wait until you did. I’d wait weeks and months and years.”

“Bathe?” The Princess stared at Cora, all savage teeth. “If you place my head under water, I’ll-“
“Yes, yes.  You’ll slice us from ear to ear.”  Cora said, dismissively.  “We’ve heard it before.  Up you get.”

“Is that how you feel about your Mont?”
“I don’t want to talk about him,” Phaedra said quietly.
“He’s very handsome.”
Phaedra had to agree and, glancing at Quintana, she thought that perhaps the Princess wasn’t so bad after all.
“It’s a pity about his swiving, though.”

“Why are you smiling?”---
“Because today, I think I’m leaning on the side of wonder.”





17 comments:

Ari (Reading After Midnight) said...

I am so glad that you loved this book as well!
I loved this book with all my heart. This entire series is amazing and Marchetta is one of my all-time favorite writers too ;)

Tanja - Tanychy said...

I haven't read the review (sorry) because I still haven't read the first books from this series and I honestly have no idea what is it about cause I want to find out everything when I start reading. I have no doubts that the review is amazing and I'll read it once I read the book. :)

Dragana M. said...

I'm one of those who still didn't start this series but more and more friends keep bugging me and everywhere I read praise about it. I think I'm gonna buy them as Christmas gift to me. :D

Jenny said...

Ahhhh Rachel! I need to read this series! I've only read one Marchetta book, can you believe it? I'm ridiculous. Characters are my favorite part of any story, so I'm really looking forward to another group of unforgettable and hugely memorable Marchetta individuals. Beautiful review:)

Henrietta @ Leisure Reads said...

I haven't started reading this series even though I got the first book a few months ago. It's really awesome to see so many fab reviews for all the books in the series. Thanks for sharing why you love the book with us, Rachel!

Heidi@Rainy Day Ramblings said...

I have got to get to this series. I mapped it out in March let's hope it sticks. Everyone keeps raving about these books and I must see for myself. I am super happy to hear that it all wraps up nicely!

Livvy said...

I've heard so many wonderful things about this series and Rachel, I think you are definitely right about me needing to pick this series up because it sounds brilliant.

Lovely review as always! :)

Maja (The Nocturnal Library) said...

I know! OMG, this series, it set the standards so high, I doubt I'll ever enjoy YA fantasy that much again.
Marchetta has this enormous talent for breaking readers' hearts, but, as you pointed out, her sense of humor is so unusual and often surprising, that's what really stands out.
Froi remains my favorite book, but I absolutely loved Quintana, and I'm glad you did too.

Suzanne (Parabooklover) said...

God I haven't started this series yet, but it's one I'm looking forward to. I'm glad to hear that it ends well. And you picked great quotes as usual. Great review Rachel.

Keertana said...

Amazing review, Rachel! I'm so glad you enjoyed this one! I loved the manner in which everything wrapped up in the end and was somehow STILL surprised by this one despite always have incredibly high expectations of Marchetta novels. I can't wait to see what she writes next! :)

Shooting Stars Mag said...

Great review, Rachel. It's awful but I haven't read anything by Melina yet. I know I need to though. I love character-driven books, so that's great this one follows that path. And the unexpected wit and humor is always a plus for me!

Vegan YA Nerds said...

WONDERFUL review, Rach!! I am so glad you love this one, I thought it was an amazing end to the series :D

Unknown said...

Well, I'm clearly missing out here. I've never read this series or any of Marchetta's books. I've heard such amazing things about everything she writes. I'm so happy you loved this. Great review!

Unknown said...

Oh come on, Phaedra! There's absolutely nothing wrong with Lu-cien's swiving. I mean, seriously. He's like a beast. I mean I wouldn't mind him throwing me around in the bedroom. <-- In which Joy LOUDLY says what she was thinking.

Sam (Realm of Fiction) said...

I'll probably read this months after everyone else, as I did the same thing with the first two books. ;) I cannot wait, though! I'm not at all surprised to see this is getting so many 5 stars. These books are just brilliant.

Aa'Ishah said...

I haven't read this series, but I can see I'm going to have to. ;) I've read one Marchetta book and sadly didn't have a huge amount of luck with it, but I'm looking forward to seeing more of her work. Wonderful review, Rachel! :)

Unknown said...

Aww, Rachel, you and your enthusiastic reviews! <3 My sister has convinced me for months to start this series, but I keep pushing it back since I'm not in the mood of fantasy. But I think I might be doing the biggest mistake ever! I haven't met a single person yet who dislikes Melina Marchetta, and that's saying something! x) I need to squeeze time to read the first book! Awesome review, Rach! <3

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