Author: Heather McCorkleEdition: Compass Press eBook
Released: May 7th 2012
Pages: 330 approx.
Goodreads, Author's Blog, Amazon UK/US
Invaders are coming to take what isn't theirs, again.
Neala wants to stand and fight for her homeland, but as one of the last druids, she may be standing alone.
Persecuted, hunted down, forced to live in obscurity, the druids have all but given up. Can the determination of a girl who has barely come into her power bring them together? Or, just when she finally finds her place among her kind, will they end up losing a homeland their very magic is tied to?
MY REVIEW:
When it comes to fantasy books, I'm a pretty hard critic. The one thing that I absolutely need to have in these sort-of books is to be able to lose myself in a completely new and unusual world. That's a big thing to ask from an author, I know. But now that I've read To Ride a Púca and it met my criteria, I can fully recommend both this book and the wonderful author behind it!
What else can I say but I absolutely LOVED Neala's world! The world-building was, put simply, exquisite! I was in awe. In awe. All I can do now is thank the amazing author who created it! I literally did not resurface the whole time I was reading. I was just completely caught up in the whole world and never wanted to leave. Can you blame me? Would you like to leave a world full of faeries, brownies and magic? And by brownies, I mean the magical creatures, not the treats. ;)
The main character, Neala was very admirable in the way she was always ready to stand up and fight for what she believed in. Multiple times throughout the book she showed her bravery and I loved her for it. She was a strong heroine, not one who constantly needed to be rescued which, by my standards, make the best female leads.
The only slight criticism I have with this book is the romance. It started off with Bren. First impressions: I loved him. But as everything progressed and he started changing, I started going off him. Enter Tyr. I LOVED Tyr. He was so sweet. Then came the next suitor. It wasn't quite a love square... but it was. I know I just contradicted myself but I really can't describe it any other way. I just felt like too many possible love interests were introduced only to be knocked down at the end.
Overall, I really enjoyed To Ride a Púca. I adored the world-building and the main character. Only the romance let me down a little. It wasn't that the love interests were terrible characters, it just felt a bit too much. However, that didn't affect anything that badly! So overall, yes, I highly recommend this book. How can you resist such a beautiful cover anyway?!
I'd like to thank the author for providing me with a eCopy of this book!
Happy Reading,
Rachel xoxo
Fantastic review! The author has asked me to review this too, I'm just waiting for her to send it. Now I am really looking forward to it! It's great that the fantasy world lived up to your expectancy - I totally know what you mean, if you can't lose yourself in the new world then it just gets boring. Shame the romance let you down, I've never really read a book where is portrayed that way. Thanks for posting, this looks so interesting! :)
ReplyDeleteThank you for the wonderful, in-depth review! I'm SO glad you enjoyed the read. :)
ReplyDeleteBrilliant review Rachel! I will definitely be adding this to my TBR list, it sounds good and glad you liked it :) But the romance adds a lot to a book and I was a bit sad that it let you down :\ But I know! the cover is so cute. Thanks for sharing <3
ReplyDeletexoxo, Mariam
Brilliant review!! :) I'm really glad you enjoyed it! This looks like a really interesting book, and you're review has made me want to read it even more!
ReplyDeleteThanks for the fantastic review!,
Beth xx
This is the first time I've heard of this book, and I must say, it sounds very cool! Mythology based world building usually does it for me. Great review!
ReplyDeleteOmg the horse on the cover is beautiful <3
ReplyDeleteGreat post Rachel hope you enjoyed the book it sounds great.