Jennifer Fallon - The Undivided

I was very excited to read this book after watching the official release at Brisbane's SupaNova. I've been a big fan of Jennifer Fallon ever since The Tide Lords (Which are among my favorite books).

Title: The Undivided - Riftrunners Book One
Author: Jennifer Fallon
Published: 2011 by HarperCollins Publishers Australia

Summary:
In an alternate pagan Ireland, fairies and magic play an integral role in the life of the people. Humans can wield magic due to a deal with the fairies through twins with a psychic link called the Undivided. However the current Undivided Rónán and Darragh were divided years ago when a traitor threw one of the twins Rónán through a rift into another world. Now the people are tiring of the divided, hoping to replace them which means death for both of the twins.

In our Ireland, Ren Kavanagh has been waking up to stab wounds, poisonings and numerous other mysterious injuries. When Ren meets a beautiful girl Trása, his neighbor's granddaughter Ren's world begins to unravel, leading him down a dangerous path.

Thoughts:
When I first opened the book, I was disappointed that Fallon was not world crafting to the same degree as she did in Tide Lords, which I believe is one of her great strengths. However this disappointment was not long lasting.

The highlights of The Undivided are that the story is driven strongly by the politics of Darragh's world, that the characters are charismatic, flawed and on occasion cunning and Fallon writes with great self awareness, with her humor used sparingly but appropriately.
The pacing was a little haphazard on occasion, but that is to be expected when swapping between characters and settings.

The one thing I had difficulty with while reading this (And I shall be showing my age and upbringing by saying it) was the sex scenes, there was only one or two, but I found them uncomfortable and for the most part unnecessary and I found myself scan reading those sections hoping that they pass quickly.

I was plagued with the feeling throughout the novel that I would be enjoying it far more if I knew anything about Gaelic mythology. For instance I spend the entire novel reading Beansidhe as Beanside, rather than Ban-Shee. Which in retrospect some parts of the novel makes a lot more sense now that I know how to read the Gaelic words. Fortunately there is a pronunciation guide at the back of the book, however it is also a guide to names, and may give some character related spoilers.
I would definitely recommend this novel to fans of Parallel World Fantasy, Political Fantasy and Gaelic mythology.
However, I don't feel it is appropriate for a young audience, perhaps those 17 and above would enjoy it.
At the moment I'd give it 3 1/2 out of 5 as a stand alone book, although with the upcoming sequel some of my qualms with the book might have been negated, in which case I'll reconsider my rating.

A Reading Challenge

I'm a member of GoodReads naturally, and as such I'm partaking in the reading challenge for 2012.I'm simply hoping to read 25 books this year. Can I do it? I honestly doubt it but I shall try my darnedest either way. I've read one book thus far, how sad.
Harry Potter and The Philosophers Stone by none other than JK Rowling of course.
and I am currently half way through A Game of Thrones by George R. R. Martin.
This is going to be fun.

An Introduction - if you will.

Firstly, Hello, I'm rather glad to see you here.
Secondly, I believe an introduction is in order.
This is Sharnie, I'm just about 19 years old and I study French and Japanese at university. Study takes up a lot of my time and brain power, so I apologize in advance for any hiatus I may take, and even more so for study themed ramblings.

 I was a rather awkward child: frightened of ball sports (well sports in general), quiet natured and flighy. It seemed only natural that books would be the natural place for me to turn. And eventually once I started high school I had no options for athletic prowess because of health issues, so in a way whether I was bookish as a child or not, eventually it was going to happen.

Mainly, this blog here is to catalogue what I'm reading and what I'm thinking about it, I'm notoriously 'un-opinionated' (and I do apologize for the fake word, but the others were not quite extreme enough) so hopefully having to share my opinions on things will be helpful.

Another thing I should warn, is that I'm a bit behind the rest of the world, IE. I've yet to read past Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire. So forgive me that.
I also find myself having a preference for children's fantasy, and YA novels. Though I do try to broaden my horizons on occasion.  
I have two younger sisters, both you enjoy reading, one is 16 years old and the other is 5. So I do experience a younger variety of literature as well. And particularly the youngest one and I, we may collaborate on a few reviews of children's novels and picture books.

I am often asked whether I prefer films or books, but I can't answer this question properly, for as much as I love books I thoroughly enjoy films. So I answer simply "I love stories, in all forms"

Hopefully we all can share some good stories together.