Crewel by Gennifer AlbinPublished: 16th October 2012
By: Farrar, Straus and Giroux
Source: Netgalley
My rating: 3 of 5 stars
It's over one hundred years into the future and earth has been destroyed by war. Adelice now lives in a world where time is weaved with matter, by girls called Spinsters. When girls reach 16, they are tested to see if they can weave, and Adelice passes this test with flying colours. She knows the Guild are coming to take her away that night but she can't tell her parents because they've trained her for most of her life, to fail the test. When the knock comes to the door, they run. Adelice soon finds out that girls who run, wind up dead, so why is Adelice different, what is so important about her?
When I heard about this book, I thought it sounded fantastic, but I found it to be very bland. It didn't excite me at all. While Adelice appeared to have everything I like in a main character, tough, brave, caring and sarcastic at times, I just couldn't take to her. There is a slight love triangle but I couldn't become invested in either of the guys enough to care, and the romance didn't thrill me either.
What I'd say I enjoyed most in this book was probably the interactions with Cormac, the Ambassador of the Guild. Even though, he could take Adelice's life at any moment, I couldn't quite figure out his feelings towards her. While he was probably old enough to be her grandfather, I couldn't help but wonder if he had a romantic interest in her?
I wasn't impressed with the world building of Crewel either and found the descriptions of the manipulation of the weave hard to visualise. At one point, Adelice questions if it's all real, and these were exactly the thoughts I was having. Earth appears to be somewhere beneath the world they inhabit now, which is known as Arras. To be honest, I found it all a bit confusing.
My favourite part, and where I perked up a little bit would have been the ending, which will probably lead me to pick up the sequel. We'll see....
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I actually quite enjoyed that this book had you questioning what was real and what wasn't. The world-building really worked for me, but I do agree that it can be challenging to picture. I'm sorry you found this to be bland, but I hope the sequel is more to your liking! Brilliant review. :)
I agree - I wasn't impressed by this one and it will definitely take a LOT for me to want to pick up the sequel. If you do decide to read it, and wind up liking it, perhaps I'll enjoy it too! Thanks for your honest review though! :)
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Aww, I'm sorry that this book failed to impress you, Suzanne! I read mixed reviews on this one, and I can't make up my mind yet whether to read it or not. I heard that Adelice is not really a likeable heroine, and the love triangle turns me off as well. I guess love triangle is my pet peeves in books. ;)
I'm going to wait for more reviews before I decided to read this book or not. :) Thank you for your helpful, awesome review, Suzanne! <3
PS: I'm sorry that I haven't commented in your recent posts! x( I'm having very bad internet connection lately, and it takes forever to load Disqus. Miss you and your amazing posts, Suzanne! <3
It's unfortunate this story didn't work out for you Suzanne. Your brilliant review lets me know I made the right choice in passing on this. I don't think this story would've been enjoyable for me. :)
*sigh* I know what you mean, Suzanne! I started this two or three times, but couldn't force myself to keep reading. I thought it was bland, too, and nonsensical at times. I thought the worldbuilding might have gotten better later on, but apparently not.
Sorry you wasted your time, but I really enjoyed your review.
I'm glad you enjoyed this much more than I did Suzanne, I too was memerised by this gorgeous cover and premise, but I had to give up about 70% in, but at least sticking it out paid off for you as it's got you interested in picking the next book up! :)
Wow! After reading your review and Jasprit and Maja's comments I am reconsidering. Everyone was raving over this one and I heard the world building was great. Maybe I won't read it, as if I would have time for it anyway. Thanks for the honest review.
This one actually never sounded very good to me. It sounds confusing actually! LOL I was going to give it a try based on a few raving reviews but I think I'll pass. Especially if the romance is very lacking.
I was wondering whether I would like Crewel or not. After your reading your review I think I'll wait on it for a while more. Thanks for a balanced and fair review that gave me a better idea of whether I'd like it or not.
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