Monday, February 9, 2015

Book Review: Seeker by Arwen Elys Dayton

Seeker Arwen Elys Dayton Cover Book Review
I found Seeker so interesting, I had a hard time putting it down!

Quin has grown up with Shinobu and John going through a vigourous training program to be Seekers. They are being trained by Quin's dad and Shinobu's dad. They aren't really sure how John ended up in training because he's from a different family. There aren't many Seekers left. What do Seekers do? Well, they don't really get to know that until after they've taken their oath. But they know it's an honor to be one.  At the last possible moment, Quin's dad tells John he has not met the requirements and must return home to his uncle without taking his oath. It becomes apparent that there's bad blood between these two families.

Quin and Shinobu take their oath and discover being a Seeker isn't as honorable as they thought. In fact, they are miserable about what they are required to do. Because he's feeling cheated, John tries to do everything he can to steal what he feels is his birthright, and he's not above some violent acts to achieve his goal.

I'm being very vague about the details of the plot. But I can tell you there is some interesting lore, lots of action, and a tinge of romance. The setting changes to a future Hong Kong, and then to London. There's some interesting technology as well as magical elements.

Seeker moves at a quick pace. I grew to care about Quin and hoped she would find some peace and safety. For most of the book, it didn't seem that would be possible. As hard as she tries to leave her past behind her, it doesn't seem like that's going to be possible. I had sympathy, as well as disgust, for John. The Young Dread (I won't even explain what that is) adds a lot to the lore and also becomes a sympathetic character.

The only minor quibble I had is with some gaps in the story. The book is plenty long, but a couple of times I wished we were able to experience a bit more of the time that was skipped. After they take their oath, they have to do horrible things. But we don't see any of those things. We are told -- and then several months have passed. Also, when they get to Hong Kong, we skip a lot of time before we meet Quin again -- it's a couple of years, I think. I would have liked some more details about how she came to be in the situation she is now in.

I really enjoyed Seeker, and while the story isn't over, the cliffhanger isn't massive. It ended at a good spot. I'm excited to add this one to my collection of fantasy/dystopian stories with strong female heroines. I'm sure Seeker has a lot of potential readers among my teens. I'm looking forward to the next installment.

Published by Delacorte, February 10, 2015
eARC obtained from NetGalley
448 pages

Rating: 4.5/5





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6 comments:

  1. Glad you liked this. I had a very hard time with this and didn't enjoy it nearly as much.

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  2. I agree about the gaps of the story. I think maybe if there were less perspectives and more explanation of things that were left out then I would have liked the plot a little more. But that isn't to say that I didn't like it. I also thought it was full of action and the world was very interesting and unique. Great review!
    Cassi @ My Thoughts Literally

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  3. Oh I'm glad to see a positive review of this - I have an ARC from netgalley, but was a bit discouraged to read it from another review so haven't picked it up yet. I hope I'll enjoy it as much as you did!

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  4. I liked this book, too!! I enjoyed Quin as a heroin, but Maud was my favorite character by far! I also liked Shinobu. It saddened me when he started doing drugs. ): Ugh, John.. I hope he redeems himself in book 2!

    Pearl @ AsteriskPearl's Book Blog

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  5. I have seen very few reviews for this book but the ones i have read, the are all great thoughts. I added this recently to my TBR audio list. I think I may need to bump it up. I am very excited about the settings. I love a book with lots of foriegn (to me) places as the settings. The books are probably the closest i will ever experience these places.

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  6. I just finished this last night. I enjoyed it too! I'm surprised at how many negative reviews it has at goodreads. I'm looking forward to the next one.

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