florence vaine Archives

Yzabel / November 5, 2012

Review: A Vision of Green

My rating: [rating=4]

Summary:

Since moving to Chesterport Flo has discovered new friends and a hidden world.

After spending seventeen years as an Empath, thinking she was either delusional or very, very different, she has found others who are different too. She helped battle a coven of dark witches and watched as their leader got sent to her judgement. All now seems peaceful in her new town, but it’s not going to last.

For one, Flo’s dad is back on the scene and has taken over her dead grandmother’s house with his new girlfriend. Dealing with him makes Flo think that maybe everyday people can be monsters too, as he blackmails her into giving up the one person she needs the most. Secondly, Flo hears a story about strange goings on in the nearby forest, and becomes obsessed with the magical things that might lie in its green depths.

A Vision of Green is the second instalment in the Florence Vaine trilogy, where Flo finds herself yet again immersed in mystery, romance and things that are just a little bit scary. She will come across new adversaries, supernatural and otherwise, discover more about her own identity and grow in ways she had never anticipated.

Review:

(Ebook version kindly sent to me by the author herself, in exchange for an honest review.)

A few months ago, I had read the first volume of L.H. Cosway’s Florence Vaine series, “A Strange Fire”, and had liked it a lot. This second installment doesn’t disappoint either.

We find here characters from the previous novel: Florence, the girl with the power to see and modify people’s auras; Frank, her boyfriend, and his family, most of which share the same particularity of being inhabited by a demon’s soul; Josh, the unpleasant school mate; but also Terry, Florence’s father, who is much more present in this book. All of their personae were enjoyable in their own rights, and I was glad to see more of them, and in a way that didn’t make them lose their appeal compared to the first novel (something that, I’ve noticed, sometimes happens in second volumes, as if everything had been said about those characters, and there’s nothing new left to expect). Flo is both strong and awkward, fighting with the predicaments she’s in, yet never giving up. Frank is adorable, always ready to help her, yet also respecting her wishes, even though this may go against his nature. Josh is also interesting, in that he’s clearly a negative mirror of Florence: what she could (have) become if she had let herself being completely crushed by her father… yet I could still sense a hope for redemption in him (his behaviour could have been much worse). Even Florence’s father is not made of so many shades of black, because for all his dark sides and awful behaviour, there are a few things that explain how he became this way.

In this novel, Florence also seems to take matters in her own hands more readily than in the first story, a sign that her character has been evolving; her decisions may seem unwise at times (why stay with her abusive father, of all things?), but understandable, for they show her will to fight by herself, and not simply run away and let other people protect her. This I find always enjoyable in a character, even though I know it often also brings more problems that it solves.

We also get to learn more about what dwells in the forest near Chesterport, and are offered an insight into another part of the supernatural world, as well as more information about how Florence acquired her powers… and a hint that, much like she learnt how to manipulate and not only see auras, those powers may not be done ‘growing’ (but is this for in her best interests?). The plot centering about the forest is wrapped up nicely at the end—no frustrating cliffhanger—yet it’s also clear that the bigger picture isn’t completed yet, and that there is more to come. I’m definitely eager to see how everything will resolve in the next book.

Yzabel / July 25, 2012

Review: A Strange Fire

A Strange Fire by L.H. Cosway

My rating: [rating=4]

(Book provided through ARR #24 in the We ♥ YA Books! group, in exchange for an honest review.)

After years of abuse at the hands of her father, 17-year-old Florence Vaine is suddenly sent to live in Chesterport with her grandmother, a kind woman who may at last give her the affection and life she never had before. And her life sure hasn’t been easy, between her constant fear of her father, the stammer that afflicts her as soon as is in stressful situations, and her strange, unexplained power that allows her to see people’s emotions through their auras. Although Flo meets nice people who may become friends, she also finds herself the target of bullying because of her speech impediment. One student, Frank, immediately stands for her, attracting her attention: for his aura, as well as that of her brothers, are of a fiery kind Flo has never seen before.

Such a beginning had me a little scared : a girl arriving in a new, small town in which she doesn’t know anyone, but is from the start attracted towards the band of mysterious, different yet gorgeous pupils who always keep to themselves, have various rumours floating around them, and to whom there is clearly much more than meets the eye. This could have been the beginning of another “Twilight” (a novel I didn’t like). Fortunately for “A Strange Fire”, it wasn’t the case at all. First because Frank is nothing creepy like Edward Cullen, and is on the contrary a very sweet boy whose odd reputation hides an otherwise brave and nice persona; as the story unfolds, so does the relationship between Flo and him, in a believable way—he is attracted to her, but respects her reactions and feelings, and doesn’t force himself upon her, instead doing his best to win her friendship and trust first. His brothers, in spite of who they all really are, seemed to be good people overall, doing their best to live with what had been imposed to them from their birth.

As for Florence, I think she was portrayed in a realistic way, considering her powers, personality and past life. She’s a young woman, still a girl in some aspects, who has suffered a lot of abuse. She’s mature enough to realize how fearful this has made her, and to acknowledge how difficult it has made things for her; at the same time, she still struggles with the resulting lack of self-esteem, her need for medication, her wariness regarding people in general. During the story, she tries to overcome those hurdles, and this in turn helps her growing, getting stronger. It’s too bad that the ending couldn’t be the happy-ever-after one she would have deserved, but at the same time, I feel it was appropriate: now that she has her newly found inner strength and power, she can probably face and come to terms with what awaits her, and not just turn her back on it and run away.

There were a couple of things that left me wanting, though. I wish we would have seen or learnt more about some of the characters: Ross, for instance, who was a little bland compared to Frank and Alex; or Caroline,who was exactly the kind of nice friend Flo had always needed… but after a while, this budding friendship seemed to have retreated in the background. Also, the overall plot with the witches may have benefitted from being a tad bit more present. And what was revealed about the true nature of Frank and his family was weird—actually, it’s probably how it was introduced and explained that felt a little off.

Regardless of those few gripes, “A Strange Fire” is a book I thoroughly enjoyed, and would recommend. It was my first foray into L.H. Cosway’s works, but likely not the last one.