Warped by Maurissa Guibord
- fantasy, YA -
reviewed by Tara SG
received for review via Book It Forward Tours
Book Order (??)
This book has enough closure to be a standalone novel, however, it also leaves enough open for a sequel (I really hope there is one!).
Links
Author’s Website : www.maurissaguibord.com
Author’s Twitter : @maurissa_g
Add To Your GoodReads TBR List (28 ratings : 4.38 avg)
In Six Words
old meets modern fantasy with action
Why did I read this? And am I glad I did?
I’ve been trying to work in more fantasy YA and the summary drew me in. It sounded like nothing I had read recently and turned out to be a fun read with a unique plot and lots of action. Who of us doesn’t dream of “accidentally” pulling a hot guy magically out of a book? While that part may sound fun, life (and magic) never has that easy of a happy ending. The story has a great blend of love, loss, good, evil, laughter, and fear. Tessa is a strong female lead that I found to be age appropriate without being whiny or annoying. William can jump out of a tapestry into my room anytime he’d like. He was properly arrogant, witty, brave, and scared.
The book ends in a way that implies a sequel without needing one. However, I couldn’t find any official news. I really hope to see more from this author!
Brief Summary
Tessa doesn’t believe in magic. Or Fate. But there’s something weird about the dusty unicorn tapestry she discovers in a box of old books. She finds the creature woven within it compelling and frightening. After the tapestry comes into her possession, Tessa experiences dreams of the past and scenes from a brutal hunt that she herself participated in. When she accidentally pulls a thread from the tapestry, Tessa releases a terrible centuries old secret. She also meets William de Chaucy, an irresistible 16th-century nobleman. His fate is as inextricably tied to the tapestry as Tessa’s own. Together, they must correct the wrongs of the past. But then the Fates step in, making a tangled mess of Tessa’s life. Now everyone she loves will be destroyed unless Tessa does their bidding and defeats a cruel and crafty ancient enemy.
- via GoodReads.com
Plot/Pacing/Writing Style
I thought the plot was creative and the author’s use of time travel worked amazingly well. I hadn’t read a story that featured the Fates in this way before and I found it immensely interesting. The Fates themselves were fun characters to read while being creepy and a little scary.
The pacing was very well done. It’s a fairly fast-paced book, but it didn’t feel rushed or too short.
Characters
I liked Tessa. She made me laugh out loud on multiple occasions. She handles being thrown into the world of magic pretty well. And her full name is kinda awesome (specially with how it fits the story). I’ll admit to wanting to knock her and William’s heads together over some things, but overall I loved the connection between the two of them. Tessa isn’t just dealing with freeing a trapped nobleman and having the Fates pissed at her. Her father has also started seriously dating for the first time since her mother died. I thought this let us see another side of Tessa and how much she cares about her family.
William was great. Understandably confused about modern times and yet able to pull off arrogant nobleman while wearing Tess’ father’s old, ill-fitting clothes. He doesn’t trust Tessa which I understood at first, but it got a little old after a while. I loved that he showed his fear of the evil witch. Some YA guys don’t show a lot of weakness in this way. William had a damn good reason to be scared!
Favorite Quotes
At school the next day Tessa thought about all the words she would use to describe her social life: Dismal. Awkward. Meager. She was a walking thesaurus for pathetic.
“I have raisins. Fruit.”
“Those are chocolate-covered.”
“Of course. For the antioxidants.”
- sound logic if you ask me
You know your life is completely screwed up when you have to look up the mythological figures who talk to you in the bathroom mirror.
“How do you kill a dragon?” gasped Tessa. “Don’t they teach that stuff in medieval school?”
Recommendations
I highly recommend this to those that love YA Fantasy. While there is a blend of medieval and modern times, this is probably more for fans of the latter.
Other posts with a 4 star rating
Awesome review! I am going to have to try YA Fantasy—I may like it more than I do straight YA.
@ Felicia : Thanks! I think YA Fantasy (probably even more so the ones set in historical periods) would be an easier to jump into due to usually having more mature characters and less teen angst type dramas. I barely ever read straight YA.
Bummer, I passed on this one because of cover! It is so guarded. I would have never expected a character capable of humor based on the cover. Now I’m super curious.
I probably would have skipped reading reviews for it too if it had not been for yours. Thanks Tara.
@ Missie : Honestly, I’m not a big fan of the cover either. It should have the tapestry on it (in my opinion).
I’m glad I could introduce you to it! I do that all time (skip over reviews unless a certain few bloggers review it).
I have to say I absolutely agree with the chocolate logic as well, brilliant! So glad you enjoyed this one, I’ve been really looking forward to it but haven’t read many reviews. Based on your thoughts on William and Tessa, I think I’m really going to connect with them and I hope this is the start to a series, I always like new book series:)
@ Jenny : I know, right?
I was a little worried about another rushed YA romance, but it seemed to work a lot better in this one than the others I’ve read recently. I really hope it turns into a series!
Like you, I’m also trying to work in more YA fantasy, and I’m steering more towards high/epic fantasy then urban fantasy or paranormal romance. I guess I’m starting to get a bit burnt out on those last 2. This one’s definitely going on my TBR list now though. It might not be completely in the high fantasy genre, but it sounds like it’s a lot different than what I’ve been reading lately.
@ Natalie : I’m right there with you. I love my modern fantasy and paranormals… but they are starting to blend together
Hmmm what high/epic fantasy books do you have on your TBR? I’d love to start adding more of those!
I cannot wait to read this book! It’s on its way in the mail…I’m getting a little impatient!
@ Mrs DeRaps : I was really surprised to like it as much as I did! Can’t wait to see what you think!
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