Review: Lark Rising (Guardians of Tarnec #1) – Sandra Waugh

lark risingLark has foreseen two things—she will fall for a young man with sage green eyes,and he will kill her.

Sixteen-year-old Lark Carew is happiest close to home, tending her garden and gathering herbs for medicines. But when her Sight warns her that monsters called Troths will soon invade her village, Lark is summoned on a journey to seek help from the legendary Riders of Tarnec. Little does she suspect that one of the Riders, Gharain, is the very man who has haunted her visions. Or that the people of Tarnec have called her there for another reason: Lark is the Guardian of Life, the first of four Guardians who must awaken their powers to recover four stolen amulets. Together, the amulets—Life, Death, Dark, and Light—keep the world in Balance. To take back the Life amulet, Lark will have to discover her true inner strength and give in to a love that she swears will be her downfall.

Rating: 3/5

As I mentioned in the comments while reading this, Lark Rising is a lovely little fantasy novel if you can get past Ye Olde English style of writing, which I found quite jarring in the beginning. However, a few chapters in and I ceased to notice the writing style, and I’m grateful that I didn’t give up reading after the first couple of pages.

Lark Rising doesn’t offer anything particularly new in terms of plot – shy girl gets selected for Very Important Quest, and on the way meets Boy Who Is Destined To Kill Her, as they Battle Bad Outside Forces in order to Save The World. But I really enjoyed the way everything flowed together, and was fully absorbed in this story of nature-inspired magic, awakening powers and the notions of duty, strength and sacrifice.

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14 thoughts on “Review: Lark Rising (Guardians of Tarnec #1) – Sandra Waugh

  1. I’m sorry that you weren’t able to enjoy this one as much as you’d hoped, despite this sort of story being overdone, I always find myself drawn to these sort of books. Thanks for putting this one on my radar! :)

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    1. Will still be looking out for the sequel, since things were set up quite nicely, and there’s a different MC. It wasn’t bad, just a bit forgettable!

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  2. That’s disappointing to hear :/ While I do like the Ye Olde English style, I don’t really like it much when it’s used in the whole narrative (when used sparingly or when a certain person is speaking, I’d be cooler with that).

    Faye at The Social Potato

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    1. Yup, it’s Ye Olde Englishe the whole way through! I did find myself getting used to it, but it can be rather jarring.

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  3. I’ve been meaning to read this for a while based purely on the cover, my favorite way of going into promising books being blind as a bat. I’m a little sad about the lack of originality, I have to confess. The old English wouldn’t bother me that much, but I do resent being able to predict what happens next. Great review :)

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    1. It’s not a bad book by any means, just not that memorable or original in terms of YA fantasy. But I’d be interested to see what you think of it!

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  4. I love the cover of this novel, it’s very catchy & easy on the eye. It’s a shame the novel couldn’t live upto it’s full potential – atleast you liked some parts of it :) lovely review.

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    1. Ack, so many times the book doesn’t live up to the cover expectations, le sigh. Thanks for stopping by!

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  5. Aw, it’s a shame to hear that the storyline of this book is really mediocre :( I think I’ll be passing on this one. Thanks for the helpful review! <33

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    1. No problemo! It’s not a bad book per se, but there are much more impressive YA fantasies out there, IMO.

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  6. “Ye Olde English style” made me laugh. I’m not much of a fantasy reader — I do read it, but I’m really, really picky — so this is probably not for me…
    Thanks so much for stopping by! Jen at YA Romantics

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    1. Baha I couldn’t think of a better term for it! If you’re picky with fantasy, I’d say definitely skip this one.

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  7. This does sound disappointing, atleast you gave it a try though. I haven’t heard of this read before so I’m not sure I want to check it out yet, your review did help explain things better though :)

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