Review - Irmandade de Mariza Martins

*I took this image from the authors page*

Hey guys!

So, for the next few weeks, I will be Reading almost exclusively Portuguese books. Why? Because I’m currently organising a massive event with several authors and I need to have their books read by November (date will be announced soon, I’ll let you know as soon as I can!).

Who’ll be joining me in the panel?

• -       Patricia Ferreira from ‘’Ameaça de um Anjo’’
• -       Mariza Martins from ‘’Irmandade’’
• -       Iria Cardoso from ‘’Equilibrio I – O despertar’’
• -       Ana Dâmaso from ‘’Koldrann’’ parte 1 e 2

I’m also back at college so my to reading has been reduced to waiting minutes. Minutes before a class starts or someone I’m supposed to talk to arrives and time before I get the bus. So what would normally take me a day to read will now take me 2 weeks or more.

I’m very sorry to all our partners, and I will try to be as quick as possible to read these books so I can go back to what I promised I would do!

Since we’re touching this subject, I will probably post less but I will try very hard to have a post a week!

Please understand and don’t give up on me – us.

Let’s go to the book, shall we?

Review

Irmandade can be translated to Brotherhood or Sisterhood they both apply in this case, being that ‘’Irmandade’’ is the place where every dragon-shapeshifting-person lives in the world of this book.

Let me break it for you, because I’m sure you’re very confused by now.

In the world of Irmandade several Dragons from another world have decided to sacrifice their natural self to be reborn on Earth to help Mother Earth who is suffering from what humans have been doing to her. They get reborn and are ‘chosen’ by a specific crystal which gives them power and triggers the first change to their dragon form. They also end up changing physically, our main character, Jade, turns into this beautiful red-headed girl with an amazing body that attracts attention.

So, I have many conflicted feelings about this story.

There were things I liked and things I didn’t liked so much. Things that could have been better and things to be explored in the future.

This is Mariza’s second book (check her first work here) but it’s my first encounter with her writing and storytelling line so I won’t talk about evolution.

Her writing is fluid even if a bit forced sometimes, Mariza tries very hard to use ‘complicated’ words in order to enrich her text, but it misfire. She either, end’s up using it too much or using words so weird I honestly don’t know if they’re a mistake or not.

The creativity to create this world!! I loved the whole idea of people turning into Dragons and then those dragons being connected to a different element. It got even better when that element changed the way a dragon is/was and gave it special abilities that differentiate dragon from dragon.

One thing I thought was really negative was how quickly the author dismissed the fact that Jade was raped (not a spoiler guys it’s the first page of the book), besides being a very rushed scene – I don’t need an every-excruciating-detail-scene but some character dealing and some suffering before moving one would have been nice – and the overall impact on Jade’s life wasn’t that big, so to speak. It gave her a serious problem of letting go, but not even when it came to being intimate with the person she loved did it matter that much. A bit of fail since it would have been unusual to see that kind of theme aboard a YA book.

Another thing I wasn’t exactly fond of was how her characters were mainly one sided. Evolution and learning is almost non-existent (Jade does open up and realizes her feelings but not more). Although you end up liking/disliking some of the character, you don’t get to see much of them, they are all so focused on Jade and Jade and Jade, they are mostly just one thigs. Friends.

I did enjoy seeing one couple in the book getting together – not the main one but close. And I also didn’t mind having the romance being such a huge part of the book, even if it is a cliché story the whole dragon background gave it a twist. Bonus point for turning a jackass character, who’s relationship with Jade I thought from the beginning would be toxic, to a very comprehensive person, who besides its faults, is really in love. Bonus point 2 for not making Sharon the ‘bitch’ in every romance story but portraying her as someone who’s the villain from a point of view and a hero from the other.

One nice thing I really enjoyed was how diverse this book is, you have homosexual, big, small, black, white and multicultural characters that have no problem working with each other.

Really liked Ruby and Esmeralda and Kevin, I didn’t mind Jade and Cedric and I think I would have liked Brandon or at least understood him if he had been built/explained better.

An overall very nice read, it’s not a story for those who are looking for adventure and mystery but rather for those lovesick birds in a cold evening, tired and angry for being alone.

Okay. I kidding. (kinda.) It is a book for those of like supernatural romance and really easy writing. Don’t expect a 5 star read and I think you will be surprised!

Rating: 3.5 stars.

Are ou familiar with Mariza's writing?
Or books with dragons? Besides this one, I've only ever read about them in one more.
Let me know your thoughts in the comments!