Mystic and Rider- Sharon Shinn

Senneth is a powerful mystic traveling with a servant boy, Serramarra (Lady) Kirra a fellow mystic and healer, Kirra's loyal servant, and two of the King's Riders. The king has sent them on a mission to travel the country and report back to him on any dissent among the houses. As they travel, they notice a war is brewing, a war over magic. Mystics are tolerated differently throughout the land, but some houses are kinder than others. Now, the house of Gisseltess is making their view quite clear as mystics are continually turning up dead and priestesses of the Pale Mother have swollen in number. It will be up to Senneth and the others to see themselves back through a country filled with animosity and intrigue in order to return safely to the capital.

Overall Merit: The strongest points in the book were the characters. For any fans of the the Lioness Quartet by Tamora Pierce, Senneth was a very near match to Alanna. As far as plot was concerned, there wasn't enough, but the characters were superstars and that was what kept the pages turning for me. If you are ok with character driven literature then definitely read this. Score- 9

Characters: As I said earlier, this book was largely plot driven, I loved the protagonists, mainly Senneth and Kirra, and even though the plot was lacking I kept reading because I wanted to see what happened to them. The antagonists were not as strong as I would have liked. Coralinda Gisseltess wasn't nearly as evil as she could have been and I thought that was a major weak point in the novel. You will very likely fall in love with the protagonists and root for them, but I felt like sometimes they were able to get out of trouble too easily. Score- 8

Blush Factor: This was there, but at barely more than a whisper. Tayse and Senneth's romance was not all it could have been by any means, not to mention it came out of nowhere and the build up wasn't believable in my opinion. As far as the other characters are concerned, there is nothing at all, maybe a few minor flirtations here and there, but nothing worth mentioning. I thought that Shinn should have either gone full out for Tayse and Senneth or just not included it at all. Score- 6

Structure: This was linear and third person nothing new here as far as structure. It was easy to follow and the story moved along in a traditional fashion. Score-8

Plot: This was where I had my largest overall issue. There was essentially very little plot, this wouldn't have bothered me quite as much but there was potential for plot that Shinn completely ignored. The characters were never in nearly enough danger, and there was never anything at stake. I think she should have made it more difficult for the group to pass through "mystic-hating" regions and there definitely should have been some hardcore kidnapping involved. The plot was weak and underdeveloped and without the characters I probably would have stopped reading halfway through. Score-5

In spite of the flaws, the characters were pretty amazing and for that reason, if nothing else, I do suggest picking up this book if you have the time.