L. Pardee 2008-05-31

0 of 0 people found the following review helpful:

Don't get me wrong. I devoured this book. I enjoy all the characters, although Kaylin is pretty annoying. But these characters make half speeches so often that I frequently don't understand what is going on. Everything is half said and the characters, ostensibly, figure things out for themselves. But I, the dumb reader, am left scratching my head. It's a fun read but I have a Leontine growl for Michelle Sagara, should I ever run across her.

StdPudel 2008-03-08

0 of 0 people found the following review helpful:

So often a series starts well, but trails off. Not so with Michele Sagara's "Cast" series featuring Kaylin Neya. Cast in Courtlight continues the series that was begun in Cast In Secret (The Elantra Chronicles, Book 3). Kaylin has abilities that don't fit in with what her race calls magic, nor are they like the abilities of other races. She has to discover them largely alone and unguided. I knew from the very title that Kaylin would find herself in a predicament in this book. She's outspoken and never paid attention in class. She'll find a way to violate almost any protocol.

I enjoyed Cast in Courtlight tremendously. Sagara continues to develop each distinct race that coexists in Elantra, from the Leonids to the enigmatic Barrani. Any echo of a familiar author made me smile rather than frown, as if I discovered the author and I had friends in common. I got a distinct and pleasurable whiff of Andre Norton and was gratified to find that my suspicion of homage to Joss Whedon's Firefly - The Complete Series TV series in the snappy, witty internal dialog was well-founded: Michele Sagara contributed an essay to the recent collection Serenity Found: More Unauthorized Essays on Joss Whedon's Firefly Universe (Smart Pop series) honoring the series.

An enjoyable aspect of this series is that although Kaylin feels a pull of attraction to several males, there's no fast track to happily ever after for her. As in real life, she has to puzzle out her feelings and responses as she goes. She has bigger problems to solve.

If you enjoy fantasy with a strong female lead, do read this series, and do start from the beginning. I very much look forward to the upcoming installments.

Lisa M. Keyser 2008-01-25

0 of 0 people found the following review helpful:

This is my favorite book in the series so far, out of the three that are currently available. I've long been a Michelle Sagara (West) fan, but these books have a lighter tone than her other novels. I encourage everyone to read the first book in the series before tackling this one, because you won't be able to appreciate Michelle's fantastic ability to interweave plot lines otherwise. Compared with her other novels, it's also a much easier read with a swifter pace - though it is the longest in the Cast series so far.

I've read a few reviews where people don't like how Kaylin, the protagonist, continues acting in a stubborn and somewhat childish manner. I consider those traits endearing and essential to achieve some sort of growth by the time the series comes to completion. I can't wait for more books to be published, and I'm excited to be along and experience not only Kaylin's growth but the ultimate choice of which suitor is the one!

Chani 2008-01-18

0 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

This book is the second in the series, and while I enjoyed it, like the first, it tended to drag here and there, and the blatant use of exposition in the form that Kaylin is a bad learner, and didn't know anything about her world is increasingly annoying.

J. Barnhardt 2007-12-26

2 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

First of all, let me say that I enjoyed reading this book. However, at times I felt like I was looking at a lovely scene through cloudy glass that just would NOT come clear enough for me to grasp what the author was saying. I admit that it has been a while since I read the first book, and I imagine that some things would have been clarified very much with a recent re-reading of it. But sometimes the writing style was rather obscure and just didn't quite make sense to me, even if I could grasp the major tone and concepts. With that said, I did enjoy it, didn't want to put the book down and read it quite quickly. In fact, I am anxious to get the third book and read it very soon, while the second book is still fresh in my mind.