REVIEW:
I picked this book up as one of the kindle special offers, for a mere 99 cents. Prior to reading this book, I had never read anything by this author, though I have looked at several of her books. I am a fan of a good fantasy, and I also enjoy books written for young adults. This book, to me, felt very much like it would be marketed as a YA book. It was a very quick read, and definitely kept my attention. I finished it in a few hours.
Overall, I really enjoyed The Spirit Ring. I especially liked the setting of Renaissance Italy. This is out of the norm for a fantasy novel, as most fantasy novelists seem to set their books in very medieval worlds. This one included elements of science, as we would expect for a book set during the Renaissance, which was a hotbed of scientific exploration. I also enjoyed the main character, Fiametta, a young woman. The young male lead, Thur, is left somewhat underdeveloped, in my opinion, but I did like the character. He shows a rather surprising streak of resourcefulness for one who appeared so stolid and ordinary for most of the book. In fact, the resourcefulness displayed by both Thur and Fiametta was one of my favorite parts of the book.
With respect to things that I thought were weak, I really felt that the "magic" part of the book was left underexplained and underexplored. The final "battle" was also a bit over-the-top. The ending was nice, but not extraordinary.
I would give this book somewhere between three and four stars, but closer to three than four. I enjoyed it, and would recommend it, but with some reservations. Someone who only enjoys very detailed, gritty fantasy would likely find this book lacking. Someone who enjoys a lot of romance might also find it underwhelming. The most logical audience for this book, to me, is a reader of any age who enjoys clean, young adult, fantasy.
I do plan to pick up the first book in one of Ms. Bujold's series, as I very much enjoyed her writing style.
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