The Summoning Series
Talk about potential but boring in the end. Let me explain.
I am a sucker for books were a female protagonist (well, female protagonist stories in general) from the modern world is sucked into a fantasy/magical world. I think the idea of the culture shock intrigues me. And I love the added drama of having to learn how to make the best of the situation. YA author N.M. Browne did an awesome job in her Warriors of Alavna book and sequel (just found out there is a third book. MUST find it and read it). But that's for a win review.
Anyway, I was introduced to reading this series by reading book two "Sorceress of Faith" (the picture). I didn't realize it was a series then, until I surfed the net for more books. There are five books in total. Alone, book two satisfied me. I really shouldn't have tried to continue the series. It ended with a little cliffhanger, but honestly, this whole series was very forgettable. I didn't feel left out at having not read book one since book two had it's own story, characters and bad guy. Book five brought in all the books together to fight the ultimate bad guy. If I had read book 5 first then I would have been somewhat confused.
*The books are so forgettable that I have forgotten the names of the characters and the land. Sorry for being vague but I'm not about to research it either.
The story: Seven women are brought to another world that has magic. These women are special and the only ones who can defeat the parasite bad guy who is trying to destroy this other world. Books 1-3 has a single woman and her adventures. Books 4 and 5 has two new women in each.
The unique: The way they used magic. They didn't twist their hands in the air, have wands/staves, or speak strange words (well, kind of the strange words part). They sang their spells. But that's the only way they can use magic is by singing. If they can't sing, and by sing I mean sing perfectly, then they can't use magic. I must admit it surprised me. I've never read a book that did that before. I didn't even catch on that they were singing until I reread the second book and I was like. "OHHH! They sing their spells. So weird."
The fail: 1) Little to no culture shock. These women are from modern times and suddenly find themselves naked in front of a bunch of strangers. It's been a while since I've read the first book. But, either way, other women very quickly accepted that they are in a foreign place and that they have to train for their trials to come. And by very quickly (to my recollection) it was kind of like "Welcome to Fairyland. You have power and we're going to train you so that you can defeat mini-boss." And her reply was like "Wow... that man is hot. Okay, I'll train. I really don't want to, but I totally trust you strangers and believe you."
I would have liked a little more resistance from some of them. They later meet up with the others from Earth but for the case of one character in which she met them as soon as she was in the land. And even she I expected a little resistance. She was basically forced to be a bride so she wouldn't leave the land and forced to stay there. Not joking.
Which leads me to big fail number 2) Love interests. I love love LOVE romance. I can't stand sad endings and love the cliché happily ever after. That being said the love in these books are ridiculous. Each girl gets paired up with a guy which is okay, but sometimes the story is just stupid.
For example book 3: Woman finds herself in a strange land. She is forced into marrying (I don't even know why/how the other two got her to agree with it) someone from the land within like a week of her being there. Yes, the time frame was that short. She doesn't even get to really know him. Objects from prospective suitors were placed on a table and she got to pick which one she was drawn to the most. During that time she seems to be on drugs or super drunk. The two bond by blood and then it's revealed that if one dies then the other will literally die. No, that's not a joke. When the people of this planet/land supermarry then they bind their lifeforce so that when one dies so will the other. If that's suppose to be "Aww cute" it really isn't.
The first two women in the first two books haven't done it yet. One because her man loves her too much he doesn't want her to die when he does. Since their lives are always in danger because they're warriors and constantly in battle. And I don't remember why woman number 2 hasn't. I think it's because she's still trying to trust her partner after he tried to have the big baddie kill her. Yeah, he totally did try that, but then he realized his error after he had sex fell in love with her.
In book five the author brings up this whole bonding thing a lot. She makes sure that the reader doesn't forget what will happen when one dies. She even has very minor characters die because of that. So like, one person got killed and his/her partner embraces him/her and dies with them. And one of the characters point this out as if it's suppose to be "Aww adorable. They really loved each other" moment. She also has a major character die and her lover dies with her, but then they are rescued by the planet's deity. And it's not really a spoiler, because the way the books are written you KNOW none of the major characters are going to die.
But, really, that's not what annoyed me the most about this series. It's still in the whole love interest section. Dear authors, who seem to have this problem, it's okay for the two love interests to be apart after they become an official couple. No, really, we, the readers, are kind smart enough to understand that just because they are apart doesn't mean they don't love each other any less.
Why did I just say that? The instant the woman in the story gets her man and they have sex become an official couple then they rarely separate. Wherever one goes then the other follows very closely. It started to get tedious reading "Sally and Bob walked in the room where Jane and Adam were kissing." or "Sarah and Ted held on to each other, looking up into the stars when Amanda and Pete walked over to them."
It was really noticeable in book 5 because all these women were near each other. They don't even get a single private time to think without their other by their side. I couldn't understand why these men were so close to them. There was no jealous suitor or love triangles in the series. So it wasn't as if the men had to be afraid that the women were going to go to someone else's arms. And (at least in book 5) they weren't in any danger until the end. In fact, the women were super duper devoted to their men. Yet, once they started having sex then they basically never left each other's side. And the few times that certain couples were apart, they were plagued with severe guilt at not being closer to each other.
As a series, these books suck. I think if I had only read book 2 and nothing else then I would have been fine. The whole magic thing was interesting, but not for me. And the whole love story wasn't that bad. I would have put the book down and went "eh" then moved on with my life. But I didn't. I read the rest and now regret it. Still, it's a pretty forgettable series. I think it was while I was reading book 5 that the series as a whole felt like a fanfiction for some anime (or various animes put together). The bad guys themselves were not really described and I kept on picturing black goo. Eh. I think I'm going to now find this third book from N.M Brown's Warriors of Alvana.
P.S. Anyone know of any good books were modern female is taken back in time with magic and stuff?