The Imdalind Series

 So not too long ago I found what was once a fairly famous blog:  twilightguy.com.  It was awesome because each chapter that he read he would immediately blog about before reading another chapter.  I loved getting his take on each chapter afresh.  Watching as things dawned on him etc.  It was almost as good as reading the Twilight series for the first time again.

The most recent books I’ve been reading have been the first since Twilight that I have really wanted to slow down my reading somewhat and truly savor them: The Imdalind Series.  I know that this is the only chance I have to experience them for the first time and I have a feeling they will be ones that I return to over and over.  As certain things have unraveled I have sort of wished that I could blog as I read, chapter by chapter like Twilight Guy.   

One of the things that stands out so vividly in my mind about these books is that they are the first time I can remember where I dreamed I was one of the characters.  I very seldom remember my dreams at all, but this dream is still as sharp in my mind as the moment I awoke.  That tells you how much these characters really got to me. 

I love Joclyn.  I have loved Ryland.  And as I read the second book I was torn.  This is such an incredible and heart-wrenching story.  I just don’t, at this point, see how things can ever work out for a happy ending.  As it stands right now, it is a triangle; but not the dreaded kind that I usually detest.  This triangle isn’t made up of the main character in love with 2 different guys and trying to pick between them.  In this story, 2 guys are in love with the same girl, but one is so noble that he will step aside for her happiness.  What’s not to love there?  Her happiness means more to him than his own, so he even does everything in his power to help her rescue Ryland, who she loves.  (Which BTW is why I’m “Team Ilyan” all the way!  He is such a good and pure soul.)  It just tears my heart out that there cannot be a happy ending for everyone… in fact, at this point, it would seem that there cannot be a happy ending for anyone – not if the prophecy is true.  

After I finished the second book, Eyes of Ember, I was happy to be able to say that I didn’t dream about the last part of that one!  I read it late into the night and could NOT put it down.  The part where Joclyn is trapped in the “maze” of Cail’s mind felt like it lasted half of the book when in reality it was only a couple of chapters (10% at most… without page numbers on the Kindle it’s hard to tell).  To me, that shows what an amazing writer Ethington is.  She makes you feel what the character is feeling and at that point, Joclyn was feeling like she had been there her whole life and would never get out; so that’s what I felt as well.  It really was like reading every detail of your worst nightmare.

It was interesting to me that in the books Ilyan would push his magic into Joclyn; like a soft hand weaving its way through her, it would heal and comfort her.  The night I read Eyes of Ember so late at night, I was scared that I would have another dream about it and that it would be the nightmare of the maze.  So as I crawled into bed with my husband I asked him to hold me.  I know we don’t have the kind of magic that is portrayed in these books, but the love between my husband and myself is a kind of magic all its own and it did seem to push its way into me and calm me so that I was able to fall asleep without bad dreams.  That’s the true magic in this world.

I finished the second book about 1 week before Scorched Treachery was released.  I battled with myself over this one!  I wanted to sit down and devour it all in one day, and yet there was still that need to savor each new thought.  In the end, I took my time on the first half over the span of a week and then couldn’t stop myself from finishing it in one sitting. 

WOW!  I wish I could truly find the words to say all there is to tell about book 3.  Honestly, it only covered a few days past what the previous 2 books had, but because of the changes in POV, it was completely necessary to show everything that was going on outside of Joclyn’s view. 

At first, even though I understood the need to change perspectives, I hated that it moved away from Joclyn’s POV, she is such an awesome character.  Soon however I was so engrossed in Ilyan that I was just happy to finally have a true understanding of him.  Wyn’s POV was harder to stomach. Torture is not easily witnessed, even in book form.  It was so hard to see such a wonderful person in so much pain.  However, her story is so fascinating that I’m very glad I took it all in fully.  It helped fill in so many gaps in the story. 

The 4^th book, Soul of Flame is set to be released in December 2013.  I want everyone to be anticipating it as keenly as I am.  This is one author and story I simply can’t keep to myself.  It must be shouted from the rooftops.  Read the Imdalind Series, by Rebecca Ethington!  Today!  But read it unhurriedly... you only get to read it for the first time once.