REVIEW: Finnikin of the Rock by Melina Marchetta

At the age of nine, Finnikin is warned by the gods that he must sacrifice a pound of flesh to save his kingdom. He stands on the rock of the three wonders with his friend Prince Balthazar and Balthazar's cousin, Lucian, and together they mix their blood to safeguard Lumatere.

But all safety is shattered during the five days of the unspeakable, when the king and queen and their children are brutally murdered in the palace. An impostor seizes the throne, a curse binds all who remain inside Lumatere's walls, and those who escape are left to roam the land as exiles, dying by the thousands in fever camps.

Ten years later, Finnikin is summoned to another rock--to meet Evanjalin, a young novice with a startling claim: Balthazar, heir to the throne of Lumatere, is alive. This arrogant young woman claims she'll lead Finnikin and his mentor, Sir Topher, to the prince. Instead, her leadership points them perilously toward home. Does Finnikin dare believe that Lumatere might one day rise united? Evanjalin is not what she seems, and the startling truth will test Finnikin's faith not only in her but in all he knows to be true about himself and his destiny.

In a bold departure from her acclaimed contemporary novels, Printz Medalist Melina Marchetta has crafted an epic fantasy of ancient magic, feudal intrigue, romance, and bloodshed that will rivet you from the first page.

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MY THOUGHTS
I feel ashamed in the fact that I didn't enjoy this book as much as everyone else. A look on Goodreads and almost all you will see is 5 star reviews. Everyone loves this book. I liked this book, but I wouldn't go as far as loving it.

At first, it was extremely hard for me to get into this book. I wasn't quite sure what was going on and I didn't really understand the world that I just jumped into. This is a fantasy book, so it's not surprising that I had to get acclimated to this new and interesting universe. But, for some odd reason, it took me awhile to get into this book and that's the main reason as to why I just didn't love this book as much as everyone else.
Why couldn't I get into it?

That's just it. I. DON'T. KNOW. For some unexplainable reason, I just had a hard to reading this book. For awhile I thought it was just as I said before, I had to get to know this world and figure out what exactly happened, but even when I understood what was going on, I still couldn't get into this book. In fact, I was starting to dread even to read it, and I was enjoying the book! But I dreaded reading it? This doesn't make any sense!

Maybe I was distracted? Not in the mood for a fantasy? I guess I just wasn't filling up to it. Closer towards the end, I got more into the book and enjoyed it so much more! I almost gave this book 4 wheels because I was enjoying it, but I dropped it down due to how long it took me to get into it.

IN CONCLUSION
To be honest, this was a very interesting fantasy read and I did end up enjoying it, but for some reason I just wasn't feeling up to it. I do recommend this book, since the only problem that I had was my weird mood. I will also be continuing the series! I really really liked the last third of the book (I guess I was in a better mood then) and am really interested in seeing more in this world!

I hereby give this book

3.5 Wheels!

Meaning: Not quite amazing, but almost.