Over the past few years I have noticed that I pick up fantasy novels with more and more trepidation. For a genre in which an author can literally write whatever he or she can imagine, quite often the plot lines are formulaic and the characters one-dimensional. A number of books feature the powerful and quick-witted female or male lead, the quiet personality that slowly grows into the greatest source of magic ever seen, or the rag-tag band of individuals on a quest of some sort; and in most of th...

It's been a while since I read Racing the Dark but I can remember how much I loved this series. Alaya Dawn Johnson is a masterful storyteller and you would never guess that this is her debut novel. She writes like an old pro. There are just so many reasons why I would reccommend this book to anyone. She has a vivid imagination and I can honestly say there has never been anything quite like this story before. Her education in Foreign cultures really shines in this series. I'm not going to really

i dont write reviews often but when i do, its for extraordinary books. alaya dawn johnson painted a beautiful world that i hold dear to my heart. i love this book.

I really expected to love this based on how much I liked Johnson's most recent release, Moonlight. But I had a really hard time with this one. It started out well enough--sort of a Polynesia-esque setting, a coming-of-age ceremony, and a girl who hides the fact that she's been marked as something more than a diver by a dying mandagah fish. The descriptions were a little clunky, but I was enjoying seeing where the story would go from here.But then...it scattered. And it ended up feeling like we w...

This is a unique book. The worldbuilding is amazing, though some of it is familiar, such as the idea of the elements, including death. Multiple situations had me bawling my eyes out, and when real life had me down, I realized I didn't have the fortitude to continue reading. I had to wait for better times before I could pick it back up. Unfortunately, it didn't really have an ending, since it's the first book in a series. I will say the plot seemed meandering at some points, as though it needed a...

The notable aspect of Racing the Dark is it's setting, at least for the first few chapters. Lana, a thirteen year old girl, begins the story on a tropical island -- think Hawaii, right down to the language and some of the customs. She's about to undergo an initiation into adulthood, which, since she is a diver, requires a solo dive to find a mandagah fish and extract a jewel from its mouth. Mandagah fish and their jewels are like oysters and pearls to Lana's island, a source of income and also a...

Starts off a bit rough with a little TMI, but all within context of the world building. Follows a couple of main characters, primarily the girl who has been sold to a witch as an apprentice and her ex-teacher who ends up taking on the responsibility of guarding the prison of a dangerous spirit. I most enjoyed the world building. The islands, the cultures, the magic and spirits all blend together into a fantastically unique and interconnected tapestry. The death (a character) was super interestin...

This YA novel has a Third-World-like setting in which poverty and disease rife and people must make painful choices to survive. The worldbuilding is well done (although it could have used a little more explaining), and novel is full of suspense as the heroine, Lailana, must make difficult choice after difficult choice and is often being pursued by something awful.Two things disappointed me. First, the cover image and back cover copy led me to believe the novel would take place in a place like Ha...

This book is a YA book but it's not for the faint of heart. Very well done.

An interesting story premise set in an archipelago of island nations, calmed by the centuries-long binding of the elemental spirits. It's a coming of age story. And this book is the first in a trilogy. One assumes that the spirits of wind, fire and water put up a good fight to remain free, and the captors had to be powerful and effective. Johnson affords some people an inordinate amount of superior strength in working with spirits, and then sets a young, inexperienced girl up against these. Okay...

I hate epic fantasy. I hate the Chosen One trope, I hate the perspective switching that's now de rigeur. I have a strong aversion for coming-of-age plots, and love-practically-at-first-sight, and absolutely anything having to do with Fate. This book has all of those things. So why did I read it?I love high fantasy. You must understand that I define epic fantasy as only those fantasies where the plot involves the saving of the world, while high fantasy is simply any fantasy taking place in a seco...

Compelling narrative, interesting female lead, unique mythos and surprisingly nuanced exploration of morality. I was all set to give this novel four stars--right up until the last fifty pages where the love interest is introduced for the first time. I think the one thing that bugs me about Alaya Dawn Johnson's portrayal of romance in her novels (I've only read two, but there seems to be a pattern) is that they're really reliant on, like, animal magnetism? It's like, as soon as the main character...

I think this one is a 3.5; I'm interested in the main character and plan on reading the next one. This one did cause me to go on an internal monologue about the difference between a 3, 3.5 and 4-star book. Really, a 3 means i am relatively ambivalent but leaning in a positive direction, 3.5 means that there were aspects such as characters, setting or story that I liked but something just slightly lacking that would put it over to a four star which means i really, really liked it. The hallowed fi...

I picked up this book after really enjoying another book by the same author, called Moonshine. When I first picked up Racing the Dark, I was immediately surprised by the author's somewhat clumsy writing style. I mean, the storyline was engrossing, but I almost put the book down unfinished after the first couple chapters. If I tried to write a fantasy novel, it would be almost exactly like this one. I have some good ideas, sure. But unfortunately not a talent for writing. This book read like some...

I have a hard time with fiction. Sometimes I wonder why I'm so damn picky, hesitant to try out a new book, and generally spend most of my time rereading things I already know are good. And then I remember. It's because there's so much disappointing, bad, or straight up offensive stuff out there. Now wait, this book wasn't offensive, nor perhaps bad per se, but it sure was disappointing. It had so much awesome potential! 1. Fantasy! 2. Society where women are revered! 3. Mostly characters of colo...

I like to consider myself a pretty avid reader and I feel like I've read quite a bit of books... With that being said this book was, for me, one of a kind. It seems like so many books have so many similarities to others that if you want a new story you need to expand your genres. This was like no other book I've ever read, the author impressed me with their originality. I usually try to keep my reviews short and to the point but for this I don't know how I can do that with. I could not put this

I read this for feminist sci-fi bookclub (though GR informs me it had been on my to-read list since 2009), and it didn't strike me as especially "feminist" per se, but I did really appreciate that (view spoiler)[the major players were almost all female. Thus I was kinda bummed when Kai become such a savior. I do like Kai, though, (in part, I suspect, because of Ino -- and really, Lana's primary element has always been water, so it makes sense that that's where she would find the most alliance/pr...

What a unique world this author has created.. but there are massive holes in it as well. I thought the idea of taking a promising apprentice by a questionable 'master' was a well worn one but the execution of this relationship has been thoughtfully done.There is only hints of malice and evil about Akua and her actions always seem to lead on to a greater plan.Lana is a diver who scores an incredible gift from the sea but chooses to hide it... Lana as an apprentice sees only the good deeds done by...

At first I was really interested by this: an Asian / Pacific Islander sort of world, detailed descriptions, everything. But there are pacing issues and a few things that just seemed like Johnson was checking off lists in what was necessary for a bestselling teen fiction novel: first menstruation, unabashed and uncontrollable love at first sight, etc. Still, it's her first published novel, and I think I might check out the second in the series soon, and her other stuff, which has apparently been

I read this as part of Calico Recation's monthly book club. This was the November selection.It's actually more of a 4.5 read.I thoroughly enjoyed the world building and the island culture of the book. I also appreciated that Johnson created a magic system that requires something from it's wielders. The characters are believable and real--they have faults and they often don't listen to their inner voices when they tell them not to do something. Not a single character is flat. Those that do evil c...