The Rhyme of the Willow trilogy, Book 1 Justin Sullivan and Samuel Sullivan Justin Sullivan, publisher Fiction, MG Fantasy ****
Description
Axton and Aniva Rhyme may be twins, but their personalities couldn't be more different. Aniva has a chip on her shoulder the size of a tree, willing to
bully anyone, even her own brother, into getting her way. Shy Axton, on the other hand, prefers schoolwork and books, letting his fears run his life. Both
were left orphans by a car crash, leaving little more than dim memories of their real mother and father... until one of Axton's plants inexplicably bites
them both, and they share a strangely vivid dream of that fiery crash - and a mysterious woman with yellow-green eyes who offered help...
Compelled by their dream, the Rhyme twins sneak out of their grandparents' house to the massive willow at the site of the crash - and are swept into a dark
and dangerous world, a forest gone mad. Luminous vines, stone-barked trees, evil thorns, plants made of shadow... and not a single bird, insect, or animal
to be seen. Stumbling upon an outpost of civilization, Axton and Aniva discover many shocks and surprises - not the least of which is that their parents may
still be alive somewhere in this forbidding, deadly Garden.
Review
A compellingly original fantasy, Shadowbloom starts quickly and rarely slackens its pace. Axton's shyness has crippled him, and continues to do
so throughout the book, while Aniva's rage becomes entwined with a darker fate, threatening to consume her very soul. Together, they form one reasonably
competent adventurer, exploring a world composed almost exclusively of plants... and ill-favored plant/human hybrids known as Wilds. It could've been just
another lightweight kids-in-Wonderland tale, but the Sullivans weave in darker, more complex threads beneath the seeming utopia of the sheltered human
enclaves, and both Rhyme twins find their lives changed in ways that many young adult authors wouldn't have dared. It almost earned itself another half-mark,
but the ending felt a little awkward, even allowing for it being Book 1 of a series. (It also could've used slightly more diligent proofreading.) Nevertheless,
it read fairly fast and I enjoyed the world... enough that I may finally find myself paying for a Kindle book when the second volume becomes available. (For a
cheapskate like me, that's saying something...)
The Rhyme of the Willow trilogy, Book 2 Justin Sullivan and Samuel Sullivan Justin Sullivan, publisher Fiction, MG Fantasy ****
Description
Since passing through the willow into the dark, dangerous world of the Garden, Axton and Aniva Rhyme have slowly adapted to a world with no sunlight
and no animal life: only humans, a fanastic variety of plants, and plant-infected humans known as Wilds. While Axton still searches for clues to their
lost parents' whereabouts, Aniva considers his search a waste of time, still full of anger at being abandoned. Besides, they're hardly the same children
their parents once knew. Both have been irrevocably transformed since the Green Witch pulled them through the willow - literally. Infected by Wilds,
they are now Crows, transforming into winged, shadow-feeding beings whenever they are in darkness. Aniva carries the extra curse of the Blood Demon,
changing into an unstoppable monster at the mere sight of blood. The humans of the Lighthavens fear and hate all Wilds, driving them from their midst
and killing them without hesitation... a hatred that might soon be repaid in blood.
Following a clue left by the ever-cryptic Green Witch, Axton and Aniva travel to the powerful Lighthaven of Fire Grove. Here, Axton hopes to find his
parents, or at least a fresh trail to follow... a hope tempered by fear of what would happen if he and his sister were found out as Wilds. Fire Grove's
populace hates Wilds with a passion, all too ready to start a witch hunt to protect their populace. But fear of discovery soon become the least of the
Rhyme children's worries, as lethal Darkroots strike in the very heart of the Lighthaven.
Review
The second installment in this trilogy picks up fairly close to where the previous book left off, with just enough refreshers in the narrative to
remind the reader where things stand. Once I got my bearings again, I was off on another fast, wild adventure with the Rhyme twins. Some old allies (and
rivals) follow them to Fire Grove, and they pick up some new ones along the way, each with a little more to them than is initially revealed. The Rhyme
children have both grown and changed, though they still have more to learn about this world and themselves. The world of the Garden continues to present
fresh wonders and dangers to explore. It almost earned itself another half-star, until I hit the abrupt cliffhanger of an ending. I'm not sure how the
Sullivans intend to wrap up the many threads of the trilogy in one more book, but I'm looking forward to finding out.
The Rhyme of the Willow trilogy, Book 3 Justin Sullivan and Samuel Sullivan Justin Sullivan, publisher Fiction, MG Fantasy ***
Description
Since coming to the Garden, Axton and Aniva Rhyme have changed in ways they couldn't have imagined. Both have become Wilds, humans altered by
the strange and dangerous plants of this world... and both have been part of the turmoil sweeping the Lighthavens, where untainted humans live
fearing and hating Wilds. After the disaster in Fire Grove that left much of the council dead, Axton and Aniva have been separated. Axton, tainted
by the Green Witch and her "gift" of Witchvines, heads back to Linnea, his first friend and guardian in the Garden. Aniva, meanwhile, returns to
the Crows, who are planning a fresh assault on the humans and their Lighthavens; as both a Crow and a Blood Demon, she's become a valuable weapon,
but every mindless killing frenzy makes her feel more like a monster. Meanwhile, the Green Witch is up to something, teasing Axton with glimpses
of Ivan Rhyme, the siblings' long-lost father. Everything is heading for a cataclysmic event, one that may shake the Garden to its roots. Will
the Rhymes survive, or is it already too late?
Review
The final installment of the imaginative Rhyme of the Willow trilogy starts as if it weren't a separate book... and this is a bit of a
problem. There's no chance to catch up or even let the reader catch their breath as it plunges ahead into the growing chaos and tension sweeping the
Garden. This wouldn't be an issue if there had been no gap between reading the previous two installments and this one - but there was, and I never
shook the feeling that I was just reading a part of a larger story, that I was missing significant connections that had dimmed with the passage of
time. The breakneck pace and many characters worked against me, here.
That said, it does move decently, finally bringing the Rhyme parents into the picture. Aniva and Axton have both changed, not simply physically,
during their adventures. It builds up to a tense finale... but then things start falling apart, with some side-stepping, a bit of an eye-rolling
revelation, and a solution that, given the trauma and bloodshed and death endured during the trilogy, felt far too clean and quick, not to mention a
trifle forced. This feeling, plus the sense that the trilogy itself was unnaturally presented (it really felt like one story roughly cropped into
three installments), ultimately lost it the fourth star in the ratings.
All in all, the Rhyme of the Willow trilogy gets points for imagination and intensity, worth exploring if you want a portal fantasy with some
threat and substance, if one with an abrupt end.
