Review: Froi of the Exiles by Melina Marchetta

Synopsis (from Goodreads)

Blood sings to blood, Froi . . . 

Those born last will make the first . . . 

For Charyn will be barren no more. 

Three years after the curse on Lumatere was lifted, Froi has found his home... Or so he believes...

Fiercely loyal to the Queen and Finnikin, Froi has been trained roughly and lovingly by the Guard sworn to protect the royal family, and has learned to control his quick temper. But when he is sent on a secretive mission to the kingdom of Charyn, nothing could have prepared him for what he finds. Here he encounters a damaged people who are not who they seem, and must unravel both the dark bonds of kinship and the mysteries of a half-mad Princess.

And in this barren and mysterious place, he will discover that there is a song sleeping in his blood, and though Froi would rather not, the time has come to listen.

Gripping and intense, complex and richly imagined, Froi of the Exiles is a dazzling sequel to Finnikin of the Rock, from the internationally best-selling and multi-award-winning author of Looking for Alibrandi, Saving Francesca, On the Jellicoe Road and The Piper's Son.

Froi of the Exiles is the second of the Lumatere Chronicles. You can read my review for the first book, Finnikin of the Rock, here. Froi of the Exiles was a good follow up book, but didn’t quite live up to the first book for me.

Finnikin of the Rock was mainly told from Finnikin’s perspective however in Froi of the Exiles, as the title may suggest, the story was mainly told from Froi’s perspective. This made me a little nervous to start this book because Froi certainly wasn’t my favourite character in the first book and I was a little unsure I would connect with him. However all my worries were for nothing, I could connect to Froi and I loved learning a little bit more about how he thinks and feels. In saying that, my favourite chapters were those that weren’t from Froi’s perspective, but that is more because it involved my favourite characters.

Talking of characters, the new characters that were introduced in Froi of the Exiles were great. I loved Quintana’s complexity and duality. I also loved seeing her stubbornness and savagery. I pitied her but I admired how strong she stayed despite everything she had gone through. I absolutely adored Phaedra. I loved her kindness, her loyalty and her stubbornness. I felt like I could relate to her and I was always anxious to know about her story line. I loved how well written Gargarin, Arjuro and Lirah were, even if at times I didn’t like the characters and I can’t wait to know more about their storylines.

I found the plot was suspenseful and unpredictable. There were so many twists and turns that I didn’t see coming. Some of the twists were related to the major plotlines, but even some of the smaller character lines had some surprises that I didn’t see coming. I really enjoyed the depth of the story and the complexity kept it intriguing and kept me guessing.

I have to say that I love the way Melina Marchetta writes! I love the way that she is able to make readers feel the emotions of the characters. I love the way each character she writes has their own unique voice. I love the way she describes scenes and, particularly in this series, I love her world building. In saying that, I did have a little, and I mean teeny tiny, problem with the pacing of this book. I felt at times that it did drag on somewhat, but I still think that Marchetta is a genius.

Overall, Froi of the Exiles was a great book, and a really good follow up to Finnikin of the Rock. I had a few minor issues with the book so I gave it 4.5/5 stars!

I read this book for the Australian Women Writer's Challenge 2013 and the 2013 Sequel Challenge.

Mel.