Brightly Woven by Alexandra Bracken

Rating : 5 / 5

Goodreads : When Wayland North brings rain to a region that's been dry for over ten years, he's promised anything he'd like as a reward. He chooses the village elder's daughter, sixteen-year-old Sydelle Mirabel, who is a skilled weaver and has an unusual knack for repairing his magical cloaks. Though Sydelle has dreamt of escaping her home, she's hurt that her parents relinquish her so freely and finds herself awed and afraid of the slightly ragtag wizard who is unlike any of the men of magic in the tales she's heard. Still, she is drawn to this mysterious man who is fiercely protective of her and so reluctant to share his own past.

The pair rushes toward the capital, intent to stop an imminent war, pursued by Reuel Dorwan (a dark wizard who has taken a keen interest in Sydelle) and plagued by unusually wild weather. But the sudden earthquakes and freak snowstorms may not be a coincidence. As Sydelle discovers North's dark secret and the reason for his interest in her and learns to master her own mysterious power, it becomes increasingly clear that the fate of the kingdom rests in her fingertips. She will either be a savior, weaving together the frayed bonds between Saldorra and Auster, or the disastrous force that destroys both kingdoms forever.

My review : Wow. This book is unique. I'm so happy that I finally read it. I received this book for Christmas in 2010 and I don't know why I didn't read it sooner. This is such a wonderful and magical book ! I recommend it to everyone who love fantasy and fairy tales books ! I don't know why I don't hear a lot of praise about Brightly Woven because it totally deserves it ! I want to buy a million copies and just give it to everyone I know !  I was so hooked that I read it in a day even if I had finals a few days later. This book as a kind of odd fairy tale tone that was lovely and poetic. The writing style is just beautiful and quite impressive since the author Alexandra Bracken is really young. At first I didn't know what to think about this book because it's not easy to follow at the beginning there is a lot of actions and no links between them sometimes but it's also a part that I love in this book when I think about it now. I really wish I could create such a story. And I loved the characters especially our two main characters North and Sydelle that we follow through the book. Sydelle is a weaver and I loved the parts in the book when she was trying to repair North cloaks, to see her passion doing that... Talking about it the idea of the cloaks is totally awesome !
And then there is North... definitely one of my favorite characters of 2011. His past and the whole story behind his curse is heartbreaking.
As for the end it's an open ending so we will never know what happened because there isn't going to be other books. Normally i'm not rather fond of this kind of ending but it just fit perfectly here (same thing at the end of Forever by Maggie Stiefvater). I can't wait to read more books from this author !