Overall rating and opinion of "Nimue: Freeing Merlin" by Ayn Cates Sullivan

[Laney K]

I just submitted my official review, I finished the book yesterday. I loved it! It was not what I was expecting when I started reading, but I still enjoyed the story. I particularly liked Nimue's character development, as she grows from an apprentice to a powerful sorceress. Ended up being a 5 stars rating!

I was also a little surprised at the direction this book took. It was not really what I expected it to be about, but it was a nice surprise!

[Laney K]

I’m at the part where Nimue starts her quest. I love Sullivan’s way of writing. It’s easy flowing, relatable and linguistically pleasing to the ears. The characters are also well rounded, which makes the book unique.

I agree that the characters are quite compelling and I can tell there was a lot of research done to complete this book.

[Anaïs Quesson]

I was also a little surprised at the direction this book took. It was not really what I expected it to be about, but it was a nice surprise!

I completely agree with you on this. It was a surprise but I really liked the fact that Nina's quest is more psychological than physical. In my opinion, it makes the book stand out from other fantasy novels!

[Alicia Tickler]

I'm so intrigued by the female figures in Arthurian legend and really wanted to love this.

I found the writing beautifully detailed, but more appropriate for a scholarly article than a novel. The author is clearly an expert but for those of us who are less well-versed in more obscure aspects of this mythology, I found that it became a little too complex to follow at times. I had a hard time engaging with the story because of it. I thought that the overall flow was stilted, feeling more like a series of individual experiences than a cohesive storyline. I understand that it's primarily a story of self-discovery but with the lead-in, I also wish that the conclusion was a bit more developed.

[Alicia Tickler]

Going through he comment, I am glad to see that I wasn't the only on misled by the books title. I was so excited to meet Merlin through another light but the author was up to something else.

I completely agree! I was expecting more of a quest-type fantasy novel.

[Alicia Tickler]

I did not enjoy the book as much as I had hoped. There were aspects of it that I really enjoyed but overall, it did not resonate with me as it seemed to with others. The descriptions and world building were beautiful, but sometimes felt lengthy. I had the opposite experience of Rushil; there were stretches where the plot felt like it wasn't moving forward, and I became bored and needed a break.

I completely agree. I found the plot was a bit plodding and drawn out at times. Because of that, I caught myself skimming and had a hard time connecting with the characters.

[Cara Wilding]

I'm so intrigued by the female figures in Arthurian legend and really wanted to love this.

I found the writing beautifully detailed, but more appropriate for a scholarly article than a novel. The author is clearly an expert but for those of us who are less well-versed in more obscure aspects of this mythology, I found that it became a little too complex to follow at times. I had a hard time engaging with the story because of it. I thought that the overall flow was stilted, feeling more like a series of individual experiences than a cohesive storyline. I understand that it's primarily a story of self-discovery but with the lead-in, I also wish that the conclusion was a bit more developed.

Alicia, I can appreciate your thoughts on this book. I also found that the language made it difficult to get through in many parts, even though it was very poetic and beautiful. The conclusion came too quick for me as well. Your "really wanted to love this" made me giggle a little, because I definitely felt the same way! Of course, there were things that I did love about this book...I think I just wanted to love it more!

[Kathy-Smith]

I did not enjoy the book as much as I had hoped. There were aspects of it that I really enjoyed but overall, it did not resonate with me as it seemed to with others. The descriptions and world building were beautiful, but sometimes felt lengthy. I had the opposite experience of Rushil; there were stretches where the plot felt like it wasn't moving forward, and I became bored and needed a break.

I completely agree. I found the plot was a bit plodding and drawn out at times. Because of that, I caught myself skimming and had a hard time connecting with the characters.

I had the same issue with skimming! I'd start to skim, catch myself, and force my eyes back to the start of the page so I ended up re-reading a lot of the parts that I thought were hard to get through.

[Alicia Tickler]

I liked this book, but not as much as I hoped to. I liked Nina, the descriptions of all the places, and the trainings that they did. I liked the relationships that the Goddesses all had; they seemed really supportive of one another. I did not really like how Nimue was described though. There were many times that she was immature and did not seem fit to be the Goddess she was. I thought the style of writing was just okay. The chapters jumped around a lot, with many different topics in one chapter. Often, the chapters would not flow and there would be a change in subject rather quickly.
I think the title of the book is really good. You have to read until the end to fully understand the meaning and complexity of it. The cover of the book is a good one too. When I first looked at it, I did not realize that those are probable the Grails that are in the book a lot. I may recommend it to other people, but I feel that it is for a certain set of people. They would need to know a little about the history and mystical stories that are told so that they would have context. I gave it a 3 out 5 rating.

I felt the same way regarding the pacing and how the chapters seemed to jump quickly. I also agree that I would have liked more detailed explanation for the more obscure elements of the Celtic mythology that was discussed.

[Alicia Tickler]

Just curious, was anyone else bothered by Nina's uncle joking that he and his sister were like the Greek god Apollo and his twin sister, Diana? I was disappointed that a book about mythology would get it wrong, especially when the uncle is supposed to be extremely knowledgeable about Greco-Roman history.

(If you're not familiar, in Greek mythology, Apollo's sister is Artermis and Diana is a completely different goddess. In Roman mythology his twin is Diana.)

Yes! I was also frustrated with the mixed references between Greek and Roman deities. I noticed a few areas where they seemed to be used interchangeably (and incorrectly).

[Alicia Tickler]

One area I was disappointed in was the lack of depth within the supporting characters. Ganieda specifically, I felt was initially set up to be an important player but was then faded out and forgotten.

I would have also liked to see more of Owen. I thought it was odd right away that Nina didn't tell the person she was dating that she was leaving the country until the day it happened. Though there were a few appearances, I didn't feel that he added much to the story, and seemed like more of an afterthought.

I also would have really liked more on the prophesied darkness that necessitated Nina's/Nimue's journey. After all she went through and remembered, it just kind of ended at her discovery with everyone gathered around a table. I was looking for a more definitive event or clear indication leading to the next installment.

[Kathy-Smith]

One area I was disappointed in was the lack of depth within the supporting characters. Ganieda specifically, I felt was initially set up to be an important player but was then faded out and forgotten.

I would have also liked to see more of Owen. I thought it was odd right away that Nina didn't tell the person she was dating that she was leaving the country until the day it happened. Though there were a few appearances, I didn't feel that he added much to the story, and seemed like more of an afterthought.

I also would have really liked more on the prophesied darkness that necessitated Nina's/Nimue's journey. After all she went through and remembered, it just kind of ended at her discovery with everyone gathered around a table. I was looking for a more definitive event or clear indication leading to the next installment.

I found the handling of side characters a little strange also. The one that stood out to me the most was Blaise. I somewhat mentioned this in my review, but I was confused about how he was set up to make an entrance in Chapters 3 and 4, but did not actually appear as an active character until Chapter 9. When Chapter 5 started with Nina waking up the next morning, I had to go back and skim through the previous chapter to make sure I didn't skip over his introduction.

Also, the bottles that Nina received from Ganieda felt like they should have been important but were never mentioned again after she received them. One was even named "the Merlin bottle!" Maybe there was a plot line with Ganieda and the magic potions that was cut?

[FunkyFlowerLady]

I recently finished the first section and have enjoyed every aspect of the book thus far. The characters are well-rounded and easy to relate to, and the world building is incredibly solid. I find Ayn Cates Sullivan's writing to be quite comprehensible, and I enjoy her descriptions.

[Cara Wilding]

I would have also liked to see more of Owen. I thought it was odd right away that Nina didn't tell the person she was dating that she was leaving the country until the day it happened. Though there were a few appearances, I didn't feel that he added much to the story, and seemed like more of an afterthought.

Alicia, I almost forgot about this aspect of the book, but yes! It was really weird that they weren't communicating and I definitely thought he'd become more important later...but alas, no.

[Samantha Barnes 3]

I rated it 3 out of 4. I really enjoyed it, but the writing style was so different from what I'm used to that I got confused more than once. I will admit, though, that I am a sucker for anything related to Arthurian legend, so I was completely enthralled by the storyline, even if it was a bit confusing at times.