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

[kayne470]

I am about halfway through the book and find it very interesting. I love the Arthurian legends and this ties in rather well. The names can be a bit confusing, but not enough to make me put the book down. I'll post again when I have read more.
Kayne

[Nenye Charles]

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.

[Nenye Charles]

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.

[Okocha Victor]

when I saw the book title I was so draw because I wondered what would be added to the original story of the movie Merlin.

[Okocha Victor]

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.

[Laney K]

I enjoyed the book but I did think it was a little dense at spots. However, it was thoroughly entertaining to read. I enjoyed the different take on the Merlin tale.

[Laney K]

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 with you, the book was not at all what I was expecting it to be about.

[Amanda Nixon]

I did enjoy the book quite a lot! I'd give it 3.5/4 stars! I really love books on Arthurian legends and arthurian type legends and the take on the lady of the lake here was really interesting. Beautiful descriptions and a painstakingly crafted world created a mesmerizing experience for me. Descriptions could be lengthy but most of what was included was necessary. I also am not a fan of romance so that part does not resonate with me as much as someone else who loves romance but it still made the story and I would quite recommend this book. Maybe not suitable for children so keep it for an older audience but definitely read it!

[Dana Youngblood]

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.

[Anaïs Quesson]

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.

Your take on this book is quite interesting. I had the opposite feeling: to me, some parts of the story felt quite lengthy, and I was only waiting for the subject to change and more action to happen. Maybe it is due to the fact that I was expecting a more epic story; once I understood Nimue's journey to free Merlin was more psychological than physical, this feeling went away and I enjoyed the story.
I can understand why you rated it 3/5. Very interesting. Thank you for sharing your thoughts with us!

[Kathy-Smith]

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.)

[Dana Youngblood]

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.

Your take on this book is quite interesting. I had the opposite feeling: to me, some parts of the story felt quite lengthy, and I was only waiting for the subject to change and more action to happen. Maybe it is due to the fact that I was expecting a more epic story; once I understood Nimue's journey to free Merlin was more psychological than physical, this feeling went away and I enjoyed the story.
I can understand why you rated it 3/5. Very interesting. Thank you for sharing your thoughts with us!

I actually agree with you that some parts felt lengthy. Nimue's story took up the majority the book, understandably so, but I felt the chapters would jump too much at times. Some storylines would stretch over multiple chapters and some chapters would have 4 or 5 different storylines/themes wrapped up into it. I agree that there could have been more action at times as well. I actually really liked that it was more of a psychological freeing, not the physical freeing we expected in the beginning!
Thank you for your response!

[Yasmine ZM]

The ancient religions part is not my thing, but that's my personal choice.
in overall the book is well-written, the characters are well-developed and the story is captivating. The writing style is engaging and I like how the author describes the places.

[Laney K]

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 also agree there were places that felt quite slow to me. I think there was just so much information being given I felt like it was a bit of a struggle to get through parts.

[Laney K]

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.)

That also struck me as odd while reading the book.