Thursday, September 22, 2011

Jessamine

Jessamine
By: Barbara G. Tarn
ISBN:  2940011179839
Published January 8, 2011
Available Format:  ebook
Graphic Novel ISBN: 2940011316982
GN Published May 26, 2011

My Rating: ★★★★☆

I’ve decided to kill two birds with one stone here, since these are both the same story in different formats.

Jessamine is an Amazonian princess in the fantasy world of Silvery Earth.  In this society, the girls begin their sexual education at the young age of fourteen through a ceremonial union with a masked male.  Jessamine decides to devote herself to this young man and sets out to discover his true identity.  Soon, the young princess becomes queen and her world is shaken with war and violence.  Jessamine must learn how to survive and reign over her people to the best of her ability through it all.

If you want a strong, take no prisoners heroine, you have one in Jessamine!  Even at such a young age, she has a solid sense of identity and boldly sets out to get exactly what she wants.  This most definitely carries over into her adult life as she becomes queen and is taken prisoner by a foreign king.  She faces heartache that could absolutely destroy a person, but she finds herself even more resilient on the other side of her struggles.  And who doesn’t like a world that is dominated by powerful women?!?

I read the novella before I had a look at the graphic novel.  I have to say that I probably enjoyed the comic a bit more than the prose, but I think the overall tale is really intriguing.  I just really wish there were more detail!  This is my first foray into Silvery Earth, and I am dying to learn all about the magical world and everyone within.  Thankfully, I have lots of Barb’s stories to check out, and I am lucky enough to get to work with her on some upcoming  work too!

This is a great, quick read for anyone looking for a brief escape.  It is recommended for more mature readers due to the violent and sexual content.