Altaica by Tracy M. Joyce Review

Title: Altaica
Author: Tracy M. Joyce
Age Group: Teen/Young Adult
Genre: Fantasy
Series: Chronicles of Altaica, book one
Star Rating: 2 out of 5 stars
The bottom line: Despite reminding me of Princess Monoke, and steeped with magic, political intrigue, and action, Altaica just wasn't for me.

This book was given to me by Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

In the mysterious, magical land of Altaica, a young woman named Isaura looks different than her fellow villagers. Not only that, but she has the skills of a healer--what the villagers call the powers of a witch. When an invading army comes to try and conquer her people, she leads a brave exodus across rivers in order to get to safety, and in the process, finds just how different she may be..

What I enjoyed:
-I liked the whole high fantasy feel of this book
-Isaura, the brave, complex main character
-Pio
-The whole book reminded me a bit of Princess Monoke
-I liked the way the magical elements were Native American-esque

What could've been better:
-The worldbuilding was very vague, and I couldn't really picture anything
-The pacing was really slow
-I couldn't keep the characters straight throughout the whole book, through most of it
-Despite the book revolving around Isa, she was in some sort of coma throughout more than half of the book
-I just didn't like most of the characters, and the plot most of the book just didn't really hold my attention

I think Altaica was a good try into a mystical, high fantasy series, but a lot of things unfortunately fell short. Next on deck: Dollbaby: A Novel by Laura Lane McNeal!

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