Madilla : Spirit of U’Katang Review (Spoiler Free)

Author: Ian B. Boyd

Publisher: Ian B. Boyd

Publication Date: March 14, 2018

Genre: Fantasy, Magical Realism (Maybe?)

My Rating: 3 Stars

Amazon

“From her very first touch of the piano keys, Madilla feels a strange tingle of energy running through her fingers. In defiance of the customs of her people, she connects through the spirit of her music with a wild mountain sparrow that shows her the freedom of wings and an endless blue sky.

Her piano becomes Madilla’s only escape from the violent atrocities of an isolated and forgotten mountain village, poisoned by centuries of military occupation. But her family has no escape. Tormented by lust and hatred, her uncle succumbs to the ways of the soldiers, igniting an even greater evil lurking within his spirit.

Recognising the confusion of her Mama’s unshakable beliefs, Madilla searches for her own truth. What she learns is that the magic she feels through her piano is only the beginning.”

*Thank you to Mel over at Everyday_Reader for sending this one to me! Click on her link to read her review!*

The Story. I honestly thought this was a very unique book. I’ve never read anything like this before. I loved the musical elements that were infused in the story telling. I myself play the piano (that’s mine in the photo above), so I really related to Madilla when she felt something every time she played. It really is it’s own kind of magic. I am not sure if her village was real or not, but it was most definitely stuck in time. I actually had no idea what time period we were in until Madilla found out. It was a mixture of music, war, fear, and magic.

The Characters. I really enjoyed Madilla. She started off as a strong young girl, and grew into an even stronger young woman. She just wanted to escape and play music, but outside forces kept stopping her. She can’t be found out that she can see through her sparrow, or she will be branded as a witch. She was very brave in figuring out and learning why she has this ability.

The World. I’m going to be honest, I didn’t understand the magic system at all. I kind of knew where it came from, just not how it got passed down. BUT some people might like that because it keeps an air of mystery surrounding the book.

Final Thoughts. While I enjoyed this book and the writing was really good, I found myself putting it down way too much, even though it’s a shorter book. It didn’t captivate me. I don’t have anything bad to say, it just didn’t have that oomph. I liked the message behind the book, that Madilla, as a young woman, was the strong one to save her tribe. Plus, I thought there might be a bit of a forgiveness message in there as well. 3 stars is a “I liked it” for me.