There’s not that much action in the book, at least in terms of fighting, but there are some tense scenes that help disguise the fact that not much actually happens in the book until the very end. The romance sneaks up at the end almost unnecessarily, but at least there’s some background for it. Once I understood how the world works, I got very involved in the whole idea of the Chalice-someone who is responsible for keeping things together, basically, merely with a cup and some mixture. Pacing and other stylistic elements aside, I really liked the characters and the story. Plus, she has a tendency to go forward and backward in time without much warning, which makes details a little harder to fit. One thing about McKinley is that she does tend to fling you right into her world it actually took me a few dozen pages before I really got a feel for the world and what Mirasol’s role as Chalice was. McKinley does go on and on about bees and honey, but she manages to meld it nicely into her world. I’m on the fence about it, but I actually ended up really enjoying Chalice. Chalice is like that as well, which isn’t a bad thing if you like her style of writing. I noticed the same thing when rereading The Blue Sword. I mentioned that in Spindle’s End, she got so loquacious it was hard to bear at times. Robin McKinley is also an author who really enjoys lengthy, detailed descriptions of that particular element or thing. For example, Rose Daughter revolves around the growing and cultivating of roses. Rating: 3/5 Robin McKinley is an author who I like to think writes “specialized” fantasies-fantasies revolving around a particular element or thing.

Chalice, by Robin McKinley, was published in 2008 by Putnam.

Rose daughter robin mckinley