From Goodreads: Reychel is a slave girl surrounded by magic, lies and manipulation. Her best friend disappears in the middle of the night leaving Reychel to face her fifteenth birthday, the day her master burns his brand into the back of her bald head, alone. She’s sheltered from the outside world and doesn’t have any hope for escape, but when people desperate for freedom ask for her help can Reychel learn to believe in herself?

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First and foremost, what a beautiful cover!  I’m always enticed to read novels based on the covers…  I know, I know, I shouldn’t judge books that way, but when there is such a gorgeous cover, I can’t help but gravitate to it.  Very, very beautiful!

Aside from the cover, though, I was also drawn to this novel as I read the first chapter on Jensen’s blog.  The story is very intriguing and my interest was piqued, so I bought it from Amazon and read it in a few hours (it’s a short read).

While I really enjoyed the story line, and Jensen has a very creative imagination and wonderful gift, I did find that the novel had a few elements that were not to my taste.  I love that the story moves quickly, which is a sure winner for young readers, however, I found that the rapid pace creates some underdevelopment throughout the novel.  Jensen introduces many new characters through the span of the story, yet I never felt like I truly knew any of them.  The characters swiftly move from one situation to the next, which made it hard for me to form a connection.  This, in turn, created a more choppy novel than a fluid one, yet this aspect also fits the novel well as it parallels the main character, Reychel, as she is pulled in multiple directions at once; her whole life being changed on a moment’s notice.

Another aspect I struggled with was the language within the novel.  There seems to be a disconnect between modern and archaic language, and as the novel has a more old-fashioned, historical feel to it, I found some of the dialogue ill fitting as the characters used slang on occasion.  Yet, as this is the first novel in the series, I anticipate that it will continue to get better as Jensen fleshes out the entire story and refines her work.  Anathema is just the beginning, or the foundation, if you will, of a great story.  While I was disappointed that there was not much action in terms of Reychel using her ability as The Cloud Prophet, it makes sense that it will take time for her to develop them.  To counter this, Jensen provides many other twists and turns to keep the action going, which I believe is a testament to her writing capabilities.

Originally, I found myself admonishing Reychel for not being an assertive, strong character—she is quite wishy-washy.  Although she does begin to assert herself more towards the middle of the novel, she again relapses while in the presence of her master.  This character portrayal is actually quite superb on Jensen’s part, as Reychel has grown up in slavery.  She knows nothing but submissiveness, and so it makes sense that her character question everything.  I am glad that Jensen choose to portray Reychel in this manner in the first novel, though I do hope to see a more assertive Reychel begin to develop as the series progresses.

I did enjoy this novel, save a few personal objections, and I definitely think this is a great book for both MG and YA readers alike. and I am very excited to read the next installment, Oubliette, which comes out this June!  I do recommend picking up a copy of Anathema prior to the sequel’s release!  Three stars.