Pierce’s biggest weakness appears to be writing emotional response. Pierce appears to only use stock phrases without conveying anything deeper. Alanna’s face turns red many times, but I never actually feel her embarrassment or anger.
This becomes a greater problem when dealing with Alanna’s romantic relationships. Because I never feel her emotional response, the emotional resolution of the series falls flat. I know she loves the other characters because I am told she does, but I never feel it. It feels like she ends up with who she ends up with through the process of elimination, not any great love.
Tags: alanna, alanna: the first adventure, book review, in the hand of the goddess, lioness rampant, song of the lioness, tamora pierce, woman who rides like a man, ya fiction