Tress of the Emerald Sea, by Brandon Sanderson

  Tress of the Emerald Sea is a short standalone book about a girl from a strange backwater planet in the Cosmere who leaves her small insular birth town to save the man she loves. Adventure ensues and trials that she overcomes - a bit too easily - using her reason and strong moral principles.

  I was just talking the other day about how bad writers try to create novel narrative structures in an attempt to appear innovative, while great writers take tired formulaic ideas and make something better than anything else. Any other writer would have been accused of writing about a Mary Sue who can do absolutely anything while her man is a shy and ineffectual person. Not Brandon Sanderson. As usual his stuff is smart, funny and entertaining.

  Unfortunately, or maybe fortunately, this book reads fast, ends on a positive note that also effectively closes all narrative threads and gives you no desire to continue reading about that part of the world, the characters or even remember the story for more than a few days. So depending on what you're looking for, this can be the right tool for the job.