Helpful Score: 1
It's all in the perspective.
For about the first 5/6ths of this book, I couldn't figure out quite what to make of it. There's interesting characters, good plot, and colorful complex world building. Many of the other plot elements are less appealing; mini info dumps, name dropping, abundant cliche's, predictable elements, and the characters feel more mid-teenish than the mid-twenties claimed. The verbage is sometimes stilted which gives it a rather Olde World feel...can't tell if that's the author's goal or merely awkward. Seriously, I kept mentally visualizing the main characters as Nancy Drew/Hardy Boys ages...or maybe the Archies, and sometimes even down to The Boxcar Children. They didn't really work well as adults from upper social class strata. There's much to like here, and unfortunately just as much to annoy the reader.
About 5/6ths through the book, I discovered and read the author's bio...the light bulb goes on! She's a former COMIC BOOK author! Clarity quickly follows. If the reader has the ability to visualize paragraphs as comic book illustration blocks, the writing style becomes almost elegant. When read in this manner, the writing style fits the story elements and the book actually becomes very good.
For about the first 5/6ths of this book, I couldn't figure out quite what to make of it. There's interesting characters, good plot, and colorful complex world building. Many of the other plot elements are less appealing; mini info dumps, name dropping, abundant cliche's, predictable elements, and the characters feel more mid-teenish than the mid-twenties claimed. The verbage is sometimes stilted which gives it a rather Olde World feel...can't tell if that's the author's goal or merely awkward. Seriously, I kept mentally visualizing the main characters as Nancy Drew/Hardy Boys ages...or maybe the Archies, and sometimes even down to The Boxcar Children. They didn't really work well as adults from upper social class strata. There's much to like here, and unfortunately just as much to annoy the reader.
About 5/6ths through the book, I discovered and read the author's bio...the light bulb goes on! She's a former COMIC BOOK author! Clarity quickly follows. If the reader has the ability to visualize paragraphs as comic book illustration blocks, the writing style becomes almost elegant. When read in this manner, the writing style fits the story elements and the book actually becomes very good.
