Hoping for more
Actual rating: 2.5 stars
You are probably wondering why someone writes a review for a “meh” book. Why not just keep walking? Well, when I see potential I’m arrogant enough to hope that the author reads this and uses it, either by printing it out to throw darts at or as motivation. I’ve always been self-assured like that. The great part (for me) is that if they don’t, I’ll probably never know. Internet anonymity is super fun, right?
Back to the task at hand. NOTE: Spoilers, sarcasm, and curse words replaced with characters in order to appease the powers that be to follow.
I’d like to think I know what I’m getting into with the Urban Fantasy genre. I’m no pro, but I have some expectations (good or bad, who the h*** knows).This story had good bones, but was lacking the connective tissue to really get it done. By the end, I found that I was just frustrated more than anything else. Those 2.5 stars are mostly for concept, some pacing, and kindness (man that makes me sound like a d**k).
If you aren’t interested in the “why” of my statements, stop reading now. It doesn’t get any easier to digest below this line. To the author: I’d recommend grabbing a glass of wine before we get started. I’d probably steer clear of tequila, not like ya girl, Olivia, but you do you. I, personally, don’t allow myself to drink tequila in the continental United States because I’d like to keep my options for the presidency open and I’ve proven that to be iffy in the past so...moving on. Wine it is.
1. What is up with your character names, friend? I didn’t notice it until the last book (which makes sense bc most are introduced then) but you have the following similarities:
-Adrian and Ian (you actually confused these two in one spot)
-Elisa and Eliza (it’s weird when you can’t tell if a father is comforting his daughter or a random werewolf)
-And unless I had too many of the above recommended beverages, you had two characters named Gerard. Listen, I like Gerard Butler as much as the next red-blooded human, but your homage to him was a bit much. (This is a joke people; the two characters could never compare to GB.)
2. The stories are short. I’m talking SHORT, all caps, no room for misinterpretation. This review is probably longer than one or two of the books in this series. These are novellas at best. I typically like my urban fantasy somewhere between GoT and 60,000 words. Best practice IMO: double or triple your word count. If these hadn’t been in Kindle Unlimited, I would have felt shafted and not in a good way.
3. The end sucked. Sorry, but I can’t find a more diplomatic way to put that. You neutered it. The god was one of your coolest angles and he was defeated without any real conflict. Bummer.
4. The romance. I actually liked the Martinez stuff and the twist to villain early on with stalker-ish bits throughout. I was happy to see the introduction of Reilly, although I kinda think his name doesn’t suit him. What I wasn’t thrilled about was the development of their relationship. You compressed your story so much that you didn’t explore this push and pull of hating each other but finding an attraction at the same time. This was a missed opportunity that could have added another dimension.
5. Editing. I get it. You are indie and editing is expensive. You make that note (the same one literally) in all four books, but just get some good betas. I caught lots of things as a casual reader that wasn’t even trying.
Phew! It was touch and go for a bit, but we survived. We made it through that dark cave of review together.
I should have just kept walking, right? Maybe I haven’t had enough coffee or sunshine yet. Sometimes I can’t help myself.