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The Wrythe and the Reckoning
An Epic Romance set in Mid-Nineteenth Century America.
In the mid-1800s, Lina and her family move from their small New Hampshire village to an industrial city in Massachusetts. During this time, it is said that a bizarre, malevolent human-like monster is lurking about in the forests of the New England territory. Lina is an independent thinker, and she’s determined to make something of herself. One day, Lina meets an awkward but caring gentleman, and they develop a unique and valuable friendship. In addition, Lina must face and overcome the difficult challenges of her society in order to live the ideal life that she wants, all while avoiding being murdered by the so-called human-monster.
A lushly romantic tale and a fantastical adventure.
The Wrythe and the Reckoning is an intriguing journey of a teenage girl’s personal experience through life and her reflection on the occurrences thereof. The Wrythe and the Reckoning is an enthralling and exhilarating story of courage, bravery, love, freedom, and friendship. A nostalgia-inducing historical fantasy narrative, The Wrythe and the Reckoning is a riveting timeless and epic adventure. While the story may be especially appealing to those who love fantasy, mystery, adventure, or romance, The Wrythe and the Reckoning goes beyond those constrictions, making it also a thought-provoking and relatable read. Thus, this lovely and gripping story can be appreciated by readers from various genres and backgrounds. A beautifully complex tale, The Wrythe and the Reckoning is interwoven with thought-provoking themes amidst the history, fantasy, mystery, adventure, and romance. Intriguing and magnificent in its own originality, The Wrythe and the Reckoning Saga is an overall intense, thrilling, intelligent, and fun romantic story that can be read and enjoyed by readers of all ages, from teens to older adults.
In the mid-1800s, Lina and her family move from their small New Hampshire village to an industrial city in Massachusetts. During this time, it is said that a bizarre, malevolent human-like monster is lurking about in the forests of the New England territory. Lina is an independent thinker, and she’s determined to make something of herself. One day, Lina meets an awkward but caring gentleman, and they develop a unique and valuable friendship. In addition, Lina must face and overcome the difficult challenges of her society in order to live the ideal life that she wants, all while avoiding being murdered by the so-called human-monster.
A lushly romantic tale and a fantastical adventure.
The Wrythe and the Reckoning is an intriguing journey of a teenage girl’s personal experience through life and her reflection on the occurrences thereof. The Wrythe and the Reckoning is an enthralling and exhilarating story of courage, bravery, love, freedom, and friendship. A nostalgia-inducing historical fantasy narrative, The Wrythe and the Reckoning is a riveting timeless and epic adventure. While the story may be especially appealing to those who love fantasy, mystery, adventure, or romance, The Wrythe and the Reckoning goes beyond those constrictions, making it also a thought-provoking and relatable read. Thus, this lovely and gripping story can be appreciated by readers from various genres and backgrounds. A beautifully complex tale, The Wrythe and the Reckoning is interwoven with thought-provoking themes amidst the history, fantasy, mystery, adventure, and romance. Intriguing and magnificent in its own originality, The Wrythe and the Reckoning Saga is an overall intense, thrilling, intelligent, and fun romantic story that can be read and enjoyed by readers of all ages, from teens to older adults.
- GenresHistorical
1286 pages, Kindle Edition
First published December 4, 2019
1 person is currently reading
43 people want to read
About the author
Yvonthia Meredith Leland
1 book9 followersYvonthia Leland is a writer of incredibly fun and meaningful stories for teens and young adults. She writes books that feature essential social and historical themes, such as equality, justice and reform, social activism, family, and friendships. Her stories present smart and caring characters who are faced with challenges in their lives and who strive to overcome them. She aims to write characters who are good influences, especially for teenagers and young adults. Each book Yvonthia writes contains a beautiful romantic tale that represents the general idea of what happy and peaceful romantic relationships look like. In addition to romance, Yvonthia’s stories are infused with layers of fantasy, mystery, and adventure. As a literary artist, Yvonthia writes novels not only for entertainment but also for the purpose of informing readers on some crucial matters. She believes that story-crafting is undeniably an art form and strongly feels that art is essential not only for entertaining but also for communicating an important message that some may have not yet heard or that needs to be repeated so that others can be reminded. Those two motivations, entertainment and the conveyance of an important message, are what Yvonthia focuses on most when crafting her epic tales. So, in the midst of all the fun within her stories, Yvonthia also presents themes that are relatable to everyday life. Her first novel series, The Wrythe and the Reckoning, is a young adult romance with themes of freedom and social justice.
Please Note: Due to an attack by trolls on this platform, Yvonthia does not regularly post here. If you would like to learn more about the author and her stories, including updates for her latest books, you may visit her website at yvonthialeland.com.
Please Note: Due to an attack by trolls on this platform, Yvonthia does not regularly post here. If you would like to learn more about the author and her stories, including updates for her latest books, you may visit her website at yvonthialeland.com.
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Displaying 1 - 28 of 28 reviews
December 10, 2019
The concept of Yvonthia Leland’s debut novel The Wrythe and the Reckoning is really intriguing: a historical urban fantasy about a teenage girl coming of age, a 19th century New England town terrorized by a (maybe) werewolf-like creature, all set against the backdrop of the women’s suffrage and abolitionist movements. I like the parts, but they never came together into a cohesive whole.
The biggest hang-up by far for me, and what ultimately prevented me from becoming fully immersed in the story, was the writing style. The descriptions were full of detail, to the point of being mundane, yet never succeeded at evoking any images in my mind; they didn’t “paint the picture.”
The phrasing was often clunky and awkward and redundant; the opening scene of the book describes “leaves overhead above us,” and states that “we were on a journey traveling to our new home, to the city of Boston in Massachusetts.” This was just one of the many sentences my inner editor was just itching to rewrite or throw out completely.
Another disconcerting element was the word choice. For example: “I located my journal and pencil and began to write.” The word “located” just seems like such an oddly formal or unnecessarily neutral way of saying “I picked up my journal,” or simply, “I found my journal,” or if you want to get a little more flashy, “I fished my journal out of my overstuffed carpetbag and began to write.”
Also, if we’re going to the have the narrator-protagonist write about the events of the book in her journal, why not have the entire conceit of the novel be that the book is the journal she’s writing? Sure, it’s done a lot (see I Capture The Castle for my favorite example), but it’s a conceit that would work really well with the setting and with what I think must be an attempt at period language. That’s the only explanation I can think of for the strange, clinical word choices; the more neutral or formal word is often used, but it just ends up reading like an academic essay.
The story itself also never really seemed to get off the ground. This could be because I admittedly just skimmed for most of the book, but nothing much seems to happen. There are some flashbacks with excruciatingly detailed descriptions of the protagonist’s old home and town that read like a travel brochure, and then they arrive in Boston and… that’s about it. They do things, I guess?
They hear reports of a human-like creature in the woods, and there are mysterious deaths, but trust me, it is not as exciting as that sounds. We never really see any action, and then the book just kind of ends. (Because this was an ARC, the last chapter of the actual book isn’t in it, but I don’t see how another 2000 or so words could really improve the story.)
I really, really wanted to like this book, as it’s the first ARC I’ve ever had the honor of reading, and the premise sounded so great. But I found myself skimming after the first few chapters because I could not get past those sentence-level hang-ups to fully immerse myself in a story that never really went anywhere.
Rating: 1 out of 5
The biggest hang-up by far for me, and what ultimately prevented me from becoming fully immersed in the story, was the writing style. The descriptions were full of detail, to the point of being mundane, yet never succeeded at evoking any images in my mind; they didn’t “paint the picture.”
The phrasing was often clunky and awkward and redundant; the opening scene of the book describes “leaves overhead above us,” and states that “we were on a journey traveling to our new home, to the city of Boston in Massachusetts.” This was just one of the many sentences my inner editor was just itching to rewrite or throw out completely.
Another disconcerting element was the word choice. For example: “I located my journal and pencil and began to write.” The word “located” just seems like such an oddly formal or unnecessarily neutral way of saying “I picked up my journal,” or simply, “I found my journal,” or if you want to get a little more flashy, “I fished my journal out of my overstuffed carpetbag and began to write.”
Also, if we’re going to the have the narrator-protagonist write about the events of the book in her journal, why not have the entire conceit of the novel be that the book is the journal she’s writing? Sure, it’s done a lot (see I Capture The Castle for my favorite example), but it’s a conceit that would work really well with the setting and with what I think must be an attempt at period language. That’s the only explanation I can think of for the strange, clinical word choices; the more neutral or formal word is often used, but it just ends up reading like an academic essay.
The story itself also never really seemed to get off the ground. This could be because I admittedly just skimmed for most of the book, but nothing much seems to happen. There are some flashbacks with excruciatingly detailed descriptions of the protagonist’s old home and town that read like a travel brochure, and then they arrive in Boston and… that’s about it. They do things, I guess?
They hear reports of a human-like creature in the woods, and there are mysterious deaths, but trust me, it is not as exciting as that sounds. We never really see any action, and then the book just kind of ends. (Because this was an ARC, the last chapter of the actual book isn’t in it, but I don’t see how another 2000 or so words could really improve the story.)
I really, really wanted to like this book, as it’s the first ARC I’ve ever had the honor of reading, and the premise sounded so great. But I found myself skimming after the first few chapters because I could not get past those sentence-level hang-ups to fully immerse myself in a story that never really went anywhere.
Rating: 1 out of 5
id-prefer-not-to
July 15, 2021The lack of textual cohesion right from the start makes me unwilling to continue for my comfort.
May 5, 2019
I received the ARC of The Wrythe and the Reckoning from Netgalley and let me tell you I was pretty excited when I got accepted for it because my reasons for asking for it were the cover and the blurb which both pointed to a retelling of sorts of an urban legend/ fairytale (which I love to read about in any form). However, my excitement ended when I actually began reading the book...I even considered not finishing it but went ahead since it was an ARC.
The basic premise of the book goes something like this:
Lina is a young girl who, from the beginning of the book, is shown to be a determined, independent and opinionated girl who wants to make her own future rather than get married. She has to shift to Boston city, alongwith her family, to start afresh when their farm land is taken over by the bank and this is the city which is in the grips of the mysterious monster 'wolf-man' who is on a murder rampage.
Now the story itself is not a bad one but one begins to realise the problems the book has when:
1) It turns a decent story into a mundane, bland, repetitive series of events and descriptions of day-t0-day household chores and activities, which makes the book drag and for the most part have no connection to the story.
2) The monster, instead of taking center stage in the story, is relegated only to news paper articles and discussions for almost the entire length of the book....the only proper episode we have of the monster is of Lina coming face to face with it somewhere in chapter 17-18.
3) After reading over 400 pages of a 20 chapter ARC, there is a note by the author at the end of the last page saying the story isn't over and we can check out the rest of it when the book is officially published....which makes you wonder, exactly how long will the novel be considering that the author could not wrap up the story in the initial 400 pages of the ARC? And it also made me question my decision to continue with it when the urge to not finish it was always there.
Also, in the beginning of the book, it is hinted that there might be something not right with Lina's physical appearance but at the same time she is described as being a beautiful girl who has no problems attracting different men...which was a bit confusing.
I really do hope that when the final version of the book does come out (if it hasn't already), then it is a more condensed and taut version of the ARC.
The basic premise of the book goes something like this:
Lina is a young girl who, from the beginning of the book, is shown to be a determined, independent and opinionated girl who wants to make her own future rather than get married. She has to shift to Boston city, alongwith her family, to start afresh when their farm land is taken over by the bank and this is the city which is in the grips of the mysterious monster 'wolf-man' who is on a murder rampage.
Now the story itself is not a bad one but one begins to realise the problems the book has when:
1) It turns a decent story into a mundane, bland, repetitive series of events and descriptions of day-t0-day household chores and activities, which makes the book drag and for the most part have no connection to the story.
2) The monster, instead of taking center stage in the story, is relegated only to news paper articles and discussions for almost the entire length of the book....the only proper episode we have of the monster is of Lina coming face to face with it somewhere in chapter 17-18.
3) After reading over 400 pages of a 20 chapter ARC, there is a note by the author at the end of the last page saying the story isn't over and we can check out the rest of it when the book is officially published....which makes you wonder, exactly how long will the novel be considering that the author could not wrap up the story in the initial 400 pages of the ARC? And it also made me question my decision to continue with it when the urge to not finish it was always there.
Also, in the beginning of the book, it is hinted that there might be something not right with Lina's physical appearance but at the same time she is described as being a beautiful girl who has no problems attracting different men...which was a bit confusing.
I really do hope that when the final version of the book does come out (if it hasn't already), then it is a more condensed and taut version of the ARC.
January 27, 2019
I really like the cover of this book, which is what attracted me to it in the first place. Lesson learned, I guess? Judging a book by its cover can definitely lead one astray.
before i explain why i couldn’t get into this book, let me say when you could still be the right reader for this novel:
- this novel would be a great gift for a younger girl in your social circle, say in the age range of 12-16 (full disclosure: i am not good at judging reading ages for material), especially ones with a budding interest in feminism
- we meet the main character as she is a girl, mostly reminiscing over her youth in smalltown america. she doesn’t care about appearances (even though her older sister and basically every other female peer we meet does) or boys (who she has sworn off since discovering they do care about female appearance). as a result she questions the imposed gender roles present in her society
- as such, this could be a good book for someone who’s just starting on the path of feminist fiction and needs a varied palette of writing in order to determine their specific preferences
now, as to why this book didn’t appeal to me specifically:
- it was written in the first person. this is not an issue inherently, but it becomes one when it doesn’t provide us with any additional insight into the pov character’s state of mind. rather than sharing her thoughts with the reader, the main character simply told us every. singly. tiny. thing. that happened.
- which leads me to my next issue: there is a lot of telling, and very little showing. in this case, that meant a lot of characters stating what they were doing or, on a rare occasion, how they were feeling, but this was never shown in their actions. it was all laid out explicitly without much evidence other than the word of the characters to back it up.
- very clinical writing style, which was rather tedious to get through. we learn about all the things happening in excruciating (and usually unnecessary) detail. all the steps of picking up a pot etc.
- the dialogue came across as rather forced, especially within the family of our main character: they all spoke completely civilly and agreeably to each other all the time, which really doesn’t strike me as authentic.
I received an ARC from NetGalley in return for an honest review.
before i explain why i couldn’t get into this book, let me say when you could still be the right reader for this novel:
- this novel would be a great gift for a younger girl in your social circle, say in the age range of 12-16 (full disclosure: i am not good at judging reading ages for material), especially ones with a budding interest in feminism
- we meet the main character as she is a girl, mostly reminiscing over her youth in smalltown america. she doesn’t care about appearances (even though her older sister and basically every other female peer we meet does) or boys (who she has sworn off since discovering they do care about female appearance). as a result she questions the imposed gender roles present in her society
- as such, this could be a good book for someone who’s just starting on the path of feminist fiction and needs a varied palette of writing in order to determine their specific preferences
now, as to why this book didn’t appeal to me specifically:
- it was written in the first person. this is not an issue inherently, but it becomes one when it doesn’t provide us with any additional insight into the pov character’s state of mind. rather than sharing her thoughts with the reader, the main character simply told us every. singly. tiny. thing. that happened.
- which leads me to my next issue: there is a lot of telling, and very little showing. in this case, that meant a lot of characters stating what they were doing or, on a rare occasion, how they were feeling, but this was never shown in their actions. it was all laid out explicitly without much evidence other than the word of the characters to back it up.
- very clinical writing style, which was rather tedious to get through. we learn about all the things happening in excruciating (and usually unnecessary) detail. all the steps of picking up a pot etc.
- the dialogue came across as rather forced, especially within the family of our main character: they all spoke completely civilly and agreeably to each other all the time, which really doesn’t strike me as authentic.
I received an ARC from NetGalley in return for an honest review.
April 12, 2019
Netgalley Synopsis
The Wrythe and the Reckoning is an avant-garde nostalgic story that will have you not only falling in love with the characters, but you’ll also gain an understanding of their individual perspectives on life. This fantasy tale is sure to be enjoyed by readers of all ages, from teens to older adults. In the mid-1800s, Lina and her family move from their small New Hampshire village to an industrial city in Massachusetts. During this time, it is said that a bizarre, malevolent human-like monster is lurking about in the forests of the New England territory. In addition, Lina is an independent thinker. She's determined to make something of herself and to live her life the way that she wants to. Lina must face and overcome the difficult challenges surrounding her society in order to live her ideal life, all while avoiding being murdered by the so-called human-monster. 'The Wrythe and the Reckoning’ is an epic urban fantasy tale of love, courage, bravery, freedom, and friendship
The Wrythe and the Reckoning follows Lina and her family as they move from their small-town farm to the big city of Massechusetts. The story is told through Lina’s perspective and she is not cut from the same cloth as other women of her time, meaning she does not want to get married, she wants to work and supports the women’s rights movement.
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The Wrythe and the Reckoning is an avant-garde nostalgic story that will have you not only falling in love with the characters, but you’ll also gain an understanding of their individual perspectives on life. This fantasy tale is sure to be enjoyed by readers of all ages, from teens to older adults. In the mid-1800s, Lina and her family move from their small New Hampshire village to an industrial city in Massachusetts. During this time, it is said that a bizarre, malevolent human-like monster is lurking about in the forests of the New England territory. In addition, Lina is an independent thinker. She's determined to make something of herself and to live her life the way that she wants to. Lina must face and overcome the difficult challenges surrounding her society in order to live her ideal life, all while avoiding being murdered by the so-called human-monster. 'The Wrythe and the Reckoning’ is an epic urban fantasy tale of love, courage, bravery, freedom, and friendship
The Wrythe and the Reckoning follows Lina and her family as they move from their small-town farm to the big city of Massechusetts. The story is told through Lina’s perspective and she is not cut from the same cloth as other women of her time, meaning she does not want to get married, she wants to work and supports the women’s rights movement.
I honestly had a very hard time getting into this story from the beginning. It was very slow paced and describes everything…and I mean everyythingggg. All of this could have been condensed and I would have been much happier. I also didn’t think this book needed to be as long as it really was. I never really felt like anything was happening in the story to move along, there was quite a bit of day-to-day things that were told, but we never got to the introduction of the “monster,” which is what intrigued me in the first place to read this story. The so called “monster” isn’t brought up until the near end of the story when it should have occurred much sooner. I seriously was considering DNFing this book but didn’t because I was given this book by NetGalley and if it wasn’t for the obligation, I would have done so. It was not my cup of tea.
ARC provided by Reverie Ardent Publishing via NetGalley
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December 15, 2019
I got this book while it was free. I may bother to at least try to read it and offer my opinion. For now I will say that blurb is terrible and much too long.
Additionally, the writing in the first paragragh is very pedestrian:
"The wagon traveled steadily along the country path. The bright sun was shining over the expansive terrain. The green grasses and wildflowers were swaying in the warm breeze. The leaves on the trees were swirling overhead above us. It was the mid-afternoon in early spring, and we were on a journey traveling to our new home, to the city of Boston in Massachusetts."
Just, ugh.
Additionally, the writing in the first paragragh is very pedestrian:
"The wagon traveled steadily along the country path. The bright sun was shining over the expansive terrain. The green grasses and wildflowers were swaying in the warm breeze. The leaves on the trees were swirling overhead above us. It was the mid-afternoon in early spring, and we were on a journey traveling to our new home, to the city of Boston in Massachusetts."
Just, ugh.
January 7, 2020
LMAO hard pass.
April 4, 2019
I received a copy of this book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
Y’all, this is the first time in a while that a book has made me so confused. It’s also been a while since I was close to straight up not finishing a book. If I didn’t feel obligated by NetGalley to do it, I probably would have given up on this book.
The first thing you notice with this book is it’s voice. The tone is very old fashioned, reminding me of some of the late 19th/early 20th prose I studied for my English degree in college, except . . . way too simple. It is overly plodding, giving every detail. This book badly needed some edition. There were too many pages where nothing really happened. At all. It could have easily been a short story instead of a novel.
The pacing is also just strange. The first few chapters were reeeeaally long, and then they got really short. And there didn’t seem like a point to it. Also, I should point out, that the ARC is 20 chapters long (with chapter 2 broken into two parts for some reason) and it is incomplete. There is a note from the author basically saying to check out the rest of the book once it’s published.
So let’s talk a bit about the story. The main character is Lina, a young girl who is determined to be independent. Which basically means she doesn’t want to get married, which is unusual for her time period. This doesn’t stop several men from being smitten with her, despite everyone else describing her as not particularly attractive and very difficult because of her modern views. She attends abolitionist meetings and volunteers for the suffrage movement, but in a very bland way. All of the characters were very bland and they all had very average lives that were very dull at times to read about.
Now let’s talk about the “monster,” the thing that is really supposed to get this story hopping. There are a handful of hints about it in the book, none of which make it sound too serious. Maybe there is a murderer loose, but that’s it. Any hints of it being a “monster” are brushed off by EVERYONE as just superstition. But we the reading, through our point-of-view character Lina, don’t actually experience the monster until chapter 18. Of a 20 chapter ARC. That should have happened much, much sooner, but instead we got a lot of day-to-day details that don’t really go anywhere and, are frankly, quite boring.
Another weird thing: this book and this author have no information on GoodReads at all. The blurb above was taken from the NetGalley page.
I really hate to give bad reviews, only because I know how much blood, sweat, and tears go into writing a novel. But I also have to be honest, and honestly, I did not enjoy this much at all.
Y’all, this is the first time in a while that a book has made me so confused. It’s also been a while since I was close to straight up not finishing a book. If I didn’t feel obligated by NetGalley to do it, I probably would have given up on this book.
The first thing you notice with this book is it’s voice. The tone is very old fashioned, reminding me of some of the late 19th/early 20th prose I studied for my English degree in college, except . . . way too simple. It is overly plodding, giving every detail. This book badly needed some edition. There were too many pages where nothing really happened. At all. It could have easily been a short story instead of a novel.
The pacing is also just strange. The first few chapters were reeeeaally long, and then they got really short. And there didn’t seem like a point to it. Also, I should point out, that the ARC is 20 chapters long (with chapter 2 broken into two parts for some reason) and it is incomplete. There is a note from the author basically saying to check out the rest of the book once it’s published.
So let’s talk a bit about the story. The main character is Lina, a young girl who is determined to be independent. Which basically means she doesn’t want to get married, which is unusual for her time period. This doesn’t stop several men from being smitten with her, despite everyone else describing her as not particularly attractive and very difficult because of her modern views. She attends abolitionist meetings and volunteers for the suffrage movement, but in a very bland way. All of the characters were very bland and they all had very average lives that were very dull at times to read about.
Now let’s talk about the “monster,” the thing that is really supposed to get this story hopping. There are a handful of hints about it in the book, none of which make it sound too serious. Maybe there is a murderer loose, but that’s it. Any hints of it being a “monster” are brushed off by EVERYONE as just superstition. But we the reading, through our point-of-view character Lina, don’t actually experience the monster until chapter 18. Of a 20 chapter ARC. That should have happened much, much sooner, but instead we got a lot of day-to-day details that don’t really go anywhere and, are frankly, quite boring.
Another weird thing: this book and this author have no information on GoodReads at all. The blurb above was taken from the NetGalley page.
I really hate to give bad reviews, only because I know how much blood, sweat, and tears go into writing a novel. But I also have to be honest, and honestly, I did not enjoy this much at all.
Read
September 6, 2019ARC Review: Received for free via Netgalley for an honest review. All opinions are my own.
DNF 20%
Hayi khona. Hayi khona! HHAYI KHONA!!!
I tried, I really tried. From the beginning I was not happy, I was not feeling it. It just wasn't working. The pacing, the voice, the whole setup, it's not it for me, it's just not it!
There's no show don't tell here. The whole story is set up like: and then I did this and then I did that and then I went here but then I went there. And there's nothing interesting about that. Show don't tell isn't a rule I'd enforce because sometimes telling and not showing is good. But yikes!
And the dialogue 💔😭! There are times when a book is meh at best but has witty dialogue that saves it, but this one was competing with the Sahara for dryness. Some of the dialogue felt forced and unnecessary.
And then there were the time skips. Hayi khona! It kept going back and back. Like I get flashbacks, I get going back in time so the reader understands what the new situation is about. But this one kept going back and back and back in time and I don't know. It could've just started there, or been done differently somehow.
I didn't care about the characters. I didn't care that the family was going to lose their house because the main character didn't make me care. She was dry and stiff and everything was so boring and hard to get through. I wanted to keep reading, I wanted to finish it, at least get to the point where the beast comes in and does what it does, but I couldn't.
I'm so disappointed! The blurb gave me so much hope for this book but in the end I was tragically misled. I'm so sad.
DNF 20%
Hayi khona. Hayi khona! HHAYI KHONA!!!
I tried, I really tried. From the beginning I was not happy, I was not feeling it. It just wasn't working. The pacing, the voice, the whole setup, it's not it for me, it's just not it!
There's no show don't tell here. The whole story is set up like: and then I did this and then I did that and then I went here but then I went there. And there's nothing interesting about that. Show don't tell isn't a rule I'd enforce because sometimes telling and not showing is good. But yikes!
And the dialogue 💔😭! There are times when a book is meh at best but has witty dialogue that saves it, but this one was competing with the Sahara for dryness. Some of the dialogue felt forced and unnecessary.
And then there were the time skips. Hayi khona! It kept going back and back. Like I get flashbacks, I get going back in time so the reader understands what the new situation is about. But this one kept going back and back and back in time and I don't know. It could've just started there, or been done differently somehow.
I didn't care about the characters. I didn't care that the family was going to lose their house because the main character didn't make me care. She was dry and stiff and everything was so boring and hard to get through. I wanted to keep reading, I wanted to finish it, at least get to the point where the beast comes in and does what it does, but I couldn't.
I'm so disappointed! The blurb gave me so much hope for this book but in the end I was tragically misled. I'm so sad.
December 13, 2019
I received this ARC on Netgalley for an honest review.
I tried really hard to read on through the book, but it was just not happening for me. The story was really slow for me and was not much amazed by the plot. Who knows, maybe I'm growing out of YA books? or this one was just not for me. Could have had potential absolutely but I DNF.
I tried really hard to read on through the book, but it was just not happening for me. The story was really slow for me and was not much amazed by the plot. Who knows, maybe I'm growing out of YA books? or this one was just not for me. Could have had potential absolutely but I DNF.
nope
December 17, 2019Just shelving this so I know to avoid it, since the author is harassing reviewers. No thanks.
December 19, 2019
Full disclosure: I was aware of the drama surrounding this book when I read it. But the genre is one I enjoy and the promised topics are close to my heart, so I wanted to give it a chance.
First, the good: the author is clearly passionate about her work. She tried to paint a vivid world for her readers to enjoy, and that effort comes through loud and clear. She tackled some challenging themes, especially for a first novel. She clearly loved her characters, and that much comes through.
Now, the not-so-good. She got so lost in the details of her world that, yes, the book was boring. It really was. I get why the author can't see that: this book is her baby, so of course every tiny detail is going to be interesting to her. But everyone who hasn't spent every day for five years dreaming of that world and those characters is going to need more of an emotional connection to see it the way she's seeing it, and that wasn't there.
The themes of sexism and racism she tackled should have been powerful, but again, I felt like I was reading a high-schooler's essay on these subjects, all details, no feelings. No connection.
Finally, she didn't use an editor, and it made the book difficult to read. I kept having to backtrack, either to decipher what I was reading or just find my place in a meandering sentence. Here are a few examples, just from the first chapter:
Typo on the title page: "The WRythe and the Reckoning."
"Repeating the statement again and again to myself, I pondered on the thought for a moment. Soon there, distracted by the faint commotion of chattering voices, I glanced at my brothers."
I'm not sure what "soon there" is supposed to mean. Soon where? Did she arrive at a conclusion? Had they arrived at their destination? (I think the word "there" shouldn't be, well, there.)
"We were looking forward to our altered, but supposedly also potentially more favorable, future."
Way too many adjectives.
"In the distant part of the land, there was the farm of which we grew maize."
Obvious typo: should be "on which we grew maize."
"The summers in the village were always a splendid time of the year."
Redundant. Yes, summer's a time of the year. Readers don't need to be told that. "The summers in the village were always splendid" would have been better.
"The sun had been shining since dawn, and the climate was now hot."
The weather was now hot. "Climate" and "weather" aren't synonyms.
I could go on, but I don't want to humiliate the author, just point out where an editor could have made all the difference. I think this book actually has a decent story buried in it. Someone just needs to excavate it from under all that excess verbiage. For an unedited first novel, it's a pretty respectable effort, but it IS an unedited first novel, so I'm giving it two stars.
First, the good: the author is clearly passionate about her work. She tried to paint a vivid world for her readers to enjoy, and that effort comes through loud and clear. She tackled some challenging themes, especially for a first novel. She clearly loved her characters, and that much comes through.
Now, the not-so-good. She got so lost in the details of her world that, yes, the book was boring. It really was. I get why the author can't see that: this book is her baby, so of course every tiny detail is going to be interesting to her. But everyone who hasn't spent every day for five years dreaming of that world and those characters is going to need more of an emotional connection to see it the way she's seeing it, and that wasn't there.
The themes of sexism and racism she tackled should have been powerful, but again, I felt like I was reading a high-schooler's essay on these subjects, all details, no feelings. No connection.
Finally, she didn't use an editor, and it made the book difficult to read. I kept having to backtrack, either to decipher what I was reading or just find my place in a meandering sentence. Here are a few examples, just from the first chapter:
Typo on the title page: "The WRythe and the Reckoning."
"Repeating the statement again and again to myself, I pondered on the thought for a moment. Soon there, distracted by the faint commotion of chattering voices, I glanced at my brothers."
I'm not sure what "soon there" is supposed to mean. Soon where? Did she arrive at a conclusion? Had they arrived at their destination? (I think the word "there" shouldn't be, well, there.)
"We were looking forward to our altered, but supposedly also potentially more favorable, future."
Way too many adjectives.
"In the distant part of the land, there was the farm of which we grew maize."
Obvious typo: should be "on which we grew maize."
"The summers in the village were always a splendid time of the year."
Redundant. Yes, summer's a time of the year. Readers don't need to be told that. "The summers in the village were always splendid" would have been better.
"The sun had been shining since dawn, and the climate was now hot."
The weather was now hot. "Climate" and "weather" aren't synonyms.
I could go on, but I don't want to humiliate the author, just point out where an editor could have made all the difference. I think this book actually has a decent story buried in it. Someone just needs to excavate it from under all that excess verbiage. For an unedited first novel, it's a pretty respectable effort, but it IS an unedited first novel, so I'm giving it two stars.
December 18, 2019
I saw this cover and was intrigued, but unfortunately, the writing is so poor that there's no way I could get close to finishing. An 800-page book has to offer something incredibly special, it has to hook from the very first line and never let go, or I'm not going to devote hours of my time to reading it. This book is not special. Repetitive word use, filter words, errors in flashback grammar, and unvaried sentence structure combines with no hook to render this novel mind-numbing in the first few pages. Whatever story this author wants to share, she needs to find it's bone structure and bring that forward, after taking classes on dialogue and description. As is, this book is unreadable.
December 19, 2019
I saw this on amazon unlimited and thought it sounded intriguing. It wasn't good, it was slow and boring, too bogged down with detail, I tried to get through it, I really did but ultimately I couldn't do it. After I started it I looked and saw it had a zillion pages, and its supposed to be a saga? goodness gracious.
*edited to update* after I posted my review I went back to see what others said and holy moly. I picked a book that I shouldn't have.
*edited to update* after I posted my review I went back to see what others said and holy moly. I picked a book that I shouldn't have.
January 3, 2020
How I Felt:
The Length: This book is SO long. This is my 4th book with more than 1,000 pages (based on goodreads page count as I read an e-book). Two of those books I rated a 4 star, so I know I can enjoy a book this long, however, this book did not need to be this long. There were so, so many times that I wanted to take a red pen to the lines and start crossing out things that were not needed. This book needs to be edited down dramatically. It would not impact the story, but it would make the story so much more enjoyable to the reader.
The Writing: I’m going to break down my issues with the writing below. Overall, I found it repetitive, oddly worded, and overly descriptive. All of this led to the book being too long and left me feeling like the book didn’t go anywhere.
Repetitious writing: There were so many areas of the book where each sentence was started the same. It felt like a very juvenile writing style.
Example: “The wagon traveled steadily along the country path. The bright sun was shining over the expansive terrain. The green grasses and wildflowers were swaying in the warm breeze. The leaves on the trees were swirling overhead above us.” – The Wrythe and the Reckoning by Yvonthia Meredith Leland
Choice of Wording: The writing felt odd. It was like it had been written hundreds of years ago, rather than today. I understand that the time frame of the book is not today, however, the way this was written made it so difficult to stay in the story.
Example: “Following her careful observation of the shoes, she stared about at my head, of which I had gathered my hair upward and tied it with a yarn.” The Wrythe and the Reckoning by Yvonthia Meredith Leland
Why couldn’t it have been written, “She looked at my shoes, and then my hair, which I had tied with a yarn”?
Example: “About there was a large widow, which was situated next to the back door, on the left of it.” The Wrythe and the Reckoning by Yvonthia Meredith Leland
Example: “Like for the other newspapers he had applied to, he had applied also at Boston Times to work as a journalist.” There are so many more examples, but you get the idea.
Overly Descriptive: The descriptions used in The Wrythe and the Reckoning seem to go on for ages and I can’t figure out why they were important to the story.
Example: “Even though our grandparents weren’t wealthy, they appreciated everything they had. My grandmother was happy to lend out some of the items from her home, but she was also persistent about getting them back. our tea kettle had become worn out and developed a hole in the handle attachment, in such a way that we could no longer hold it by the handle to pour out the contents. So we borrowed the one from Grandmother and Grandfather’s house. We had planned to use it until we got another one, but I suppose it had been a while and they missed it. After all, we had kept it in our house for several weeks since then. we would now be using a regular pot to make tea and coffee until we bought a kettle of our own.” The Wrythe and the Reckoning
It took 136 words to say, “We borrowed my grandparents tea kettle and they wanted it back.” Additionally, it meant absolutely nothing to the story.
Flashbacks to Flashbacks: There were so many flashbacks in this book. We would have a flashback, and then have another flashback in the flashback. It became extremely confusing and difficult to follow.
To Read or Not To Read: I would not recommend that anyone read this book in its current edited state. It needs to be edited significantly before readers should have it in their hands.
This review will post to my blog on 1/4/20. All of my reviews can be found at: https://shejustlovesbooks.com/
The Length: This book is SO long. This is my 4th book with more than 1,000 pages (based on goodreads page count as I read an e-book). Two of those books I rated a 4 star, so I know I can enjoy a book this long, however, this book did not need to be this long. There were so, so many times that I wanted to take a red pen to the lines and start crossing out things that were not needed. This book needs to be edited down dramatically. It would not impact the story, but it would make the story so much more enjoyable to the reader.
The Writing: I’m going to break down my issues with the writing below. Overall, I found it repetitive, oddly worded, and overly descriptive. All of this led to the book being too long and left me feeling like the book didn’t go anywhere.
Repetitious writing: There were so many areas of the book where each sentence was started the same. It felt like a very juvenile writing style.
Example: “The wagon traveled steadily along the country path. The bright sun was shining over the expansive terrain. The green grasses and wildflowers were swaying in the warm breeze. The leaves on the trees were swirling overhead above us.” – The Wrythe and the Reckoning by Yvonthia Meredith Leland
Choice of Wording: The writing felt odd. It was like it had been written hundreds of years ago, rather than today. I understand that the time frame of the book is not today, however, the way this was written made it so difficult to stay in the story.
Example: “Following her careful observation of the shoes, she stared about at my head, of which I had gathered my hair upward and tied it with a yarn.” The Wrythe and the Reckoning by Yvonthia Meredith Leland
Why couldn’t it have been written, “She looked at my shoes, and then my hair, which I had tied with a yarn”?
Example: “About there was a large widow, which was situated next to the back door, on the left of it.” The Wrythe and the Reckoning by Yvonthia Meredith Leland
Example: “Like for the other newspapers he had applied to, he had applied also at Boston Times to work as a journalist.” There are so many more examples, but you get the idea.
Overly Descriptive: The descriptions used in The Wrythe and the Reckoning seem to go on for ages and I can’t figure out why they were important to the story.
Example: “Even though our grandparents weren’t wealthy, they appreciated everything they had. My grandmother was happy to lend out some of the items from her home, but she was also persistent about getting them back. our tea kettle had become worn out and developed a hole in the handle attachment, in such a way that we could no longer hold it by the handle to pour out the contents. So we borrowed the one from Grandmother and Grandfather’s house. We had planned to use it until we got another one, but I suppose it had been a while and they missed it. After all, we had kept it in our house for several weeks since then. we would now be using a regular pot to make tea and coffee until we bought a kettle of our own.” The Wrythe and the Reckoning
It took 136 words to say, “We borrowed my grandparents tea kettle and they wanted it back.” Additionally, it meant absolutely nothing to the story.
Flashbacks to Flashbacks: There were so many flashbacks in this book. We would have a flashback, and then have another flashback in the flashback. It became extremely confusing and difficult to follow.
To Read or Not To Read: I would not recommend that anyone read this book in its current edited state. It needs to be edited significantly before readers should have it in their hands.
This review will post to my blog on 1/4/20. All of my reviews can be found at: https://shejustlovesbooks.com/
January 2, 2020
Here is the review: https://allthebookblognamesaretaken.b...
+++++++++++++++
So I could not help myself when this all blew up about two weeks ago or so. I downloaded the book for free from Kindle Unlimited and live-tweeted as I read. Finally finished it today and here is the entire ridiculously long thread and its many tangents. Enjoy. Review to come.
https://twitter.com/SarahsBookNook/st...
+++++++++++++++
So I could not help myself when this all blew up about two weeks ago or so. I downloaded the book for free from Kindle Unlimited and live-tweeted as I read. Finally finished it today and here is the entire ridiculously long thread and its many tangents. Enjoy. Review to come.
https://twitter.com/SarahsBookNook/st...
January 16, 2019
The Wrythe and The Reckoning is an intriguing and different sort of read. A monster is lurking. The heroine, Lina, moves to the city with her family in the mid 1800s. She is a girl ahead of her time because she has her own ideas. She wants to be her own person. Of course, the mystery of the monster is involved. The story is engaging. The characters are likeable. Overall, I enjoyed this book. Thanks to NetGalley for an arc in exchange for an honest review.
stricken
December 21, 2019Not an appealing opening paragraph.
Also, the author appears to be behaving badly all over twitter.
Also, the author appears to be behaving badly all over twitter.
im-not-reading-this-garbage
August 12, 2021What type of author attacks people for saying bad things about their book!?!?! Grown up.
youre-on-my-shit-list
January 7, 2020#yikes
January 4, 2020
The story starts out about where and how Lina and her family live and their day to day lives. The story then follows their story when they move, meet new people and have new experiences. When the family moves from the country to the city, they have quite the difference to get used to.
Lina made up her mind at a young age that she doesn't want to marry when she gets older. She would rather get an education and take care of herself, something that most women of that time just didn't think of.
At one point while living in the city they hear about a "monster" who attacked a woman who ended up dying. The paper called the monster, "The Phantom of the Forest". They said he was part human and part animal. At this point in the book, I got more excited because maybe with this monster going around attacking people, things would pick up. Unfortunately, it didn't. I was hoping the monster would be a big part of the story from then on, but we really don't see much of him apart from a couple of times. It was quite the let down and I think it was a missed opportunity to make the story more intriguing.
I really thought this was going to be more of a romance than it was. When the blurb states this will be a "timeless and epic adventure" that's exactly what I expect, not someone's mundane, day to day life story.
I picked this book up when I went looking on Amazon for something different and saw that this one was free. After reading the blurb, I was excited to read this but it started out a little slow for me. I have a habit of finishing a book once I start it even if I'm not enjoying it because I hope that it will pick up or get better which just didn't happen with this book. This is a long book, over 800 pages which took me a couple of days to read but I stuck with it hoping that maybe the ending would be epic or some awesome twist would happen, but it never did. *Update* When I got this book it was over 800 pages long but as of yesterday 1/3/2020 it's over 1200 pages long.
Unfortunately even though the blurb made this sound like it would be some engaging, epic romance with an interesting story...it was just a boring book that seemed to go on forever. Unfortunately I cannot recommend this book.
Lina made up her mind at a young age that she doesn't want to marry when she gets older. She would rather get an education and take care of herself, something that most women of that time just didn't think of.
At one point while living in the city they hear about a "monster" who attacked a woman who ended up dying. The paper called the monster, "The Phantom of the Forest". They said he was part human and part animal. At this point in the book, I got more excited because maybe with this monster going around attacking people, things would pick up. Unfortunately, it didn't. I was hoping the monster would be a big part of the story from then on, but we really don't see much of him apart from a couple of times. It was quite the let down and I think it was a missed opportunity to make the story more intriguing.
I really thought this was going to be more of a romance than it was. When the blurb states this will be a "timeless and epic adventure" that's exactly what I expect, not someone's mundane, day to day life story.
I picked this book up when I went looking on Amazon for something different and saw that this one was free. After reading the blurb, I was excited to read this but it started out a little slow for me. I have a habit of finishing a book once I start it even if I'm not enjoying it because I hope that it will pick up or get better which just didn't happen with this book. This is a long book, over 800 pages which took me a couple of days to read but I stuck with it hoping that maybe the ending would be epic or some awesome twist would happen, but it never did. *Update* When I got this book it was over 800 pages long but as of yesterday 1/3/2020 it's over 1200 pages long.
Unfortunately even though the blurb made this sound like it would be some engaging, epic romance with an interesting story...it was just a boring book that seemed to go on forever. Unfortunately I cannot recommend this book.
Read
December 14, 2019Hey, readers. This is actually an ARC novel. The novel in it's entirety will not be published until October 2019. It has not been published anywhere yet, not even on Amazon. The reviewers on this page are referring to an ARC novel (a rough draft, galley proof) which was posted on NetGalley. The ARC was a partial novel, less than half of the entire book. Again, the novel in its entirety and fully edited will be published in October 2019. Don't believe the very low negative reviews. They haven't even read the whole book yet. Individuals who are signed up to NetGalley aren't supposed to review ARC books here, but perhaps GoodReads allows it. I do appreciate the genuine reviews though. Thank you so much to all of you, and look forward to reading the completed novel. Some other reviewers are trying to discredit the novel before it comes out, and soon enough you'll know why. Also, the actual book will have a different cover. Great thing I have a strong sense of humor. 😀😎
To the genuine readers: The Wrythe and the Reckoning is an epic original tale, an urban fantasy gothic romance. It's been referred to as a "hidden gem" by a reader on NetGalley. Read the reviews on NetGalley by readers who read the same partial novel and loved it. Wait until the complete novel comes out. Then you'll know why they love it. (It's no longer available to read on NetGalley, but it will be out soon.) By the way, The Wrythe and the Reckoning will be free the first week of publication on Amazon. It's a controversial novel. Read it, and you'll learn the real reasons why some reviewers hate it. Decide for yourselves what you think of The Wrythe and the Reckoning. The actual date of publication will be posted on my author website and Instagram page. The exact dates when the novel is free as an Ebook will be posted on my website and social media pages also, likely in early September. Follow me there and on my real GoodReads account for further announcements (@yvonthialeland). Keep shining, y'all. Have a fantastic day. ☺🌇
To the genuine readers: The Wrythe and the Reckoning is an epic original tale, an urban fantasy gothic romance. It's been referred to as a "hidden gem" by a reader on NetGalley. Read the reviews on NetGalley by readers who read the same partial novel and loved it. Wait until the complete novel comes out. Then you'll know why they love it. (It's no longer available to read on NetGalley, but it will be out soon.) By the way, The Wrythe and the Reckoning will be free the first week of publication on Amazon. It's a controversial novel. Read it, and you'll learn the real reasons why some reviewers hate it. Decide for yourselves what you think of The Wrythe and the Reckoning. The actual date of publication will be posted on my author website and Instagram page. The exact dates when the novel is free as an Ebook will be posted on my website and social media pages also, likely in early September. Follow me there and on my real GoodReads account for further announcements (@yvonthialeland). Keep shining, y'all. Have a fantastic day. ☺🌇
January 14, 2019
I received an e-ARC from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
Honestly, this is a hidden gem! I can't believe that this one is not so much known! In the mid-1800s Lina and her family move to the city. Lina is a girl who tries to prove that her ideas are more forward, something 'unusual' for a woman of her time and also her POV was very well written. The mystery behind the murderer is very complex and I gripped from the beginning till the end!
This book deserves more attention.
Honestly, this is a hidden gem! I can't believe that this one is not so much known! In the mid-1800s Lina and her family move to the city. Lina is a girl who tries to prove that her ideas are more forward, something 'unusual' for a woman of her time and also her POV was very well written. The mystery behind the murderer is very complex and I gripped from the beginning till the end!
This book deserves more attention.
no-thank-you
February 25, 2020This author (and this "book") is a piece of work.
Link to the start of the #GoodreadsMob controversy here.
Link to the start of the #GoodreadsMob controversy here.
May 14, 2020
This was pure torture to read, this author desperately needed an editor, both for storyline and for grammatical errors.
This book contradicted itself.
The writing was verbose and failed to paint a visual for any of the descriptions.
Sentence structure was clunky, repetitive, redundant, over-detailed.
This book contradicted itself.
The writing was verbose and failed to paint a visual for any of the descriptions.
Sentence structure was clunky, repetitive, redundant, over-detailed.
December 21, 2019
I decided to read the book on amazon. After a couple of hours I had to stop. I give kudos to the author for writing quite a large novel, an impressive feat no doubt, but the book is still clearly written by an inexperienced person. Over and over the author kept using unnecessary dialogue tags.
I asked
She concluded
He murmured
Again and again and again. "Said" is a great word to use cause our brain ignores it, allowing the words to flow more smoothly. By putting in those tags, our brain has to stop and register what it says. It's like if I were in a car and the driver kept tapping the brakes.
This is what the entire book felt like. With all the useless commas, over written sentences, and pointless scenes, this book refused to let off the brakes.
I asked
She concluded
He murmured
Again and again and again. "Said" is a great word to use cause our brain ignores it, allowing the words to flow more smoothly. By putting in those tags, our brain has to stop and register what it says. It's like if I were in a car and the driver kept tapping the brakes.
This is what the entire book felt like. With all the useless commas, over written sentences, and pointless scenes, this book refused to let off the brakes.
February 17, 2019
Read even more book reviews at: http://www.lifeofafemalebibliophile.com/
The Wrythe and the Reckoning starts out a bit vague in the beginning of the book. I had to pick up the story details based on clues within the story. It starts out in a rural setting and readers are introduced to Lina on her family’s farm. Set in the mid-1800s, the story is centered around her family, but focuses on Lina. She is very different in the sense that she is focused on being independent, while other girls her age are obsessed with fancy dresses and boys. She loves to educate herself about the world that surrounds her.
The description of the setting alone gives me Anne of Green Gables vibes in the first half of the novel. All of the descriptions of her quaint little village sounded so beautiful. The novel is written in the first person perspective and we see the world through Lina’s eyes. She has big dreams for her self and we see her hard work and perseverance that goes into wanting to be a dressmaker. Sometimes she kind of rubbed me the wrong way because she came off as a little self-righteous at times, but it was her sister Abigail that irked me the most because she was so spoiled and materialistic.
It’s interesting to see how her family adapts to moving from the village to the city. Her family has very strong opinions on topics that differ from the general public such as women’s rights and slavery. I felt the plot was more about Lina’s life and I wanted to see more of the monster concept that mentioned in the synopsis. Mentions of monster don’t show well until the latter part of the novel, and even then the concept is pretty vague.
The book is very slow-moving and sometimes I felt it drag at certain points of the story. The dialogue and narrative are a bit stagnant which was disappointing. Overall, I felt that this was more of a coming of age story than story with elements (per the book’s description). The monster aspect was hyped up, but barely scraped the surface within the book. I didn’t feel a resolution at all, however, the book will be released in its entirety in April. Perhaps the book will come to a solid ending.
FTC Disclaimer: I received this book from the author in exchange for a fair and honest review.
The Wrythe and the Reckoning starts out a bit vague in the beginning of the book. I had to pick up the story details based on clues within the story. It starts out in a rural setting and readers are introduced to Lina on her family’s farm. Set in the mid-1800s, the story is centered around her family, but focuses on Lina. She is very different in the sense that she is focused on being independent, while other girls her age are obsessed with fancy dresses and boys. She loves to educate herself about the world that surrounds her.
The description of the setting alone gives me Anne of Green Gables vibes in the first half of the novel. All of the descriptions of her quaint little village sounded so beautiful. The novel is written in the first person perspective and we see the world through Lina’s eyes. She has big dreams for her self and we see her hard work and perseverance that goes into wanting to be a dressmaker. Sometimes she kind of rubbed me the wrong way because she came off as a little self-righteous at times, but it was her sister Abigail that irked me the most because she was so spoiled and materialistic.
It’s interesting to see how her family adapts to moving from the village to the city. Her family has very strong opinions on topics that differ from the general public such as women’s rights and slavery. I felt the plot was more about Lina’s life and I wanted to see more of the monster concept that mentioned in the synopsis. Mentions of monster don’t show well until the latter part of the novel, and even then the concept is pretty vague.
The book is very slow-moving and sometimes I felt it drag at certain points of the story. The dialogue and narrative are a bit stagnant which was disappointing. Overall, I felt that this was more of a coming of age story than story with elements (per the book’s description). The monster aspect was hyped up, but barely scraped the surface within the book. I didn’t feel a resolution at all, however, the book will be released in its entirety in April. Perhaps the book will come to a solid ending.
FTC Disclaimer: I received this book from the author in exchange for a fair and honest review.
June 23, 2024
This book just isn't ready for self-publishing. It reads far more like a first draft than a finished product ready to be placed for sale.
I didn't finish reading the entire novel. I couldn't. Last I checked, it sits at over a whopping 800 pages. Unfortunately, the majority of those pages are bogged down in way too much detail. Even the cover description is bogged down in too much detail. It really tells you nothing about the story while persistently toting the supposed genius of the person who wrote it. But at least it gives you a sense of what you're in for if you choose to keep reading.
I like detail in novels. If used correctly, it can enrich the settings and characters and bring the story to life. But the amount of it in this book is just ... staggering. What could be said in two or three sentences often takes an entire paragraph or more. Every single menial task is recorded to almost obsessive-compulsive degrees. Honestly, I'm not sure it can even be considered description since the author does a lot of telling over showing. It makes the writing feel very bland and very amateurish, which is probably what makes the book so boring to read.
I honestly feel that if the author cut out about 90% of the description, she could trim the page count back to two hundred pages or less and lose absolutely nothing of the plot.
There IS a plot, but unfortunately, it takes a backseat to the author's persistent detailing of everything that is NOT important. Nothing HAPPENS to drive it or make the reader WANT to keep reading. I found myself skimming chapter after chapter just to try and find something interesting. This monster which is supposedly a big issue, and the focal point of the book, remained nothing more than a mention here or there via newspaper article. I stopped reading well before it made an actual appearance. Also, despite the title, the name of this monster (which I ASSUME is Wrythe?) is never specifically mentioned.
There is a serious discrepancy between the time period and the dialogue. The story is set in the 1800s if I recall correctly (been a few years since I read it), but many of the characters use modern dialogue that just isn't appropriate for the character and that time period. It's very jarring and--had I actually been invested in the story--it definitely would have thrown me straight out of it.
It is just badly edited overall, with poor word choices and numerous grammatical errors.
Lastly, and this is just a nitpick on my part, I just really don't like the title. It feels like she's trying to use a verb as a noun with an incorrect spelling, but maybe it's the name of the elusive monster but I really can't tell? It's just ... not a good title. It tells me nothing about anything, especially not the story we actually get over what is promised in the summary.
In total, I read about four chapters of the book and skimmed eight or nine more before giving up on it. I've actually since "returned" it to Amazon since I didn't want it taking up space in my Kindle library. I'd purchased it in the beginning during a free trial, and I'm very glad I didn't pay money for it. I did notice that the price has been dropped drastically from $9 to $3, but even that is too much to spend on a novel that is clearly a rough draft and nowhere close to being ready for sale.
My recommendation, if you seriously want to check this out, is to download the offered sample from Kindle. It provides a pretty good chunk of book for you to read and you won't have to spend money on it.
I didn't finish reading the entire novel. I couldn't. Last I checked, it sits at over a whopping 800 pages. Unfortunately, the majority of those pages are bogged down in way too much detail. Even the cover description is bogged down in too much detail. It really tells you nothing about the story while persistently toting the supposed genius of the person who wrote it. But at least it gives you a sense of what you're in for if you choose to keep reading.
I like detail in novels. If used correctly, it can enrich the settings and characters and bring the story to life. But the amount of it in this book is just ... staggering. What could be said in two or three sentences often takes an entire paragraph or more. Every single menial task is recorded to almost obsessive-compulsive degrees. Honestly, I'm not sure it can even be considered description since the author does a lot of telling over showing. It makes the writing feel very bland and very amateurish, which is probably what makes the book so boring to read.
I honestly feel that if the author cut out about 90% of the description, she could trim the page count back to two hundred pages or less and lose absolutely nothing of the plot.
There IS a plot, but unfortunately, it takes a backseat to the author's persistent detailing of everything that is NOT important. Nothing HAPPENS to drive it or make the reader WANT to keep reading. I found myself skimming chapter after chapter just to try and find something interesting. This monster which is supposedly a big issue, and the focal point of the book, remained nothing more than a mention here or there via newspaper article. I stopped reading well before it made an actual appearance. Also, despite the title, the name of this monster (which I ASSUME is Wrythe?) is never specifically mentioned.
There is a serious discrepancy between the time period and the dialogue. The story is set in the 1800s if I recall correctly (been a few years since I read it), but many of the characters use modern dialogue that just isn't appropriate for the character and that time period. It's very jarring and--had I actually been invested in the story--it definitely would have thrown me straight out of it.
It is just badly edited overall, with poor word choices and numerous grammatical errors.
Lastly, and this is just a nitpick on my part, I just really don't like the title. It feels like she's trying to use a verb as a noun with an incorrect spelling, but maybe it's the name of the elusive monster but I really can't tell? It's just ... not a good title. It tells me nothing about anything, especially not the story we actually get over what is promised in the summary.
In total, I read about four chapters of the book and skimmed eight or nine more before giving up on it. I've actually since "returned" it to Amazon since I didn't want it taking up space in my Kindle library. I'd purchased it in the beginning during a free trial, and I'm very glad I didn't pay money for it. I did notice that the price has been dropped drastically from $9 to $3, but even that is too much to spend on a novel that is clearly a rough draft and nowhere close to being ready for sale.
My recommendation, if you seriously want to check this out, is to download the offered sample from Kindle. It provides a pretty good chunk of book for you to read and you won't have to spend money on it.
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