Post-apocalyptic fantasy with multiple POV’s – 2.5/5 stars.
First and foremost I enjoyed reading this story. Fun is what most readily springs to mind. Though there are plenty of dark moments and gritty action that elevated this from the YA vibe I got from the writing style.
I liked that the story was told through multiple POV’s, though at times the transitions were clumsily handled, switching from one character to another sometimes two or three times in one page which I found jarring. This I kind of got use to but there were numerous things that I didn’t. Primarily the grammatical errors and spelling mistakes, words used out of context or in the wrong tense or just plain didn’t make sense. I expected this to improve as the story unfolded but alas it did not.
I understand as an Indie author that a certain amount of mistakes will slip through the net of self-editing but I really believe if this book was given another edit to tidy up those area’s it would enhance the story greatly and elevate this to a solid 3 stars and maybe more.
Why not more? Well I liked the characters but they need fleshing out. I didn’t feel any depth to them which is a shame because there are some with great potential. Eurydice was by far and away my favourite and this is because I think she was not only badass but had more nuance.
It’s a bit of a catch 22 this issue, I think. The problem being for, Anna Modikat, that adding to much depth and background to the characters would probably take away from the fast pace and excitement of the non-stop action. That could potentially slow down the pace and change the tone and it is this that I found most compelling.
I also have to say the finale was disappointing to me. The final act was built quickly and with menace but went from over-whelming to under-whelming so fast I skipped back to make sure I hadn’t missed a page or two.
Ultimately this was an easy read and I enjoyed it. It is the first in a series and there is more to come to shed light on the story arc’s that went un-concluded (which was most of them). I think the author has a natural feel for story-telling so, if you can over-look the issues raised above, then I would recommend this book to you.
A D Green 