Review: Lost Me!
Rating: 3 out of 5
Date: 01 2, 2014
“Kindreds” began with a bang, immediately immersing me into the world of the Umbrae and introducing three characters that were believable, real and unique. The first third of the book was filled with adventure, character building and an array of excellent plot paths.  Suddenly, an entirely new group of characters are introduced and the storyline takes a completely new direction.The abrupt change in storyline wasn’t a problem in itself; however, I could not get comfortable with the new environment or characters. The “blood” line distinctions and history, the monarchy’s three main characters and how exactly the resistance group was trying to overthrow their government, left me scratching my head. Verisimilitude loses ground and, as another reviewer mentioned, there were several instances of unnecessary “deus ex machina”.What “saved” the book for me was the excellent technical writing skills of Ms Mura and her incredibly strong female lead, Raine. I truly enjoyed Raine, even when she almost disappeared in the middle of the book, coming back strong at the end… well, almost.  Trilogies and series often contain episodes or novels that end in a cliff hanger. In this case, I re-read the last three “pages” several times trying to understand what happened and why it ended the way it did. I’m still at a loss.