Review: Not up to par!!
Rating: 2 out of 5
Date: 12 20, 2013
For some reason I was not awed by this book as I was by the Siren series even though this is born from that story. Why? Everything happened too fast! The grittiness and fast pace in Ember was right for that book, but in this one it didn't ring true. I think that I expected it to truly be Brolach's book where the author focused on him and Ruby and provide a greater insight into his uniqueness. But, I was more confused than anything else because (slight *spoiler*) wasn't Ruby with the Mer? Didn't Brolach leave so where did this story pick up from? Didn't he brand her in her back so where did this mark from her boss came from? There are  more inconsistencies that left me shaking my head.In addition, within this seventy-five page book, there were the points of view of about four different characters to contend with, and a gamut of emotions and discoveries that made my head whirl and made the story congested! In comparison to the parent series, the writing was just off for me...it was not up to par and I didn't feel it. I wasn't engaged and everything seemed like it was written for the shock value.As a rule, I absolutely hate cliffhangers, but I have read books where there is a part two or three and the cliffhanger is handled in such a way that it answers questions but enhances the curiosity. This one was badly done, because again, it is Brolach's story and much wasn't resolved for me. My suggestion to the author (and I am questioning if this was really Marata Eros who wrote this), is to concentrate on actually writing the full length comprehensive, engaging novel rather than breaking these books into different extremely short parts and bilking the audience for $2.99 a pop!