Review: A Good Read
Rating: 4 out of 5
Date: 08 20, 2012
This was an interesting novel that combines the fairytale world with the "real" world, complete with knights, duels to the death, and evil sorceresses.  I liked the novel, though I am rarely a fan of "instant love" stories.  And, for our characters, Mina and Blake, instant love is a huge portion of this story.  However, I was pleasantly surprised because John does a great job showing all the other characters' abhorrence to such a quick budding relationship, which I thought was great because I rarely see that in novels.  Usually all the characters are rooting for the new couple that's "so in love," but in John's novel, that isn't the case at all, mainly due to the fact that, before Blake, there was someone else in Mina's life... but no spoilers.  I would have liked a lot more character development to show the budding love, but as this is a series, I'm sure we'll get more of that in the next few installments.I liked the inner conflict that Mina felt throughout the story as well.  I know that probably sounds strange, but I was 100% with Mina as she contemplated her decisions, and while I was on her side, I was also conflicted myself, and for me, that's the makings of a great writer--being able to connect the reader to the fictional characters.  This is a novel that I enjoyed and hope to see continue developing.