Review: This wasn't the best introduction to this series, but there were glimmers that make me think the full novels will be better
Rating: 2 out of 5
Date: 12 21, 2012
It's becoming more and more popular for new urban fantasy series to launch with prequel novellas. Cecy Robsson's Weird Girls series kicks off with THE WEIRD GIRLS (an ebook novella) just weeks before the first full novel, SEALED WITH A CURSE, hits shelves on December 31, 2012. There are pros and cons to this approach. Ideally, the novella sets up the characters and worldbuilding and potentially reveals an origin story that has significance for the full length novels. One of the pitfalls can be when the worldbuilding and/or cast of characters require too much setup for a novella size book.In THE WEIRD GIRLS we sort of get a speed dating introduction to each of the sisters focusing primarily on Celia. Since Cecy Robson has created a unique mythology for each of the girls, a lot of explanation (i.e. info dumps) was necessary to explain all the unrelated powers that each sister possesses. For example, Ceila is a tigershifter...but she also can transport herself and others through solid matter, and she can turn into any animal she touches. It all struck me as pretty random, sort of like the `It's a good thing she has the whatever-power-she-needs ability'.The story was basically one long string of chaotic action scenes interspersed with some catty dialogue (the sisters get into a bar fight with a coven of witches and end up fighting in increasingly violent battles throughout the novella). I didn't feel like there was enough time to connect with any one of the sisters, let alone four, nor were the rules of the world ever fully explained. Fortunately, there was a sneak peek at SEALED WITH A CURSE included with the novella since just in that glimpse the story structure and introduction to the girls and world was handled sooooo much better.This wasn't the best introduction to this series, but there were glimmers (not to mention the sneak peek) that make me think the full novels will be much better.Sexual Content:N/A