Review: paranormal with no standout features, negative or positive
Rating: 3 out of 5
Date: 06 27, 2013
Note: I received a copy of this book from the author in exchange for an honest review.Rating: 3/5 starsSeries status: third of five episodes forming a stand-alone novelReview:* Characters: 3/5 - the characters were average; none fell completely flat but likewise none really stood out as unique or interesting. Mediocre but not bad. More characters were introduced in this episode, creating a more ensemble cast which made for more interesting reading, however these characters are not of yet very well developed. Hopefully more development will occur in the next episodes.* Premise: 4/5 - an interesting take on vampires. Neither extremely original nor overly cliché, standard for a paranormal work dealing with mythological creatures. Kept a sufficient amount of original mythology with a few creative new ideas.* Plot: 4/5 - as it's an episode forming part of a novel (51 pages in my .pdf file copy) the plot does not undergo huge development. This episode consists mainly of the introduction of several new paranormal characters, a prophecy, and a government body with a plan to kill the protagonist. The plot felt overly cliché in this episode.* Pacing: 3/5 - the story holds interest well. The pacing picks up even more in this episode, skimming over details and at times resembling an outline, but it is still sequential and easy to follow.* Dialogue: 3/5 - nothing glaringly unrealistic but it never caught at my interest; it was there to support not shine and did an adequate job.* Imagery: 3/5 - again, average, some imagery, enough to place scenery and scenes but no standout descriptions or other imagery.* World building: 4/5 - In this episode the paranormal world is introduced in force. The scenes from the point of view of paranormal characters are well built in that they don't offer descriptions for elements considered normal to the characters. The scenes from the protagonist's perspective build on this innate world with concrete description. The protagonist and the reader are slowly informed of the rules and customs in the paranormal world. The world seems well thought out and thorough but as a reader I would prefer a few more details rather than hints.* Voice: 4/5 - written from the third person point of view in past tense. Mainly from the perspective of Kat, the main protagonist, with some scenes showing other characters usually to give prior explanation of paranormal events. Kat's voice is believable. Supporting characters sometimes have scenes from their point of view. These felt stiff, mostly serving as info-dumps or foreshadowing with very little character development.* Romance:* Amount: none* Explicit scenes: none* Love triangle: none* Notes: In the first three episodes there is no romance but from the descriptions the last two episodes do contain romance.Final thoughts: This book is, overall, not bad. In this episode the world coalesces in more detail and the main plot is introduced along with several characters. The plot here becomes a bit formulaic, consisting of a protagonist discovering that she is part of a paranormal world, there is a prophecy about her, and the government of said world is out to destroy her. It is fairly well written and I had no trouble with reading it in one sitting. However there is something lacking, a certain intensity that would make it great rather than merely okay.This review and others can be found at my blog: [...]