Review: plodding and vapid
Rating: 1 out of 5
Date: 03 27, 2013
The 20+ positive reviews and 4.5 stars caught my attention.  I got to the halfway point and am really disappointed.  I don't see what people are raving about.  Maybe it happens in the second half of the book, or maybe the author's friends wrote the reviews.I was expecting to see Eve train to join the "order" and contribute in some way, that her role was somehow pivotal in the fight with the Meodoans.  It's hinted at in the synopsis, and and seems to be (lightly) foreshadowed in the book, but it's not there that I can see.Nothing.She bakes cookies and has a crush on two different guys.  She has a fuzzy pet.  No real action, no development of the story beyond that.  It's stated that she can probably do "offensive magic", which is rare and important, but no one has tried to train her or test her for this.She is included in a high level council meeting with the bad guys (where only the Masters and expert good-guys are allowed) when she can't defend herself and doesn't have a clue as to what's going on.It's an "all guy" fighting society with (apparently) strict rules and high expectations for fighting abilities, yet for no clear reason they allow her to join up with no real skills or expectations (other than she not excessively flirt with the guys -- which she does anyway)The story line makes no sense to me.  Understand, my bar for "believable" in a fantasy novel is pretty low, and this book doesn't measure up.  Time to find another book to read, I've given this one more than a fair shake.