Review: 'Cintani Bird'-Needs a little editing but a great new series!
Rating: 3 out of 5
Date: 09 26, 2013
Cintani Bird: Search for the Assassin by J.L. CashCintani Bird is a tale about Sophie and Lucca, lifelong childhood friends, and their ensuing relationship and the adventures they experience.Lucca and Sophie went on a bike ride and picnic, in spite of her mother's objections to the impropriety her, alone with Lucca, and no chaperone.  Lucca had a special excursion planned, plus, an accompanying surprise.  They rode through a village and down a path, while Lucca recited to her all the superstitions and tales told by their parents and grandparents, the whole time.  They ended up at the Tower, of which all parents warned their young ones to stay away from, claiming it was cursed.  They proceded to the top of the tower, where they had lunch and could view the whole island.  Later, Lucca concluded the adventure with his surprise - a concealed cave.  They went down the steps of a ladder where, at the bottom, a lantern was located.  Lucca led Sophia through dark, narrow tunnels and eventually to a special place - the surprise.The story increases in action as the adventure takes an unexpected, threatening, turn of events.  They are approached by frightening, yet kind strangers, who assist them and their community in various ways.  They are petitioned to experience a new adventure they did not feel they were ready for.  Markedly, many intuitions and dreams they had in the past "comes to light".  Along with this new revelation, comes increased danger and action leading to the conclusion and leaving the reader wanting more - as there is assuredly more sequels to come.The descriptiveness of the author is amazing!  It causes the reader to feel as though he/she is experiencing the events and can visualize the surroundings in his/her mind.  The basic story is interesting as well.The title cover is very descriptive of a key point in the story. It is colorful, simple, yet eye-catching.  However, the title itself, I feel, is a little weak. The Cintani bird isn't implemented through the story enough to be the main title.The depiction of key characters was a little weak in association to their role in the story.  Their physical appearance and attitudes, however, were described well.Where action and dialog intermixed, a few times, the plot seemed disconnected from the dialogue, which interrupted the "flow" of the storyline.  The two, occasionally, didn't seem to blend together well.  For example: They were on bikes.  Were the bikes a giveaway to their location?  Why were they never mentioned again?  They were gone for days.  Why was the parents concern never mentioned?There were a few other discrepancies:It was as though a paragraph or a few sentences were missing. Occasionally, ample introduction or a "lead into" a character or situation was missing.  Suddenly, they or it was just there...unexplained.Another example: At Loc 981@45%: Daenos came with Sophie and Aldo. How did Lucca automatically know Daenos when Aldo and Sophie had just met him?At Loc 1101@50%: Taliik just appears. There was no clear explanation on his importance in the story, other than he was a Colonial, until much later, leaving the reader a little confused.Loc 924@43%: The underlining continued after the quote ended the again at Loc 996@90% in 1st paragraph.Finally, there were a couple of other confusing paragraphs and a few typos.In conclusion, the Cintani Bird was worthwhile reading.  With a little editing this could easily be a four or even a 5 stars rated book.  If a  star was permitted, I would give this a strong Three  Stars rating. As it stands, I can only rate it with Three Stars.