Review: Mells breaks the rule unabashedly, but with panache ...
Rating: 4 out of 5
Date: 06 19, 2014
"Pierced" is one of those novels that pulled me in at the beginning with its protagonist's voice, but then towed me along for a bit until I was sucked back in and whipping excitedly through the last seven chapters. Mells is able to pull off the mish-mash of voices that make up Pierce--her self-conscious neurosis is actually rather charming, if not irritating in a peculiar way.Writers are told as a rule not to tell, but show--Mells breaks the rule unabashedly, but with panache. The reader wonders if it is really her or Pierce who is driving the story. Repetition in "Pierced" may be vexing for some readers, but again it is hard not to fault Pierce for it, rather than Mells. The nonchalance of "Pierced" is best expressed by Pierce herself, who has neither inner calm nor control but seems to exude coolness on the outside--if only for short bouts.The story is generous with its supernatural elements, and is not afraid to house sorcerers with werewolves and vampires, not to mention its bravery at producing a horrifying villain who is never actually introduced in person. Dorian haunts the story without ever being present in the action, dreamwalks and flashbacks excluded.I think I will read "Pinked," the next in the series. I like the development budding at the end of this one.