Review: Mad Hatter Reads Review Pierced
Rating: 4 out of 5
Date: 07 17, 2013
I received an e-Book from the author in exchange for an honest reviewThere's more to Pierced than just being an up-and-coming Urban Fantasy series. In fact, even though the main characters have touches of the supernatural; the supernatural aspects aren't the main focus. With this first installment of the series, it's more about the characters humanity and how they cope and react when what they hold precious is threatened. The supernatural aspects are subtly woven into the story and like Pierce, we're not really sure if they are real or imagined.Pierced isn't going to be a read for everyone. Pierce endures horrific child abuse, and while she is now twenty-one we do experience portions of it in the form of nightmares. The abuse has left major emotional, mental and physical scars on Pierce, and I applaud Mells with how she portrays the psychological effects this has on her and the methods that Pierce used/uses to cope with it.There's plenty of action throughout the story and both Pierce and 10-year old Mia prove to be excellent fighters. They even have the good sense to know that there are times when you should just run as well as times to stand and fight. Tensions are broken up with wry humor, usually from the characters (the other Pierces: Mildred and Veda) living in our Pierce's head.Mells also does a wonderful job with her world-building. We get a full understanding of the supernatural and human aspects of the world and some of the history of what Pierce has had to go through in her short life. There were a couple of time-frame issues, but nothing that was overly jarring or pulled me out of the story. All the characters are very well written and play intricate roles to the story. I'm looking forward to seeing how they grow and develop over the series.Pierced is labeled UF/PNR, but there isn't any romance going on in this installment. Pierce is still too shattered to even consider it. But there are hints and potential attractions that in later books could (and hopefully will) bloom into a HEA for Pierce.Also, fair warning...the story ends with a cliff-hanger and it's a doozy (made me want to scream!), so hopefully we won't have to wait to long to find out what happens in book 2, Pinked.