Review: interesting concept of same story , two pov and two authors
Rating: 4 out of 5
Date: 11 30, 2012
Blind Sight through the eyes of Aniela Daswon. Elizabeth HawthorneBlind Sight Through the Eyes of Leocardo Reyes  Ermisenda Alvarez.I received these books free direct from authors for review but as always this does not affect my review in anyway, the opinions I voice are honestly held.I've reviewed both books together - the length and quality of editing of both is very good - none of the oft seen grammar and spelling errors ( a recent book mentioned jewellery made of 18 carrot gold - my horse would love that but not sure I would! Sadly there sort of errors along with misuse of your/you're are all too common in kindle books) these are self published books so congratulations to the authors for not falling in to that trap.Well, onto the story...I was intrigued at the idea of the same story written from two different points of view and by two different authors and I wasn't let down. They worked well to keep the cohesion of the basic story together and I found is fascinating looking at incidents from a second viewpoints. As the old saying goes - two sides to every story and these books certainly prove that. I think it would have worked better though if they'd been sold as one book, still kept separate but as one novel. I know readers can choose to buy both or just one but feel that you need to read both to get the best from the story. Many things that puzzle in one book are explained in the other.I found Odette to be quite a cold person - I know she has major problems but I just didn't really feel any empathy with her in contrast to her friends the princess Aniela who has to overcome a bullying and over controlling mother. Maybe its just that we don't really seem to get much of the background of either Odette or her brother Leocardo before they arrive on the island. The idea of the island too is a little shallow on details, I'd like to know more about how it works, how people are selected and found who arrive there, and how it works within the "real" world. Everyone just seems very accepting far too quickly of having their previous lives disrupted.There are mysteries relating to Odettes Gift, to the Royal family and to the interpersonal relationships of the major characters. It seems very much as though these books are "scene setting" for further novels and for me there are too many questions and not enough answers to really enjoy the books as they deserve. They're marketed as YA books and I'm not that of course (!! long time past..) so maybe they can take to this kind of beginning of a sereis but to be hinest I'd have thought their attention needed capturing even more quickly than mine but who knows. The reviews certainly read as though others have found the books captivating so I guess its just a personal choice issue that they didn't do it for me. I didn't dislike them in any way - more that I just didn't really care any more about the dangers and problems the characters faced. Still, I found the same thing for Lord of the Rings and the Terry Pratchett novels - something son no 1 loves, and of course they have a great following. I think what this means for anyone reading this review is if you like LotR and Pratchett there's a good chance you'll be interested in these books, but if your reading tastes lie more in line with mine on the paranormal/fantasy line then you may find you feel the same way about these books as I do. Don't just take my word for ot though - use the "look inside " function - its a decent sample of they style of the books so will give you a good idea of how you feel about them.Stars: well for quality of writing, length and price they're 4 star but for content on a personal level only 3 stars for me for the reasons I've explained :( so an overall of 3.5 stars.