Review: Clear Crush on Cajun Culture
Rating: 3 out of 5
Date: 05 11, 2014
eiled eyes is a peculiar book. It’s not quite 100% romance, it’s not quite 100% mystery, it’s not quite 100% paranormal. It’s an odd mix of conventions that, often, pays off.The story revolves around Anna St. Thais – an orphan who knew little of her father or her mother. She was, instead, raised in an orphanage of her namesake. When a trucker kidnaps her to rape and murder her, Anna is rather surprised to hear voices in her head – voices which respond and manage to rescue her. It turns out that Anna, and her lineage, are telepathic and she managed to communicate with a small, hidden community of similarly powered individuals that live in the South. From there, Anna learns to be a part of the community while still trying to understand the people she shares blood with as well as answer some nagging questions about her abilities – and her past.Anna is an interesting narrator and protagonist. The author does an excellent job working her out to be both realistic and interesting. She is fun to experience the world through as well as to delve in to in depth. Anna’s innate sense of curiosity is accented by her doggedness to answer the questions that she develops about the community.The author’s true love, however, is with the Cajun culture and the land of the south. You are literally swimming in it throughout the novel and it quickly becomes evident that the author is an expert – either through life experience or extensive research. She clearly loves the culture and land of the south and it shows in her exploration of it through Anna’s eyes. She even makes Anna an outsider to start with so that you get that feeling of what it might be like to be exposed to such a diverse place through the eyes of a similar outsider. I have no idea how a reader from the south might react to the descriptions and ideals explored in this novel, but, as a Michigander, I enjoyed it immensely when I could understand.That being said, sometimes the descriptions of the local flavor are too extensive or mired in their imagery, making it hard for a non-native to track precisely what the author is going for. This does not happen often, but it happens often enough so as to detract from the reading experience.The only major obstacle that I experienced in reading the book is the pacing. Things move quickly, which in a thriller or a mystery can be a good thing. Unfortunately, this backfired at the climax of the story – we got to the Climax and it appeared as though the individual responsible for the crimes Anna is pursuing came out of nowhere. There were a few hints, but not a lot of development on that end of the mystery part of the novel which made it feel a bit rushed and a bit too extended.On the whole, veiled eyes is a lot of fun to read and worth it’s current price point (free) up to the ‘discount’ kindle rate of $2.99.Writing: 4/5Characterization: 4/5Plot: 3/5Flow: 3/5Value: 3/5 (At Free)Total rating: 3.6/5