Review: Not Quite Up to Snuff
Rating: 2 out of 5
Date: 05 31, 2012
The first book of Rojuun was fantastic, I was drawn in quickly by the fast paced action in the beginning of the story. The characters seemed strong and the premiss interesting. I finished the first book in one day and felt that it was worth paying the extra money for the other two books. I purchased them the next day.The second book to the series was met with bitter disappointment. The characters did not seem as strong as they did in the first book and I found that the use of repetition in their mannerisms (Vevin's dancing) and speech (phrases like "Oh yes" in the beginning of every other sentence) annoying at times. The use of affection/romance was overly done, which for me, is quite a shocker since I generally like a little romance but this was just too much. After finishing the second book, I moved onto the third hoping it would redeem its predecessor, but I was wrong.The third book was even more disappointing than the second. The story line was disjointed and it seemed that the author was grasping at straws to keep the story line going. I found the language of all three books to be geared more for a younger audience, yet the content of the second, and especially the third was directed for a more mature audience. If you are a parent of a pre-teen or even young teens, I would sensor this series before allowing them to read it as some of content contains sensuality and sexual material that parents may not approve of them exposing themselves to. The moral integrity of the book falls to further shambles when Tathan encourages the notion that it is alright to have an affair with someone if you love them. He makes no effort to talk to the king or seek other solutions to stay with the woman he loves. It felt to me, that the author didn't know where to go with the story, and rather than work out a better ending, settled for a mediocre one. At the end of the book a lot of questions are left unanswered, which leaves the reader in want. If you would like to know what some of those are, you can read the spoiler section below this post.I give this series a 2 out of 5. I have to credit the first book as being the best in the series, but the other two ranked low on my scale.***Spoiler***Who is Liselle? You read multiple references that she is a "Child of the Flowers", she is not human, she could be the daughter of a god or goddess, but by the end of the book they never tell you.What's the whole deal with Tathan and his sword? You find out he is "Tathan of the Shadows" and he is silent when thieving which is one reason he was named that, but the author also eludes to the fact there may be another reason he was called that which he doesn't divulge. The book also states that his sword is special and that he is being hunted for his sword. That is about as far as that story line goes. You never find out much about the sword, why it's wanted, or who it was exactly that was hunting him for it. There is a bounty hunter after him, but she wants the bounty not his sword.What happened to the Knight of Morhain's people? You learn Sir Danth is going to stay behind and learn about what happened to his people. What was the being in the forest that attacked them when they were trying to escape the ghosts? Why did his people disappear and why were they now ghosts roaming the forest? None of these questions are answered.