Review: Fascinating but flawed
Rating: 3 out of 5
Date: 05 26, 2013
I'm about 70% done with this story and really pretty frustrated. In fact I'm debating whether or not to finish it. You see the premise of a female war hero isn't too hard to accept, as a female Navy veteran that was easy. What wasn't so easy to accept was a strong woman who rapidly turned into a weak-willed girlie-girl who jumped to conclusions at the drop of a hat and let her course be regularly dictated by others. Then she falls in lust and love with the very man she believes stole her land by manipulating her mother.I know many readers won't appreciate what follows, but some people actually like to read polished writing. The writing here is often stilted and instead of developing most of the minor characters we get treated to repetitious descriptions of them (especially when we're taken on a visit to the cigar room with the company crew). It floors me that out of twelve reviews, none address the poor writing.  I read very rapidly and with every subject-verb disagreement or wrong word popping up or a particularly awkward sentence making itself known, it's like my train derails. It feels like more time was spent decoding than reading. In fact, in numerous areas it almost read as if it had been drafted by someone for whom English is not their primary language. That shouldn't be a problem, provided a proofreader or editor at least checks things out. Plus they could check out how a military member does two tours overseas in a war zone for eight years - really? And how does it look to have a person on active duty also working for the CIA? Doesn't it worry you that people might believe this and actually cause more problems for our soldiers and sailors? It's a really useful plot device though.I will probably finish the book because now I've taken a break and can face the challenge again. Just be aware of the glitches and you'll be fine.