Review: Enjoyable, but the writing style is a little offputting
Rating: 4 out of 5
Date: 06 8, 2012
The good:+I really, really, really enjoyed the story. I think it's well put together, plenty of twists, the right edge of drama.+I like the characters a lot too. They're believable, they're well developed, and they seem authentic and unique.+I like the world building. I'm intrigued by the elf nation juxtaposed over the modern world. I like the calls to nature, the hints of depth, the dryads in the trees. Well put together.The meh:~The love triangle is a little predictable. "Oh my gosh, I won't make him marry me - I love him too much!" And it also drove me a little crazy that Lily fell in love with Tharin despite the fact that he is mostly a jerk - and that even though he knows she's probably going to try to bail it never occurs to him to -talk- to her now, when she needs to hear it. Meh.The ugly:- The writing style is so dry. Even the action scenes are sometimes dry. "And I did X. Then we did Y. And I felt Z." The sentences are basic and choppy. I think this is intentional as the author has a very solid grip of many writing devices, but the simplistic architecture of the paragraphs and even sentences made me want to put it down for a while. I'm glad I did, I liked the story, but man, I felt like I was forcing myself through LoTR again where it's a great story with writing that makes you want to put it down.Overall, I really did like it. I didn't want to rate it a 3, though a 4 felt high. I am looking forward to the sequel though!