Review: Not what I expected
Rating: 3 out of 5
Date: 10 4, 2012
This book is hard to review.  I expected it to be considerably different than it was.  For some sections of the book, it was a solid 5 star read.  Other sections, only 2 stars.  I think this book is one of those "hit or miss" types for many people.  For me, it ended up as just an OK book overall. I found the storyline at the beginning very intriguing and it pulled me in right away with Joe's discovery and pain over his wife's betrayal.  Then suddenly, the entire story shifts into something so completely different than it started, the 2 parts having seemingly no connection overall, other than to be a basis to write the book.  It honestly did not make any sense to me.  Why start a book with the discovery of infidelity and then literally only a few days later have Joe thrown into a world of magic, fairy tales, an immortal goddess and monster and an entire world hidden in the "in-between"?  There was no true way to tie the death of his cheating wife to Joe's utter acceptance and his new life in the magical world, it was a tenuous connection at best. On the other hand, the Axe people were amazing.  Once Tyac was introduced to the story and Min and Joe fled to the Axe, the book was amazing.  I was turning the pages so fast when I got to that point and was really disappointed that it ended so soon, I wished it was longer. I think perhaps with a better start and lead-in to the "real" story of Min and Joe, this book could've been a home run knocked right out of the park.  If it wasn't so short, and had more pages to develop characters and plot, it would've been much better.  It felt more like a novella than a first book in a series.  I am undecided if I will want to read book 2.