My Review: Overall: 2.5 out of 5 Stars Cover: 3 out of 5 Stars (because it looks like a cozy) ***Disclaimer: These views are my own opinion. I will always recommend people to read the novel and form their own opinion.*** My, my. How I wanted so badly to like this book. I really won't go much into the plot because the synopsis gives a good description but long story short - cursed house needs a ritual completed which just happens to be a wedding between the owner of the house and an heir to the witch who cast the spell. Needless to say, they actually start loving each other which wasn't supposed to happen. I also posted my opinion on Goodreads (which you can find here) but like I said, I wanted to like this book. While it was supposed to be a "cozy mystery" it read nothing like one. Usually cozies have some murder or a massive problem and something warming to help alleviate this tension. This was NOT that. It was more like a contemporary romance with a hint of supernatural. The Hagen house was supposed to be a cursed object. Something sentient that would never let itself be sold. Here's the problem with this being the "inciting incident." The character could've taken his losses and walked away. Liam really didn't have to go back to the house and try to salvage it. Yes, it cost him some money and he would've lost some but in the end, he knew the house was dangerous and should've walked away. A strong inciting incident doesn't allow the character to choose. Frodo didn't have a choice and neither did Harry Potter. They both had to move towards their destinies, they didn't have a choice. I couldn't connect with either of the characters, the world building was shallow. The dialogue felt forced and not at all natural. Just not my cup of tea. I went into it thinking it was one thing only to find it was another. It was disappointing. However, I do think anyone who appreciates a nice humorous, contemporary romance and love-at-first-sight will enjoy it. I'd recommend it to those readers. If you are looking for heavy paranormal activity, you're most likely not going to enjoy it.
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My Review: Overall: 2 out of 5 Cover: 1 out of 5 ***Disclaimer: These views are my own opinion. I will always recommend people to read the novel and form their own opinion.*** The FireFly by Nancy Gray tells the story of a girl named Leila who finds her younger sister the prey of a type of vampire capable of taking the form of a firefly. In order to save her sister, Leila offers herself to the beast while working with her friends on a way to defeat the monster. To begin, I am an avid fan of folklore so that is literally the only thing that captured my attention for this read. This review will be relatively short because while I found inklings of a shiver, it did not deliver on the horror aspect. However, for a middle grade, it did a decent job of entertaining me. The characters are very shallow. I did not feel any connection whatsoever. I feel the description of the world did not exist and I could never get immersed into what was going on. These are very fatal in trying to keep a reader's attention. I highly recommend they be revisited in subsequent installations. My favorite character was the vampire himself, because, as I said, I'm an avid fan of folklore. When reading a horror, I expect to feel suspense. A continuous building of tension and lingering sense of hopelessness in the plot. I felt nor saw none of this here. It was unrealistic to think kids could come up with such a quick solution. What bugged me most (no pun intended) was the cover. It was very amateur and unprofessional in appearance. From what I've learned, having an eye-catching cover can be the author's first line of defense to sell. Overall, I'm sorry but this was just bad. While I usually try to give author's chances because I know we tend to grow as we write more titles, I'm going to have a hard time returning to this one.
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AuthorMy name is Iona Caldwell. I'm the author of the British Occult Fiction, Beneath London's Fog set to be published by FyreSyde Publishing October 2019. When I'm not busy weaving worlds of the arcane and dark, I'm spending time out in nature. I love books. My biggest inspirations are H.P Lovecraft, Stephen King, Neil Gaiman and Edgar Allen Poe. I blog about many things but mostly everything bookish. Archives
August 2019
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