This book was a tough mix for me, some elements I really liked and others drove me bugnuts crazy.
My first exposure to this author, I enjoyed the basic storyline, world building is interesting, and I got a good feel for the main characters (hero a bit more than heroine).
After that, the negatives started adding up fast. I had difficulty trying to decide how to read this book, the multitude of grammar errors seemed to indicate a fast reading and just skim for the storyline. Which worked to some extent, but then I'd be derailed by extended run-on sentences and poor word usage (the author needs a dictionary and thesaurus), and I'd have to stop and re-read paragraphs to figure out what the author was trying to say (not always successful, unfortunately).
Reading this book helped me discover latent school teacher tendencies, if I owned a red pencil it would have been worked to a nub. This book is an excellent example of what not to do in writing class. The list of annoyances while I was reading is amazingly extensive, not just throughout the book but multiples on each page. Such as overuse (and misuse) of 's. Words duplicated in sentences (did I mention the lack of a thesaurus?). Sentences that run on for four lines and so complex I had to read them several times to unravel the meaning (if it even made sense). Over abundance of really short sentences, many of which didn't make any more sense than the run-on sentences. The word 'gurgle' is often used to describe sounds the hero makes, and (readers are informed several times) he has a 'circle beard'. Etc, etc, etc.
I'd like to snark about the end, but chose to resist spoilers. Suffice to say the author changed direction in the final few chapters and I found the conclusion unsatisfactory.
I usually just chalk up idiosyncrasies as an author's unique writing style and try to enjoy the mood. But IMO this book is in serious need of editing, an editor, and the author should consider attending a writing class (or several). I'd like to read more of this world, but the writing still has me fighting the urge to scratch out my eyeballs.
My first exposure to this author, I enjoyed the basic storyline, world building is interesting, and I got a good feel for the main characters (hero a bit more than heroine).
After that, the negatives started adding up fast. I had difficulty trying to decide how to read this book, the multitude of grammar errors seemed to indicate a fast reading and just skim for the storyline. Which worked to some extent, but then I'd be derailed by extended run-on sentences and poor word usage (the author needs a dictionary and thesaurus), and I'd have to stop and re-read paragraphs to figure out what the author was trying to say (not always successful, unfortunately).
Reading this book helped me discover latent school teacher tendencies, if I owned a red pencil it would have been worked to a nub. This book is an excellent example of what not to do in writing class. The list of annoyances while I was reading is amazingly extensive, not just throughout the book but multiples on each page. Such as overuse (and misuse) of 's. Words duplicated in sentences (did I mention the lack of a thesaurus?). Sentences that run on for four lines and so complex I had to read them several times to unravel the meaning (if it even made sense). Over abundance of really short sentences, many of which didn't make any more sense than the run-on sentences. The word 'gurgle' is often used to describe sounds the hero makes, and (readers are informed several times) he has a 'circle beard'. Etc, etc, etc.
I'd like to snark about the end, but chose to resist spoilers. Suffice to say the author changed direction in the final few chapters and I found the conclusion unsatisfactory.
I usually just chalk up idiosyncrasies as an author's unique writing style and try to enjoy the mood. But IMO this book is in serious need of editing, an editor, and the author should consider attending a writing class (or several). I'd like to read more of this world, but the writing still has me fighting the urge to scratch out my eyeballs.
