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3.31 AVERAGE
3.31 AVERAGE
for some reason I wasn't sure I would like this book. I did, it was funny and cute and the story was solid.
2.5
Meh. I've seen it done before and done better. Mechanically the writing was fine, as was the editing but the story itself and the plotting...disastrous. It's a longish book. There should have been ample time to develop characters, a world and relationships However, Ms. Fox appears to have not bothered.
If this book was a cake, the eggs would still be in the shells (maybe even still in the container), the flour in its bag, the butter in the dish, the milk in the jug, etc, all tossed in a bowl to sit next to each other. All the ingredients are there (a hunky love interest, an unavoidable destiny, an evil antagonist, a spunky side-kick, etc), but not mixed, measured or cooked.
There is no depth to any of the characters and some, most notably Dimitri, are wildly inconsistent, as is the plot. Time is indeterminate. The whole book takes place in 2 or 3 days (not sure which), but characters talk about things happening days ago that appear to have happened hours earlier, at most. And at one point someone goes on what must have been an extended adventure in the time it takes Dimitri and Lizzie to sit up and say, 'hi.'
A shirt is ripped open a page after it was slowly unbuttoned. Dimitri admits to a lie that couldn't have held water with the rest of the knowledgeable coven. Plus, he talks like he just showed up but is also supposed to have been hanging out with the witches and werewolves for a while. The antagonist, who has been killing and absorbing the power of all the witches in America for a hundred plus years (so, you know strong and skilled), is somehow easily defeated by a slayer with two days of "training." Honestly, how believable is that? I could go on, but you get the point, I imagine.
The book's one real redeeming quality is the humour, but even it's so over the top and ridiculous it can't carry the load. No doubt, this will appeal to some. I'm just not one of those people. Too bad too, I spent forever deciding to read it.
Edit: Why the hell is she holding a sword on the cover? She uses a "switch star" (think Xena's....round thing...with points). Not once does she use a sword. What's more, the ONE TIME anyone does, it's a katana.
Meh. I've seen it done before and done better. Mechanically the writing was fine, as was the editing but the story itself and the plotting...disastrous. It's a longish book. There should have been ample time to develop characters, a world and relationships However, Ms. Fox appears to have not bothered.
If this book was a cake, the eggs would still be in the shells (maybe even still in the container), the flour in its bag, the butter in the dish, the milk in the jug, etc, all tossed in a bowl to sit next to each other. All the ingredients are there (a hunky love interest, an unavoidable destiny, an evil antagonist, a spunky side-kick, etc), but not mixed, measured or cooked.
There is no depth to any of the characters and some, most notably Dimitri, are wildly inconsistent, as is the plot. Time is indeterminate. The whole book takes place in 2 or 3 days (not sure which), but characters talk about things happening days ago that appear to have happened hours earlier, at most. And at one point someone goes on what must have been an extended adventure in the time it takes Dimitri and Lizzie to sit up and say, 'hi.'
A shirt is ripped open a page after it was slowly unbuttoned. Dimitri admits to a lie that couldn't have held water with the rest of the knowledgeable coven. Plus, he talks like he just showed up but is also supposed to have been hanging out with the witches and werewolves for a while. The antagonist, who has been killing and absorbing the power of all the witches in America for a hundred plus years (so, you know strong and skilled), is somehow easily defeated by a slayer with two days of "training." Honestly, how believable is that? I could go on, but you get the point, I imagine.
The book's one real redeeming quality is the humour, but even it's so over the top and ridiculous it can't carry the load. No doubt, this will appeal to some. I'm just not one of those people. Too bad too, I spent forever deciding to read it.
Edit: Why the hell is she holding a sword on the cover? She uses a "switch star" (think Xena's....round thing...with points). Not once does she use a sword. What's more, the ONE TIME anyone does, it's a katana.
A really good book, looking forward to reading the next one :)
I can say a lot of good things about this and if it can be grabbed by a good content editor the star rating would be much higher. It is a great quirky, light-hearted paranormal. The pacing was great and the plot interesting.
The problems that could use some editing is the inconsistency in some characters. The way some scenes just jump with no build or much background. The writer is great and with a bit of editing would jump from amazing potential of a book to a highly recommended book. I hope it does get picked up for some minor tweaks and as is it may be still worth the read for some that are looking for something light and quirky characters.
The problems that could use some editing is the inconsistency in some characters. The way some scenes just jump with no build or much background. The writer is great and with a bit of editing would jump from amazing potential of a book to a highly recommended book. I hope it does get picked up for some minor tweaks and as is it may be still worth the read for some that are looking for something light and quirky characters.
Spoiler
Examples of the just jumping are that the weapon she uses all the sudden is talked about for her training and after about a chapter or two it is finally explained what it looks like. We are told at one point her grandma is wanted for murder, then nothing about it until all the sudden she is told grandma murdered mom, but there was barely a reaction. There is also things like the fact the character does a complete change with no real push or need shown for it other than some rules of a slayer we are told. A bit of tightening up on build, reasoning and reaction would go a long way imo.
This was fun but the plot got a little sketchy at the end. It's urban fantasy with more sex than you expect from the beginning. My favorite character is the Harley riding granny who shows up early.
Woman finds out that the supernatural exists and that she is an especially strong and gifted demon hunter, when her Harley-driving granny shows up to save her from evil. Demons chase them, they survive and meet tall, dark and handsome. Who is mysterious and a great kisser. And not entirely human. Potential love-interest. There is also a talking Jack Russel terrier, who doesn't seem to serve any purpose. Maybe comic relief, but not.
They escape to some bar, meet all the other biker witches, drink lots of alcohol, have a magic ceremony, have some not-quite-road-kill food, and 30% of the book are over without much happening, despite all the action.
Characters are supposed to be weird and quirky, I guess. The various witches were confusing, as they all come across alike. Not a lot of world building, no explanations about the main character and her powers. I felt like watching the Halloween episode of Golden Girls.
Bored and glad that I got this for free from Amazon. DNF at 32%
I was going to have a go at the seventh book of this series, as I received it as a free copy from NetGalley, but I guess I won't.
They escape to some bar, meet all the other biker witches, drink lots of alcohol, have a magic ceremony, have some not-quite-road-kill food, and 30% of the book are over without much happening, despite all the action.
Characters are supposed to be weird and quirky, I guess. The various witches were confusing, as they all come across alike. Not a lot of world building, no explanations about the main character and her powers. I felt like watching the Halloween episode of Golden Girls.
Bored and glad that I got this for free from Amazon. DNF at 32%
I was going to have a go at the seventh book of this series, as I received it as a free copy from NetGalley, but I guess I won't.
Woman finds out that the supernatural exists and that she is an especially strong and gifted demon hunter, when her Harley-driving granny shows up to save her from evil. Demons chase them, they survive and meet tall, dark and handsome. Who is mysterious and a great kisser. And not entirely human. Potential love-interest. There is also a talking Jack Russel terrier, who doesn't seem to serve any purpose. Maybe comic relief, but not.
They escape to some bar, meet all the other biker witches, drink lots of alcohol, have a magic ceremony, have some not-quite-road-kill food, and 30% of the book are over without much happening, despite all the action.
Characters are supposed to be weird and quirky, I guess. The various witches were confusing, as they all come across alike. Not a lot of world building, no explanations about the main character and her powers. I felt like watching the Halloween episode of Golden Girls.
Bored and glad that I got this for free from Amazon. DNF at 32%
I was going to have a go at the seventh book of this series, as I received it as a free copy from NetGalley, but I guess I won't.
They escape to some bar, meet all the other biker witches, drink lots of alcohol, have a magic ceremony, have some not-quite-road-kill food, and 30% of the book are over without much happening, despite all the action.
Characters are supposed to be weird and quirky, I guess. The various witches were confusing, as they all come across alike. Not a lot of world building, no explanations about the main character and her powers. I felt like watching the Halloween episode of Golden Girls.
Bored and glad that I got this for free from Amazon. DNF at 32%
I was going to have a go at the seventh book of this series, as I received it as a free copy from NetGalley, but I guess I won't.
I enjoyed this book, a free release on Kindle. It left a lot to the imagination... while there was enough description to get you by, a lot of the character details and situations really needed a vivid imagination and your own pictures to fill in the blanks. I liked that personally, but I could imagine this may not be easy for everyone to do.
I liked the character and the storyline was fun and fast and exciting all the time... I'd recommend this book and if I got my hands on a second of the series, I'd read it. :)
I liked the character and the storyline was fun and fast and exciting all the time... I'd recommend this book and if I got my hands on a second of the series, I'd read it. :)
3.5 stars
Started off with a somewhat annoying lead character. Why are female characters, heroes-to-be, often portrayed as stubborn smart-asses who make the stupidest mistakes? At least initially. Luckily it did get better and I actually enjoyed the story, it was an easy read and I even came to like Lizzie. When I finished I actually found myself wanting to read the second book. Maybe not the entire series but definitely the second book....
Started off with a somewhat annoying lead character. Why are female characters, heroes-to-be, often portrayed as stubborn smart-asses who make the stupidest mistakes? At least initially. Luckily it did get better and I actually enjoyed the story, it was an easy read and I even came to like Lizzie. When I finished I actually found myself wanting to read the second book. Maybe not the entire series but definitely the second book....