Reviews

Empath's Lure by Jen Lynning

just_bookish_things's review

lighthearted mysterious slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? N/A
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.5

bani's review

challenging emotional medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? N/A
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.75

tiombaby's review

I tried I really did. But I could not find a fuck to give about them kingdoms trading. 

baroo92's review

funny lighthearted mysterious slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

2.5

I have so many mixed feelings on this because I LOVE the characters and the setting definitely seemed interesting, but the writing style was continually driving me crazy the whole time. There was a constant sense of being "tl:dr"-ed by the text. An important moment would be set up- we've got this plan to get information from Person A, everything relies on this, let's go! And then on the next page it would jump to "Two days later, main character thought about how useful it was to have gotten that information from Person A. Good thing that went well and nothing went wrong!" I kept getting built up to tension, and then blatantly dropped out of it- sort of like the feeling of being pushed into a pool at a party. There are so many pieces of this story that really intrigued me that I wanted to hear more about- I want to learn more about Khiran's past/childhood with his lure, and I want to learn more about Lisca's background and her friends/memories from home. Both of these topics are referenced OFTEN but not properly explained to the depth they deserve. There were also a LOOOOT of full pages of dialogue-on-dialogue, but no exposition to give me the mental image of where the characters are physically in the space, and what tone they're expressing their dialogue in. It really made it hard to trudge through- I considered DNF-ing several times, but my curiosity about how the ending would work out kept me going.
This story has SO much potential, but it definitely needs a stronger editor to do a pass on it, and maybe some beta readers as well. A lot of the story needs to be re-ordered (why did we meet his mother way after the primary conflict was over, and then her conflict was resolved before we even figured out what her problem actually was?) but it could really be incredible. I'm still debating on if I want to read the next book in this series- I don't want to go through this experience with the writing again, but I do really want to know what happens next.

ebgracie77's review

5.0

Sooooo good! Such a creative story about someone who can change other’s emotions but needs to feed on emotion to survive meeting someone who feels other’s emotions.

Beautifully done consent here.

And such a good relationship built over time and through experiences together. Loved the compassion of each, but especially how Lisca reaches out. And while there are misunderstandings, they don’t swamp the whole story. They feel more like normal insecurities.

Both main characters are great and there is a solid cast of friends, family, and a few villains.

clockworkcakes's review

3.0

Overall a fun read. The writing style is decent, and despite a few characters who felt a little cliched, I grew to like the main cast. The plot did feel a little rambling at times, and the amount of miscommunication (especially in the first half) got more than a little exhausting, but on the whole I liked it enough to try the second book.