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A review by briannadasilva
Blood and Water by Briana Morgan
3.0
I actually finished this book a while ago, but am only just now getting the chance to write my review!
It makes me sad to give this less than 4 stars; I would have given it 3.5 stars if I could (come on, Goodreads!), and I actually debated over this for a long time. This is by no means a bad rating! :) But ultimately I decided that this was the most honest rating I could give, based on my own experience with the book.
Anyway, without further ado, here's my actual review. ^_^
PROS
- Overall, this book was intelligently written. I felt like a lot of thought went into the emotions and psychology of the characters, and it shows.
- As a result, the characters acted like real people. This is hard to do, given the heavy subject matter and situations these poor characters had to navigate. I think a lot of amateur writers get this wrong, but Briana really nailed this on the head. I could believe that the characters' behavior and motivations reflected what REAL people would do in these circumstances.
- It was a fast and easy read. I gobbled up most of the book in a single weekend. The story didn't need to be longer than it was, so I'm glad Briana didn't add any fluff to make it a certain length! She stuck to just telling the story.
- THE ENDING. I knew a twist was coming, but I still wasn't able to predict exactly what happened. And man, that really hit me. The ending is highly emotional, and after finishing the book I just had to sit there for a while and absorb it.
CONS
- While the characters behaved very realistically, and their motivations were believable, the dialog unfortunately fell a bit flat for me. It felt stiff and forced most of the time, enough to take me out of the story. Honestly, this was the main thing that made it difficult for me to give the book 4 stars.
- The romance between Jay and Dr. Devereaux also felt rather stiff. While all the other relationships were very believable - the friendships, the love between siblings, even Jay's affection for Melanie - I just wasn't convinced of the spark between them. It had to be explicitly stated that they had "sexual tension", but I couldn't FEEL that tension myself.
Overall, this was a solid story with strong characters. It handled difficult emotional and moral issues in a very intelligent (and thought-provoking) way. It was refreshing to read something that wasn't merely cheap entertainment, but was profound and meaningful.
The main weakness, for me, was really the dialog. Like I said, it was "off" enough that it took me out of the story. The romance between Jay and Dr. Devereaux was also hard to believe, but I think if their dialog was more natural, I might have been convinced in spite of my doubts.
That being said, I know Briana Morgan personally (at least, on an "Internet friends" level! XD), and knowing how hard-working and ambitious she is, I have no doubt that this minor weakness is something she'll quickly overcome in further writings. Clearly she is a skilled storyteller, and after this debut novel, I think we can expect some amazing things from her in the future.
It makes me sad to give this less than 4 stars; I would have given it 3.5 stars if I could (come on, Goodreads!), and I actually debated over this for a long time. This is by no means a bad rating! :) But ultimately I decided that this was the most honest rating I could give, based on my own experience with the book.
Anyway, without further ado, here's my actual review. ^_^
PROS
- Overall, this book was intelligently written. I felt like a lot of thought went into the emotions and psychology of the characters, and it shows.
- As a result, the characters acted like real people. This is hard to do, given the heavy subject matter and situations these poor characters had to navigate. I think a lot of amateur writers get this wrong, but Briana really nailed this on the head. I could believe that the characters' behavior and motivations reflected what REAL people would do in these circumstances.
- It was a fast and easy read. I gobbled up most of the book in a single weekend. The story didn't need to be longer than it was, so I'm glad Briana didn't add any fluff to make it a certain length! She stuck to just telling the story.
- THE ENDING. I knew a twist was coming, but I still wasn't able to predict exactly what happened. And man, that really hit me. The ending is highly emotional, and after finishing the book I just had to sit there for a while and absorb it.
CONS
- While the characters behaved very realistically, and their motivations were believable, the dialog unfortunately fell a bit flat for me. It felt stiff and forced most of the time, enough to take me out of the story. Honestly, this was the main thing that made it difficult for me to give the book 4 stars.
- The romance between Jay and Dr. Devereaux also felt rather stiff. While all the other relationships were very believable - the friendships, the love between siblings, even Jay's affection for Melanie - I just wasn't convinced of the spark between them. It had to be explicitly stated that they had "sexual tension", but I couldn't FEEL that tension myself.
Overall, this was a solid story with strong characters. It handled difficult emotional and moral issues in a very intelligent (and thought-provoking) way. It was refreshing to read something that wasn't merely cheap entertainment, but was profound and meaningful.
The main weakness, for me, was really the dialog. Like I said, it was "off" enough that it took me out of the story. The romance between Jay and Dr. Devereaux was also hard to believe, but I think if their dialog was more natural, I might have been convinced in spite of my doubts.
That being said, I know Briana Morgan personally (at least, on an "Internet friends" level! XD), and knowing how hard-working and ambitious she is, I have no doubt that this minor weakness is something she'll quickly overcome in further writings. Clearly she is a skilled storyteller, and after this debut novel, I think we can expect some amazing things from her in the future.