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A review by essinink
Phantom Pains by Mishell Baker
2.0
There's a piece of writing advice I heard once: "Write from the perspective of the character with the most to lose." Mishell Baker has gleefully tossed that rule of thumb out the window, with predictably lackluster results.
The worst part is that the story really isn't bad. Told from the perspective of almost anyone but Millie, it's positively gripping. But our favorite Borderline character just doesn't have much to lose here. I mean, there's some large-scale risk, but nearly all of the build-up drama places her in the role of facilitator; she's not personally invested.
Where she is invested, it's the result of the most contrived love-tangle I've had the displeasure of reading in fiction.
...yeah. it's complicated. (And yet oddly drama-free? Millie has calmed down a lot since the first book, which somehow doesn't help matters.)
The plot itself is fine, but I kept yawning until I hit the last 100 pages or so. Pretty sure this is my farewell to the Arcadia project.
The worst part is that the story really isn't bad. Told from the perspective of almost anyone but Millie, it's positively gripping. But our favorite Borderline character just doesn't have much to lose here. I mean, there's some large-scale risk, but nearly all of the build-up drama places her in the role of facilitator; she's not personally invested.
Where she is invested, it's the result of the most contrived love-tangle I've had the displeasure of reading in fiction.
1. Her neighbor-with-benefits, whose name I can't recall because he doesn't have any role in the story. Seriously, he's there to be the guy she's sleeping with on occasion and has maybe two lines.
2. Claybriar, her Echo, who's in a love tangle with a major side character.
3. Caryl, her 19-year-old changeling boss, who also has a love tangle with a different major side character... kind of.
...yeah. it's complicated. (And yet oddly drama-free? Millie has calmed down a lot since the first book, which somehow doesn't help matters.)
The plot itself is fine, but I kept yawning until I hit the last 100 pages or so. Pretty sure this is my farewell to the Arcadia project.