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I picked up The Lost on a whim, thinking it looked like a bit of fun. I expected to toss it aside after a few chapters, regretting my purchase. But the further I got into it, the more I enjoyed this whimsical, warm fairy-tale of a book.
Let me be clear: this is a clear three-star book. It has no illusions about what it is: a confection, devoured quickly and with much enjoyment. A sardonic and directionless but likeable female lead; a mysterious, tattooed hottie with abandonment issues and magical powers as the love interest; a cute young girl to give things a bit of pep and heart. A mysterious world that's part-Narnia, part-Eureka, part Small Town USA, with a twist that's easy to call but still complicates things beautifully when the lead comes face to face with it.
It knows what it wants to do - charm you for an evening or two - and does that. No pretensions, just a clean, fun read about a young woman on an adventure and finding herself. And it's a success.
A few nitpicks:
- Though the lead completes her character arc by the end of the book, it's definitely designed as 'Part 1'. So expect to find both resolution and a maddening lack of closure at the end.
- I thought the relationship between the lead and her love interest could have used some more material to emotionally connect us to them. They have one standout scene involving paintings - those who've read it will know the one - but it's kind of remarkable how little interaction these two have, considering how much weight their relationship later carries.
- In fact, the back half of the book, as the lead digs more into the world and begins to build a life for herself there, could have used more time spent there. As the book isn't overlong, I think this part could have been beefed up without trying the audience's patience, and that might have lent the final chapters even more weight.
That said, I really enjoyed it. I probably won't remember in in a couple years, but it was a fun read, and I'll be following through with the rest of the planned trilogy. Worth picking up.
Let me be clear: this is a clear three-star book. It has no illusions about what it is: a confection, devoured quickly and with much enjoyment. A sardonic and directionless but likeable female lead; a mysterious, tattooed hottie with abandonment issues and magical powers as the love interest; a cute young girl to give things a bit of pep and heart. A mysterious world that's part-Narnia, part-Eureka, part Small Town USA, with a twist that's easy to call but still complicates things beautifully when the lead comes face to face with it.
It knows what it wants to do - charm you for an evening or two - and does that. No pretensions, just a clean, fun read about a young woman on an adventure and finding herself. And it's a success.
A few nitpicks:
- Though the lead completes her character arc by the end of the book, it's definitely designed as 'Part 1'. So expect to find both resolution and a maddening lack of closure at the end.
- I thought the relationship between the lead and her love interest could have used some more material to emotionally connect us to them. They have one standout scene involving paintings - those who've read it will know the one - but it's kind of remarkable how little interaction these two have, considering how much weight their relationship later carries.
- In fact, the back half of the book, as the lead digs more into the world and begins to build a life for herself there, could have used more time spent there. As the book isn't overlong, I think this part could have been beefed up without trying the audience's patience, and that might have lent the final chapters even more weight.
That said, I really enjoyed it. I probably won't remember in in a couple years, but it was a fun read, and I'll be following through with the rest of the planned trilogy. Worth picking up.