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A review by owlsreads
Anathema by Keri Lake
2.75
The first word that comes to mind to described Anathema is: self-indulgent.
That's the impression I get from the style of Keri Lake's writing in this novel and the ways in which the worldbuilding and plot are structured and developed. There is obviously a lot of thought put into creating this new world and its complexities--most of which are very intriguing and fit the darker themes of the gothic.
However, this attention to detail is to the detriment of other elements. The pace during the first half is incredibly slow. The story is told in dual perspective and some of the shifts from one character to the other are a bit abrupt. The focus is a little less on developing their voices and a little more on making sure we understand the dangers and darkness that surrounds them.
This slow first half is repetitive. There is some development regarding the magical elements, but the scenes follow the same beat. They're not exciting in any way and some of the secondary characters that could have made things more interesting are under-utilized.
The second half, while more engaging, suffers from Maeve ending up in situations that could have been easily avoided if people: 1) communicated and 2) thought a little harder about their actions. It's difficult to care about the characters being in danger when they're actively to blame for their own bad decisions.
The romance... is fine. I'm more interested in how Maeve and Zevander's powers interact than their chemistry and feelings for each other lol
There is a cliffhanger ending that, personally, falls flat. Maeve's goal throughout the novel is to get back to her sister, but she does lose sight of that during certain moments. As such, the emotion that needs to be there in this final chapter isn't there for me.
That's the impression I get from the style of Keri Lake's writing in this novel and the ways in which the worldbuilding and plot are structured and developed. There is obviously a lot of thought put into creating this new world and its complexities--most of which are very intriguing and fit the darker themes of the gothic.
However, this attention to detail is to the detriment of other elements. The pace during the first half is incredibly slow. The story is told in dual perspective and some of the shifts from one character to the other are a bit abrupt. The focus is a little less on developing their voices and a little more on making sure we understand the dangers and darkness that surrounds them.
This slow first half is repetitive. There is some development regarding the magical elements, but the scenes follow the same beat. They're not exciting in any way and some of the secondary characters that could have made things more interesting are under-utilized.
The second half, while more engaging, suffers from Maeve ending up in situations that could have been easily avoided if people: 1) communicated and 2) thought a little harder about their actions. It's difficult to care about the characters being in danger when they're actively to blame for their own bad decisions.
The romance... is fine. I'm more interested in how Maeve and Zevander's powers interact than their chemistry and feelings for each other lol
There is a cliffhanger ending that, personally, falls flat. Maeve's goal throughout the novel is to get back to her sister, but she does lose sight of that during certain moments. As such, the emotion that needs to be there in this final chapter isn't there for me.