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A review by teresab78
Canes and Scales: The Novel by S.A. Garcia
4.0
****Reviewed for Prism Book Alliance****
An expansion of a novella, Canes and Scales has a lot going for it. It is a high fantasy tale that includes steampunk as well as elves and magic. It portrays an interesting world with an evil king, a benevolent prince, and an ill-used half-elf noble turned pleasure slave.
I liked Prince Linden and Aladaire both as individuals and as a couple. I liked that there wasn’t a big misunderstanding that tore them apart; they kept things from each other for short periods of time but always quickly reconciled and forgave. The conflict was due to more external forces and there was a good balance between intrigue and romance. I also found the world to be well described and unique.
However, the narration was bogged down by repetitive, mundane details and too much inner monologuing, making it seem even longer than its 350 pages. I never wanted to give up on the book, because I wanted to know how it all played out, but I grew frustrated at the pacing.
Overall, I would read a sequel, which the author left room for, but would hope that the next book is a little tighter.
An expansion of a novella, Canes and Scales has a lot going for it. It is a high fantasy tale that includes steampunk as well as elves and magic. It portrays an interesting world with an evil king, a benevolent prince, and an ill-used half-elf noble turned pleasure slave.
I liked Prince Linden and Aladaire both as individuals and as a couple. I liked that there wasn’t a big misunderstanding that tore them apart; they kept things from each other for short periods of time but always quickly reconciled and forgave. The conflict was due to more external forces and there was a good balance between intrigue and romance. I also found the world to be well described and unique.
However, the narration was bogged down by repetitive, mundane details and too much inner monologuing, making it seem even longer than its 350 pages. I never wanted to give up on the book, because I wanted to know how it all played out, but I grew frustrated at the pacing.
Overall, I would read a sequel, which the author left room for, but would hope that the next book is a little tighter.