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A review by secre
Redeemed by H.L. Burke
adventurous
medium-paced
2.0
Much like Reformed, Redeemed is a quick and easy read. Our group of heroes - now including Fade as a rehabilitated hero, discover an unregistered 'flyer' robbing houses. This is unusual because all heroes - and villains - should be registered and it's rare to avoid it; if it's hereditary the parents will report it and all genetic tweaking is closely monitored. Also, flying types are really rare and often powerful. Either way, despite only being fourteen, Alma is brought into the SVR. Her other choice involves a prison cell after that. But Alma has her own secrets and doesn't know if she can trust the team.
I admit to being far less enamoured with this than I was with Reformed. Why? There are several reasons. Firstly, there is way too much fluff. Despite being less than 300 pages long, this could easily have been cut down by another 30 pages or more. Second, the romance angle takes a far more centre stage role and that was frankly the bit I liked least in the last novel. It still felt forced, it still felt unnecessary, only now I had to read about it for pages on end. Third, the plot is weak as hell. It shouldn't be; the bare bones are there to make a really interesting story, but because the focus is on the romance it's barely fleshed out at all. And finally, the twist at the end. I'd seen it coming due to a few comments made earlier in the novel, but again, not a favourite trope of mine and one that is usually done badly.
I'll unpack a bit. The narrative is perhaps my biggest irritation with this novel. I hate it when a novel has real potential and let's itself down. That's what happens here. The author begins to explore the psychology of a very hurt teenager, one who struggles to trust adults because adults have never been on her side. And yet, it just fizzes out because Prism and Fade's burgeoning relationship is far more important. The supposed main narrative therefore gets reduced down to a few action scenes by the end, which was really disappointing. If I wanted to read a romance book, I'd find a romance book. This is not billed as a romance book.
There were some things I liked; I liked how the events of the last book aren't forgotten; the characters are still dealing with very real grief and trauma and that isn't white-washed to make it easier to read. I liked how every member of the team has a part in the novel, including Bob - yay for Bob! - who was very much side-lined in the last novel but has some very real moments to shine here along with his very normal cat. I liked the early depictions of Alma; having grown up in the system, my heart hurt for her and the author did capture the mindset of a hurt and confused teenager lashing out at everyone around her. It's a pity this wasn't at the heart and centre of the novel.
So. Will I continue? If you'd have asked me at the end of Reformed, it was an obvious yes. Now? I'm not so sure. This was disappointing and I'm really not looking forward to the trope used to propel us into the next novel. Occasionally, just occasionally, it's done well - I'd give a book but that would be risking spoilers for those who've read one but not the other and that's not fair. Maybe, just maybe, this will surprise me and it'll be one to add to my list where it's actually worked. Maybe. We'll see.
I admit to being far less enamoured with this than I was with Reformed. Why? There are several reasons. Firstly, there is way too much fluff. Despite being less than 300 pages long, this could easily have been cut down by another 30 pages or more. Second, the romance angle takes a far more centre stage role and that was frankly the bit I liked least in the last novel. It still felt forced, it still felt unnecessary, only now I had to read about it for pages on end. Third, the plot is weak as hell. It shouldn't be; the bare bones are there to make a really interesting story, but because the focus is on the romance it's barely fleshed out at all. And finally, the twist at the end. I'd seen it coming due to a few comments made earlier in the novel, but again, not a favourite trope of mine and one that is usually done badly.
I'll unpack a bit. The narrative is perhaps my biggest irritation with this novel. I hate it when a novel has real potential and let's itself down. That's what happens here. The author begins to explore the psychology of a very hurt teenager, one who struggles to trust adults because adults have never been on her side. And yet, it just fizzes out because Prism and Fade's burgeoning relationship is far more important. The supposed main narrative therefore gets reduced down to a few action scenes by the end, which was really disappointing. If I wanted to read a romance book, I'd find a romance book. This is not billed as a romance book.
There were some things I liked; I liked how the events of the last book aren't forgotten; the characters are still dealing with very real grief and trauma and that isn't white-washed to make it easier to read. I liked how every member of the team has a part in the novel, including Bob - yay for Bob! - who was very much side-lined in the last novel but has some very real moments to shine here along with his very normal cat. I liked the early depictions of Alma; having grown up in the system, my heart hurt for her and the author did capture the mindset of a hurt and confused teenager lashing out at everyone around her. It's a pity this wasn't at the heart and centre of the novel.
So. Will I continue? If you'd have asked me at the end of Reformed, it was an obvious yes. Now? I'm not so sure. This was disappointing and I'm really not looking forward to the trope used to propel us into the next novel. Occasionally, just occasionally, it's done well - I'd give a book but that would be risking spoilers for those who've read one but not the other and that's not fair. Maybe, just maybe, this will surprise me and it'll be one to add to my list where it's actually worked. Maybe. We'll see.