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A review by ggwweenn1
Innate Magic by Shannon Fay
3.0
Maybe it is just because this is the first thing I read after a long string of audiobooks, but I felt like this book just WOOSHED by me. It has the makings of a good magical mystery, lots of irons that start off in different fires but by the end turn out to be all in the same fire, an interesting magic system in a colorful magic setting, and enough twists to make you think WHAT!But something about it seems...
Loose.
There were conflicts that seemed contrived to drive the plot forward rather than actually be part of the plot. There were scenes that seemed to be completely unmoored from the story, as though they happened years earlier than the beginning, despite not being a flashback. There were characters who seemed integral at first brush that were thrown away before the confrontation with the BBEG.
On top of that, Paul Gallagher is a less than compelling character. Yes he's broke, yes he has a secret past, but every other character around him has struggles more interesting than his own. They are shown to have depths and ideals beyond him. Paul seems to already have faced most of his demons before the start, and they don't really come back to haunt him.
I will of course be reading the following book, as Thomas is the protagonist and he seems to have a lot more depth than Paul. I hope that it will also tie in a number of loose threads from this book to make the series feel like a cohesive whole.
Loose.
There were conflicts that seemed contrived to drive the plot forward rather than actually be part of the plot. There were scenes that seemed to be completely unmoored from the story, as though they happened years earlier than the beginning, despite not being a flashback. There were characters who seemed integral at first brush that were thrown away before the confrontation with the BBEG.
On top of that, Paul Gallagher is a less than compelling character. Yes he's broke, yes he has a secret past, but every other character around him has struggles more interesting than his own. They are shown to have depths and ideals beyond him. Paul seems to already have faced most of his demons before the start, and they don't really come back to haunt him.
I will of course be reading the following book, as Thomas is the protagonist and he seems to have a lot more depth than Paul. I hope that it will also tie in a number of loose threads from this book to make the series feel like a cohesive whole.