A review by aggressive_nostalgia
The Named by Marianne Curley

Very slow to get into. It failed to capture me, which was something of a disappointment after the last Marianne Curley book I read (Old Magic). I think the plot was fairly well-done, although (at least it seemed to me) some of the details were a little foggy and inconsistent, and explanation was lacking in certain parts where it couldn't afford to be. The basic premise was fairly unoriginal; the characters were interesting enough, although they too failed to really grab my attention. I never felt like I really connected with any of them, and sometimes Ethan and Isabel were outright annoying, instead of valiant heroes I'd want to cheer on. (I admit, I did really like Arkarian. I wish he'd gotten some more spotlight time so we could learn more about him.) The last twenty pages or so were the only part where I really felt immersed in the story, when random people began very suddenly turning out to be completely different from who everyone thought they were. Ethan's powers also threw in a few interesting twists, as well, I will admit.



Honestly, I'm not sure precisely what it was, but this book seemed very flat to me. I seriously doubt I'll dig up and drag through the subsequent books in the series, but I probably will look at more of Marriane Curley's other works.