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A review by lifeinthebooklane
Anthesis by Lauren Elizabeth
3.0
I have to say I'm a little on the fence with this one. The premise was excellent, the pace never lagged and the characterisation was good. Regardless of how I felt about the different individuals described in the book, not one of them felt flat, one-dimensional or like a caricature. The book held my attention fairly well though the very NA vibe it gave off wasn't quite to my taste.
Sadly I struggled greatly with the character of Aglasia, who was introduced as a tough, self-contained, successful and hard-working individual but who, upon meeting Rossa, became a churlish, childish, whining doormat. There is a (possible) explanation for Aglasia's reaction to Rossa, I just wish she had shown self-awareness and acknowledged how out-of-character her irritation and lack of control were. For a siren who had the self-control to only consume a "meal" once a month, she exhibited very little emotional stability around Rossa.
Some passages left me somewhat confused, the dialogue or character actions contradictory to those suggested by the build-up. However, I did finish the story, which I don't bother doing if a book isn't working for me.
Oh and I'm presuming there is going to be a sequel to this. Whilst it didn't end on a cliffhanger as such, there were a fair few subplots that weren't resolved.
Sadly I struggled greatly with the character of Aglasia, who was introduced as a tough, self-contained, successful and hard-working individual but who, upon meeting Rossa, became a churlish, childish, whining doormat. There is a (possible) explanation for Aglasia's reaction to Rossa, I just wish she had shown self-awareness and acknowledged how out-of-character her irritation and lack of control were. For a siren who had the self-control to only consume a "meal" once a month, she exhibited very little emotional stability around Rossa.
Some passages left me somewhat confused, the dialogue or character actions contradictory to those suggested by the build-up. However, I did finish the story, which I don't bother doing if a book isn't working for me.
Oh and I'm presuming there is going to be a sequel to this. Whilst it didn't end on a cliffhanger as such, there were a fair few subplots that weren't resolved.