piratequeen

The truly sad thing about this book is it could have been so much better.

The first chapter was great. The setup kept me reading. And then it turned into an episode of Buffy the Vampire Slayer, almost literally. I suppose the glowing cover blurb from Cassandra Clare should have been a giveaway.

Since I sound so negative, let me back up a sec. There were definitely things I enjoyed about this book. I like the characters of Thomas and Carmel. I liked some of the creepy imagery the author was able to create, especially when Anna first appeared in the story. The second half of the book, once the author got past all of her awkward setup, was actually pretty riveting and I couldn't put it down.

However, the first half of the book was clumsy. I wasn't a fan of the present tense narration style, or how often Cas and those around him repeated his (ridiculous) full name, especially considering how embarrassed he seemed by it. I also really didn't like how Cas approaches Carmel, as well as the romance between Cas and Anna. I mean, really? I don't like the whole instant love thing in the best cases, but I really could not figure out why Cas would have wanted to be with Anna. True that her backstory made her sympathetic, but he still watched her kill someone.

Oh, and speaking of that, what was with everyone shrugging off Mike's death? That kind of irked me too.


All said, I will probably read the sequel, but I have a bad feeling somehow, Anna's going to become a real girl at some point so she and Cas can have twu wuv.


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That cover is awesome. Read a sample first chapter today and want to give this one a try.