I put off reading this book for a while after having finished the first book in the series. I'm not entirely sure why, but I think I had some difficul...moreI put off reading this book for a while after having finished the first book in the series. I'm not entirely sure why, but I think I had some difficulties getting my head around the ending of the first book. When I finally did pick this one up, I devoured it surprisingly quickly. It was definitely superior to the first book. The heroine starts to fill her shoes now a d she's suitably flawed and a fantastic, if unreliable, narrator. I did, however, miss the vampire from the first book, having felt that he was one of the better characters, and as such I hope that he will make a reappearance in future books.(less)
This book kept cropping up on listopias on Amazon and intreagued by all the very good reviews that it was receiving, I tracked it down and bought it....moreThis book kept cropping up on listopias on Amazon and intreagued by all the very good reviews that it was receiving, I tracked it down and bought it. Although it wasn't really what I was expecting (not that I know exactly what that was) I really enjoyed the story. A dead man is discovered and linked to the local Lord's manor and what unravels is the sloving of a murder mystery from various clues left behind.
The first 1,000 words of this book were entered into a writing competition; it is easy to see why the judge's chose this intro as their winner. The book immediately draws the reader in and the author's flowing prose, very reminiscent of the English of that period, just served to make it an even more enjoyable read. Despite the fact that the culprit of the recent crime wave became obvious fairly early on in the story, I still found myself pushing myself to read further so that I could discover the motive for it all.
For me, this book really suffered from the 'middle book syndrome'. An awful lot of it felt like it was filler intended to show the growth of the relat...moreFor me, this book really suffered from the 'middle book syndrome'. An awful lot of it felt like it was filler intended to show the growth of the relationships between the chracters, which is okay and necessary but was allowed to run somewhat rampant in this case.
I still enjoyed the story and got through it pretty quickly, it's a very fast read. I like Derek's slow evolution from the gu that didn't even spare Chloe much of a second glance to the one determined to protect her at all costs. Contrary to this, I didn't really like Simon, the other romantic interest. He's there and somewhat too friendly and nice during the good / easier times, but he's never there during the bad times. He is, of course, straight back by Chloe's side to comfort her once the danger's gone. I wonder whether the author purposefully wrote Simon as artifically sweet to make sure that her readership preferred Derek?(less)
Even though I knew as of the very beginning of the story the main gest of what would come to pass at the ned, I enjoyed the trip that I was taken on t...moreEven though I knew as of the very beginning of the story the main gest of what would come to pass at the ned, I enjoyed the trip that I was taken on to get to that point. I thought that the depiction of turn of the century New York was very interesting for a non-American with little knowledge of the place at that time. Enlightening.
Both of the characters were different and captured my attention with interesting backgrounds hinted at throughout the narrative. I look forward to getting to know them better.(less)
Really 3.5 stars but I'm feeling generous so I'll round up instead of down.
This book was my third ever erotica read. I wasn't sure that I'd like it, a...moreReally 3.5 stars but I'm feeling generous so I'll round up instead of down.
This book was my third ever erotica read. I wasn't sure that I'd like it, as I haven't liked the genre in the past, but decided to try it anyway as part of my Beauty and the Beast spree. The erotic scenes fitted in with the storyline better than my previous experiences at any rate, though I'm not sure that I'm sold on the dreams.
The hero is more of a beast in his mind than his body, being described as handsome despite the scar on his face. But he is tormented by his past, by events that keep him from sleeping at night. The heroine is on the run from the abusive man who means to marry her for her money. She knows the hero from the distant past when he stepped in to help her out of a sticky situation and she hopes that he will do so again now. Throw in a few side characters (the abusive man, the hero's ex-fiancée, a young boy, a friend from school and a handful of servants)and you have the cast for this book. The most complex character was probably Martin (the abuser) due to the horrors of his childhood that turned him into a monster, but we don't really get to see much of that, the author fixating on his perverse sexual desires.
There are many secrets being kept between all the characters. The setting, a crumbling manor, is reflective of their psychological states, the garden is the hope for the future. The relations between the hero and the heroine started as of early on in the story. I would have preferred to see more of a growth of their feelings towards each other, but considering the genre I suppose I can't complain as I knew what I was signing up for.
A couple of things: - I saw the final twists coming from a mile away, but they were made fairly obvious in the last 50 pages or so. - I wish there'd been more to the poisoning event. It all seemed to be over very quickly with her just magically better and up and berrating him again. The recovery was so swift that there wasn't much point in even using it as a plot device. - I'd have liked more substance to how he saved her in the past. It was built up for so long that the reveal of the actual events disappointed. I was expecting more. - Some sentence structure is rather clunky and I found myself reading certain sentences a few times over before I understood what the author was trying to say. - Some weird preposition use. Eg: "on his own accord". I would say 'of' here rather than 'on' - I don't know whether this is influenced by the other languages in my head. There were others as well. - Are there turtles in the lakes in the Lake District? I've never seen any there before. - What was with the boy suddenly saying "momma" and "poppa" instead of "mama" and "papa" as he had previously? This ripped me out of the book, sounded too forced.
And most importantly: - Overuse of the word "suddenly". They say that you shouldn't even use that particular word in writing. This author was using it all the time!
Despite all this, I enjoyed the story well enough for what it was. Very short and easily readable in an evening.
Edit: I checked regarding "on his own accord" and it is indeed "of" and not "on". I also checked regarding turtles in the Lake District. Asked someone who knows the place very well and they looked at me like I'd gone mad. So no turtles in the Lake District.(less)
I read this novel in two sittings about two months apart. I started it not long after purchasing it but lost interest just under half way through. I p...moreI read this novel in two sittings about two months apart. I started it not long after purchasing it but lost interest just under half way through. I picked it up again today and finished it off. I did not enjoy this novel as much as Death on the Nile, which I gave 4 stars, and as such I'm only going to give this one three.
I appreciate Christie's style, though it is somewhat detached and she has a tendency to list at times. She has a true gift for portraying foreign-language ticks in English (even though most of what is said in this novel is supposed to be in French) - I have a lot of respect for her for that.
She wove a tightly-knitted, interesting mystery that others may well appreciate more than I did due to personal preferences.(less)
I enjoyed this book but I wasn't swept away by it. There were a lot of passages or concepts that frustrat...more(Not going to do a long review for this one.)
I enjoyed this book but I wasn't swept away by it. There were a lot of passages or concepts that frustrated me (view spoiler)[such as how Imogen is constantly going on about how no one will get her fortune but then at the end when half of it is pretty much stolen from her she just doesn't care. (hide spoiler)]
On the other hand, I was completely engrossed and did very little until I'd finished the book (which, admittedly, didn't take that long.)
I liked some of the concepts, such as how Imogen had been completely deluded by the man who was supposed to guide her in her faith, but at the same time going so far as (view spoiler)[to say that she wanted her new husband to rape her to consummate their marriage (hide spoiler)] was a bit too much for me.(less)
This book picks up exactly where Superior Saturday left off: when Arthur fell through a hole in the ceiling of the upper...moreFull review can be found here.
This book picks up exactly where Superior Saturday left off: when Arthur fell through a hole in the ceiling of the upper house, potentially falling to his death thousands of feet below. Throughout the book there were enough clues to past events to allow me to piece together the more important parts of the series that I’d forgotten about.
Lord Sunday has always been a bit of a mysterious figure in the previous books. His name was bandied about a bit but he always seemed to keep to himself, unlike the penultimate villain, Saturday, who was always sticking her nose in Arthur’s business as of the very first book (if memory serves – and considering it’s probably been 4 or 5 years, memory might not serve). I’m not sure whether this leads me to consider Saturday the real villain of the piece. Even in his own book, Lord Sunday doesn’t receive any real fleshing out of his character and even his appearance is never described. I always got the feeling that he was on the verge of revealing some big secret to Arthur, but never quite managed to get there.
There are a lot of mythological references in the whole of the series (ex: Arthur Penhaligon = the chosen one = (King) Arthur Pendragon?), including many biblical references. Each of the seven trustees represents one of the seven deadly sins: Mister Monday = sloth; Grim Tuesday = greed; Drowned Wednesday = gluttony; Sir Thursday = anger; Lady Friday = lust; Superior Saturday = envy; Lord Sunday = pride. And I felt that Sunday’s pride kept him from really bringing Arthur into the fold of his plans, thus making him an obstacle because, even though he may be privy to information that Arthur (and the reader) is not aware of, he is unwilling to actually share this information.
By this time in the series, Arthur has lost all of his humanity from wielding the magic of the house, and watching him dealing with his sudden rages was interesting from the point of view of the evolution of his character. Even the affection he still feels for Elephant, a stuffed toy from his childhood, is very well portrayed, especially when circumstances lead him to accidentally bring Elephant to life as a Nithling.
Nothing, a mythical substance that pretty much deletes anything it touches from existence, is encroaching on all of the remaining areas of the House at a phenomenal rate, and while Arthur is facing Lord Sunday, Suzy has to make her way back to Dame Primus and her other allies. Suzy has always been my favourite character in this series! She’s so spunky and bossy and just fun! She makes new allies and meets up with old friends. One of these eventually includes Leaf, who had been trying to look after Friday’s victims but was forced to seek professional help to look after them after Saturday’s Noon ordered the bombing on the hospital (I never expected that to actually go through!) before being kidnapped by Sunday’s Dusk. Poor Leaf. Leaf also brings Daisy, a creature from the Incomparable Gardens, into the fold and Daisy is quite possibly the best newly introduced character in this book! The chapters alternate between Arthur, Suzy and Leaf until Suzy and Leaf join up with each other and then the point of view will often change within their shared chapter.
To say this book was pretty long – at 376 pages, I’m pretty sure it’s the longest book in the series – I didn’t get the feeling that all that much actually happened. There was very little action until it all happened at once towards the end and some of the shock things concerning the Will and the trustees had been obvious for a few books now. That said, the ending was a very interesting twist and not one that I saw coming – this is always good!(less)
This book is so good in almost every way that I’m not entirely sure where to start with my review! I’m going to start wi...moreFull review can be found here.
This book is so good in almost every way that I’m not entirely sure where to start with my review! I’m going to start with how very out of the norm this is. Or, at least, it’s out of my norm. I’ve never read anything with lore quite like this! Right up until the revelation, I had no idea what Archer was hiding behind his mask and what it turned out to be was simply fascinating. Miranda’s powers and role in it all ties in superbly well as well in a way that I’d never have anticipated. It all plays on ancient myths that I’ve never heard of so I couldn’t say whether the author invented them (in which case, she has an amazing imagination) or whether she did a huge amount of research into something rather obscure (in which case, kudos to her! She did an amazing job at bringing it all to life for me!)
The way that Archer finds himself drawn to Miranda as of their very first meeting, so much so that he’s willing to go out of his way to ensure that one day he will be able to present her father with a marriage proposal that he won’t be able to refuse, was really rather sweet if a little weird based on a short confrontation in a dark alley. Miranda’s growing faith in him despite his secrets and hers was wonderful to read about. She was the sort of heroine who refuses to be cowed by others around her and I really respected her throughout the book.
Her ability with fire is often referred to but not actually shown until about half way through. It was really quite something! She has the ultimate protection against the ragtag sleaze in the darkened streets of London. I got the impression that she still had more to discover about her powers as well but maybe that will play some role or another in a future book.
When I first saw that this book was the first in a series, I had assumed that the series would follow Miranda and her power over fire. Upon finishing the book, I realised that this would not be the case: Miranda and Archer’s story has been concluded and the next one will be one of the side character’s stories. The series is most definitely off to a good start though and promises to be interesting! I will be following it.
I’d pegged the baddy as of fairly early on and I’m rather surprised it took Miranda as long as it did to have that light bulb moment, especially as secrets start to be revealed. Still, I liked the way that all of the intrigue eventually wove together leaving very few of the characters as just accessory.
The story was also somewhat evocative of Beauty and the Beast – my favourite! How could I not love this book?
The story did, however, stumble onto one of my pet peeves. There’s a fairly transparent hint early on that Miranda is no longer a “maiden”, read: she’s not a virgin. This is cool, I like when the hero is not the only one with a scandalous sexual past. But then, when things finally get around to the bedroom stage, she’s worried about how “big” Archer is. This is my pet peeve. If you’re going to make your heroine experienced, then make her experienced and don’t have her baulk at the size of “sein Teil”. It’s too much a way of stroking the hero’s ego.
The other thing I’m not sold on is the scene in the alley around the 30% mark (when they get out of the British museum). Things were bordering a bit too close on abuse for my tastes.
This said, despite those two minor things, I really enjoyed the book. It was just what the doctor ordered!(less)
First of all, because I feel this is important, I’m going to point out that this story isn’t in any way bad. It’s very r...moreFull review can be found here.
First of all, because I feel this is important, I’m going to point out that this story isn’t in any way bad. It’s very reminiscent of the stories I would read on FictionPress back in the day (the good ones, that is as anyone who’s been on FictionPress will know that it has a very wide range of quality). It’s enjoyable from start to finish. It’s a high school tale with a paranormal (half-)faerie twist. The only problem is that there is very little by way of danger.
It stays in the fairly safe zone of the cliché high school story: new girl (albeit with a half-faerie twist); geeky guy best friend; unpopular girl best friend; popular cheerleader who’s nasty to everyone and looks down on her ‘followers’; good looking jock who takes an interest in the new girl; posse who surrounds evil cheerleader and romantic interest jock.
For a long time, the focus is on Shayla fitting in at public school after having spent her whole life moving around the country with her grandparents in their mobile home. Obviously, public school is very different to the home-schooling that she’s used to. Not to mention that the faerie half of her can make things difficult – such as turning invisible or having to find a way to deal with her pointed ears when she’s required to tie her hair back in science class.
I really didn’t understand where the romantic interest came from. For Shayla, sure, he was good looking and she felt some form of attraction. For Jace, I am completely clueless. As of the very first day he shows interest in her and there’s no explanation as to why he would. What was with him inviting her to be part of the student council or committee or whatever it was? It gets mentioned when he invites her to be a part of it and then it gets dropped. They never have a meeting or anything like that. In that way, the romance didn’t really work for me. It was sweet, but it didn’t have a foundation. I might have overlooked this a few years ago but as it is, I found I wasn’t particularly interested in whether or not Shayla and Jace had a future together.
The other thing is that only one lesson is ever shown: first period science class. There are also plenty of scenes in the cafeteria, but we never see Shayla in any other class. Why not? Well, possibly to keep from boring the reader with passages where little happens, but it got to the point where it felt like science class was the only one that existed.
Eventually some sort of threat is introduced, but it doesn’t actually becoming very threatening until the very end of the book. I think I just wanted more of a sense of danger from the book. As it was, it was mostly about day to day life in high school. I’ve done that once and it’s not something I’m in a rush to get back to (though of course my lycée experience was very different to the typical American high school experience).
As for the ending itself, there were a lot of new, different ideas introduced very quickly that were never expanded on. Had they been introduced earlier on in the story, I might have cared about them, but as it was they only garnered some form of mild interest from me. The author had stuck me in a situation where (I think) she expected me to get caught up in the action but because all of this had had no lead up, I didn’t really manage to get beyond a mild interest.
Mister Digby was an interesting character – possibly the most interesting. He was one of the few where the author managed to leave me unsure of where I stood with him. I went through phases with him. At first I thought he was another faerie, then I thought he was some form of troll, and then I just couldn’t figure him out at all. The descriptions of him were good, though. I kept imagining something similar to Professor Flitwick form the Harry Potter books.
As I said at the start of the review, the book isn’t bad. It’s just slow and it should be taken as such. This is not the sort of story where the action keeps you on the edge of your seat. It’s one to be enjoyed in a moment of calm. I think it’d appeal to younger female readers (maybe 12 or 13+) more than it will to older readers. There are loose ends and things that could have been improved but overall I enjoyed the story.(less)
I find myself very polarised about this book. On the one hand, I enjoyed the gist of the story, the characters and the n...moreFull review can be found here.
I find myself very polarised about this book. On the one hand, I enjoyed the gist of the story, the characters and the narrative voice. On the other hand, I often found myself incredibly insulted by the religious messages that it was pushing. I’m going to start with these.
Gracie, the heroine, is a devout Christian who sees God’s hand in everything. That’s fine, especially considering that this is set in the early 1900’s. But as soon as she discovers that the three male characters on the ranch do not share her beliefs she is shocked and tries to sway their opinion with some God babble. This clearly shows that Gracie has no respect for their beliefs – or lack thereof as the case may be. Even more frustratingly, the story goes down the path of “atheists don’t really not believe in God – they do believe in Him, they just hate Him”. That’s Gracie’s epiphany about Trevor, the hero. This stance annoys me to no end. If you don’t believe in God then you can’t hate Him because you don’t believe He exists. I’d really like to read a story where the religious and irreligious learn to see eye to eye without either giving up on their core beliefs, but I have yet to find one where both characters don’t end up Christian.
There’s a question at the end of the book: 7. Uncle Lou doesn’t talk about God or seem interested in Him. Do you know people like that? What makes someone uninterested in God? Is there a sensitive way to share faith with a person like Lou? Yes I do – in fact, I know more people who aren’t interested in God than who are. I’m uninterested in Him because I’ve read enough of the Bible to know that I do not believe it to be divinely inspired. There are sensitive ways to share faith with people like Lou, like me, but this author does not manage to get anywhere close. Instead, she – through Gracie - is condescending and does not even try to look at things from the atheist’s point of view. She just pities them for not having her God in their life, not being able to turn to Him in their times of need. This annoyed me so much. I find it incredibly insulting. This is such a shame because when the story actually focused on the plot – Gracie’s desire to meet her hero, Striker, and Trevor’s determination to keep his alter ego from her all while exploring their budding attraction – I really enjoyed it all. But God always came back when you least expected Him. It got to the point where I was seriously tempted to skip whole portions of the story because of this. Instead I just allowed myself to get irritated.
The story itself was fairly transparent. As soon as Mendez, Striker’s enemy, and his means of crime are mentioned, it’s obvious how things will pan out at the climax. Most of the story focuses on Gracie discovering life in the Oregon desert – very different to the busy socialite existence that she was leading in Boston.
I enjoyed her evolution from shallow, annoying Gracie to a much more rounded, better grounded Gracie. The location was also perfect and very vividly drawn. Setting it all against the backdrop of the deadly Spanish flu allowed the author to keep the small number of characters very isolated, which worked in the story's favour. Even how Gracie was trapped in an existence she didn’t want by her over-bearing but well-meaning and old-fashioned parents lent an interesting side to the story as they prevented Gracie from really finding her own two feet. She would practically become another character around them: very quiet, demure and submitting to their wishes, however unwillingly.
Trevor was my favourite character. I liked how he had to battle the horrors of his past in order to be able to get to the point where he could accept the happiness offered to him in his present.
In all, I ended up with two conflicting feelings about the book. I suspect that it will really appeal to Christian readers, but as an atheist, I ended up feeling insulted by its religious message and its treatment of the topic. I wish the author had kept religion out of it all: then it could have been a lovely romance that I would display with some pride on my shelves! It’s a shame that the religious message ruined it for me.(less)
The problem with novellas is that often enough it’s hard for the reader to form a substantial opinion of the characters....moreFull review can be found here.
The problem with novellas is that often enough it’s hard for the reader to form a substantial opinion of the characters. I found that to be the case here. I had my opinion of Jenna but that was because the story followed her and so she was in every scene. I actually liked her and how she came across as a very rounded, normal person: doing her duty because she knows this is what is expected of her and not because this is what she wants to do. I find that’s the case with most people. If my mother was heavily pregnant and needed my help around the house, I suspect I’d feel frustrated and put out at having to walk to a tree and collect its fruit for three days straight, even being aware that it was for the greater good of the valley as a whole.
Jenna, however, was the only one I really had an opinion of. Nole, the wizard, was obviously going to be playing the role of the bad guy but he wasn’t fleshed out enough for me to really understand why he was playing this role (something about a woman and jealousy of his rival, but it was passed over too quickly that it didn’t stick). The Wraith, playing the role of the Beast, in his broken castle that is a mere shadow of its former glory, trapped in a spell he never wanted to be part of – yes, he inspired empathy in me as he did in Jenna and he was actually a very good basis for a Beast character. Perhaps the most important thing was that the growing attraction between Jenna and the Wraith just wasn’t really there for me. I mean, first off, they were only together for a day or two and secondly while their interactions were poignant, I didn’t feel they contained the seeds of future love.
At the length it was, the story was good and Jenna in particular made for a good character, the idea of a spell for balance in the valley was interesting and well-used. I actually feel that the author had all the necessary ingredients there to have made this novella longer, to have built up more – especially the interactions between Jenna and the Wraith – and to have had an absolute stunner on her hands. As it was, things did feel rather rushed. As a rule of thumb, romances in novellas are rushed simply because there isn’t the length of book to have them slow-burning, but this one just didn’t have the basis for me to readily accept Jenna’s actions at the end (though I could accept the Wraith’s as she was the one who freed him).
I guess what I’m trying to say is that the idea behind the story was one that had me completely sold and my interest piqued, but the length of the story didn’t allow for the evolution necessary to really tickle my fancy.(less)
The book opens with “the pilot” taking off and soon realising that there’s something not right with his plane. He’s face...moreFull review can be found here.
The book opens with “the pilot” taking off and soon realising that there’s something not right with his plane. He’s faced with the choice of attempting to right the problem by continuing with his flight – and thus potentially endangering citizens – or returning to the runway in what can only be a crash landing. Following the pilots’ code of ethics, he chooses to put only himself at risk rather than innocent people who just happen to live close by the airport.
We then meet his sister, Kate, who is having to come to terms with the fact that her brother has almost died in an accident involving a flying machine for the second time in his life. The doctors inform her that despite the extent of his injuries he still has brain activity, which is a good sign, but there’s no telling when, or if, he’ll wake up. Kate basically puts her life on hold in order to tend to her brother, but she also wants to help keep his business, an airport, running while he’s unable to keep on top of it himself. As she starts to uncover the events in his life leading up to his accident, though, she also finds herself wondering whether she really knew her brother as well as she thought she did.
At the same time, we’re introduced to Everett Larsen, an army buddy of our beloved coma patient, Keith. Keith had contacted him prior to the accident about something fishy taking place. What’s more, it would appear that Keith’s accident might not have been an accident at all. Everett, now an undercover investigator, is determined to get to the bottom of what happened to his friend, which puts him in Kate’s path. She doesn’t recognise him, though, and he’s happy to present a false persona in order to keep her from learning the truth.
There’s a lot of truth being kept from others in this story, which is usually the way of things in mystery, but Kate and Everett do tend to take it to an extreme. They’re both damaged individuals with previous relationships that ended in emotional turmoil. As such, they’re still working past their demons, but in each other they find a way of coming to terms with what happened – the past is the past and both realise that they need to turn a new page and look to the future instead.
I enjoyed the budding relationship between these two characters as well as the glimpse into life around a small airport. With Schiphol being one of the busiest airports in Europe, my experience is obviously very different, though I have visited some smaller ones in passing (like the “field” in the photo above), which seem much more relaxed and very quaint! In fact, the little views into the life running an airport like this were the highlight of the story.
My only real gripe with the story was that the truth behind what happened to Keith was fairly transparent. As soon as any new information was imparted to the characters, even if it was misleading, it was possible for the reader to put the pieces together much faster than the story was keeping up with. It was just too easy to unravel the mystery and I could see most of the twists and turns coming from the moment they were introduced.
Not quite what I was expecting of the story but I'm pretty sure it was all the better for it!
Alice's character appealed to me: she's gone through a lo...moreNot quite what I was expecting of the story but I'm pretty sure it was all the better for it!
Alice's character appealed to me: she's gone through a lot but she doesn't allow herself to be defeated by events. She's also refreshingly real at times, acting a right b**** at times but realising and regretting it immediately afterwards.
Cole's did not appeal to me so much but that's not a big issue. I can see why Alice likes him even if it was a little on the love at first sight side, though supposedly for reasons we are not yet privy to. The author did attempt to rewind and take things slower again but the damage was already done. I never really warmed up to him properly and kept finding more reasons to keep him at arm's length.
The best friend, Kat, was one of the best supporting characters I've come across in a fair while. I loved her spunky mememe personality, and amazingly enough I was never put off by her egocentricity. She's also hiding a devastating secret, which I suspect will play more of a roll in the second book. As it's a rather touchy subject I'm interested in seeing how it will be handled in the next book(s).
The zombies here are very original. At least, I've not come across zombies like these before. The way it all works requires the reader to take a lot on faith but I'm willing to work with that.
I haven't read any of the author's other books but I'm very tempted to do so now. She had some really amazing action scenes written into this story. They'd go on and on for pages at a time but I never lost interest as is sometimes the case with long-winded action scenes. In fact I actually wanted to see more of Alice fighting! There's always book two for that.
Very interesting concept but due to the fact that the story is only a novella there was never really enough time to really flesh out all of the concep...moreVery interesting concept but due to the fact that the story is only a novella there was never really enough time to really flesh out all of the concepts.
I would have likes to have seen the relationship between the two characters evolving more through their interactions rather than being told their thoughts each time. I missed the characterisation in the book.
This was balanced out by some very interesting world building that really appealed to me. Again due to the length on the novel this wasn't developed as much as it could have been. I would have happily read a much longer novel about this world!(less)