S.M. Boyce's Blog: My Journal, page 43

Blog Tour Recap: What Makes a Book a Favorite?

This is a guest post I originally wrote for Jelly Books for my Hidden World Blog Tour. But for those of you who missed the post, I wanted to share it here. Enjoy!

 

I thought I’d use this guest post to open up the floor to a discussion on what exactly makes a books our “favorite.” Why do we fall in love with a novel? Is it the story? The characters? The themes?

I love to look for themes in novels. I particularly enjoy the subtle ones: the themes which are hidden in just a line of dialogue, or in one paragraph of description. These subtle lessons are rarely noticed, which makes them all the more fun to catch and, in my opinion, even more powerful.

I grew up analyzing the classics. It was always a hunt to find the motif and analyze the metaphors, and I’m still on the hunt whenever I read a new book. But a real classic—a solid one that can stand the test of time— is also just a good story. You can analyze the themes and motifs and metaphors until the cows come home, but at the end of the day, you just enjoyed reading it. That’s a real book.

The Hobbit, for instance, will undoubtedly stand the test of time. It’s a children’s book, yes, but addresses issues which plague even adults. It’s a coming of age about facing your fears and accepting the differences that make us each unique.

So that was my goal in writing my first novel, Lichgates: create a thrilling story that had deeper meanings, should a reader want to look for them. If not, it was still an engaging tale. I would love to hear feedback from those who have read it, or from those of you who will in the future. What did you think the motif of water meant? How about the clover motif? Did you have a favorite theme?

Books, to me, are puzzles. I love to figure them out and toy with their meaning, all the while finding those which I can keep close by for a pick-me-up when life gets tough.

So let’s open it up for discussion. What’s your favorite book? Do you hunt for themes or deeper meanings within them? I’d love to get your take. Happy reading!

Blog Tour Recap: Thick Skin

This is a guest post I originally wrote for the Donna Brown’s Book Blogs & Cat Naps for my Hidden World Blog Tour. But for those of you who missed the post, I wanted to share it here. Enjoy!

 

Dearest, Darlingest Writer,

You’ve either written a book or you’re writing one. Maybe it’s a short story. It’s your baby. It’s amazing.

Now, how’s this for awesome: it’s about to be published. It’s going out into the world. Your excitement levels? Ridiculously high. Your characters? Breathtaking. Your target market? Everyone.

Wait. Everyone?

Hmm. Sit down with me for a second. Let me get you a latte, and let’s turn off our eReaders for a minute.

Fact is there’s no way to impress everyone. It just won’t happen. Your book—and my book—just won’t appeal to everybody. Your first negative review isn’t necessarily a bad thing, as long as you’re truly putting out a quality product that exhibits your very best work. To quote my good friend Rebecca Hamilton, that first 1-, 2-, or 3-star review means you’ve arrived into the world of published writers. Congrats! Go mourn into a glass of red wine and come back when you’re better.

Writing is all about passion: you put your life, your energy, and an obscene amount of effort into writing this story. It means the world to you. I understand that because I feel the same way about my novel. I mean, Lichgates is the first volume of an epic trilogy that will end up being upwards of 350,000 words. It will also have novellas, short stories, and a freaking encyclopedia of the world I created! I’m either dedicated or frighteningly obsessive. Still working on which.

Point is, we writers put ourselves out there in a way unlike almost any other profession. We therefore need to have really, really thick skin. I’m talking callused and bumpy, with a kind of scaly sheen. The kind that needs a Sweet-Pea-scented treatment from Bath & Body Works.

There are people who won’t like your story, but it’s nothing personal. It’s their preference. It’s important to be professional and to not lash out at them for it, because it’s just their opinion and because you’re better than that. You have your opinions, right? Let them have theirs. If you get a bad review, grieve in silence. Move on. As long as you’re confident that you did the best you could with your book, that is what matters. If the reviewer found glaring spelling and syntax errors, fix them.

Does that make sense? I hope so. I’m not being mean. I just want to encourage and prepare you. I went to school for writing, and this was the first thing I learned: writers need thick skin so that we can take the criticism and not be personally affected by it.

Some people will leave mean reviews that don’t help. Some will lift a copy of On Writing in the air and say, “See? Look how much I know compared to you!” even though you’re pretty sure they only read the last chapter of your book to see how it ends. Still others will write, “it sucked,” or they will say nothing at all. My opinion? Ignore these sorts of reviews. If there’s no constructive criticism, the review is useless. It might mean the person didn’t feel like expending the effort to write a review, or it could mean they were jealous of something you did, or something you do. That—I think, at least—is fine to ignore.

BUT if someone has constructive criticism that’s professionally presented and pulls examples from the story as evidence, it’s good to at least consider what they have to say. Never, ever reply to them in anything less than a professional, polite, and calm manner. What they have to say might rub you the wrong way, and you may never use it. That’s fine. But at minimum, please consider what they have to say if they took time out of their busy lives to make the remark.

I hope this helps settle your nerves. No? Huh. Have another latte.

Obviously, you should always do your best. This is probably a career choice for you, like it is for me. You’ll need to publish a quality book to your readers. To quote Konrath, “Don’t write crap.” But beyond that, you just need to do your best and always hire an editor. Yes, I’m an editor, but you don’t have to hire me if you don’t want. Hire someone else. That’s fine. But hire someone who is good at what they do. You will never catch all the errors yourself. Sorry, you just won’t. I know that from experience because my editor is a magician.

If you keep writing, I can almost guarantee that you’ll look back and see things in your first novel that you wish you could change. You’re growing. You’re learning. That’s good! What matters now is that you’re trying your best, you’re being professional, and you’re opening yourself to what the world has to say.

It’s a little scary, but it’s more than most other people do in their whole lives.

Rock on, and stay awesome. You better buy me the next round of coffee when you’re rich and famous.

-S. M. Boyce

Entangled by Nikki Jefford

The Short Version:

This is a cool book. It’s just a fun read that touches on the more serious matters of life in a seemingly uninterested manner, bringing you closer to the characters without your ever really intending for it to happen. I enjoyed the last 2/3 of this book, and I will be reading the rest because of how wonderfully everything the conflict, tension, and characters came together. While I did find a few typos and while the pacing of the first bit of the book had me hoping for more, Entangled picked up the pace and performed.

 

The Details:

I found this book on my Nook and can’t for the life of me remember where I got it. If you sent me a review copy, Nikki, I’m a terrible person and apologize. I think I bought this, though, and even though the stunningly beautiful cover has nothing to do with the book itself, I’m glad I did.

The synopsis gives you a pretty solid understanding of what’s going to happen. High school. Witches. Twins. Romatic tension. Love triangles. And for the first bit of the book — up until Graylee dies — I felt dragged along. I only kept reading for Raj, who is by far my favorite character. More on him in a minute.

But once we get to the twist, when Graylee wakes up dead, a mystery element is introduced. Who killed her? Why? Even her mother doesn’t know. As the pieces fall into place, we learn more about Raj and Graylee…and I came to really care about the both of them. While they’re imperfect, they’re still strong.

I think of Raj as the most dynamic character in the book, but I have a thing for bad boys who are secretly endearing. When we slip into his head, we see the other side of him that so many others misjudge, and we learn that not all bad boys are actually, well, bad. I was really impressed with how Jefford handled his character.

The use of magic, too, was really well done. I loved to see all the tricks and spells the characters came up with. It was nice to see magic as more than a set of structured spells or chants (though there were some of those, too). This magic was wild, a bit untamed, and exciting. I loved guessing at which spells they’d come up with next.

Jefford does touch on some deeper themes that makes this more than another high school paranormal romance. Death is a common theme, of course, but the focus becomes appreciation: appreciation for what you have, for life, and for the love that makes you want to risk all of that.

While some plot points felt forced or were left unexplained (the reasoning behind the blocking spell, for instance, or the lighter), I still adored the ending. I don’t usually like the sort of bow that was put on this story, but at the same time, I thought it was sweet. I was smiling when I finished Entangled. 

I think Paranormal romance geeks will like this novel, as will urban fantasy readers who want to take a step into something a little lighter for a change. There’s still a bit of darkness, but it’s coated in sugar. Happy reading!

 

Snag Your Copy:

Amazon (US) | Amazon (UK) | Goodreads

Free Book Saturday!

So I made a huge mistake.

I just enrolled in Amazon’s KDP select program to try out promotions with the free days. I figured, hey, I’ll make it a free book Friday! That’ll be cool!

Only, I scheduled it for Saturday, because the Amazon week starts on Monday and I didn’t actually check the dates. I feel like an idiot.

But oh well, it’s Saturday now.

I’m offering my debut novel, The Grimoire: Lichgates, for free today (April 21, 2012). If you like fantasy, magic, or just want to try something new, go check it out.

I’m really sorry for the confusion. I would never want anyone to think I was scamming them, and I feel terrible about the mistake. Please enjoy the free book with a My-Apologies Martini.

How to Find Free eBooks

If you have a Kindle or a Kindle reading app, it’s ridiculously easy to find free books. There are blogs, email blasts, and even entire websites devoted to listing free eBooks.

Smashwords was the first to let authors easily set their price for free. While they’re still the only popular distribution channel to do that, Monkeybars is closing in on them. But Amazon and Barnes & Noble also set books for free under certain conditions. For a while, it was harder to find high quality books for free.

But with the advent of the KDP Select program (where authors can list their book for free, up to five days), readers have the opportunity to download even more free books than before. A lot of them are already best sellers or have 4 & 5 star ratings. And the best part is there’s no strings attached. They’re just…free.

I’m offering my debut novel, The Grimoire: Lichgates, for free tomorrow (April 21, 2012). If you like fantasy, magic, or just want to try something new, go check it out. While I was researching how to promote this, I came across some amazing sites that I want to share with you. You can even subscribe to these sites for daily free book emails.

Pixel of Ink : Pixel of Ink is a free & bargain book site. It compiles emails listing books that are both free and on sale, and gives you the cover image, a blurb, and a link to get a copy. You can subscribe to an email digest or just peruse the site.

Author Marketing Club : This is a promotional site that’s mainly geared towards authors. However, you can subscribe to an email digest that has a list of free books. You won’t get the email unless there is at least one free book available for that day.

Freebooksy: This site focuses almost exclusively on free eBooks. You can subscribe for email blasts.

There are tons of sites like these, including: Bargain eBook Hunter, Flurries of Words, eReader News Today (this is a big one), Indies Book List, and Books2Heart.

Did I miss any of your favorites? Where do you guys go to find good quality free books?

Guest Book Review of Eye of the World by Robert Jordan

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Hey gang!

Today, we have a guest book review from Tonya Vrba, who is a passionate writer. Her work has been published in newspapers and blogs. She writes frequently about health, career and dating issues. Tonya currently writes with Dating Sites Online. Learn more about her work at her personal website.

 

 

 

Book Review: The Eye of the World by Robert Jordan

 

[image error]The Eye of the World by Robert Jordan is a masterpiece of suspense and fantasy. The world Jordan creates is similar in complexity to the Lord of The Rings trilogy. Anyone can find a character to relate to in the main cast. The heart of the story revolves around three young boys – Rand, Mat and Perrin. A cast of main female characters – Egwene, Nynaeve and Moiraine – play vital supporting roles.

Rand, Mat and Perrin are unfortunate enough to have the eyes of the Dark One on them. The Dark One goes by many names, but is never called by his true name for fear of bad luck. He is best described as a devil, a mystical being who has existed since the beginning of time along with the Creator. The Wheel of Time, which is where the series takes its name, is the idea that time revolves on a wheel. What once was will be again, and so on. At the end of an age, a man called The Dragon comes to save the world. His destiny is to save the world from the Dark One and then slowly destroy the world as he goes mad with power. This has happened before and it will happen again, so the legends say.

The three boys, along with Egwene and Nynaeve, are nothing but simple farming people. One deadly night, creatures thought to be of legend wreck havoc on their town, which is where Moiraine comes in to tell them they are sought by the Dark One. They run out of fear for their own lives and the lives of those around them. Why is the Dark One looking for them? What does he want with them? How can they stop him?

What makes this book a powerful read is its ability to constantly keep the reader guessing. In some chapters, you learn more about the questions above. Others seem to go completely off course and provide more questions than anything else, which of course keeps the reader actively engaged in the story.

Since the main cast of characters is from a small secluded town, they know very little about the world. The reader learns about the many different kingdoms, cultures and myths of the world right alongside the boys. As the books goes on, the reader is introduced to a variety of concepts that reflect interestingly on our own world. There is a lot of foreshadowing, but as to what, the reader knows little. Knowledge about what might happen requires knowledge of the books mythology, something you and most of the main characters know nothing about.

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The prose is exquisitely written with enough description to make you feel as if you can see the exact image the author had in mind, but not so much as to overwhelm the reader. A map in the front of the book along with a glossary in the back help the reader keep track of what they are experiencing. Every once in a while a character than came and went 10 chapters back will make a reappearance. It’s helpful to have a single source of information instead of flipping through the pages looking for the first moment you met the character.

The Wheel of Time is, at its heart, a set up for the rest of the series, which spans a total of 14 books, plus a prequel. The book certainly has enough action to stand on its own, but fans of The Wheel of Time Series will tell you this is only the beginning. True excitement and adventure is yet to come. With all the action and character drama in book one, the idea that the following books are more so is thrilling. Anyone who loves the paranormal, fantasy and tales of good struggling over evil will love The Eye of The World.

Short Story Review: Past Jumper by Jamie Heppner

This is a very interesting read. It’s short, less than 9k words, but it introduces you to a dystopian world by raising questions that often go tactfully unanswered. You’re often left to ponder and make guesses with the clues you have, and I like that sort of reading.

The end really came to soon, but that’s sort of expected for a short story like this. You want more, and Heppner is working on delivering just that. I can’t help but wonder if these mini books wouldn’t serve better as a full novel, but I obviously don’t know what Heppner has in mind for the series.

There were some editing errors that I couldn’t help but notice — missing spaces, wrong words, the occasional missing word. But I don’t think most readers care much about this sort of thing. It’s not exactly glaring.

Because this is short, you only get a real look into two characters and a delightful, loyal dog. However, that focus was necessary to build these characters in the short space, and I enjoyed learning more about them.

I can say that, thanks to some good writing, an interesting story, and the fact that it’s a quick read, you will probably really enjoy this.

Guest Post from Robert Zimmermann

Hey gang! Today we have a guest post from the talented Robert Zimmermann.

 

To begin, I’d like to thank the amazing S.M. Boyce for asking me onto her blog. It’s not always easy for me to put my words onto paper, so I don’t normally go around discussing my work. When Boyce suggested doing a guest post, I had to man up and accept the offer. You really can’t say no to her, it’s like saying no to a little puppy who wants to play….you just can’t say no.

 

Last week I had an overwhelming experience of having some of my poetry published. This is a first for me, sort of. I have been published during college in the school’s newspaper, The Racquette.  I was a regular addition to the creative writing section, but that section often went overlooked and many times was cut from the paper. Also, in my last semester of college, the North Country Literary Magazine (the school’s lit mag) published an early form of my poem “Change of Address.” While these are both accomplishments for any writer, being published by a reputable organization like Albany Poets gives me much more excitement.

Of the poems that have been published two stand out from the rest. There is a fair amount of emotion that went into writing all of these poems; “Stuck” and “Your Blue Suit” are no exception.

From reading these poems it can easily be found what they are about. These are two poems dealing with the dying/death of my grandfather. The events that inspired these two poems happened roughly a year apart from each other, which to me show how much of an influence certain things can have on an individual’s life. I was never close to my grandfather in the way I know many of my friends are with their grandparents. For all of my life I have been hours away from them. I would only see them a few weekends of the year, and maybe a week or two in the summer. There wasn’t much room for bonding over the years, and I’m really not a person to talk on the phone.

During the time when I was getting old enough to see the people in my life for who they were and develop a family bond with them was around the same time my grandfather was diagnosed with Parkinson’s Disease. I didn’t know what it was really; I still don’t know its full nature to be honest. In my later teens was when the disease really took hold of him. He lost the ability to walk without assistance, had a hard time speaking, and other symptoms. When he was doing better was when he was on a few medications. The problem with that was, although he might have been able to walk easier and be more coherent, he also would have vivid hallucinations leading to him seeing people (or worse) in the apartment, or he’d try to leave the building to go somewhere all while being unaware of reality. The doctors would constantly try to find the best medications for him in order to make his life the best it could be while limiting the side effects.

Most of this I don’t know from being there. Most of what I witnessed was him sitting at the kitchen table or in his recliner in front of a Mets game. Being as young and unsympathetic (I hate to admit it) as I was at the time, I didn’t fully appreciate the time I did still have with him. It’s now, as cliché as it is to say, that I realize that I wanted to know him more. He was a great man, but I can only speculate who he would have been in my eyes. These poems are an attempt to bring out my feelings on his passing, but also an attempt to reach out for any sort of relationship I can have with him.

Fast forward to last May. This was when we had the unveiling of my grandfather’s headstone, a year after his passing. This was a new concept to me. I have attended a few funerals as a child, but I was very young and we never came back for the unveiling. Apparently in the Jewish faith the headstone is unveiled a year after the burial when the spirit finally is at peace, or something like that. I honestly didn’t hear most of the ceremony and explanation… I was bawling my eyes out the entire time once I saw the name carved into the stone.

What was the strangest thing for me was that I was the only one crying. Even my grandmother’s eyes were dry (or at least almost). It’s another part of the tradition, a small bit I heard from the rabbi, that it wasn’t a time for crying or sadness; it was a time for happiness for the deceased loved one because they were finally wherever it is Jewish souls go.

But I was the odd one out. I wasn’t able to attend the funeral (see “Stuck”) and while that was one of the most emotionally painful things at the time, being there in the cemetery was as if this were the funeral. I hope that everyone who attended realized that so I didn’t look like I was disrespecting anyone’s traditions or souring a “happy” moment. I’m sure they did.

Now that you’ve gotten a little history lesson about two of my poems, and my recent years, I’d like to give you a treat; a very small treat. Sadly it’s not candy, cookies, and I don’t have cupcakes for anyone. What I do have is a bit of a preview. The next poem I plan on writing will be linked very close with “Your Blue Suit” and “Stuck.” It will be centered on my day at the cemetery; my day of what should have been closer, and I still don’t know if it was.

Most of the poems that I have written for a future collection, and the ones that will be written, have brought me on a strongly emotionally fueled journey to find myself. Not just who I am, but what I went through and to fully realize the good that came out of it through the bad. Writing this collection has been and continues to be the greatest form of therapy I can suggest to anyone. It can be hard to get words on paper. There will be many, many tears shed. But once the words are out and the situations brought to life again, that’s when I found the real healing and growing occurs.

For those out there who need to get through something, I suggest writing it down. It doesn’t have to be Shakespeare. It just needs to be honest and be true to yourself and no one needs to read it. Write for yourself and it’ll be one of the most fulfilling things you can do in life.

 

Learn more about Rob and connect with him online. He’s a cool guy and a lot of fun!

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Blog Tour Recap: The Great eBook Debate

This is a guest post I originally wrote for Jersey Girl’s Book Reviews for my Hidden World Blog Tour. But for those of you who missed the post, I wanted to share it here. Enjoy!

 
Sometimes when I come up to a green light in a congested area, I’ll think that I have more room than I do. I’ll pull up and unknowingly block the intersection. Then, the light turns red. I tap my fingers on the steering wheel and pretend I can’t see the driver in the car to my right glaring at me through their windshield. All I can at that moment is, “dang it. I’mthat person.”

Well today, I’m that person for a different reason. I’m here to play devil’s advocate for the eBook / print book debate. It’s blasphemous. It’s controversial. It’s on.


PRINT BOOKS



Let’s start off with the paperbacks and hardcovers of the world. It seems as if we’ve always had these. They’ve been around for millennia. Once status symbols reserved for those who could read, they’ve become a prime option for entertainment for anyone who has an imagination. In this heavily technological world, they don’t need batteries. They never run out of juice. If you’re accident-prone like me or your dog chews through your copy ofSwitched, you can buy another one. It’s only $15, which is nothing compared to what an eReader or tablet would cost to replace. There’s no DRM on a paperback, and you can throw that book at whatever friend will take it once you’re done. You can host a giveaway to drive readers to your blog. It’s tangible. It’s real. And boy don’t pages just smell nice?

EBOOKS



On the other hand, you can’t deny that eBooks are easier to store. And by easier, I mean exponentially so. Bookshelves become unnecessary when you can host hundreds of books on a small memory card. You have your entire library with you – including the digital notes you added to any books you’ve read – and you can take all of that data with you anywhere. If you get bored of a story while waiting at the DMV, you can switch to another one in a second. No going out to your car and possibly missing your number being called. No wishing you’d brought more than one book with you. It’s all just there.

THE DEBATE



Now, no one answer is going to be best for everyone. We humans are far too complicated for that! But it is important to sit back and look at our options. For some people, reading on a screen is too jarring. For them paper might be better, but it’s also important to remember that the Kindle’s screen is designed to look like paper. I didn’t believe this until I saw one. Even I had to admit it was impressively close.

There are hundreds (if not thousands) of posts on this debate. A twitter thread with this topic is going to spiral into oblivion. EReaders have been popular for awhile, and yet they still spark controversy in the book world. Despite it all, though, I don’t think the debates really matter in the end.

The world is shifting towards digitizing everything, true, but that doesn’t mean paperbacks are going away. They won’t ! Too many people love the feel of a print edition. I own 200 eBooks, and even I still have paperbacks. Ultimately, you’re going to buy what you want to buy, and none of the countless debates or arguments will really sway you one way or the other. It was crucial that my novel be available in both formats for exactly this reason.

Lichgates, my young adult fantasy novel, is available in any medium available – eBook or otherwise – because it doesn’t matter what the more popular means of purchasing may be. All that matters is that anyone can buy it if the book sounds like it’s up their alley. That’s what this digital revolution is really about: making novels more available to readers.

Personally, I think my book reading system has the best of both worlds. I read all new books on my Nook unless it’s a print edition ARC (even though I like my Nook, I’m probably going to get a tablet soon so that I can get the apps for both Barnes & Noble and Amazon, instead of being restricted to just Barnes & Noble). In most cases, eBooks cost much less than print, which lets me test out the book for a relatively low cost. Then, if I love it and it’s a new favorite, I buy the print edition and put it on my bookshelf to showcase. These are the books I could read again and again, forever, because they’re just that good.

This works for me, and it might not work for you. Either way, all that matters is you have the chance to read your favorites and discover new ones. if you get a chance to pick up Lichgates, I hope that you like it. Happy reading, everyone, and thanks for stopping by! Make sure you post your thoughts on the eBook / print edition debate.

 
 

About The Author:













S.M. Boyce is a fantasy and paranormal fiction novelist who also dabbles in contemporary fiction and comedy. She updates her blog a few times each week so that you have something to wake you up in the morning.

She also has a B.A. in Creative Writing which, naturally, qualifies her to be pompous and serve you french fries.





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Book Review: Five (Elemental Enmity) by Christie Rich

The Short Version:

I fully admit that I stayed up until 6 a.m. reading the last 60% of this book. I tore through it quickly, in only two days, so it’s a fast and light read. Five has humor, spunk, and a thrilling imagination to it. Bits of the story were left unraveled at the end…bits that could have used explaining…but since it’s the first in a series, I’d imagine we find that out later. While our main character’s spunk made me love her, her resolve can be shaky and she occasionally acted in ways I thought were out of character. However, this book is full of sarcasm, quips, sexy men, and a political power play that adds an intriguing twist.

 

The Details:

I’m honestly not entirely sure where to start with Five. The Story itself is interesting because Rich has woven together two distinct worlds: ours, and the magical, hidden realm of Faeresia. While I’m not personally a huge fan of the name, her descriptions were delightful and imaginative and her creatures were vivid and real.

Our MC, Rayla, is a sassy girl that runs away from home to persue her dreams. She wants to be an artist, and she’s actually really good. Her future is everything to her, and no one is going to take that from her. Well, that is, until several beautiful men start courting her. And by courting, I mean they’re trying to kidnap her in the night because they’re actually magical beings called fae, and she’s the key to making them more powerful. Unstoppable, actually.

Scary. Too bad they’re all drop-dead gorgeous. That’s a little distracting.

So the characters are pretty well done. Though the men were initially a little bit stereotypical (“latin lover” and “jungle warrior”), they are unique and their personalities develop over the course of the book. Rayla and her best friend, Cassie, are a hoot. There’s a ton of snark and humor that kept me glued to their development, and I loved the side stories that played within the book. The villains are, on the whole, also unique. And, damn it, they’re sexy too. 

There’s an entire political undertone to Five that makes it more than chick lit and team-whoever reading. We discover why Rayla’s being pursued, and why she’s unique to anyone else that has also had to endure this strange courting process. We learn how some of the men want to use her, and we’re constantly wondering if any of them actually care.

I started to lose a little of my fervor when Rayla actually discovers a bit of the fae world for herself (I don’t consider that a spoiler, because it’s vague and come on, you knew it was going to happen). Point is, things felt like they were unraveling. All this choice she was given throughout the story suddenly doesn’t matter, and as much as she fights everything, no one listens. For someone so powerful, she becomes weak.

The pacing was pretty good, and any editing issues were minor and mostly unnoticeable while reading. The voice itself was strong and vivid on the whole, with just a few dramatic or flowery bits, and I just loved the imagination of the fae world, the trolls, and the magical beings. Styx is probably my favorite creature, and Zach my favorite character.

The ending was slightly off, though, and I’m not wholly sure why. I can’t really discuss it without spoilers, so I reserved those for the toggle below. But in general terms, it left me a tad confused. Granted, this is part of a series, and you can thankfully dive right into the sequel since it’s available now. But in terms of Five as its own book, there could have been more resolution. Rayla, who previously was hell-bent in her conviction, had what I thought was a sudden change of heart that really made no sense to me. I did stay up until 6 a.m. reading it, so I dunno. Maybe I was delusional and sleep deprived, but even as I reflect on it today, I wanted more answers to wrap up the first book before we dive into the new tension introduced at the end to start off book 2.

Here are the spoilers—and I mean spoilers. I’m totally going to tell you the end. You can’t get mad at me for this. I warned you.
So Rayla has the option to pick between Luke and Zach (I mean, obviously if she has to pick someone, she should pick Zach, but I digress). Instead, she escapes from everyone to the borderlands, which are hellish and dangerous. But, lo and behold, Zach appears. Oops, and so does Luke. She has more internal conflict, and they both decide to let her sleep on it for a few days before she has to choose. But before Zach leaves, she offers to bind herself to him, right then. I was so confused. She jumps out a window to escape that choice, to escape being a mindless slave to someone, and then not only is she still considering it, but she straight up offers? I just wasn’t sure where that came from. Maybe I missed a development, but it’s still irking me. Hahaha!

My spoiler rant aside, this is a good book. I mean, 4 stars and all. There were some plot developments that confused me, or led me astray in a way that was never explained or corrected. But there were several more moments where I laughed out loud, and the characters Rich builds are fun and very sexy. If you’re a fan of a bit of sexual tension, power plays, self discovery, and a look into the magical, I think you’ll enjoy this.

 

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