Minutes Before Sunset (Timely Death, #1) in SOS: Serious Overload of Series

Sep 25, 2015 Daffodil rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: kindle, kindle-freebie

I keep going back and forth on the rating.

On the surface, the plot seems to be like one used a lot in YA novels. New girl in town has no knowledge of the supernatural. Check. Loner boy with no interest in school is hiding his supernatural side. Check. New girl and secret hero are paired for school project by ~~fate~~ teacher. Check. I really didn't have high expectations going into this.

Forget the surface. Once I got into the book, I was pleasantly surprised with what I discovered. There are no vam I keep going back and forth on the rating.

On the surface, the plot seems to be like one used a lot in YA novels. New girl in town has no knowledge of the supernatural. Check. Loner boy with no interest in school is hiding his supernatural side. Check. New girl and secret hero are paired for school project by ~~fate~~ teacher. Check. I really didn't have high expectations going into this.

Forget the surface. Once I got into the book, I was pleasantly surprised with what I discovered. There are no vampires or shifters. The supernatural is split into two sides: The Dark (good guys) and Light (bad guys). What they are is never explicitly detailed and I wouldn't call them Fae, instead I found them unique. Shades have a human face & persona they wear as a mask, they only share their human name with trusted friends, so neither side is aware if the people they see on the streets of Hayworth are friend, foe or merely human.

Eric's isolation is completely logical. He's not being dark and broody just to be dark and broody. People close to him have died and he feels guilt since, as one of two prophesied of warriors, he is a target in the war. He doesn't want to put others at risk, so he tries not to care for anyone. He also feels unprepared for the coming battle, facing the possibility he won't live past his next birthday.

I will say the world building is a little lacking. As I said above, the Dark and Light beings are never really explained. We see bits and pieces of their power. We see bits and pieces of their prophecy. One of the most frustrating sentences in the book happened when Eric was taken to learn more about the prophecy and tells the one showing him, I already know this part so we can skip it. GRRR! I, the reader don't know that part. I would have preferred the author force Eric to sit through it one more time, then maybe I would know it. LOL.

Some may feel a lack in the character development as well, but I do not. The story is told from Eric & Jessica's points of view, focusing on the way their relationship changes. It also adds to the mystery. Which classmate is the Light warrior? Which one is his guard? Who should Jessica trust?

Overall, I really did enjoy this. I'm still wavering between 3.5 - 4 stars, so I'm going with 3.75. This is a kindle freebie at the present time, but I have no problem spending money to buy the rest of the trilogy. Especially since this ended with a mini cliffhanger and I want to know where the story goes next. ...more

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