"Tessa rolled over, burying her face in the pillow. For so many years she had wondered what her first kiss would be like--if he would be handsome, if he would love her, if he would be kind. She had never imagined that the kiss would be so brief and desperate and wild. Or that it would taste of holy water. Holy water and blood."
A super girly take on super natural fantasy.
The Concept
Young girl travels to London, looking to re-unite with her only
family left in the world, discovers she's got supernatural abilities
and that she's been tricked by the magister (the leader of a secret
underworld club) who intends to claim her as wife. Say what, say
what, anything can happen from here on in.
The Writing
She manages to retain order in what seems for large parts, an
out of control, scatter-brained effort. I suppose this kind of
work is what some describe as 'painting pictures with words'
or 'colourful drawing of characters and settings' but it just
felt like needless over description that made the book harder
to read than it should have been.
The Story
It is a chronicle of the adventures of a sixteen year old reluctant
shapeshifter, Tessa, who aligns with Shadowhunters (descendants
of angels who keep the order in the supernatural underworld of
London) to take on the leader of a shady underworld club who
is intent on destroying the natural order of things.
This would hint at a fast paced, action filled escape into fantasyland.
Far from it. The story seems aimless until a burst of activity in the
last quarter of the book, fueled by a big (somewhat inconsistent) twist
attempts to but ultimately fails to bring the story back to the reader's
attention.
The Resolution
Nothing is resolved really. Unless you consider the deflection of a tired
straight jab of a boxer, by his opponent as the high point in a boxing match.
Ultimately this book, despite having its own epilogue is just a prologue
to its sequels.
The Verdict
I did not like this book at all and would recommend it to nobody, but
my dislike is not necessarily a true assessment of its quality as it may
just be the classic case of a boy not particularly enjoying a doll as a toy.
No comments:
Post a Comment