Author: Sidney Ayers
Genre: Paranormal Romance
Heat Index: Didn't get that far.
Release Date: December 1st, 2011
Word/Page Count: 384 pages
Format: NetGalley
Serah SanGermano runs a successful catering company in a Midwestern town. After she inadvertently helped her friend unleash a legion of demons, she's been trying to hide her own newly discovered powers. Matthias Ambrose, a mysterious demon mercenary sent to protect her, has his own secret— one that will embroil them both in the scandal from hell.
Poena's Review:
Yeah... Great cover. And the universe had potential. Those are the only two good things I can say about this story.
Where to start? How about I couldn't finish this book. I tried, but at around page 178 I just had to stop. To be perfectly honest, (and I don't want to be mean but...) WHERE WAS THE EDITOR?! Did anyone actually read this before it went to print?
I'm not going to go into the TSTL MarySue. That would be too easy. I'm just going to say that MarySue is specialz and if she doesn't accept her destiny, the Earth is doomed. DOOOOOMED I tell you. Frankly, if our lives depended on this shallow, ridiculous, annoying, 'I just want to be normal' bimbo, we'd all deserve to die.
The hero is a forgettable cardboard (I don't even remember his name). Big, bad, angsty warrior who has lived for frakin ever and can now see in color (ok, maybe not but I wouldn't have been surprised if he's a distant Carpathian) because he's now in lust with the purity of the MarySue's soul (or some other vomitatious, eye-rolling crud).
To be fair, the universe (demons, portals, good versus bad, warriors, etc.) had potential, but it was populated by caricatures and cliched writing. The author tries sooooo hard to be trendy and hip that it becomes cringe-worthy and painful.
But this is where I think the someone must have been smoking some 'shrooms' ...
Ah dorn't troost heem. Hoo dae ye ken he's tellin' th' truth?
Ultimately, this was impossible for me to read, finish, bother.
Posts
It appears you must have read the ARC (The advanced copy before goes to final print). I bought the book on Amazon and had no problem understanding the cat's Scottish burr. I'm pretty sure a brogue refers to Irish, not Scottish. I feel sorry for the author if she in fact smoked shrooms... I'm almost certain they're eaten.
ReplyDeleteYou're absolutely right, Scottish burr vs. Irish brogue. (Dur, on my part.) But I did, indeed, find it hard to read and totally unnecessary. I felt that did nothing for the characterization and the overall story which, to me, was the equivalent of smoking 'shrooms'.
ReplyDeleteYou missed the point that you read the Advanced (Uncorrected and unedited) version of the book. I'm willing to bet all the things you're lamenting about were corrected in the final version.
ReplyDeleteAs for "smoking shrooms," the mere mention of doing drugs reflects negatively on you and your blog, not the book.
Talking about unedited copy, do you read what YOU write? Here's a line from your review: "Who the frak that THAT was a good idea?!"
ReplyDeleteWhat the frak was the double "that" supposed to mean? Could it be you meant to say "thought" but were so caught up in the beauty of your own redundant prose that you didn't take time to edit yourself before you posted? Or it might be that this is an Advanced (uncorrected and unedited) copy of your blog. Either way, I won't be visiting your mean-spirited blog for an further reviews of books.
@Marilyn: Had the accent(s) been the only issue, it would have been a mere bleep in the review. ARCs are a wonderful privilege and treat, but they aren't getting a free pass for tropey storytelling.
ReplyDelete@34...: Thanks! fixed it.
That wasn't the only grammatical error in this review. His in earth did thus review make it to print?
ReplyDeleteCatfight! Go kitty, go!
ReplyDeleteHaving known someone who OD'd from psychedelic drugs, I was a little put off by the shrooms comment.
ReplyDeleteActually, "burr" refers to the rolling "r" that is present in a Scottish brogue. (In my world, however, it mostly refers to what I require in my coffee grinder.)
ReplyDeleteThat said, if you're so easily offended by offhand references to things like psychedelics and typos in posts that are written for free (rather than glaring plot issues in books which will eventually be sold to the public), this might not be the blog for you. We do welcome feedback and appreciate having errors pointed out, however. Just please be aware that there is a reason we're called the Erinyes. :)
The reviewer didn't even get the name of the book or the author's name correct in the post title. This leads me to believe that this review site is definitely not the blog for me, and any other discernible reader for that matter.
ReplyDelete"Review Policy
ReplyDeleteThe Erinyes love writers. We fully understand how difficult it is to finish a story and put it out there. Our love for writers, however, will not automatically extend to all that they write. Our goal is to treat all writers with respect but we will not hesitate to point out any problems or inconsistencies with their stories."
How does commenting that the author/editor was smoking shrooms translate to respect?
Gah! No excuse for the not spelling the author's name correctly. I think I just love the idea of Sydney (not that Sidney is bad). But the link works. Whoohoo.
ReplyDeleteThere's a difference between respect and kid-gloves. I'm sorry you're offended by the tone of humor here, but as a co-owner and co-reviewer of this website, I'm neither going to waste time arguing a point so ridiculous, nor would I expect Poena to apologize.
ReplyDeleteThe errors in this post have been corrected. Everything else stays.
Books get negative reviews (and frankly, the line referred to here is nearly illegible and crackish in my opinion, too.). As someone who has spent years writing and reading (and reading about writing!), I'm of the opinion that you haven't "arrived" if you don't get rejections or negative reviews at some point. Similarly, people are eventually going to get their knickers in a twist over reviews or blogs. (Congrats, Poena - you've "arrived," darling!)
There is no pleasing everyone, but there are a hell of a lot more important things to do with a dwindling weekend.
Best wishes,
Maniai.
Again, the line in question was only in the ARC, and the final version was corrected. I paid for and enjoyed the book. Sorry your experience with the uncorrected ARC wasn't as enjoyable.
ReplyDelete@Marilyn
ReplyDeleteThank you for your thoughts. It's nice to see what readers have to think about books we've read and to bring in an opportunity for a thoughtful discussion.
I'd like to invite you to share your thoughts about the book, especially the parts that you found the most enjoyable. It's a wonderful opportunity to see a book from multiple viewpoints, something we like to encourage.
I'd also like to invite you to read through some of the other reviews on the blog. Hopefully we'll be able to find some common areas of thought or at least stimulate each other in discussion to viewing books in multiple lights.
Has anyone finished the book here to have a conversation? I found a better venue for discussion on Goodreads instead.
ReplyDeleteI'm glad you were able to find a discussion that was to your style and desire. Thank you for letting us know and I wish you well in the future.
ReplyDelete