4 stars As it got closer to the end, for just a moment, I allowed myself to imagine that this was the end of the series, even though I knew better. After all, it’s only book 2. I am pleased to report, however, that although it is not complete, it does not end on a cliffhanger. For a change. I appreciate that. Some crazy shit goes down in this book. I love some of the dialogue and found Tuddle to be particularly amusing. I loved it when he said “Yippee-ki-yay, mother focker!” But that leads me to a question. Why did Blayde (and Tuddle) use the term focker in conversation when Blayde was more than happy to use the real word just as easily when referring to fornication. I just found it odd that she seemed to be reluctant to swear at times, but not at others, and I found it difficult to discern the motivation for that. Now, I’ve mentioned this with other Ava Mason stories, so I’m sorry to say this continues to be an issue, but I wish she would find an editor who knows how to correct verb tenses. The quality of her writing would be vastly improved with proper editing, and since I usually give her 5 stars, that is saying a lot. I am so tired of seeing “drug” used when the past tense of “drag” is “dragged.” I also noticed several instances of “pat” instead of “patted.” Other verb tense mistakes were clearly mistakes, while “drug” and “pat” happened multiple times, leading me to believe that the editor thought these were correct. Google is an amazing aide in ensuring proper editing when there is any uncertainty. Simple ask: What is the past tense of drag? What is the past tense of pat? It’s not hard. Another problem with the editing was a profusion of dangling participles, which I could usually figure out, but this statement floored me: “Grabbing my sword, I jumped to my feet with one hand, while blocking her blow with the other.” It’s so odd, I’m not even sure that it is a dangling participle, but I don’t know what else to call it. Blayde’s internal dialogue was amusing and I loved statements like this: “Okay, so Queen Slayer was too obvious to use in public, so I shortened it to Stabby…” The plot is action-packed and exciting, but I think Ava Mason missed the mark when it comes to conveying emotion. There’s a lot of saying how much each of the characters care for one another, but when it comes to sex, that seems to be about all there is to it. To me, it was the small displays of affection, like Maverick and Nix comforting one another, that truly conveyed the love the characters felt for one another. One-on-one interactions were an opportunity to explore deeper feelings and sometimes that’s what they did, but it was also used as an excuse to have sex without everyone there together. The sex seemed more about relieving a physical need than an emotional one. I may be alone in this, and I cannot put my finger on exactly why I felt this way, but there was something about these intimate scenes that made me feel icky, like they were gratuitous rather than the profound encounters I think she wanted to portray. I’m hopeful that the next book will delve more into the emotional connections the characters share and demonstrate their feelings rather than just telling the reader. I do not mean to imply that the actions of the characters did not reflect their feelings for one another, because they did, but I can’t shake the feeling that the physical expressions of their love were superficial. I wish I could give concrete examples, but it was really just a feeling that I had. July 15, 2020
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
Elizabeth J ConnorWriter. Editor. Proofreader. Archives
September 2022
Categories |