I bought this book for my kindle a few years ago and just got around to reading it. I was intrigued by it because of an interview I saw with the (self-published) author who talked about the efforts she put into marketing her own book.
I really wish she had put some of that effort into editing the book.
I use Italics because Diane J. Reed used Italics all the time in her book. Not just to cover unspoken thoughts (although Italics were used then, as well), but for emphasis. I don’t think there could have been less than a dozen pages that didn’t have at least one word Italicized (see how annoying that is?) At one point she even had a couple words of dialogue emphasized and then, instead of using “she said” (like she should have) Reed put “she emphasized.” Really? You have to use Italics to emphasize something and then tell us she emphasized it?
For the most part, the dialogue was pretty good (overemphasis aside). I almost gave up on the book when, at the very beginning, the landowner came at one of the characters yelling “More rent! No magic!”
Really? So landowners were not coherent, well-educated men? Instead they were grunting savages who could only manage a couple syllables at a time? I almost gave up on the book right then, but I figured it was too early.
Throughout the book, everything was “To her astonishment!” or “To his surprise!” or “To her amazement!” I had been taught in 7th grade that to use “all of a sudden” or “suddenly” is bad writing, but our teacher wouldn’t explain why. Now I get it. It’s completely unnecessary and it comes off sounding cheesy.
What got me interested enough to buy the book was the idea of a modern young women growing up without realizing she has semi-magical powers. She is “twixt,” which means she’s kind of stuck between worlds. Apparently, this is more handy than it sounds. It means she can kind of see fairies, control the weather and get a sense of the future (except her own).
I did enjoy the story and the characters, although it was awfully cheesy. It mostly dealt with the main character (Rose) learning to let her walls down and let love in. Honestly, I’m not sure why I’m not a bigger fan of that subject. Maybe because I can’t really relate?
Also because it could have been better written, which goes back to the fact that this book seriously needed an editor. A good editor could have helped point out the mental asides and trains of thoughts that dragged and needed to be tightened up.
I also had a hard time rooting for Rose’s love interest (Chance). I mean, sure, he seems like a nice enough guy, but he spends an awful lot of time telling her what to do. And despite how much Rose complains about her ex’s possessiveness, she doesn’t seem to mind it when Chance gets all possessive. The idea is that Chance has been guarding Rose (mostly as a raven) in their various incarnations throughout the centuries.
So that automatically makes him a good guy? How do we know his guarding her hasn’t just been his way of saying “Back off, buddy, she’s mine!” Also, Rose doesn’t seem to remember anything about Chance guarding him, so although I can buy him falling for her from afar, I’m still fuzzy on how she fell for him, other than the fact he seems like the antithesis of her abusive ex. Can you say ‘rebound’?
I enjoyed the characters. Rose’s BFF, Amy, is not meant to be taken entirely seriously. She believes in past life regression, fortune telling, spells and all that, but she’s not very good at it. She spent some time on a commune but got kicked out because she sucked. She’s the best friend Rose has though, and she’s awesome when it counts.
But there were times when I was laughing at both Amy and Rose when I’m sure that was not Reed’s intention. Two different characters manage to get knocked unconscious within a couple chapters of each other. The first time, Rose doesn’t even bother to check for a pulse or a breath or anything before doing CPR. The second time, she does find a pulse, but screams “I don’t think he’s conscious!” which somehow warrants giving him “mouth-to-mouth”? So the bottom line is, don’t fall asleep around these ladies, because they think that’s enough to warrant providing very unprofessional medical attention.
So I enjoyed the good parts of the book, and I enjoyed the parts that were so badly written they were funny. I also learned quite a bit about bad writing and I think that’s important. Reading the great writers is important to give you something to aspire to, but it’s also important to have the really bad writers, like Reed, to show you how not to write.
What about you guys? What’s the worst thing you’ve read lately?
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