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lifenomad2's review against another edition
3.0
Please be warned that my review might contain spoilers!! Thank you
To be honest....i could not wait to finish the book....Do no get me wrong, the idea behind the book is really awesome. But there were some minuses found in the book for me. And take what i am saying not as a criticism towards the book, but constructivism.
First of all, too many names. Seriously, too many. At one point i just started not to care who was who because i got confused with so many character names. And NEVER put characters that have similar names( Jeff, Jayden - that J and J thing messed me up).
Second, there were some things messed up there. I am not sure it is intended, but it is how i felt from reading.
First. Jeff is not very smart nor brave, and then, all pf a sudden, he becomes brave just because he saw things.....And to be honest he had not been through as much as the people in Feldall were.
Second, people in the book accept too many stuff from him and Jax accepts him way too quick. I mean, for a tough leader of Feldall, she should've at least appreciate him for something braver. But maybe she wasn't as tough.
The Three Sisters...God that pissed me off to hell. Jax kept telling him about them yet, he never bothered asking about them at all....oh wait...he did but it was too darn late.
Confusing thing: So basically Jeff is the Creator yet he has no power over them....he just relates stuff which means he is their lives narrator,not creator....right? Thiw is what i got from everything that happened. Or maybe he was an Oracle?
Jax: For someone as tough as Jax is, her reactions are not at all convincing of her personality.
Chanting: I am assuming that, since he heard Maggie say the Chant many times, by now he should've told us as well...or maybe the second book does?
All in all it was an ok book with a great idea. Maybe my review will not help anyone but myself, though i do hope it will be taken into account.
The good thing about the book was, although with few confusing things, it kept me interested, which is a very good start ;).
To be honest....i could not wait to finish the book....Do no get me wrong, the idea behind the book is really awesome. But there were some minuses found in the book for me. And take what i am saying not as a criticism towards the book, but constructivism.
First of all, too many names. Seriously, too many. At one point i just started not to care who was who because i got confused with so many character names. And NEVER put characters that have similar names( Jeff, Jayden - that J and J thing messed me up).
Second, there were some things messed up there. I am not sure it is intended, but it is how i felt from reading.
First. Jeff is not very smart nor brave, and then, all pf a sudden, he becomes brave just because he saw things.....And to be honest he had not been through as much as the people in Feldall were.
Second, people in the book accept too many stuff from him and Jax accepts him way too quick. I mean, for a tough leader of Feldall, she should've at least appreciate him for something braver. But maybe she wasn't as tough.
The Three Sisters...God that pissed me off to hell. Jax kept telling him about them yet, he never bothered asking about them at all....oh wait...he did but it was too darn late.
Confusing thing: So basically Jeff is the Creator yet he has no power over them....he just relates stuff which means he is their lives narrator,not creator....right? Thiw is what i got from everything that happened. Or maybe he was an Oracle?
Jax: For someone as tough as Jax is, her reactions are not at all convincing of her personality.
Chanting: I am assuming that, since he heard Maggie say the Chant many times, by now he should've told us as well...or maybe the second book does?
All in all it was an ok book with a great idea. Maybe my review will not help anyone but myself, though i do hope it will be taken into account.
The good thing about the book was, although with few confusing things, it kept me interested, which is a very good start ;).
audioandereadergrrly's review against another edition
3.0
I want to start this review by saying, I very much enjoyed this book. The story was the type of fantasy-adventure I love reading about. I did not want to put the book down and when I did, I was thinking about the next time I would pick it up again.
I docked two stars due to four reasons: a disconnect with the main character, minor sexism, minor grammar errors, and partially predictable circumstances and tropes. However, none of these factors were significant enough to deduct more than two stars. Each of these were minor annoyances that, when they came together, were equivalent to the loss of two stars.
I felt a disconnect with the main character, Jeff Powell. There wasn't anything that stuck out about him other than the fact that he was a writer. Clumsy, and not the brightest, I often found myself wondering how he survived his own adventure. But then again, this worked throughout the novel, showing how normal he truly was. I often found myself agreeing with the other characters whenever they remarked on Jeff’s lack of intelligence.
The book had many amazing female characters who all had their own personalities, and the world’s militia did not focus on gender. In these ways, this book was a great feminist read. The story did, however, include a traditional love triangle, which consisted of sexist elements – including the “getting the girl” trope and male rivalry. There were no major instances of sexism, however, so I considered this to be a minor issue.
One issue that I could not turn a blind eye to was a “romantic” instance of a kiss – the kind where the guy is about to put himself in mortal danger, so he kisses the woman he likes as a final goodbye. This is a trope in and of itself, and though it irritated me that (the man in question) kissed (woman in question) without permission, the main part that got under my skin was the quote immediately after the event:
“Against the warmth of her mouth, he rose above his anger and his fear, and for that one moment he had never been braver or surer of himself. He didn’t give (woman in question – no spoilers!) a chance to fight back or give in – not sure if he could handle knowing which she’d choose to do” (p. 260).
This kiss was obviously selfish and one-sided as the man only thought of himself as he kissed. Not to mention he “didn’t give (her) a chance to fight back or give in” – which gives off some pretty predatory vibes.
The bad guy had no motivation for his own evil plans. This makes the character feel empty, like a plot device. Every character is a plot device in their own right, but characters have thoughts and feelings and motivations behind their decisions. The villain in this story just seemed to want some maniacal fun.
One minor detail that bothered me was the repetition of the names – most of the names of the characters began with either J or C. This caused me to reread some sentences multiple times to remember who was who.
Throughout the book, there also minor spelling and sentence structure errors, which proved to be distracting. Some details also appeared to be inconsistent.
I know I seemed pretty negative about this book during this review, but I actually did enjoy it enough to purchase the next two books in the series, so I’m looking forward to seeing how the rest of the trilogy progresses. I found myself laughing and gasping along with the book, and the writing’s imagery was vivid. I want to read some more of the strong female characters – the sorceress, the warrior, and the black belt!
I docked two stars due to four reasons: a disconnect with the main character, minor sexism, minor grammar errors, and partially predictable circumstances and tropes. However, none of these factors were significant enough to deduct more than two stars. Each of these were minor annoyances that, when they came together, were equivalent to the loss of two stars.
I felt a disconnect with the main character, Jeff Powell. There wasn't anything that stuck out about him other than the fact that he was a writer. Clumsy, and not the brightest, I often found myself wondering how he survived his own adventure. But then again, this worked throughout the novel, showing how normal he truly was. I often found myself agreeing with the other characters whenever they remarked on Jeff’s lack of intelligence.
The book had many amazing female characters who all had their own personalities, and the world’s militia did not focus on gender. In these ways, this book was a great feminist read. The story did, however, include a traditional love triangle, which consisted of sexist elements – including the “getting the girl” trope and male rivalry. There were no major instances of sexism, however, so I considered this to be a minor issue.
One issue that I could not turn a blind eye to was a “romantic” instance of a kiss – the kind where the guy is about to put himself in mortal danger, so he kisses the woman he likes as a final goodbye. This is a trope in and of itself, and though it irritated me that (the man in question) kissed (woman in question) without permission, the main part that got under my skin was the quote immediately after the event:
“Against the warmth of her mouth, he rose above his anger and his fear, and for that one moment he had never been braver or surer of himself. He didn’t give (woman in question – no spoilers!) a chance to fight back or give in – not sure if he could handle knowing which she’d choose to do” (p. 260).
This kiss was obviously selfish and one-sided as the man only thought of himself as he kissed. Not to mention he “didn’t give (her) a chance to fight back or give in” – which gives off some pretty predatory vibes.
The bad guy had no motivation for his own evil plans. This makes the character feel empty, like a plot device. Every character is a plot device in their own right, but characters have thoughts and feelings and motivations behind their decisions. The villain in this story just seemed to want some maniacal fun.
One minor detail that bothered me was the repetition of the names – most of the names of the characters began with either J or C. This caused me to reread some sentences multiple times to remember who was who.
Throughout the book, there also minor spelling and sentence structure errors, which proved to be distracting. Some details also appeared to be inconsistent.
I know I seemed pretty negative about this book during this review, but I actually did enjoy it enough to purchase the next two books in the series, so I’m looking forward to seeing how the rest of the trilogy progresses. I found myself laughing and gasping along with the book, and the writing’s imagery was vivid. I want to read some more of the strong female characters – the sorceress, the warrior, and the black belt!
kittehloaf's review
3.0
It was a little off putting of how Jeff was to his creations. I liked the idea of him falling into his own story but the creep meter was really going off throughout his interactions with the fantasy characters.
beary_bookwormish's review
5.0
When I looked at the premise for this book I was intrigued. Having finished the book, I think Ms Walsh could become a new fav. I'm looking forward to reading more of her work.
kelsenator's review against another edition
adventurous
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
sabrina_reads's review
adventurous
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
2.5
yvo_about_books's review against another edition
2.0
Finished reading: April 18th 2015
"We all feel the need to prove ourselves. Just because you lost doesn't mean you'd decide differently next time."
Spoiler
At first glance Evensong had so much potential. An author ending up being stuck inside his own fantasy story definitely sounded like an interesting plot... Such a shame this novel by Krista Walsh didn't live up to expectations. At all. The beginning of the story was acceptable, although I wasn't completely convinced by the characters or prose. But when Krista Walsh decided to not simply stick to the 'author trapped inside his fantasy novel' plot and introduced both a dragon, a sorcerer AND zombies into the plot, I lost all my hopes for this one. That Evensong is a huge disappointment is an understatement. The characters are flat and the prose is not convincing at all. Some of the 'romance' scenes even disturbing... This book just doesn't work for me, and I don't think I would recommend it to anyone.
Jeff Powell is an author trying to finish one of his newest novels, but he seems to be unsure how to continue his story... Then one day he wakes up finding himself trapped inside the fictional world he himself created. Feldall is in danger, and his main characters need his help. He doesn't know, but he doesn't have full control of what happens in this fantasy world... The first proof being the spell they wrote to bring him there.
A dragon is tormenting the people of Feldall and he seems to be invincible... And there have been people disappearing without a trace as well. Jeff doesn't know how to help, but since the enchantress cannot seem to perfect the spell to send him back home, he is stuck in the fictional world for now. And the main characters aren't happy with him either. Plus, there is a new villain to be worried about that is about to unleash his powers on Feldall...
This novel just didn't work for me. The characters, plot, prose... All either close to ridiculous or flat and boring. When I first read the blurb of Evensong, I thought it sounded promising and the plot quite refreshing. I guess I was wrong. Another trilogy I won't be finishing any time soon... And most likely never. I definitely wouldn't recommend this novel, although it's an Amazon kindle freebie in case you want to give it a try anyway. (Or at least it was when I downloaded and read it...)
P.S. Find more of my reviews here.