Scan barcode
A review by danaichristopoulou
Blood Magic Box Set by M.J. Kraus, J.T. Lawrence
3.0
Interesting world building, big problems with pacing and character arcs
Have you ever read a book series that was enticing enough for you to read the whole thing, engaging enough for you to find yourself invested in some of the characters... but really frustrating when it came to how these characters end up? For me, Blood Magic was that kind of book series.
My first big problem was pacing: if things keep happening at a breakneck pace ALL THE TIME, it's very difficult to understand what is really important to the story and the characters.
This book series' subplots have subplots and although a decent attempt has been made to tie everything together in the end... there's at least one character that was entirely forgotten amidst all the kerfuffle. Plus, one of the most interesting characters of the book gets such a shoddy treatment that you have to wonder if the writer meant to have him as an important character from the start, or if it kinda happened... but there were no plans on how to land the plane.
And my favorite pet-peeve: spelling discrepancies. Like, if you're gonna use Latin for spells, then make sure the incantation is spelled the same every time...
But you know what? The fact that I cared enough to write this review, the fact that I was annoyed enough about the characters and how they ended up, means that the books work, in a way. The story is compelling and it makes sense it has so many fans. Hell, it would be much more compelling in a movie or TV show format. At least there, we would be able to get a pause between episodes...
Have you ever read a book series that was enticing enough for you to read the whole thing, engaging enough for you to find yourself invested in some of the characters... but really frustrating when it came to how these characters end up? For me, Blood Magic was that kind of book series.
My first big problem was pacing: if things keep happening at a breakneck pace ALL THE TIME, it's very difficult to understand what is really important to the story and the characters.
This book series' subplots have subplots and although a decent attempt has been made to tie everything together in the end... there's at least one character that was entirely forgotten amidst all the kerfuffle. Plus, one of the most interesting characters of the book gets such a shoddy treatment that you have to wonder if the writer meant to have him as an important character from the start, or if it kinda happened... but there were no plans on how to land the plane.
And my favorite pet-peeve: spelling discrepancies. Like, if you're gonna use Latin for spells, then make sure the incantation is spelled the same every time...
But you know what? The fact that I cared enough to write this review, the fact that I was annoyed enough about the characters and how they ended up, means that the books work, in a way. The story is compelling and it makes sense it has so many fans. Hell, it would be much more compelling in a movie or TV show format. At least there, we would be able to get a pause between episodes...