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A review by nghia
Branded Woman by Wade Miller
2.0
To be honest, I didn't finish this book. It wasn't bad but it was a pretty mediocre, by-the-numbers, uninspiring revenge story. Two things really stand out:
1. The motive for the revenge is ridiculous to any modern audience. There are two characters (the main character and a secondary character) who are an all-consuming rage and desire for revenge on a brutal international criminal. Both of them had double-crossed or stolen from this crime lord and the crime lord had exacted a terrible price. What did the crime lord do that would cause someone to spend years seeking revenge? Did he murder their entire family? Did he chop off fingers, arms, and feet?
Nope, he branded them. Think, like a tattoo but permanent. One was branded on his hand -- something he apparently found so disfiguring he wears a glove constantly. Which is just....ridiculous to a modern audience.
2. The relationship between the main character and her muscle-for-hire is kinda refreshing. There's no romance. He's competent. It is kind of ironic that his death (for a villain who let others live for far less) is basically an example of "fridging". His death serves no story purpose other than to make the main character mad (or, madder). https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Women_in_Refrigerators
Anyway, I eventually gave up reading when, one night, when I was going to pick up the book and start reading, I realised I just didn't care. I didn't really care if what's-her-name got revenge. Or didn't get revenge. I didn't care who the mysterious crime lord was. I didn't care whether anyone got the gold.
In the right mood, I might have made another choice. That's the thing with these run-of-the-mill genre books. The line between "familiar & entertaining" and "familiar & repetitive" can be awfully thin.
1. The motive for the revenge is ridiculous to any modern audience. There are two characters (the main character and a secondary character) who are an all-consuming rage and desire for revenge on a brutal international criminal. Both of them had double-crossed or stolen from this crime lord and the crime lord had exacted a terrible price. What did the crime lord do that would cause someone to spend years seeking revenge? Did he murder their entire family? Did he chop off fingers, arms, and feet?
Nope, he branded them. Think, like a tattoo but permanent. One was branded on his hand -- something he apparently found so disfiguring he wears a glove constantly. Which is just....ridiculous to a modern audience.
2. The relationship between the main character and her muscle-for-hire is kinda refreshing. There's no romance. He's competent. It is kind of ironic that his death (for a villain who let others live for far less) is basically an example of "fridging". His death serves no story purpose other than to make the main character mad (or, madder). https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Women_in_Refrigerators
Anyway, I eventually gave up reading when, one night, when I was going to pick up the book and start reading, I realised I just didn't care. I didn't really care if what's-her-name got revenge. Or didn't get revenge. I didn't care who the mysterious crime lord was. I didn't care whether anyone got the gold.
In the right mood, I might have made another choice. That's the thing with these run-of-the-mill genre books. The line between "familiar & entertaining" and "familiar & repetitive" can be awfully thin.