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A review by mollylooby
Tainted Luck by Cynthia Austin
4.0
Tainted Luck begins as a typical high-school story. The mysterious new girl starts, and Levi is infuriated by her, which leads to fascination. Except in Tainted Luck when things get weird, THEY GET WEIRD. And honestly, when they get weird was when I started having a blast. Unfortunately, I thought it was a little slow up until that point.
The playful tone made it very easy to read, and the short chapters too made it very easy to read a great big chunk all in one go. However, the short chapters did pose a bit of an issue for me, especially at the beginning, because I felt like we didn’t have enough time to digest anything or let it sink in.
I wanted to get to know these characters so much better. I wanted to know their hopes and dreams, what they love and hate, or at least a flavour of some of that, but because everything whisked past at such a pace, we don’t get much of a chance. The characters don’t have a moment to be vulnerable enough for us to get to know them, and I think that’s a shame. It felt like some of the heart and soul may have been stripped out for the sake of briskness and pace.
I felt this too about the relationships. Because we don’t get to linger on anything for very long, the relationships between some of the characters felt shallow. I was missing the emotion behind how these people come together and know each other.
At times there was too much ‘telling’ and not enough ‘showing’. A few times characters announce things about themselves that would’ve come across stronger if we’d been shown. While we’re on the more technical aspects, I had an issue with adverbs (I always do), and I found some of the dialogue stilted at the beginning.
But as I said, once it picks up, IT PICKS UP. I read the second half almost in one go. The web Cynthia Austin is weaving becomes fascinating and everything starts to add up. The tension and pace in the second half kept me reading and reading until I reached the end.
To sum up, I enjoyed it, especially when it got all paranormal and dark. I especially enjoyed the ending and the twists it brought.
The playful tone made it very easy to read, and the short chapters too made it very easy to read a great big chunk all in one go. However, the short chapters did pose a bit of an issue for me, especially at the beginning, because I felt like we didn’t have enough time to digest anything or let it sink in.
I wanted to get to know these characters so much better. I wanted to know their hopes and dreams, what they love and hate, or at least a flavour of some of that, but because everything whisked past at such a pace, we don’t get much of a chance. The characters don’t have a moment to be vulnerable enough for us to get to know them, and I think that’s a shame. It felt like some of the heart and soul may have been stripped out for the sake of briskness and pace.
I felt this too about the relationships. Because we don’t get to linger on anything for very long, the relationships between some of the characters felt shallow. I was missing the emotion behind how these people come together and know each other.
At times there was too much ‘telling’ and not enough ‘showing’. A few times characters announce things about themselves that would’ve come across stronger if we’d been shown. While we’re on the more technical aspects, I had an issue with adverbs (I always do), and I found some of the dialogue stilted at the beginning.
But as I said, once it picks up, IT PICKS UP. I read the second half almost in one go. The web Cynthia Austin is weaving becomes fascinating and everything starts to add up. The tension and pace in the second half kept me reading and reading until I reached the end.
To sum up, I enjoyed it, especially when it got all paranormal and dark. I especially enjoyed the ending and the twists it brought.