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A review by betwixt_the_pages
The Stricken by Morgan Shamy
3.0
Rating: 3/5 Penguins
Quick Reasons: very interesting story concept; magic not fully developed or explained; some confusing writing; intriguing characters; mostly one dimensional
HUGE thanks to Morgan Shamy, CamCat Books, and Book Sirens for the ARC copy of this title! My review is voluntarily written and in no way impacted or altered by this gesture.
The concept for this story was super intriguing--I wanted to know more about the world we were discovering, the characters, the battles, the history. I wanted to uncover all the secrets, turned over every stone, peer into every crevice. The magic seeped into each page, yearning to be let loose, to trace every plane of this read, to REALLY immerse the reader in what was happening. And while the characters' motivations were a bit lacking, I still found myself wanting to know more about them--their stories, their journeys, their endings. I WANTED to know it all.
"Why?" he asked.
Cael wrapped his arms around Nowen and pulled him into a hug, holding him close. "Because I know you. Your heart is good. And you deserve freedom. And peace. And love."
Unfortunately, WANTING and REALITY did not quite see eye to eye with this read. While I wanted to know more about the characters, the world, the magic system....most of this book was caught up more on the love triangle and one-dimensional motivations than on building upon and fleshing out the story. I found myself confused often, holding bare scraps of the pieces of information needed to fully indulge in the story taking place. WHY became a commonly uttered mantra as I tried to sort through the small pieces I was given and weave a tapestry from them. The characters' motivations were lacking, driven more by an essence of "true love" than by a substantial emotional standing. The love triangle was heavy on "jealousy" and only partially made sense when the big reveal happened. There were, in the end, a lot more questions than answers for me.
Still, the concept is intriguing, and the characters (though infuriatingly flimsy at times) held my interest. I would still recommend this to lovers of paranormal fantasies, "fated" loves, and "the chosen one" characters. Mind the Stricken, Penguins...you never know what secrets they might hold.
Quick Reasons: very interesting story concept; magic not fully developed or explained; some confusing writing; intriguing characters; mostly one dimensional
HUGE thanks to Morgan Shamy, CamCat Books, and Book Sirens for the ARC copy of this title! My review is voluntarily written and in no way impacted or altered by this gesture.
The concept for this story was super intriguing--I wanted to know more about the world we were discovering, the characters, the battles, the history. I wanted to uncover all the secrets, turned over every stone, peer into every crevice. The magic seeped into each page, yearning to be let loose, to trace every plane of this read, to REALLY immerse the reader in what was happening. And while the characters' motivations were a bit lacking, I still found myself wanting to know more about them--their stories, their journeys, their endings. I WANTED to know it all.
"Why?" he asked.
Cael wrapped his arms around Nowen and pulled him into a hug, holding him close. "Because I know you. Your heart is good. And you deserve freedom. And peace. And love."
Unfortunately, WANTING and REALITY did not quite see eye to eye with this read. While I wanted to know more about the characters, the world, the magic system....most of this book was caught up more on the love triangle and one-dimensional motivations than on building upon and fleshing out the story. I found myself confused often, holding bare scraps of the pieces of information needed to fully indulge in the story taking place. WHY became a commonly uttered mantra as I tried to sort through the small pieces I was given and weave a tapestry from them. The characters' motivations were lacking, driven more by an essence of "true love" than by a substantial emotional standing. The love triangle was heavy on "jealousy" and only partially made sense when the big reveal happened. There were, in the end, a lot more questions than answers for me.
Still, the concept is intriguing, and the characters (though infuriatingly flimsy at times) held my interest. I would still recommend this to lovers of paranormal fantasies, "fated" loves, and "the chosen one" characters. Mind the Stricken, Penguins...you never know what secrets they might hold.