Wednesday, August 29, 2012

Review: Anew

Title:  Anew
Series:  The Archers of Avalon #1
Author:  Chelsea Fine
Publisher:  Acacia Publishing
Pages:  385
Format:  eBook

Two years ago, Scarlet awoke in the forest alone, afraid, and unable to remember anything. Lost and confused, her life was a mystery...until she met a boy with a familiar voice. 

Gabriel Archer has a voice from her past, and Scarlet's determined to remember why. She immerses herself in his life only to discover he has a brother he's kept hidden from her: Tristan Archer. 

Upon meeting Tristan, Scarlet's world becomes even more muddled. While she's instinctively drawn to Gabriel, she's impossibly drawn to Tristan--and confused out of her mind. As she tries to piece together her history Scarlet realizes her past...might just be the death of her.

My Review:  I'm not sure how I feel about this book.  While I was reading it, there were times when I really, really loved it and times when I was skimming paragraphs and just trying to get through the chapter.

That being said, I did enjoy the unique story line of this book.  It was interesting figuring out all the mysteries that surrounded Scarlet's memory loss and the boys,Gabriel and Tristan.  I hadn't expected what actually happened.  I was thinking it had something to do with faeries since Avalon is known in faerie myths.  This was definitely not a faerie book though!

The characters were okay.  Scarlet was a little irritating to me but that's just because she was so wishy-washy between both of the guys.  I understood why the author did that though, considering there was a major love triangle in this book.  However, I just didn't feel the connection between Scarlet and Gabriel.  Their relationship felt very forced to me.  The character that really made this book work for me was  Tristan.  He was so incredible and self-less.

My big problem with this book was the plot line.  It felt dragged out to me.  There weren't many major plot points to make the story move forward quickly.  As someone who likes more fast paced books, this one seemed to drag on.  The ending was really great though.  Left off on a major cliff hanger that left me at the edge of my seat!  Thank goodness the next book is already out.

Even with the slower pace, this book was still entertaining.  A creative and new world, an interesting main male character, and a wonderful ending.  I will be anxiously waiting until I get the chance to read the sequel!

Four Cards



1 comment:

  1. I haven't read this book myself, but recently I found myself in the same quandary with slow-paced books, particularly the first in a series. I have been asking myself if the author really wanted to write a series, or if they just thought that they SHOULD because series are so popular these days. Then the problem is, I can only get my answer to that question by READING THE NEXT BOOK IN THE SERIES! My thinking is, if the next book is just as slow, then the author stretched a good book into a series and hurt it in the process. If, on the other hand, the second book seems to have a life of its own, then I would assume it was planned that way and the author just needed more meat in the "origin story". I don't know what to think... I'm also starting to wonder if 21st century entertainment has just ruined me for life and that I crave fast-paced stories after too many weekends of watching ridiculous blockbuster movies.
    Great, honest review. Thank you. :)

    ReplyDelete

 
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