Publisher: ROC Fantasy
Length: 315 pages
FTC: Received for free at an RT Convention event (no idea which one)
Today is TBR day, but I'm going off script and not following today's theme. I've read Ann Aguirre as Ava Gray, but not in her SFF persona. I'm not sure what prompted me to grab this out of the ole TBR, but I took it with me to read on the never ending plane rides to New Orleans and back.
I started reading this not really aware that it is #2 in the Corine Solomon series. So I was a little taken aback to find a ton of backstory missing. Grrr. My own fault, though, since it says in probably 3 different places that there was a book before this one. Oh well.
Despite feeling like I was missing important information, and despite traces of the 'who will she choose?' love triangle BS that I really can't stand even in romance, I did enjoy this book. It's unusual, creepy, and well done. I liked the premise (a mix of paranormal witchcraft and psychic type abilities), and I liked the different characters and their various internal and external conflicts.
What I didn't like was the pacing. It could have been the jet lag, but I never felt immersed in the story. I never felt invested in the outcome. At times the pace was so darn slow that it was tempting to put the story down and forget about it. I'm fairly certain the story would have nagged at me, though. It's just that different.
Overall, a solid B read. If haven't read this series, though, take my word for it and start with the first one.
The Blurb:
As a handler, Corine Solomon can touch any object and know its history. It’s too bad she can’t seem to forget her own. With her ex-boyfriend Chance in tow—lending his particularly supernatural brand of luck—Corine journeys back home to Kilmer, Georgia, in order to discover the truth behind her mother’s death and the origins of her “gift.”
But while trying to uncover the secrets in her past, Corine and Chance find that something is rotten in the state of Georgia. Just a few miles away, no one seems to know Kilmer exists. And inside the town borders there are signs of a dark curse affecting the town and all its residents—and it can only be satisfied with death…
I like the Corine Solomon books a lot. The take on the paranormal is unique (I love the character who hears dead people on the radio!), and it nobody really has "superpowers."
ReplyDeleteBut yes, definitely better when read in order. There are major story arcs that carry through the whole series.
Yes! That character was my favorite, actually. I'm still mad at myself for not noticing this was a series.
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