Author: J.L. Weil
Genre: Fantasy/Romance/Young Adult/Paranormal
Maturity Rating: 13+
Initial Rating: 1/5
Technical Rating: 1.5/5
My Quickie Synopsis: The fates of Katia and Seth have been intertwined from birth; they are a rare starbound pair, destined to love each other. But an ancient curse could kill them both if they give in to their love.
Initial Response: I am so glad that this book is over. As a matter of fact, after getting through the first chapter, my initial thought was, "I really hope this wraps up fast!"
Now, normally when I'm looking for a new book to read, I prowl Goodreads until my eyes glaze over. Unfortunately, the site was down and I had to take a shot in the dark, relying on an Amazon recommendation. But I can't say that the rating on Amazon was too far off; I looked at the rating this book got on Goodreads and the two are comparable. So, maybe I'm crazy, but this book did not do it for me. Shallow characters, terrible writing, and a weak plot equal extreme dissatisfaction. Generally I'm all for giving authors a second chance when I read a flop book, but I do not foresee any other J.L. Weil books in my future.
Character Building: 0.5/1
I can't get behind a book that does more telling than showing, and this is especially true when it comes to character building. There were moments when Ms. Weil pulled through and showed the growth of Katia and Seth, but it wasn't consistent. Katia was supposed to be Ms. Popularity, but the reader only gets to see a minimal shadowing of that side of her personality. It's unfortunate because I think that the balance of characters is appropriate, but their relationships and personalities are never explored beyond surface necessities.
Plot Strength: 0.5/1
There are some good ideas going on in Starbound, but not enough to save it. It's easy to follow along with the story line, but every element of the plot was shaky. There are a lot of people who harp on about how to create a good story with certain building blocks. Introduction of characters, crisis, climax, resolution, and conclusion are all buzz words to me. I don't necessarily believe that there has to be a set way to write a story, but I do think that the concepts have to be cohesive. This book had little to no cohesiveness.
Sincerity: 0/1
This entire story revolves around a singular curse and the resolution of that curse. There was no true complexity there, and yet there were a couple of major plot holes that I couldn't overlook. The inconsistencies made the story hard to believe, especially the resolution to the book.
Editing: 0/1
It was my sincere belief that this book had no beta reader, but then I went back to read the credits. This book at the very least had an editor, who can act as a beta reader of sorts. Now, I'm not sure if this editor hasn't had much experience, was rushed, or just generally didn't care, but there were a LOT of errors. I'm not talking little punctuation errors either. This was full of word choice errors, incorrect usage of the parts of speech, and indecision on the voice of the characters. In one example, "were" was used instead of "where." Then there was this gem: "You of all people should know that what I feel for you is so much deeper than physically appearance." I cringed when I read it. Starbound is in dire need of a revision.
Pacing: 0.5/1
The book would have been improved greatly had it slowed its pace just by a little in order to give proper attention to the ideas that it was trying to portray. The story felt a little rushed sometimes which made it hard to really connect to the plot. After a while, it all just felt like going through the motions.
My Icing on Top:
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| I'm not so good at holding my tongue when it comes to bad books! |
I don't think there's much else I can say here. I was really disappointed in this book! I think that there is some spark there, but the book just wasn't ready to be published. It needs to be polished quite a bit and then maybe it'll be a halfway decent read. I can't suggest this book to anyone, because there are so many better books out there just waiting to be discovered. But I do have to say, if you're on a book snob high, read this book. It will ground you back to reality and show you just how bad things can really be so that you appreciate well-done books a little more.
Happy reading!
Check out my informal review on Goodreads!
-K
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