Hey Hunters,
I was blessed with being picked as an ARC candidate for War, a book that I had a week before its publishing. If you are a fan of Laura's feel free to get out today and get the Kindle version of War because it is already live. Now reading books before the book is published is not a new experience for me as I am big on NetGalley and Voracious Readers *as in interested, not showing off). I am not even against reading unfinished work, but I am a little saddened to write this book review, especially for an author that I have much respect for. I enjoyed Laura's works immensely, but nothing has touched me so like the Horsemen of the Apocalypse. Pestilence was haunting me in my dreams, and I simply could not get enough of him. While War, well, he is but a mere shadow of his brother. In my opinion, War was simply not fully edited!
WARNING SPOILERS!
Typos:
Book has quite a few of those. Which I usually only expect from the first-time authors, but talking to Laura, she had an editor look at the book and several author friends. Still where there should be "rode" its "road", where it is ought to be "lip" its "hip". So those bits were a bit, annoying.
Inconsistencies:
Emotional inconsistencies from Miriam. Talking softly when she is outraged. Head in the saddlebag, is forgotten by a reader as soon as it is seen in the story. Instead, we move into the part where War's body is in the hole in the ground missing only the top part of his head, the rest of which nobody brought with them to reattach. Now I am not sure if we will have two Wars, but one of them is growing his head back. I am not even sure why Miriam had to find the severed head, just for the sake of shock? Zara telling Miriam to write. How I might ask? With pigeons that are unreliable, to say the least? They finish a scene together, and War randomly comes back two minutes later. Like 80% of the book.
Things like these turned me off from the book as I went through it.
War:
He simply seemed to show off his language skills and brute power. I did not find anything mature or otherworldly about a creature that spoke so that others would not understand him. I also found it curious that he knew a linguistic term of dead languages, but hey I ain't-a linguist so I can't judge. Why would he know the term and apply it to languages in which he is supposedly is fluent? Let's stick to that holy language we have for Horsemen, why muddy the water.
Unlike Pestilence, this guy names his horse, why? Also, why does Death have a name, but others are like Pestilence, War, and Famine?
Grr more inconsistencies.
Miriam:
She is very immature, curses way too much, and has weird priorities in life.
Very aware of her nipples. For somebody who relieves stress by making weapons, doesn't make whole lotta them. The pattern of thinking is just cringing.
Repetition:
Gauzy - yeah he dressed you up for two min we get it. Filmy - Oh boy. Yes everybody can see you. Kohl-lined - if I would read it once more that his eyes lined again, I would barf! Violent -yeah, yeah I get it, he is the bad boy off the block. Surrender - no, surrender, no, surrender, no. I surrender, but not really! Wife - ughhhh
Underworked Topics:
Why weapons did not properly work? How camp truly operated? If people were to die, how come some couples had tents? What nobody got pregnant before War found Miriam? What did not work, how people went around using other items? Actual relationship with War - yes I said it.
Now I know this review seems very bad, and not at all positive towards the author. As I said I have a great deal of respect for Laura. This is why I try to chuck most of my displeasure towards the fact that War simply was not my type of the guy, and that's all. Plenty of people from our group seemed to be happy with him, and I am the odd one out at the moment. That said, I will give the story another chance once I am more recovered from my surgery. Although War is out in Kindle format, I will be waiting for the printed version to stand by his brother, on my new shelf. In the future, I hope to be far more in love with Famine than I was with the War, who is a very difficult creature to love to be honest.
Feel free to send recommendations my way for any book that you want me to review, or atrociously spoil for you!
Cheers!
Regina Hunter
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