Laken Cane

This is exactly what I feared the sequel would be.
The many weaknesses and flaws are particularly frustrating because this series doesn't feel like just another slight variation on a decades-old formula. It is fresh and interesting and intriguing and surprising things are happening. The world feels real and full of detail and the book isn't afraid of unexpected twists and turns.
But the author fails miserably at keeping it all together and consistent. It's chaos, full of utterly absurd, illogical, and contradictory details and scenes, many of which don't even serve any purpose at all. It's just a confused mess. Nothing actually holds together if you look at anything for more than a second. To be fair the first book already was quite messy, but it was still tolerable for me.

With these kinds of chaotic sequels, I always ask myself how nobody noticed any of this in the editing and alpha reader reviewing or even just when reading through the final script for the last time.
There are only 3 potential explanations that make sense to me.
1. The author noticed but knew that a timely release is more important than proper proofreading and authors with different priorities just rarely manage to release anything.
2. There are a lot more people that simply don't notice these discrepancies than I can even imagine.
3. A lot of authors are so careless in editing and proofreading their books that nobody notices any of this stuff until it is already released.

Regardless of which one it is, giving this 2 stars is generous.… (mehr)

The kind of book the author is going for here is one of my favorite types of books in the genre.
But the execution is weird.
There is a huge dichotomy in the tones of the book. On one hand, it's pretty dark and rough and gets shockingly brutal at times but on the other, it is overflowing with this over-the-top sappy stuff like insta-BFFs and saving little kids from the bad man I would expect to find in a bad YA read. The only part that is missing is her saving a kitten stuck on a tree or something.
It's extremely jarring to see the MC switch between virtuous, self-sacrificing goodie-two-shoes and a down-to-earth, gritty, dejected realist who will let her friends die if necessary.
I am fine with a bit of sappiness especially if it serves to release some tension and lighten the gloomy mood but this book switches rapid-fire between the two sometimes which then accomplishes neither and instead makes the MC appear inconsistent and even contradictory.
It almost feels like the author doesn't actually understand what these writing tools are meant to do and is just throwing them together by guess and by gosh.

The plot is kind of all over the place too but this also somehow works better than it should as it operates to convey how torn the MC is between her different responsibilities and how taxing her life is.
It's not about mystery and plot twists but about discovery and learning stuff about the characters and the world while we accompany the MC on her turbulent life.
I feel like this book already used up too much of the overarching plot setup but didn't really utilize a lot of it in an impactful way which makes it feel a bit crammed with plot bullet points. It's kind of the opposite problem of the typical modern urban fantasy that stretches an already thin and shallow plot over 2 or 3 full-length volumes.
I really hope the author has just as many interesting ideas for where the plot can eventually go for upcoming volumes.

The book works much better than it should and I am not sure if it's due to the ingenuity of the author or just stupid luck and a good editor.

I will most likely listen to the second book but there is no audiobook yet.… (mehr)