Overall Merit: I found that the story I was promised fell flat and well I'm amazed I forced myself to finish the book. It wasn't that the writing was inherently bad, it was just the storytelling ability wasn't there and neither was the character development. I don't quite know why I even bothered to finish it, maybe so that I could give an accurate review to the imaginary people who are reading this blog. Anyway, please don't read this book unless your only other option is Twilight, then by all means go ahead. Score- 4 (this is mainly because I really liked the cover...)
Characters: Were there even characters in this story? No, not really. They were caricatures if anything. I mean I've read flat characters before, but usually there's at least one person who saves the day, even if they're in a supporting role. This book gave me nothing to work with. There was no drive to do anything, the characters simply accepted the roles they were given because either "the goddesses said so" or they had some innate intuition that it was "their destiny". If characters don't have a legitimate reason for going on a quest or fighting against a force then the readers don't care if they do it or not. In fact, I cared so little about these characters that they could have been brutally murdered and I wouldn't have done more than shrug. Also, I couldn't even figure out who the antagonist was supposed to be. The Vkortha were pathetic and played a minimal role, somehow the Imperial Army showed up in the last fifty pages, and then the high priestess suddenly became quasi evil. It didn't make sense at all. Oh, one thing I had a MAJOR issue with was the fact that the chaos goddess comes in and says "Correctamundo" and "See ya later alligator". Even in a realistic fiction book no one says that, but she's a goddess--a chaos goddess nonetheless. Score- 2
Blush Factor- This was also miserable, but that should be self explanatory because if the characters have nothing to say for themselves, then they certainly can't have interesting relationships with each other. From essentially the first page you knew there was going to be something between Vidarian and Ariadel, which is fine. However, there was no build up. One minute they were simply companions on a journey and the next they were cuddling and kissing. There was no transition and when the romantic bit came about I actually had to go back and reread the section because I thought I had missed something. The romance is misplaced and unrealistic and if anything it detracted from the already pathetic story. Score-2
Structure- Another thing I had an issue with. The transitions were abominable in this novel, it kept jumping over hours, and even days at a time, leaving the reader confused and disoriented. It's like, "I don't care if you put a little wave icon in between sections every time you shift; I still have no idea what's going on!" Otherwise, the story was traditionally linear and only told from one perspective. Score- 3
Plot- The plot had potential to be good. I did like the magical hierarchy in the world and I thought that if done correctly the story would have been enjoyable. However, the entire thing was completely botched. The story was trite and it didn't flow at all. There were too many elements going on at the same time. If Hoffman had simply taken out one or two of the irrelevant plot tangents and focused on the main story thread it would have been much more successful. Score- 5 (for potential)
In summation: Do not read this book unless you somehow find yourself in a Saw movie and you have no other option.
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