A bloody review

Today’s review is brought to you by the fine folks at Glass House Press and the letter S.

Why the letter S? Because you can’t have serpents in the Thames without it! 😀

Hold on, I hear you saying. Serpents? In the Thames? What on Earth are you talking about?

Very well, then, I’ll tell you:

There have always been warps—tears between realities—and they’ve always been a threat to humanity. Most people are blind to them. But Hallie’s eyes are opening. Now that she’s going to school at the Protectorate, she’s learning there’s more to life than fun and games.

The truth is, she’s just become part of Earth’s only shield against the monsters of the warps. Before, she didn’t think she was anything special. Now, yanked from her relatively normal life, she realizes that she doesn’t have a choice.

When the emergency alarm sounds, calling everyone in the school to arms, even the young and inexperienced are needed. As one of the warp weavers—capable of closing the warps and stopping the monsters—Hallie must now work to save lives. And she must do it in the most complicated situation she’s ever experienced. Because there are sea serpents in the Thames, and Hallie has to close the doors that are letting them in.

The problem is, they’re underwater, and they’re hungry.

Now everyone is relying on her, and Hallie must find a way to do her job—with a brand new partner—before it’s too late. Because if she fails she’ll die, along with everyone who’s depending on her.

For the most part, I really enjoyed this book.  The premise of the story is what drew me in and kept me reading, and really, I think it would make a great full-length novel.  The main character, Hallie, felt realistic and believable.  While I’ve never been chosen to save the world, I could totally relate to her.

Also?  I love her voice. 🙂

There were a few things about this book that I disliked, though.  Number one was the scene at the beginning, where she’s sitting in class and the teacher is going on about stuff that, really, after a month at the Protectorate, Hallie should already know.  On the other hand, I’ve had teachers who loved nothing more than to beat us over the head with things (the state of America had we not reacted to Pearl Harbor, TINSTAFL, etc.), so it’s not that I don’t think this character might have done something like that.  But I apparently had my editing hat on when I started reading this, and that one character managed to pull me out of the story far too often.

The other thing I didn’t like about this was the length.  I want more!  It’s a perennial issue with me. 🙂  I’m one of those people who, upon finding excellent stories and characters to spend a day or two with, is not content until every aspect of those characters has been explored.  It’s why I love great series and why my own early stories seemed impossible to end.  I look on book characters as friends with whom I can have grand adventures, and just one more is never quite enough.

Well, that got out of hand quickly, didn’t it?

Okay, let me explain.

No, there is too much – let me sum up.

  1. This is a great book.
  2. I enjoyed it quite a lot.
  3. You should read it.
  4. There need to be sequels.

Pursuant to number three above, you can procure your copy of this cracking tale at Amazon, Barnes & Noble, and iBooks.  Enjoy!

(c) 2015.  All rights reserved.

Published by Kay Kauffman

A geek to the core, I reside in the midst of an Iowa cornfield with my husband and four children. When I'm not chasing the kids every which way but loose, you can find me penning fantastical tales of great heroism and twue wuv...and possibly procrastinating online.

16 thoughts on “A bloody review”

Thoughts: You got 'em, I want 'em!

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