Cynthia Gael

I had high hopes for Brass and Bone, as I've developed a new love for Steampunk. However, my hopes were not realized, unfortunately. The story was just ok. I found myself getting a little bored with it, even though it's only 102 pages long.

The author, Cynthia Gael, obviously has a very imaginative mind. The ideas were good, but I think the storytelling fell short a bit. My biggest issue with the book was the rapid switching between first person narratives. It made the story choppy instead of flowing well. Making that mental switch in my mind lost the thread of the story for me.

Also, for me, the ending was not an ending. Nothing happened, nothing was resolved. Brass and Bone is meant to be the first of a three book series, but I think every book in a series needs to have a definitive ending. Hopefully, the next two will.

*Disclaimer: I received this book from the publisher through NetGalley. I was not required to write a positive review.… (plus d'informations)

The son of a Witchfinder and a Chosen One (a true witch) battle a centuries old family curse that is destined to bind them together and then tear them apart. The curse can only be broken “when the love shared overcomes all boundaries.” Are Tommy and Anya the ones who can finally break the curse?

Balefire and Moonstone was an enjoyable enough read, but I didn't have strong feelings either way. The story is told with an alternating perspective that jumps between the first person POV of Tommy and Anya. The perspective switches with each chapter and the character's name is at the beginning of the chapter so it is easy to keep track of which character is talking. I enjoy the dual POV, especially when the author uses a style like this that makes it clear which head you are in.

I liked Tommy and Anya, but maybe Tommy a little more. He showed himself as a stand-up guy from the beginning when he stepped in to save Anya from the school bullies. He wants to do the right thing but soon learns he is in deep doo doo, a real stinker of a situation that creates a conflict that he doesn't know how to resolve. He is determined to make it right and never seems to waiver in his feelings for Anya.

After the bully incident, Anya goes home and does a binding spell on Tommy after knowing him for only about, let's see, um...maybe 10 minutes. This didn't make any sense to me. I know they are destined to be together, but yeesh... at that point in the story their feelings for each other were not really explored much at all. She does try to retract the spell later but the Great Mother, the Goddess who speaks to Anya, won't allow it because their destinies run deeper than the spell.

One aspect of the dialogue did bother me and that is how Anya uses the endearment "hun" or "love" a lot with Tommy even though she barely knows him. It made me think of the stereotypical gum-smacking, beehive-wearing, pencil-behind-the-ear waitress sayng, "can I get ya anything, hun?" Though Anya is from the south and they have a destined bond, it just made her dialogue sound forced and unnatural to me.

Anya is a bit conflicted about her witch heritage and has to work through her feelings. She has not come into her full powers until a certain event occurs that triggers them. Around this point in the book I felt there was an inconsistency in the story that is hard to explain without spoilers so I'll leave it out of the review here, but if you want more info than see my review at Goodreads where spoiler reviews can be hidden.

The romance was sweet and I was a somewhat intrigued by the story, just not a lot intrigued. I would like to have seen the bond between Anya and Tommy fleshed out a little more. The writing felt okay to me and though I like the story, I think the pacing just didn't keep me interested enough to make it a page-turner. This story has an unresolved ending and seems to be just the beginning of the story arc that continues in the next book, Balefire and Lodestone.

Rating = 3 (I Liked It)

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