Review: Runes by Ednah Walters

Title: Runes
Series: Runes
Placement in Series: Book 1
Author: Ednah Walters
Format: e-galley
Blurb:

Seventeen-year-old Raine Cooper has enough on her plate dealing with her father’s disappearance, her mother’s erratic behavior and the possibility of her boyfriend relocating. The last thing she needs is Torin St. James—a mysterious new neighbor with a wicked smile and uncanny way of reading her.

Raine is drawn to Torin’s dark sexiness against her better judgment, until he saves her life with weird marks and she realizes he is different. But by healing her, Torin changes something inside Raine. Now she can’t stop thinking about him. Half the time, she’s not sure whether to fall into his arms or run.

Scared, she sets out to find out what Torin is. But the closer she gets to the truth the more she uncovers something sinister about Torin. What Torin is goes back to an ancient mythology and Raine is somehow part of it. Not only are she and her friends in danger, she must choose a side, but the wrong choice will cost Raine her life.

Review:
(Psst: This gets slightly spoilery, so take caution if you're reading this review and haven't yet read Runes. I felt the need to use specifics to back up a few of my opinions. But I don't spoil anything too big - and if I do, I'll put another spoiler warning before the spoiling sentence/part. I promise.)

I'm conflicted about this one, my dears. I really loved the story and the characters, but the writing was just not doing it justice. Wanting to know what exactly Torin was and where this story was going to go is what made me keep reading, but there were many times where I had to roll my eyes at the narrative and re-write sentences in my own head. Being a budding writer myself I'm sure made me critical; I want to be able to spot these things in my own writing. But I'm a reader as well, and there were scenes in this book that fell flat because of their written delivery.

The first thing I noticed was how many times the main character, Raine, thought to herself 'Magic isn't real.' It was as if the author wanted to constantly hint to us 'Psst, hey reader. She keeps saying magic isn't real but guess what? This is foreshadowing, because it is real!' again and again and again. I got the message that there was magic in this book by the title alone; I don't need constant hints. I only needed Raine to think it once. But there were times when her physical actions had me knowing what she was thinking - that magic isn't real. I don't need to read her thinking it ever second page. That's what body language is for. It was something that I found to be really annoying. Thankfully, once Raine realised that 'hey! Magic is real!' it stopped.

I thought the incorporation of Norse mythos - something not seen in many books, especially YA - was awesome. Greek mythology is everywhere, so it was a really nice change, and since I have always had an interest in mythology, it was fun learning about Norse and seeing the spin the author took on the mythos. She did a really great job with it, and I'm curious to see what else she incorporates in the second Runes novel.

Unfortuately, while I enjoyed the plot and the mythos, I felt the plot was poorly delivered, and there were some definite holes and scenes that were not written to their fullest potential. Some character reactions were absent when they shouldn't have been. (Slight spoiler alert:) When a handful of characters close to the protagonist all died at once, she barely reacted. Granted, you could chalk it up to shock, except that she knew it was coming, and while she had other things to deal with, I just could not believe that she wasn't even going to shed a tear. Then when (SPOILER ALERT - skip to next paragraph to avoid this one) her father returned it was treated as if he had only been gone for a week - not missing and assumed dead for months!

The romance was done well on Raine's side, and I was rooting for her and Torin. My only reservation with their relationship was that I just did not understand where Torin was coming from. It was insta-love on his part, and while I shipped it, I did not believe it for most of the book. Another thing (oops, did I say reservation as in singular?) on the topic of romances was (SPOILER ALERT - skip to next paragraph to avoid this one) the complete and total cop-out that seemed to brew between Raine's boyfriend Eirik (awesome spelling) and her best friend Cora. I get it. They bickered for the entirety of the book, and I guess they could have sprout feelings from there (although constant bickering does not always mean flirting!), but there were absolutely no hints to their spark at all that it felt like it was thrown in completely to help out Raine deal with how she was going to dump Eirik. It pissed me off that Raine was cheating on Eirik to begin with, but now she gets an easy out because she's suddenly noticed that Eirik has eyes for Cora? No, sorry, not buying it. The fact that we made it to the end of the book without Raine ending her relationship with Eirik also bothered me. Is this so that she can continue to use him while she pines for Torin? *frowns deeply* Colour me unimpressed.

As for that ending... The cliffhanger was brilliant, and I'm sure I would have squealed or reacted a lot more had I not been again distracted by the poor delivery. The idea is so juicy and (positively) throwing-my-book-against-the-wall-because-DAMN-THAT-ENDING-worthy that the delivery failed to, well, deliver. It's difficult to explain exactly what fell through for me about the ending without spoiling it completely, but it has a lot to do with character reactions and how right after the book just ended. If not for the 'The End' right afterward, I'd have fully expected an epilogue or one more chapter or something.

Overall, I really enjoyed the story in this one, but the writing was just... not there. The character reactions and relationships did not always feel genuine to me, and what would have been a great cliffhanger was overshadowed by a failed and sloppy delivery. It feels like Runes could go through another draft (at least) or two. Still, I did enjoy the story enough to want to read the second book. It was interesting, and I liked the incorporation of Norse mythos. Do I recommend? Yes, if you can look past the sloppy writing and focus on the plot at hand, I think anyone into the mythology/paranormal genre will enjoy Runes. I did - there were just a few things that stood out negatively for me.

Rating: 3/5 - If not for the writing, it would have been a higher rating (obviously). I wanted to rate it higher, of course, but there were some things I could not look past.
Recommended for: Anyone who loves the paranormal and mythology genres, and enjoys some fun romance with it as well.

Wasteland by Lynn Rush

Title: Wasteland
Series: The Wasteland Trilogy
Placement in Series: Book 1/3
Author: Lynn Rush
Description:

Bound by the blood contract his human mother signed four centuries ago, half-demon, David Sadler, must obey his demonic Master's order to capture fifteen-year-old Jessica Hanks. But as he learns more about her, he realizes she may be the key to freedom from his dark enslavement.The only obstacle-Jessica's distractingly beautiful Guardian, Rebeka Abbott. He must not give in to their steamy chemistry, or he will lose his humanity. But fresh off a quarter millennia of sensory deprivation as punishment for not retrieving his last target, he may not be able to resist temptation long enough to save what's left of his human soul.

Review:

This book was unlike anything I've ever read. I meant to read it a lot sooner than I did, but it had been sitting on my Kobo e-reader (which I tend to forget I own and have books on -- oops!) for months. Finally, obviously, I picked it up, and of course, I am glad I did! I have been following Lynn Rush on her Twitter and Facebook and her blog, and participated in many of her #GetRushed parties (you guys should really check them out! I've discovered lots of great authors by doing so, and heard of even more intriguing books!), and she's great fun to interact with. But enough about that - let's get to the book!
(Caution: This review is slightly spoilery. If you are like me and don't like even hints at what happens, you might want to come back after you read this book. Which you should totally do. Read this book. And then come back ;) )

What I liked about Wasteland:
The plot was really intriguing. Like I said, Wasteland is unlike anything I'd ever read before. A half-demon bound by contract to his Master, forced to retrieve his Mark (humans Master wants to make demons), and if he fails, he is subjected to centuries of torture? Definitely unique, which was refreshing. David, the complicated half-demon, was also very well-written. Even though I had no idea where the story was going to take me, I was confident enough in David to stick with him. The way his character was written made me feel like I was inside his mind, feeling what he felt, hearing/seeing/touching what he heard/saw/felt. And I was certainly rooting for him all of the way.

What I did not like about Wasteland:
There were a few parts in the writing where I felt more could have been added. I came across a few scenes throught the first half of the book that made me feel I missed a page, because one moment we're in David's head, and the next he's slashing a demon without any textual indication that demons were there. Some things happened a little too fast that I had to back up to make sure I did not miss a paragraph or skip a page on my e-reader.

There were also some certain character choices (as in choices the characters made) that frustrated me a little, and this is just me shaking my finger at the characters themselves. Most specifically (and my only point for this matter, actually) whenever Beka and David went off to have their 'sexy times', the timing was not always the most appropriate. I mean, I understand that they were both deprived, but come on guys, your friend is dying and needs your help! Not so much a negative point against the book as a 'really, characters?'

What I loved about Wasteland:
I think my favourite part about this book were the characters, especially how they interacted with one-another. I want to say Beka and David were my favourite pair, but there was always a smile on my face when it came to the David and Russel scenes. I'd love to read more about these two, because I feel they will be good friends (and it was always a laugh seeing David get irritated with Russel calling David his King).
I would love to read more about Jessica, as well. I felt almost as if Beka and David are her parents, the way they care for her, and it was the sweetest thing. It was refreshing to read about a main character, also, who wasn't fighting for his life to save the woman he loved romantically. He fought with her and saw her as an equal (which I cannot say for all books, and loved every minute of it in Wasteland!) as they tried to save Jessica together. Beka's strength as a character was great as well. Even when David tried telling her no, you have to stay behind, she stood her ground (or air, if they were flying ;) ).

I also really enjoyed the action-packed fight scenes! They were so vividly written I was cringing whenever weapons struck flesh (whether or not I knew that flesh would heal quickly) and doing my best not to skip ahead to make sure all of the characters came out of it okay (and felt strongly for them when they did not).

I can't wait to read the rest of this trilogy. All I know about it is that the next two books involve different main characters. I'm excited to meet them, although I'm going to miss David and Beka.

Overall, interesting story with some great characters whom I will miss if they do not make appearances in the next two books. Man, though, Beka and David need to sort out some of their priorities ;) I mean I know they had both been sexually-deprived for centuries, but there are times (like when the person they are supposed to be protecting is dying and time is of the essence) when it is not the time for sexy times, haha.

Anyway, I look forward to reading the rest of this series, and I do recommend this book to all of you (who are of the maturity level and can handle the more NA scenes).

wasteland rating: 3.5/5

Have you read Wasteland yet? Share your thoughts in the comments!
Caution: Comments may include spoilers.


Where you can buy this book:

In Canada:
(see Kobo)

In the USA:
Barnes and Noble

Internationally:
Amazon

For your e-reader:
Kindle
Kobo
Nook