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juushikaTitle: The Witch Awakening
Author: Karen Nilsen
Published: Charleston: CreateSpace, 2010
Rating: 4 of 5
Page Count: 414
Total Page Count: 87,343
Text Number: 251
Read Because: sent to me by the author
Review: Safire is the youngest daughter of a low-ranking noble house, and she harbors magical powers condemned by her nation's church. When she meet Merius, a rebellious young nobleman, she finally finds someone to love and accept her—but their fiery romance is complicated by Merius's overbearing father and a vengeful spirit who challenges Safire's latent powers. The Witch Awakening suffers some as a self-published first novel, but its handful of weaknesses fail to distract from its heart: an enduring protagonist and an engaging story which, while they never rise to become remarkable, make for an enjoyable and satisfying book.
It's the little things that plague the novel. CreateSpace produces a solidly-bound book, but self-publishing makes for messy formatting and one or two typos. More importantly, some aspects of the book feel a little raw—the curse, perhaps, of a first novel or a missing editor. Transparent dialog tends towards unrealistic and edges uncomfortably close to minor infodumps, and it strips much of the intrigue from the plot. The Witch Awakening straddles a number of genres, but its inclination towards paranormal romance makes the passion between Safire and Merius grow a bit stale and trite through repetition and lack of conflict—which is all the more disappointing given that the characters have a brilliant, convincing spark between them.
Such weaknesses are small within themselves, but taken together they grow bothersome. Never, though, do they sufficiently distract from the novel's joy. The Witch Awakening may not be art, but it is solid and rewarding entertainment. Safire is a gem of a protagonist—she's authentically willful and feisty, but whenever she draws too close to an idealized caricature Nilsen scales her back with realistic, compelling weaknesses. Safire alone would make for an engaging, memorable novel, but she's accompanied by an entire cast of realistic characters and the prose and plot also pull their weight: Nilsen writes a pretty sentence without ever growing flowery, and the plot is a motley and engrossing mix of romance and supernatural, intrigue and family issues. Some aspects are never fully explored and the pacing grows weak near the end of the book, leaving it light in climax and quick in resolution, and these aspects may be (more than a want of editing) what prevents the book from realizing its full potential. But a book need not be faultless to be enjoyable, engaging, and satisfying—and The Witch Awakening is all these things. Self-publishing comes with risks, but don't let that turn you away: readers in search of an engaging fantasy novel with just enough originality to make it stick in the mind would do well to pick up this book. I recommend it.
Review posted here on Amazon.com.
Author: Karen Nilsen
Published: Charleston: CreateSpace, 2010
Rating: 4 of 5
Page Count: 414
Total Page Count: 87,343
Text Number: 251
Read Because: sent to me by the author
Review: Safire is the youngest daughter of a low-ranking noble house, and she harbors magical powers condemned by her nation's church. When she meet Merius, a rebellious young nobleman, she finally finds someone to love and accept her—but their fiery romance is complicated by Merius's overbearing father and a vengeful spirit who challenges Safire's latent powers. The Witch Awakening suffers some as a self-published first novel, but its handful of weaknesses fail to distract from its heart: an enduring protagonist and an engaging story which, while they never rise to become remarkable, make for an enjoyable and satisfying book.
It's the little things that plague the novel. CreateSpace produces a solidly-bound book, but self-publishing makes for messy formatting and one or two typos. More importantly, some aspects of the book feel a little raw—the curse, perhaps, of a first novel or a missing editor. Transparent dialog tends towards unrealistic and edges uncomfortably close to minor infodumps, and it strips much of the intrigue from the plot. The Witch Awakening straddles a number of genres, but its inclination towards paranormal romance makes the passion between Safire and Merius grow a bit stale and trite through repetition and lack of conflict—which is all the more disappointing given that the characters have a brilliant, convincing spark between them.
Such weaknesses are small within themselves, but taken together they grow bothersome. Never, though, do they sufficiently distract from the novel's joy. The Witch Awakening may not be art, but it is solid and rewarding entertainment. Safire is a gem of a protagonist—she's authentically willful and feisty, but whenever she draws too close to an idealized caricature Nilsen scales her back with realistic, compelling weaknesses. Safire alone would make for an engaging, memorable novel, but she's accompanied by an entire cast of realistic characters and the prose and plot also pull their weight: Nilsen writes a pretty sentence without ever growing flowery, and the plot is a motley and engrossing mix of romance and supernatural, intrigue and family issues. Some aspects are never fully explored and the pacing grows weak near the end of the book, leaving it light in climax and quick in resolution, and these aspects may be (more than a want of editing) what prevents the book from realizing its full potential. But a book need not be faultless to be enjoyable, engaging, and satisfying—and The Witch Awakening is all these things. Self-publishing comes with risks, but don't let that turn you away: readers in search of an engaging fantasy novel with just enough originality to make it stick in the mind would do well to pick up this book. I recommend it.
Review posted here on Amazon.com.
