The Scriptorium Daily. Is out!!!
Tag Archive: writing novels
Dar49 Daily. Is out!!!
UnEnchanted by Chanda Hahn
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
Well, this was a new take on the fairytales, at times very grimm–get it? Pa-dum-dum. Sorry, I couldn’t resist. And, no, this doesn’t reflect on the stories woven into this book, a couple overlapping each other. There might be humor within the pages but not as cheesy as mine.
Mina Grime doesn’t think there is anything funny about her life. Imagine being stuck with that name, for instance. Then she has to live through the modern life of of a klutzy teen, just trying to make it out alive, with some level of self-esteem intact.
Though this follows the YA fantasy of teen-wakes-with-new-powers/gifts/threats format, Mina isn’t lost in the woods or other triteness. Her unique nature causes everything to happen right in front of her classmates giving her even more uncomfortable attention.
Ms. Grime isn’t always strong but she learns that she must be, she has to save her brother and her friends. So, more than anything else, this book reflects her growth as a person.
My thoughts? I liked the characters and the plots within plots, enough so, that I will try to read the next books in the series. Luckily this one didn’t leave you on a cliff. It gave you enough of a resolution to feel you could walk away, but clues enough to make you want to see what more is in store for poor Mina.
Unmasked Alloy by Becca J. Campbell
My rating: 5 of 5 stars
Wow! Was this part of the same series as Not the Norm (A Sub-Normal short story by Becca J. Campbell?
I fell into like, um, I really cared about the characters, in the first book. It was that caring that drove me to read book two. That’s a good thing! This part of the story hit the ground running. If there were mistakes in the grammar or spelling I didn’t notice for trying to keep up with the action.
In a world of super-humans, being either sub-norm or just human can be down-right dangerous. Hence the name of the name of the series (Sub-normal). Though you see this in the first book, this second book throws it in your face.
My only problem with this book was that I was left LONGING for part three. I have tried to think through, as a writer, how I would handle this. Would it be better as one larger book broken into sections? Then I had to think about the author. Would her larger book make as much as three (or more) short stories? I, for one, was looking for something fast when I picked up book one, and then book two. But the waiting for the next installment, then trying to remember where we left off… I guess this is why a lot of people wait until they’ve gathered all the parts before reading it as a whole. I am sure this is a quandary for serial writers everywhere. Point is, I can’t wait to read the next in this series!
Darswords 
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