Synopsis:
Augustine lives the perfect life in the Haven city of New Orleans. He rarely works a real job, spends most of his nights with a different human woman, and resides in a spectacular Garden District mansion paid for by retired movie star Olivia Goodwin, who has come to think of him as an adopted son, providing him room and board and whatever else he needs.
But when Augustine returns home to find Olivia's been attacked by vampires, he knows his idyllic life has comes to an end. It's time for revenge—and to take up the mantle of the city's Guardian.
My thoughts on the book:
I thought this book sounded like a fun read, but unfortunately it didn't grab me as much as I'd wanted it to. I had a hard time staying focused on the plot through all of the dialogue. The world-building is done pretty well, and the settings are painted out nicely, but the characters weren't easy to relate to and fell flat for me.
The characters of this book just weren't very likable for me. I couldn't connect to any of them to save my life, and I really just didn't like Augustine. He reminded me of one of those egotistical man-whore types, and that just repelled me right away. Harlow was just boring for me. I know she wasn't designed to be, but she just didn't stand out. I can barely even remember her name, and I just finished the book. Painter tried hard to make the secondary characters interesting, but they, too, fell flat.
The pacing was a bit slow for me, but it wasn't horribly slow. Just slow enough that I got bored easily. If I'd been more invested in the characters, I think the book would have held my interest more. Also, this writer is a huge fan of useless dialogue. I know she's trying to show relationships instead of tell them, but actions speak louder than words. I started skipping chunks of dialogue because I was tired of reading mundane chitchat. I have no patience for that in my real life, and I certainly dont' want it in a book. One of the places Painter excelled, though, was in painting a vivid picture of New Orleans. The city was the perfect backdrop for this story, and I could picture it as if I was there. The author also did a great job of explaining the fantastical elements of the story.
Overall, this book was okay. I didn't love it, but I also didn't hate it. If you're a fan of Kristen Painter's, then I'm sure you'll love this series.
Buy House of the Rising Sun
Yeah it's pretty much what all the reveiws are saying about this one. not bad but not really good. It's too bad because I was really curious about it.
ReplyDeleteYea, the needless dialogue is what drove me up the wall. I'd say if you're super curious check it out from the library first. Thanks for stopping by!
DeleteToo bad. The synopsis pique my interest. I like how you built this review. I understood your reading experience.
ReplyDeleteHmm, I'd read some great reviews for this one, which intrigued me, because I've been put off her first series after reading reviews that said the plot wasn't great. I think I'll give this one a go at some point, but it's not a high priority to buy just now.
ReplyDelete