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A review by mxhermit
Black Five by J. Lynn Bailey
3.0
I received a free copy of this book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
Every once in awhile I try to go into a story without reading too much about it. I saw the summary for this on NetGalley and thought it sounded interesting, so I went ahead and requested it without looking on Goodreads or any other sites. It isn't that these sites would have swayed my decision to read Black Five one way or the other, but I would have been prepared for this overwhelming sense of meh.
While I was reading the book, I kept waiting for something to happen that would blow me away, something that would set this story apart from any other YA book. A lot of YA books have similar plot or share tropes that make them sound really, really alike, but the good ones usually have something to make them special. Black Five didn't deliver on this.
The writing was fine; it was enough that I would consider reading another work by the author. As far as wanting to continue with the series, though, I doubt that any forthcoming books would rate high on my waiting-for list.
Penelope felt like a stereotypical heroine from a YA novel in that she discovers this hidden magic about herself after living a difficult life. Her mannerisms felt stiff, awkward. I'm not sure I believed in her as a character at any given point.
Like I said, the plot was decent, the writing allowable, but I don't think I'll be clamoring for any more Penelope adventures, though I wouldn't say no if the book crossed by my desk.
Every once in awhile I try to go into a story without reading too much about it. I saw the summary for this on NetGalley and thought it sounded interesting, so I went ahead and requested it without looking on Goodreads or any other sites. It isn't that these sites would have swayed my decision to read Black Five one way or the other, but I would have been prepared for this overwhelming sense of meh.
While I was reading the book, I kept waiting for something to happen that would blow me away, something that would set this story apart from any other YA book. A lot of YA books have similar plot or share tropes that make them sound really, really alike, but the good ones usually have something to make them special. Black Five didn't deliver on this.
The writing was fine; it was enough that I would consider reading another work by the author. As far as wanting to continue with the series, though, I doubt that any forthcoming books would rate high on my waiting-for list.
Penelope felt like a stereotypical heroine from a YA novel in that she discovers this hidden magic about herself after living a difficult life. Her mannerisms felt stiff, awkward. I'm not sure I believed in her as a character at any given point.
Like I said, the plot was decent, the writing allowable, but I don't think I'll be clamoring for any more Penelope adventures, though I wouldn't say no if the book crossed by my desk.