Between (A Book of the Between, #1)

by Kerry Schafer

[layawaydragon]

TW: Rape, problematic and unnecessary thoroughly explained in the last review section.
Disclaimer: Won my copy through a giveaway from All Things Urban Fantasy in March 2013.

Pros
Liked Viv and Zee
Loved its world building, especially the dragons
Beautiful cover with no ridiculous pose or dress for Vivian and the eye-catching dragon sphere

Cons
Villain’s evil personified minus the personality
Problematic, unnecessary rape scene

Rating: 3 stars for solid world building and characters with standard fantasy conventions shaded in black and white.

Recommended for: urban fantasy fans wanting a good, fast, and fun read with plenty of adventure, action and a dash of romance.

See Also: Mystwalker or the Black Jewels series for fantastical multi-worlds, though only the former transitions through sleeping.

No lie, dragons are my favorite fantasy creature and the reason I entered to win Between. Even if you aren’t a hardcore dragon fan like me, urban fantasy lovers will find plenty to love in this solid debut.

It’s starts off hectic and doesn’t slow down, even when Vivian’s sleeping. Just when you think you’ll explode, it wraps up nicely with longer vague threads to follow in its sequel. It’s concluded satisfactorily but it’s all rather convenient, without surprises or standout moments so it could’ve been better.

Characters
Vivian’s a doctor who begins her journey with family ties complicated by mental illness and secrets. After several devastating and strange turn of events, she discovers the truth about her dreams, and herself. You can see trouble coming a mile away towards Vivian whether it’s the magical or mundane. She catches on soon enough once out of the denial stage.

Zee’s the local bookshop owner who channels bloodlust that seems to seep from his dreams into art and working out. Then he finally meets Vivian, who he’s been dreaming of for over a decade. He’ll become the warlord he’s only dreamed of in order to protect her, whether she likes it or not.

The remainder of its cast is rounded out with a plain evil villain, a scumbag ex, and a perplexing old man mentor. It features guest appearances by stereotypical creatures: a cat, which was humorous and dragon, which was actually helpful.
While standard and predictable, they work. I can’t say I’m really connected with them yet but I enjoyed reading them. Well, except for two sticking points…



I get why the genre standard “science has blinded you to the truth” line exists: to foster suspension of belief while escaping into impossible fantasy of our world plus magic. I don’t necessarily like it, because it doesn’t make sense to me and causes problems. However, it does its job done so I eye-roll over it usually. In this case, Between upped the ante with the “science is a religion” nonsense.

On page 14, Vivian says “Science, her goddess of choice, had failed her.” WTF? Who talks like that? Of all the atheists, skeptics, scientists, and people in science related fields I’ve been around, I haven’t heard of any making science a deity. I honestly don’t fucking buy this part of Vivian’s character at all. t's stupid dishonest bullshit full of science bashing and misconceptions.

Once fantasy takes over and they're clearly in a realm of their own, it gets much better. Hersleuthing out family secrets was entertaining and fast paced enough I wasn’t impatient while waiting for the goods. But getting there was rough dealing with this nonsense.