Reviewed by Terri M. LeBlanc on
What I found most surprising about the book was that it was told from Ethan’s point of view. I assumed it was told from the girl’s point of view. Stupid assumption on my part and I missed all the press about this novel and its subsequent trip to theatres (don’t ask me how!). So I knew nothing going in. So I did find that to be refreshing to a point. The story still follows the typical tropes about falling in forbidden love faster than a you can blink. And there all the bits about Caster powers, which I still don’t completely understand, but I didn’t keep listening for those reasons anyway.
I kept listening because the audio production did such a good job at setting the mood and place. Kevin T. Collins had the perfect husky voice, there were sound effects when it would rain and storm and there was music. I didn’t care in the end what happened to Ethan and Lena (that final battle was a mess, I still don’t understand what the heck happened), I just wanted to stay in that gothic Southern setting with old rotting plantations and hotter than hell summers. I could see myself sitting on the porch sipping fresh lemonade with Amma and Mason, my two favorite characters.
While the story was predictable and the main characters, Ethan & Lena, fell flat for me. I have to give the audiobook production a solid thumbs up. It kept me engaged with goosebumps from time to time and even though Ethan saw Gatlin as a dead end, I want to visit to have some of Amma’s home cooking and to visit the Marian at the library.
This review was originally posted on Second Run Reviews
Reading updates
- Started reading
- 1 May, 2016: Finished reading
- 1 May, 2016: Reviewed