Review: Severed

Title: Severed
Author: Dax Varley
Publisher: Self-published
Pages: 258
Source: Author
Where to buy: Amazon

Synopsis:
Katrina's still haunted by her encounter with the Headless Horseman-the night he beckoned to her. Now he has risen again, slashing heads and terrorizing the quiet countryside.

Her only joy during this dismal darkness comes when Ichabod Crane, a gorgeous young man from Connecticut, moves to Sleepy Hollow and their attraction turns to romance.

When the Horseman marks Ichabod as his next victim, Katrina, despite dangerous efforts to save him, see no other choice than for them to flee.

But the Horseman awaits. Now it's up to her to sever the horror and alter the Legend of Sleepy Hollow.

What I Think:
With the new Sleepy Hollow show coming out, and Halloween just a few weeks away, this is the perfect time of year for Varney to come out with her young adult romantic mystery novel, Severed. I liked this story. I really wanted to love it, but it just didn't push me to that level. This was a really interesting take on the Sleepy Hollow tale. From what I remember of the original story, there is little left the same other than character names.

There was something about the book that I liked, but it is hard to put my finger on it. I know the reasons I didn't like parts of it, but it still had a certain something in it that made me want to continue reading it. One part of it was that the concept was very interesting and made me want to know more about what was going on. Another part of it was the mystery was so complex and engaging that you want to see if your guesses about who is behind everything was right. Sadly, for me the ending was disappointing and I did not get all of the answers I wanted.

Katrina was a fun character, but she felt a little too modern for the time period. Girls back then wouldn't go around kissing men in semi-public places and being allow with various men. Like with many YA romances, Katrina fell in love with Ichabod at first sight and was willing to put herself and others in danger for this love. Withing days and weeks of knowing him she was ready to turn her back on all of her friends and the only family she has in order to run away with him.

I was excited to reach near the end, so I could finally find out who was behind it all, but the twist felt flat to me. Overall, it felt more like the middle of a story than an entire story. The beginning gave the reader questions that were never answered and the last words of the novel hark back to these questions with no hit that there will be a sequel.

Rating: 2.5/5

Review: A Conspiracy of Alchemists

Title: A Conspiracy of Alchemists
Author: Liesel Schwarz
Series: The Chronicles of Light and Shadow (Book #1)
Pages: 326 (ebook)
Publisher: Del Rey
Release Date: March 5, 2013
Source: Netgalley
Where to Buy: Barnes and Noble | Amazon

Synopsis:
LEAVE IT TO CHANCE. Eleanor "Elle" Chance, that is-the intrepid heroine of this edgy new series that transforms elements of urban fantasy, historical adventure, and paranormal romance into pure storytelling gold.

In a Golden Age where spark reactors power the airways, and creatures of Light and Shadow walk openly among us, a deadly game of Alchemists and Warlocks has begun.

When an unusual cargo drags airship-pilot Elle Chance into the affairs of the mysterious Mr. Marsh, she must confront her destiny and do everything in her power to stop the Alchemists from unleashing a magical apocalypse.

What I thought:
I requested this novel from NetGalley because I love steampunks. It is one of my favorite genres. Sadly this book just did not capture me as much as I hoped. The cover pulled me in, then the blurb really piqued my interests, and I thought I would be in for a fun adventure.

Now I understand the copy I was reading was an unproofed ARC, so I hope all of the punctuation and grammar mistakes I saw will be cleaned up before it is officially put out. I would need to look through the finished product, but there were a lot of mistakes for something Del Rey was putting out for reviewers. But I'm new, I could just be mistaken and this is normal.

Elle was just okay as a character. She was stubborn, jumped to conclusions, and seems very young. Yes her stubbornness is what let her become a female pilot in a male dominated world, but she became stubborn with the dumbest things. The love interest lied about his name for his own protection when they first met and she held it against him for the rest of the book, no matter how much he helped her or tried to be kind to her, she was rude because she felt she couldn't trust him. I woke heartedly agreed with the LI when he asked "Don't you sometimes get s little tired of being so constantly outraged?"

We are never told how old Elle is (other than she already passed her coming out), but she seemed very young. If I didn't know any better I would have put her in her teens. By comparison her love interest seemed so much older. Maybe she is older than I felt and is just immature. Either way I just could not figure out why the LI would be interested in her at all.

It could be a family trait of annoyingness though. Once we finally get to meet Elle's father he is just as, if not more, annoying. Mr. Marsh, Patrice, and Adele the fairy are all interesting characters, though it was a bit disjointing to go back and forth between the perspectives of Marsh, Elle, and Adele. I was also able to see one of the main plot twists happening 200 pages before it was executed.

There are several things I had problems with in this book, but the fact of the matter is I stayed up until 3 in the morning trying to finish the book, because the plot and the world was that interesting. I would still consider reading the second book, hoping that the characters are as interesting as the world was. Since this is her debut novel, I am willing to give her a second chance.

Overall: 2.5/5