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Phyllis Ames

Forfatter af Frozen in Amber

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Værker af Phyllis Ames

Frozen in Amber (2015) 26 eksemplarer

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Were- (2016) — Bidragyder — 31 eksemplarer

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Review Originally Posted At: FictionForesight

In accordance with current FTC Guidelines, please let it be known this book was received through NetGalley in exchange for a fair and honest review.

Objection…2.5 Stars!

Frozen In Amber is an interesting mix of lawyers, shapeshifters and betrayals, that come together to make quite the read.

A Quick Summary:

Our protagonist, Amber Treganis, is a prominent lawyer with one of the most successful law firms around. She also happens to be a WerCougar, a species of Wer that transforms, obviously, into a cougar. For 3 days surrounding the full moon, Amber loses control and transforms into her “other”.

When she was younger, Amber accidentally killed her boyfriend while in cougar form. As as a result, she elects to stay secluded from the Wer community; preferring to maintain as much of her humanity as possible. She doesn’t kill, is a vegetarian and hardly ever transforms into her other.

However, despite her every intention, the rumors of gene therapy and discovery of a betrayal drag her in deep. If that wasn’t bad enough, she also has to deal with threats to herself and her family, and issues with her professional life only serve to complicate things further. Will Amber’s professional life survive? Or is that the least of her worries?

(By-the-by, was it just me who thought that the lawyer would be a wolf? I’m glad to see Miss Ames didn’t fall into that cliché.)

The Good:

So, from my rating it would seem that I really didn’t like this book; And while that is accurate, I wouldn’t ever go so far as to say there wasn’t anything that I enjoyed. I truly believe that even if you hate a book, you can always find some positive, somewhere.

In this case, it really wasn’t that hard because I honestly didn’t hate this book. Really, its true. There were things that annoyed me to no end, but I didn’t actually hate it. I just… nothinged it. (more on this later).

So, what did I enjoy?

Well for starters, I really enjoyed the lore and descriptions of the Wer characters. I loved the fact that there were so many different Wers that existed, each with their own unique traits, strengths and weaknesses. For example, learning about the WerWolves was pretty cool. The idea that the individual who sired (bite / created) the Wer was subsequently its leader; that submission is automatically ingrained in their blood so that they can’t disobey their creator. I found that pretty interesting.

I also really enjoyed all the background mythology. How Ames took that information and wove it into the story, revealing the bits and pieces and how they connected to what was going on. It was almost like I was on a treasure hunt, and the clues were there for the taking. I think I’d honestly rather read something by her more akin to a straight mythology book, rather than urban-fantasy.

Surprisingly, I actually thoroughly enjoyed all of the legal banter and back-and-forth that went along with the fact that the main character is a lawyer. Having worked professionally in the criminal justice system, I thought I was going to be bombarded with CSI and Law and Order type arguments. Instead, I actually got some pretty interesting realistic situations. I mean don’t misunderstand, this is still fantasy, but there is some realism in the way the law firm works, it’s structure, the paperwork, etc. It may seem like a small detail to some, but having that extra bit of realism helps to make fantasy that much better. Plus it was kind of fun to have the lawyer be the good guy (gal)!

The Bad:

Oh boy, let’s take it slow.

Ah that reminds me, pacing. Pacing is normally a minor issue for me. If the story is interesting I don’t mind if it goes slow, so long as my attention is held to the book. Unfortunately that just wasn’t the case here. I found the pace of the story to drag on quite a bit, and I feel like the same story could have easily been told with about 100 fewer pages. Being brutally honest, it’s not like the character detail was that crazy. There were just some things that didn’t need to be said. Better to leave something for the audience to infer. Otherwise it’s like giving a presentation and having the person read everything word-for-word!

While I enjoyed the clues that the lore created, I really disliked the ridiculously un-subtle, tapping on my shoulder, smacking me upside the head, finger-pointing to give away who the “bad guy(s)” are. I mean, I almost felt like treating this like a mystery book. It had that sort of vibe. You wanted to know who-dun-it. I thought it was going to be a bit of a challenge to find out, seeing as we have quite a number of potential bad dudes. Sadly though, it didn’t work out that way. It got that so by the end I was like “yep, alright, you finally figured it out. Yeah you”. I think that’s one of the main reasons I was bored with it, there was nothing left to discover.

Well I will make one amendment to that statement. It turns out there was something left to discover. The ending! While I will not get into details, because I don’t want to ruin the book for anyone, I will say that it was WAY too convenient. I mean everything wrapped up so picturesque, you were only missing the fancy red bow-tie on top to seal the deal. Where’s the conflict? Where’s the heartbreak. I mean I get that it’s not a series, but come on. Not everything should work out. Throw a little realism into the fantasy.

And really, the actual end of the ending…. Just, no. I mean come on, really? It was cute, but almost in that “makes me want to throw up” kind of way.

Finally, I disliked the inconsistencies in character personalities. I mean it gets a bit confusing and frustrating when characters do complete 180’s all the time as to how they feel, and how they act. In the case of the intern, I get it. She was trying to fit in (sort of). But what about Amber? Why did I feel like she was a high schooler half the time and an ancient hard-ass grandma the other. Why was she so back-and-forth? Was it because she didn’t know her role in life? I’m honestly curious. Really the same can be said for quite a few of the characters. Maybe it was the lack of depth in their personality. Maybe it was supposed to be like that. Hell maybe that’s a part of being a “Wer”. It would have been nice to know either way.

Overall:

Frankly, this book just wasn’t for me. The cover and synopsis drew me in, but the execution was rather lackluster. I found myself constantly watching the clock while reading, which is something I never do. It’s a shame too because I feel like this could have been something really special. The sad truth is, I really can’t say it was any one thing in particular that ruined the book for me either. More like a culmination of let-downs.

Being brutally honest, I’m actually rather glad this isn’t a series. Similar to how I don’t DNF (did not finish) books, I try my hardest not to give up on a series. For me, it feels the same as not finishing a book. You really can’t say it’s bad, or it’s not for you, if you don’t finish it. Granted, I probably would have set it aside for several years, read a bunch of other books, and forgotten all about the first one. Then I’d be going through this all over again, and I just don’t think I could.

All that being said, I still say give this a shot. The writing wasn’t bad, and the concept is pretty cool. There wasn’t anything horribly off with this, it just didn’t make me feel anything. However, just because it didn’t work for me, doesn’t mean it won’t for you!

(www.FictionForesight.com)
… (mere)
 
Markeret
FictionForesight | 1 anden anmeldelse | Apr 26, 2016 |
I can't lie, the cover for FROZEN IN AMBER did not draw me in and make me want to read the story, thankfully the blurb did a better job of that. It took me a little bit to get into the story as it started with a lot of legal drama that wasn't a huge interest to me, but the characters grew on me and the storyline picked up and kept me reading.

I liked Amber as a main character, she's a shifter, but doesn't want to be one. I enjoyed the way she thought and was happy with her growth throughout the story. There is a lot of soul searching for her and in the end she is finally happy with herself. There is some romance, but it was very much in the background with the storyline and world taking the front spot in the readers mind.

I enjoyed the world building. Ames provided a lot of information on how the wers come to be and how the world works. There are a lot of different characters to get to know and it was fun finding out about the creatures they turned into. The mystery wasn't as mysterious as I wanted it to be. There were a lot of dead giveaways to who the bad guys were and although one managed to evade my suspicion for a while, I still figured it out before it was revealed.

So in the end I did end up enjoying FROZEN IN AMBER, however I am glad that it was a standalone novel with an ending storyline because I am not sure that I would have been interested enough to come back for more. Have some extra time on your hands? FROZEN IN AMBER is worth the read.

* This book was provided free of charge from the publisher in exchange for an honest review.
… (mere)
 
Markeret
STACYatUFI | 1 anden anmeldelse | Aug 11, 2015 |

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