Book Review Wednesday: Mirror Sight

Mirror Sight
Author: Kristen Britain
Length: 770 pages
(My) Rating: PG13

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I have to admit, I was a bit disappointed by this book. I was going to review the first book of this series first, but after thinking about it, I decided to review the most recent book first. 

This is book number 5 of the Green Rider series. Usually, I have not been disappointed by Kristen Britain. Her books tend to be fast paced with well-rounded character and interesting plot twists. It is usually very hard to see what's coming next, and that's something I've always really appreciated about the author...until now.

(As a side note, I would recommend reading the first four books first. Otherwise, you will likely be very confused.)

The premise is unexpected. Karigan finds herself propelled into the future to a world with no magic and where her history and time period has been deliberately forgotten. An immortal emperor sits upon the throne, and though Karigan is sure she knows who it is, she is in for a surprise. She must find a way to return home and share her discoveries with her time, before everything is lost and the future that she is living, become real.

Okay, now don't get me wrong. For the most part, this book is interesting and events usually occur very quickly. There were a few slow points where I wished that something exciting would happen, but character development is good too. I did come to care for the people that she encountered, and it was fascinating to see what could occur in Karigan's future.

My beef isn't necessarily with the events in the book, as much as it is with the book itself. 

*Spoiler alert for the next part, but I can't mince on words with this.* 

This book was a colossal waste of time. It was essential the "it was all a dream" plot-line, with a few changes. I'm not saying nothing significant happened. There were a few things that she was able to bring back that will help her time avoid the future that she experienced, but over all, she pretty much forgot everything that happened in the 700+ pages of book, also, because it occurred in the future, she couldn't bring anything back with her, including the memories or the experiences. So, essentially, it never actually happened. 

Lame.

Lame.

 

Lame.

This whole story could have easily been skipped with just having Karigan encounter someone in the starry space who gives her a riddle about the dragon fly weapon and Amberhill. Then, she could have appeared on the table, just like in the book and had the mirror fragments still impact her eye.

Was Cade really crucial? I don't think so. It was just another way of Karigan never finding someone she could be with. I didn't really appreciate the intimacy scene anyway. I wanted Karigan to wait for the right one (though since the events in the future never really happened, that makes the scene even more unnecessary). 

This isn't negated by the fact that she remembers them all at the end, due to Yates interference. In fact, that makes it worse, because now she can pine for someone who never will exist. 

Superlame.

Okay, I'm done.

*Spoilers finished*

There were some points that I really did like in the story, and like I said the book kept me interested and reading. It was fun to see Karigan stir things up and send out ripples of chaos. 

All in all, I hope that the sixth book is better, or I may just leave in disgust. 

Lame.

Parental Guide

I'm giving this book a PG-13, though it was bordering on R. There was an intimacy scene, and though it doesn't describe the actual act, it doesn't really skimp on the foreplay. 

As far as violence goes, there is mention of rape and torture that occurred in the past to a minor (not underage, just not a main character) character, and in some scenes torture is described a bit. People die, though the descriptions are not really gratuitous. 

There is some language, but it is on the mild end of the scale. 

Happy New Year!

I haven't written any goals yet. That's tomorrow's goal, I think.

He loves his dog. Happy New Year!

I am pretty ashamed of myself though. I only blogged 6 times in December. I can try to make excuses for that, but honestly, I could have done better.

*Raises a glass of Martinelli's* Here's to a better blogging year (and videos)!

I am going to have some exciting goals this year. The most immediate one, is to buy a home.

Yes, we have found our home. Following the inspection next week, and barring any serious problems, we will be settling in this home February 13ish. That's almost my birthday, and it may be the only present I'm getting!

Happy birthday to me!

A couple of other things I've learned about buying a home. Earnest money has to be submitted usually within four days of accepting the offer or counteroffer. Once that happens, things move fairly quickly, though if you are getting a loan, you have to wait for approval.

It is an awesome home, and we are very excited about it.

Also, inspections and appraisals are not the same thing. Inspections are paid for by the buyer, while appraisals can be negotiated to be paid by the seller. If the appraisal finds something wrong, it has to be fixed before the  loan will accept the home. However, if the inspection finds something wrong, it is up to you how you deal with it. Hopefully neither will find anything seriously wrong.

Soon, this boy will be sleeping in his new bedroom. (And yes, they are both asleep in this picture).

Our puppy is growing up. Arkhon is almost six months old now, and as tall as Dakota. She's twice as heavy as him still, especially with her fur grown in, but his stilt-like legs move him faster than light.

We had some pretty awesome snowstorms around Christmas, and the dogs loved it. Kevin hasn't been enjoying the cold as much, but hopefully it will snow enough here so that we can go sledding sometime.

Ah, my snow dogs.

I'd like that.

I've also finally figured out where the first book in my series is going to end! This was the book I worked on for Nanowrimo, but the problem was that the plot is super-long. So, I was trying to figure out where to end the first book so that it would have a conclusion, but still be exciting. I think I figured it out, and it's really not very far away from where I'm writing. That means my first draft is about done! Whoohoo. I'm motivated to start writing again. Sometimes not knowing when you're ending is as bad as not knowing where you're going. I knew where my book was heading, but I just didn't know where it was ending.

 A lot of exciting things are happening, and hopefully by the end of next month we'll be in our new home.

Here's the goal of writing every day, Monday through Friday, again. I'm going to do it!

Hooray for a new year with new opportunities. When I tell you my new goals, I will also make an accounting of my goals from last year.