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A review by lmagie
Soul Journey (Soul Series Book 1) by Miranda Shanklin
adventurous
emotional
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
2.25
First off, narration, different voices and pacing was really great, all that achieved by Mae Ruling. Definitely will look out for other audiobooks she might narrate.
In summary, this is a YA highschool drama with supernatural elements with an awesome premise and world building, but has a long way to go in regards of showing, telling and foreshadowing.
I will not be reading the rest of the series, though.
In detail:
*Too much telling, too little showing*
dialogue and descriptions are used as a crutch to explain to the reader what's going on instead of showing it through a scene and letting reader figure it out. Foreshadowing and hints could help with this.
*info dump*
Dialogue and internal dialogue's only purpose seems to be explaining what's happening or why it's happening. Author should probably look up about "cow tools" in the writing community.
*Unrealistic dialogue*
Every character agrees with each other too easy and quickly. Even "bad guys".
No one has negative feelings for more than a scene, they're too "mature".
*MC could be considered a Mary-Sue*
MC is too perfect. Her flaws aren't even really treated as flaws. This isn't an interview where you say your biggest weakness is perfectionism.
From chapter 1 it's repeated to us how perfect MC's life was.
Maybe it's more of an author self-insert, about how she would've liked to react and what kind of relationships she'd like to have.
*Insta love*
MC falls in love with new character from chapter 1, scene 1. Even when having a boyfriend of years. Kinda cringy in the first quarter of the book.
To be fair, insta love is just hard to swallow in general.
*Highschool drama > supernatural*
80% of the book was more about teenage relationships and writing about school than about the supernatural element.
Also, it was too obvious there would be a supernatural element. Everyone kept looking at MC as if they knew something she didn't. All the time. It could've been hinted at subtly a few times instead.
*World building*
Awesome premise. Great world building in general. A whole society, rules and original elements. My only complain is that the real " bad guys" don't seem to have a clear reason to be evil.
In summary, this is a YA highschool drama with supernatural elements with an awesome premise and world building, but has a long way to go in regards of showing, telling and foreshadowing.
I will not be reading the rest of the series, though.
In detail:
*Too much telling, too little showing*
dialogue and descriptions are used as a crutch to explain to the reader what's going on instead of showing it through a scene and letting reader figure it out. Foreshadowing and hints could help with this.
*info dump*
Dialogue and internal dialogue's only purpose seems to be explaining what's happening or why it's happening. Author should probably look up about "cow tools" in the writing community.
*Unrealistic dialogue*
Every character agrees with each other too easy and quickly. Even "bad guys".
No one has negative feelings for more than a scene, they're too "mature".
*MC could be considered a Mary-Sue*
MC is too perfect. Her flaws aren't even really treated as flaws. This isn't an interview where you say your biggest weakness is perfectionism.
From chapter 1 it's repeated to us how perfect MC's life was.
Maybe it's more of an author self-insert, about how she would've liked to react and what kind of relationships she'd like to have.
*Insta love*
MC falls in love with new character from chapter 1, scene 1. Even when having a boyfriend of years. Kinda cringy in the first quarter of the book.
To be fair, insta love is just hard to swallow in general.
*Highschool drama > supernatural*
80% of the book was more about teenage relationships and writing about school than about the supernatural element.
Also, it was too obvious there would be a supernatural element. Everyone kept looking at MC as if they knew something she didn't. All the time. It could've been hinted at subtly a few times instead.
*World building*
Awesome premise. Great world building in general. A whole society, rules and original elements. My only complain is that the real " bad guys" don't seem to have a clear reason to be evil.
Minor: Death, Sexual content, and Blood
Death and sexual content aren't graphic, just mentioned it hinted at.