Oh boy, I'm in the minority on this one. I hated it. Absolutely hated this book. The main character was astoundingly stupid and insufferably mean and judgmental (just because he has pimples doesn't mean he isn't a nice guy, Chloe). It didn't take long for me to start wishing her dead.
The plot didn't help things either because absolutely nothing happens (Chloe takes a good part of the book just to come to terms with the fact that she's supernatural not crazy *yawn*). The Summoning is book 1 of a series, but it could have easily been edited down to a few chapters.
And the writing. Yikes. I'm a fantasy fan, so by default I have a pretty high tolerance threshold for info dumps, but my god, Kelley Armstrong had Chloe Google "necromancer" and then read off the results. Remember when Bella Googled "vampire" and how cringe-worthy that scene was? Yeah, this was worse. At least Bella knew what the word "vampire" meant.
Own (but not for long)
Rating: 1 out of 5
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I'm not really a big fan of adult paranormal romances, and while I can't quite put my finger on why, Magic Bites definitely hit my Do Not Want buttons. Maybe it's the grit? These books always make me think of dirt and darkness.
It's weird because a lot of the staples of the genre are definitely features I like: tough but wary main character, alpha male love interest, magic, quirky side characters. I can get on board with all of that (just so long as you add a dash of Southern charm, maybe?).
But there's just something about the way those things are handled in a lot of adult paranormal romance books that just doesn't work for me and didn't work for me here.
I never warmed up to Kate, her love interest was somewhat repellant, the side characters grated instead of endeared, and the magic did not interest me. Add in a plot that just never seemed to grab me and a vague off-putting vibe and I'm kind of surprised I finished this one. Call it peer pressure. I know Kate Daniels is beloved in the genre, but I don't think I'll be continuing on with her.
Library
Rating: 2.5 out of 5
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Oh bummer that you didn't like Kate Daniels, Smalls! It's more in line with adult urban fantasy, but I just love this series. Everything clicked for me but I know it's not for everyone. Hope your next reads are much better!
ReplyDeleteMy sister had a copy of The Summoning so I borrowed it. I got more than a third of the way through before I realized why it seemed so familiar: I had started reading it before, had gotten bored with it and put it down. It didn't stick in my head at all, obviously! I put it down again this time; just didn't care what happened next.
ReplyDeleteI'm sorry Smallsie!!
ReplyDeleteI did like the summoning, you know? though for me the strongest book is the second one.
Sorry about the Iliona Andrews book too. May your next book be excellent