Title: Eyes of Persuasion
Author:
Adrienne Monson
Genre:
New Adult, Novella, Fantasy, Historical Fiction*, Crime*, Romance (M/F)* - (*ish
)
Series: Blood Inheritance (#1.5)
A
few starting notes:
I
received a free digital review copy of this book from the author, Adrienne Monson, via The Review Chain in exchange for a fair
and honest review.
Long story considerably shortened - I applied to review a different book of Adrienne Monson's via The Review Chain, and ended up with this one instead.
Just go with it - s'all good ;)
Premise:
Isabeau Maybrick has a lot of cr*p going on - not only does she have to marry some dude because her douche of an uncle is making her, she also has to make money on the side to pay off said douche-y uncle's gambling debts.
(Yes, before you ask - I've had coffee. Let's do this!)
Oh, and to cap it all off? Isabeau has a magic-y eye power which means she can persuade people to do stuff - but it's more than a little hit-and-miss.
Best
bits:
This book is hugely enjoyable.
Like dude, it's readable, indulgent, and fun. Kind of like dessert in book form - too much is probably bad for you, but at this amount, you just have to treat yourself.
(Anyone else hungry for chocolate fudge cake right now? Just me? Ok.)
I like Isabeau - she's quite cool. But Meg, her resourceful maid, is clearly more of a bad-a*s, and I would've liked to see more of her.
The idea of Isabeau's magicky-type eye-power thingy is really intriguing - but I also like the way we didn't get caught up in the detail of it.
I think if we'd had too much of the ins-and-outs, it might've spoiled it a bit - the casual way it's approached somehow makes it feel more realistic.
The whole thing is just... fun... in the way of any swashbuckling entertainment with a side of fantasy, and just a smidge of crime as our intrepid heroine faffs about in boy's clothing as an early type of private investigator.
Not
so great bits:
I don't like the name Isabeau - I know that's a v personal thing, but it bugged me for pretty much the whole book.
Also, Isabeau feels a little damsel-in-distress-y more than once. Possibly because she makes stupid decisions. #JudgingYou Isabeau - stop doing stupid sh**, m'k?
Unfortunately, there were places where the writing felt sticky and clunky - like it didn't flow right.
In places, it just felt like the author had gripped the prose too tightly, and that can make it feel awkward.
There's violence, a lot of domestic abuse from Isabeau's uncle, as well as references to attempts to force her into prostitution.
There might've been swearing, but I honestly can't remember (note to self: pay more attention to the naughty words.)
Verdict:
This was enjoyable as all hell, and one heck of an adventure :)
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