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Shifting point of view can cause much confusion to a reader like me. It might be alluring for some readers and make better sense of story but it might be a mess for some readers.

cristinaro wrote: ↑01 Sep 2018, 07:58 Multiple perspectives or shifting point of view is the narrative strategy Linnea Tanner chooses to tell the story of the impossible love affair between Catrin and Marcellus. Such a strategy allows her to move from one perspective to another, including the one of the antagonist, Marrock, Catrin's half brother.

Do you think this startegy may create confusion or is it an effective way to give credibility to the story?
Is it a plus or a minus for the novel?

There are times when I dislike shifting points of view, but that is only when an author does not do a good job of clearly showing the point of view at the start of the scene or chapter. Linnea Tanner did a great job of making the point of view absolutely clear for the reader, so I had no issue with it in this book.

I think it gives credibility to the story and it wasn't confusing. You get a better sense of the characters and their motivations.

I have a tendency to dislike shifting points of view. Too often the author doesn't change voice enough to tell which character's head you're in at the moment, so I usually end up having to go back to the beginning of the chapter to remind myself who is telling the story. However, if done well, shifting viewpoint can add to the intimate feel of the book. I'm torn...

The author successfully managed the shifting point of view. I think it’s a plus for the story. Getting the story from multiple viewpoints adds another dimension to the book.

I didn’t find it confusing and I appreciated the different perspectives. It kept the story interesting

I liked the varied perspectives. The reader could really see inside the heads of some of these characters that other methods of storytelling doesn't allow for. I thought it also made the characters seem more realistic because not all of the characters spoke or thought or acted in the same ways. some characters had massive leaps in logic, others were methodical. I enjoyed it.

Shifting points of perspective can add speed and drama to a book that a single POV usually can't manage without feeling rushed.

For me, shifting points of view just depends on how well it is incorporated. I've read numerous books where I love it; I've read numerous books where it detracts from the story. In this book, I think it detracted from the story. It seemed like at times the only reason the perspective shift was to relay information, and not all of that information was necessary to know for the plot. I found it a bit cumbersome, and was generally annoyed by it.

For me, shifting points of view is okay in small amounts. I have read books where the story is told from 5-6 povs, and that was just annoying to me.

When they are done well shifting points of view can add tremendous value to the story; when done badly, they can drive the reader crazy. In this book, I believe, they are done very well.

I think the author did a good job of shifting perspectives. I appreciated that each chapter was entirely written from a single character's point of view. The most recent book I read for OBC would switch perspectives several times within a single chapter, and it was incredibly frustrating. Shifting point of view helps the reader to understand each character's motives, and I think Linnea Tanner executed this well.

I love multiple perspectives. It's interesting seeing everybody's POV and their thoughts.

For me, the shifting point of view was a big plus. I did not find it confusing at all, and actually found that it added suspense to the story. I always felt excited when the author switched to the point of view of a different character, as I was curious to read about the events that were happening elsewhere. The shifting point of view also helped underscore that Catrin was not the only main character in this story, but that Marcellus, Marrock, Rhan, and Catrin's parents were just as important to the fate of the Cantiaci kingdom.