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I love the fact that dauma is protective of her daughter. It speaks good of her. Still, she did not try to compromise her daughter's relationship with Adam, having trained her daughter well.

As much as I appreciated Dauma and Adam's relationship, it seemed very...out of place. Maybe because readers weren't shown all of their conversations or much of Adam's training with her, but because it seemed to advance and progress so quickly it didn't feel natural. However, it was nice that Adam got to have a mother figure who he wasn't in love with, and Dauma did do a great job of balancing both her strong her relationship with her daughter and her relationship with Adam.

As opposed to displaying a slow transition from cautious acquaintance to eventual friendship, the book simply tells us that Dauma and Adam have grown close. Among other things in the book (the growth of friendships, relationships, and biokenretic skills), I felt that the transition was awkward and a bit unnatural.

I really thought Dauma was going to at the very least, address the situation with Terry or Adam's darkness, but she just gives a warning to protect her daughter to Adam? And became a mother figure to Adam? I'll admit, it's nice seeing the bond they have sure. She is a good mother overall. Just that part didn't align with her personality.

I actually included a complaint about this in my review of this book. The author only tells us they've gotten closer, but they don't show us any of the time they spent together that made them become closer.

I applaud Dauma for tryingg so hard to create a good atmosphere for both her relationships with Adam and her daughter to thrive. It shows good emotional intelligence.

leximutia wrote: ↑06 Apr 2020, 17:12 As opposed to displaying a slow transition from cautious acquaintance to eventual friendship, the book simply tells us that Dauma and Adam have grown close. Among other things in the book (the growth of friendships, relationships, and biokenretic skills), I felt that the transition was awkward and a bit unnatural.

I completely agree. I believe that it would have been much better if we had not been left to “read between the lines.” I desired more character development throughout the entirety of the story.

eliviac35 wrote: ↑18 Apr 2020, 21:49

leximutia wrote: ↑06 Apr 2020, 17:12 As opposed to displaying a slow transition from cautious acquaintance to eventual friendship, the book simply tells us that Dauma and Adam have grown close. Among other things in the book (the growth of friendships, relationships, and biokenretic skills), I felt that the transition was awkward and a bit unnatural.

I completely agree. I believe that it would have been much better if we had not been left to “read between the lines.” I desired more character development throughout the entirety of the story.

You both summarize my feelings on the relationship between Adam and Dauma pretty well. At first Dauma (justifiably) dislikes or at least is wary of Adam, but then they seem, from the readers point of view, to magically grow incredibly close. Another thing that I think contributed a bit to the awkwardness of this is that it was never really utilized in the plot. Sure, Adam seemed to be able to read Dauma a bit better and the tension was gone between them, but you wouldn't have known they were close if the author hadn't directly told you.

I was happy that it was not a typical mother and daughter's-boyfriend relationship where Dauma keeps hating Adam. She analyzed and studied Adam sensibly and took an informed decision.

I definitely agree that there should be more detail. Some authors become so afraid of writing a slow story that they jump around, and that's the kind of impression I'm getting from this element of the book.

I appreciated Dauma's motherly concern for Carly especially given Adam's darkness, but I didn't entirely understand why she was so standoffish towards Adam. Some of the things she did weren't well explained, plus I didn't understand what made them get along towards the end of the book. It just wasn't elaborated on.

I felt like their growth was rushed and we didn't get the chance to see how it grew and how they became that close.

leximutia wrote: ↑06 Apr 2020, 17:12 As opposed to displaying a slow transition from cautious acquaintance to eventual friendship, the book simply tells us that Dauma and Adam have grown close. Among other things in the book (the growth of friendships, relationships, and biokenretic skills), I felt that the transition was awkward and a bit unnatural.

Yes, that is something that I felt as well - but I couldn't put my finger on it until I saw your comment. Showing is better than telling. I think that the author does show that they have grown close, but it would have been more effective if he didn't first tell the reader that they had grown close.

I do think that the development of this relationship is crucial to Adam's development though. I still don't trust him until after he gains a relationship with Dauma. I trust Dauma, and so I begin to feel that I can emotionally invest in Adam after I see that he has developed a relationship with her - and extends that to improving his other relationships.

We didn't get to read and understand Dauma and Adam's relationship in depth.

eliviac35 wrote: ↑18 Apr 2020, 21:49

leximutia wrote: ↑06 Apr 2020, 17:12 As opposed to displaying a slow transition from cautious acquaintance to eventual friendship, the book simply tells us that Dauma and Adam have grown close. Among other things in the book (the growth of friendships, relationships, and biokenretic skills), I felt that the transition was awkward and a bit unnatural.

I completely agree. I believe that it would have been much better if we had not been left to “read between the lines.” I desired more character development throughout the entirety of the story.

Definitely. One good thing is that Dauma expected Adam to be respectful and he quickly was. Even so, that change was also pretty instant. I can only hope that with her immense power, she could see that Adam was a good guy at heart and that's why she was comfortable with him around her daughter.