Review of The Vanishing Act
Posted: 15 Jul 2023, 07:36
[Following is an official OnlineBookClub.org review of "The Vanishing Act" by Steven Crossman.]
When an enchanting carnival enters a tranquil town named Ravenwood, a curious Lily is desperate to get close to it against her parents’ wishes. She sneaks out in the middle of the night, determined to understand why people wish to avoid it. What she finds amidst the said carnival brings goosebumps—to Lily as well as the readers.
The Vanishing Act by Steven Crossman is an adventure short story with thrilling elements of fantasy. It is part of a 14-book series called Short Thrills. The author has written them keeping in mind the busy schedule of the youth, ensuring they can still enjoy a short standalone story during a break or before going to bed. Each book typically has around 10–15 Kindle pages and can be read within 15 minutes.
Lily is a headstrong character full of curiosity. As it is a short book, the story delves into the adventurous mystery right away. The readers may find themselves in a situation trying to warn Lily not to do certain things, as we often do while watching horror movies (even though this book does not have horror elements). The author’s language is impeccable. I loved the similes used in the book. My favourite one was, "Drawn like a moth to the flickering flame, Lily steeled her nerves and approached the tent." The comparison of Lily's inquisitiveness to a moth is excellent! Crossman has the talent to make the reader effortlessly feel what his character is feeling.
Even though I loved the language used, I would have appreciated it more in a long-format novel. Since this is a short story, the heavy words may slow down the reading process. It could also occasionally hinder comprehension due to the frequency of the complex words, lengthening the time taken to read the book. Thus, the purpose is defeated. Further, I could easily predict the ending, which momentarily took the thrill away from the book. Nonetheless, I thoroughly enjoyed the rising action and climax plot points.
The implied metaphor inspired me to be as courageous as Lily; therefore, I happily award the book 4 out of 5 stars. I reluctantly took away a star due to the reasons mentioned above. The book has been exceptionally well edited, as I found no grammatical faults. However, the PDF copy I received didn’t have the cover page or the author’s name. I would recommend The Vanishing Act to anyone above 15 who wishes to squeeze a mystical story into their busy and hectic schedule.
******
The Vanishing Act
View: on Bookshelves | on Amazon
When an enchanting carnival enters a tranquil town named Ravenwood, a curious Lily is desperate to get close to it against her parents’ wishes. She sneaks out in the middle of the night, determined to understand why people wish to avoid it. What she finds amidst the said carnival brings goosebumps—to Lily as well as the readers.
The Vanishing Act by Steven Crossman is an adventure short story with thrilling elements of fantasy. It is part of a 14-book series called Short Thrills. The author has written them keeping in mind the busy schedule of the youth, ensuring they can still enjoy a short standalone story during a break or before going to bed. Each book typically has around 10–15 Kindle pages and can be read within 15 minutes.
Lily is a headstrong character full of curiosity. As it is a short book, the story delves into the adventurous mystery right away. The readers may find themselves in a situation trying to warn Lily not to do certain things, as we often do while watching horror movies (even though this book does not have horror elements). The author’s language is impeccable. I loved the similes used in the book. My favourite one was, "Drawn like a moth to the flickering flame, Lily steeled her nerves and approached the tent." The comparison of Lily's inquisitiveness to a moth is excellent! Crossman has the talent to make the reader effortlessly feel what his character is feeling.
Even though I loved the language used, I would have appreciated it more in a long-format novel. Since this is a short story, the heavy words may slow down the reading process. It could also occasionally hinder comprehension due to the frequency of the complex words, lengthening the time taken to read the book. Thus, the purpose is defeated. Further, I could easily predict the ending, which momentarily took the thrill away from the book. Nonetheless, I thoroughly enjoyed the rising action and climax plot points.
The implied metaphor inspired me to be as courageous as Lily; therefore, I happily award the book 4 out of 5 stars. I reluctantly took away a star due to the reasons mentioned above. The book has been exceptionally well edited, as I found no grammatical faults. However, the PDF copy I received didn’t have the cover page or the author’s name. I would recommend The Vanishing Act to anyone above 15 who wishes to squeeze a mystical story into their busy and hectic schedule.
******
The Vanishing Act
View: on Bookshelves | on Amazon
