The Witch Avenue Series by Karice Bolton

[phonicphoenix]

I'm not sure how widespread the popularity of this book series is but I had a good friend recommend the first novel "Lonely Souls" as a free kindle read. I was in a dry spell with another book that I was reading so I thought I'd pick this up and give it a whirl to give myself a little break from my other novel. I have to say for a free read I was pleasantly surprised. One of the things I really enjoyed was the way it captivated the reader by allowing them to see a slightly more realistic version of "witchcraft" as it is in our world. Being a fantasy, there were times where it went into a more whimsical terrain, but overall I really enjoyed seeing influences of true paganism. The biggest flaws however are very evident from the beginning of the novel. The first chapter really grabs at you and you're very curious to know what happens. Without ruining anything, the main character is very repetitious in the way she dwells on the first event (it is likely mentioned on at least every other page) and by the end of the novel they haven't gotten very far from where they started. I guess pacing was the biggest issue I had with the novel. However, the dialogue and description of the interactions between the main character and the love interest were almost more repetitive than the plot itself. If I had to guess how many times the author used the expression "when he touched me it felt like electric currents going through me" I would be well up in the 30s or 40s. It seems like if there had been tighter editing this could've easily been a 4 star novel because it had that instantaneous draw to it. Even though I had my share of problems with it, I honestly still couldn't put it down. I haven't started books 2-4 yet but I plan to after I finish the book of the month and a few other stragglers that I am working on. Has anyone else read this series or even the first novel? I'd like to see what your opinions are on it! It's a pretty quick read so if you have a kindle app you should give it a try!

[gali]

Thank you, I might give it a try sometime.