Review of Entanglement

Post by **Christabel Uzoamaka** » 16 Oct 2021, 13:10

[Following is an official OnlineBookClub.org review of "Entanglement" by Peter Hodge.]

2 out of 4 stars

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The political balance of Ukraine is hanging on a delicate thread. The country’s president is trying all he can to curb the Revolution, an uprising caused by his indiscriminate corruption and looting. But the country’s tension soon escalates. Despite a collapsing government and burning fires (literally and figuratively), Marius arrives in Kiev from Oslo to explore relationships and possibly find love. Margo is trying to survive each day, and she feels she may never find happiness. Iryna, with her hate for the current corrupt leaders, simply wants to use her position of power to uplift the interest of innocent Ukrainians. Can every character achieve their dreams, or will the Revolution prove to be too much of a complication? Will anyone be left unscathed? What is the future of the Ukrainian people?

My favorite thing about Entanglement by Peter Hodge is that the author built the story around a true historic occurrence: the Ukrainian Revolution. Even though the book is fiction, the high tensions of such a time felt real and immediate. The author did a great job of transporting me to Maidan. The ability to mirror reality while conveying intense and troubling scenes is something the author did perfectly. Hodge wrote in a way that made me curious about Ukraine, and I could not help researching more about the country and its history.

I think this book is a perfect way to draw the world’s attention to not only Ukraine’s plight but to the courageous spirit of Ukrainian citizens. Another thing that I appreciated was that the author used an omniscient narrative style. There were several characters, including Dimir, Victor, Pavlo, Anton, Rose, Hanna, and others. The narrative style the author used allowed me to follow each character’s story and importance to the book without feeling lost. I appreciated that the author took the time to describe most characters and scenes. I was able to envisage the black smoke and meet the tired, courageous protesters for myself.

However, the author seemed to focus on the Revolution more than the characters. The book does not have a clear plot, as the book focuses on different characters and the atmosphere the Revolution created. Readers, instead of getting a deeper look and longer scenes with characters, will mostly get a general overview of how the Revolution was changing the country, causing me to remove one star. I particularly disliked that some characters got unexpected occurrences that made me wonder why the author featured them in the book at all! Also, Hodge did more telling than showing. For example, it isn't until much later that Iryna takes action upon the hate that the author spoke about severally.

I also found several errors in the book, so I believe it needs another round of editing, causing me to dock another star. I can only rate Entanglement 2 out of 4. Ukrainian nationalists will enjoy reading about such a historic event in their country from a fictitious point of view. Romance readers may like this book, but that aspect fell a bit flat. Readers who enjoy reading fiction stories based on real events, revolutions, or wars can also enjoy this book.

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Entanglement
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Kingsley Emodi · Post by **Kingsley Emodi** » 21 Oct 2021, 04:01

Reading about the polity of other countries interests me. I'll check this one out when I find time between reviews. Great review.

Fareed Regal · Post by **Fareed Regal** » 21 Oct 2021, 09:22

Thank you for a very good review. I did not find anything that related to the indicated, genre, so will pass on this one.

Amy Luman · Post by **Amy Luman** » 27 Oct 2021, 17:00

Maybe the author should have written a non-fiction account of the Revolution. I do like the lack of good romance, though.

NetMassimo · Post by **NetMassimo** » 02 Nov 2021, 16:36

This novel seems to have good potential, so a professional editor might be useful to help the author develop it properly and with proofreading. Thank you for your honest review!