Official Review: Cogling by Jordan Elizabeth

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[Following is the official OnlineBookClub.org review of "Cogling" by Jordan Elizabeth.]

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3 out of 4 stars

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Cogling is a YA Steampunk Fairytale written by Jordan Elizabeth and published in January of 2016. It is the story of a young girl named Edna whose life is turned upside down when her younger brother Harrison disintegrates into a pile of scrap metal after a mysterious pocket watch is removed from around his neck. A young thief named Ike recognizes the watch and offers to help Edna recover her brother, leading her on a dangerous journey to face a festering evil that has been hiding in plain sight. The premise of the novel showed a lot of promise. Intrigue, adventure, and magic are all but guaranteed within the pages. Sadly, the execution leaves much to be desired.

When I received the book I couldn’t wait to get started. The prologue and the first few chapters had a great build-up, but less than a quarter of the way through the book I was faced with a two-dimensional protagonist and a very passive voice from the author. The only thing that kept me engaged was the short glimpses from the point of view from other characters.

The novel picked up steam about halfway through the novel, and the point of views from secondary characters happened more often. As I read I couldn’t help but feel like when Edna’s characterization lost its consistency the author switched points of view to distract the reader. It was done pretty organically in some spots, but it was glaringly obvious in others. As the story rocketed towards the conclusion the author relied heavily on the old cliche that magic fixes everything, and the novel was wrapped up pretty quickly.

Before I started reading this novel I wanted to fall in love with it. Unfortunately, the author was an unreliable narrator and it was almost distracting enough in spots that I wanted to stop reading. There were some pacing issues with the action in the first half of the novel vs. the second half and the romantic element of the novel felt forced.

In conclusion, the second half of the novel was much more engaging than the first and, for the most part, I was able to get lost in the story. Jordan Elizabeth had a wonderful concept but failed to deliver a well-rounded novel. I’m glad that I gave this novel a chance, but I have to give it a rating of 3 out of 4 stars.

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Cogling
View: on Bookshelves | on Amazon

Like Em with a Pen's review? Post a comment saying so!

[bookowlie]

I really reading your honest, thorough review. At least, you were able to enjoy some parts of the book!

[kimmyschemy06]

That was a very honest review. The premise sounds very promising. Too bad, though, about the flaws especially the inconsistent pacing. Good job on the review.