Official Review: Take Her by Midnight Taylor

Michelle-lit · Post by **Michelle-lit** » 12 Aug 2015, 01:48

[Following is the official OnlineBookClub.org review of "Take Her" by Midnight Taylor.]

2 out of 4 stars

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“It suddenly occurs to me, I don’t even know his name. I am promising my whole self to a man whose name I’m not even aware of. I close my eyes and inhale, trying to qualm the fear and anxiety that is threatening to overwhelm me.”

Take Her is set in the fictional village of Verti where the inhabitants live a very simple life. Narina, our seventeen-year-old protagonist, seems to have everything going her way. Although her outgoing personality keeps her from completely fitting in, Narina is soon to be bound to her childhood sweetheart, Diamo, who has also just become an apprentice to the village smith. She is looking forward to beginning her new life with her future mate; yet unbeknownst to Narina, her life is about to drastically change, and her choices will greatly affect the lives of her people.

Through an unfortunate event, Narina is taken from her home and forced into an engagement with Prince Ryden: a man she has never met with a fiery temper. Narina must make a decision: should she make a break for it and run towards her freedom, or should she agree to marry the Prince and forgo a relationship with a man she is desperately in love with. The decision seems simple, but Narina’s dilemma becomes even more dire when the lives of her family and her lover become at risk.

Take Her would mostly fit a young adult audience with a little mature content. I feel Take Her has an appealing plot, but I found it did present a few problems. Regarding the writing style, it sometimes lacks a smooth flow, and the dialogue is often choppy. There are a number of grammatical errors which mostly consist of comma splices, run-ons, and misplaced words. In some instances, I feel that the story could use more description and detail. For example, there is a dinner scene where the details are vague, and the scene lacks life and color. This could be contrasted with George R. R. Martin’s Game of Thrones which is teeming with vibrant word choices and images. I was also disappointed with the conflict between Narina and Ryden. I was anticipating a Beauty and the Beast sort of conflict where instead of Ryden taming Narina, she would be the one to tame him. Instead the plot seemed predictable, and I was able to anticipate the ending. This is also book one in a series, and I am unable to tell what will occur in the second book. I think it would have helped if the author had split the book into three separate views: one view point for Narina, Ryden, and Diamo. This would have allowed for more conflicts and plot twists, and the reader might have a clearer idea about what the next book will bring. The relationship between Ryden and Narina was also borderline abusive and makes me hesitant to place this under young adult fiction, even though the writing style and plot suggest this. I feel the book was trying to make a statement about submission where Narina is the antithesis of female docility, but the ending seemed to negate this idea.

I gave Take Her 2 out of 4 stars. I feel that the author has the beginnings of a successful plot that would thrive in the young adult genre. However, I did not give the book 3 out of 4 stars because of the amount of grammatical errors it contained, its lack of descriptive detail, and the missed opportunity for a fully developed plot with an unexpected turn of events. On a positive note, I did enjoy the last quarter of the book, which contained the climax of the story. I felt the author took the time to increase the amount of descriptive detail and increase the tension between Narina and Ryden. I also enjoyed Narina’s flashbacks, which gave more insight into her character; although at times, they did occur too frequently, and made me anxious to return back to the story.

******
Take Her
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Tanaya · Post by **Tanaya** » 14 Aug 2015, 18:45

You make some good recommendations to the author and your criticisms certainly seem justified. Great review!

gali · Post by **gali** » 15 Aug 2015, 04:30

Nice and balanced review. Thank you.

dhaller · Post by **dhaller** » 19 Aug 2015, 19:28

Good review - You definitely have the art of reviewing down.

Just a note or two about your writing, if I may?

Try varying your sentence structure and length a bit, along with your word choice. It makes paragraphs more interesting to read. It also makes your writing easier and more fluid to read.

Keep at it.

Michelle-lit · Post by **Michelle-lit** » 24 Aug 2015, 13:52

dhaller wrote:Good review - You definitely have the art of reviewing down.

Just a note or two about your writing, if I may?

Try varying your sentence structure and length a bit, along with your word choice. It makes paragraphs more interesting to read. It also makes your writing easier and more fluid to read.

Keep at it.

Thanks for the advice dhaller

I'll keep that in mind when I write my next review.