OnlineBookClub.org

[Following is an official OnlineBookClub.org review of "Letorian Descendants- Casey Blane Series (Book 1)" by Jodi Ann Fahey.]

Letorian Descendants by Jodi Ann Fahey, is a young adult novel and is the first book in her Casey Blane series. It is about a young, 16-year old girl named Casey Blane who lives quite a difficult and traumatic life. Her father abandoned her when she was very young, she constantly moves from place to place with her mom and younger sister, and she faces relentless bullying in every school she attends. She has always felt like an “outsider” but she could never put her finger on why. Her great-grandfather has insisted for a long time that Casey is a special girl and that she is in fact magical. Everything changes when a sequence of major events happen and she lands in a world where vampires, werewolves, sorcerers, and other mystical creatures are the norm. Casey finds out that she plays a huge role in this new world and it’s way more than she bargained for.

I had mixed feelings about the writing. On one hand, there were plenty of descriptive scenes and imagery that were used to describe Casey’s location and feelings, so I felt like I was there in the story with her and I could relate to her. However, there were numerous grammar and spelling errors and mechanical mistakes that should have been polished. For example, there were typos such as “bought” instead of “brought,” and “adn’t” which was missing the h in “hadn’t.” In addition, past and present tenses were not consistent and quotation marks were improperly used. At times, it was actually difficult to know which character was speaking because the end quotes were not placed in the proper positions.

In addition to spelling and grammar errors, there were factual errors as well. At one point in the story, Casey was in the hospital and her vital signs were mentioned, but the numbers listed were not recorded correctly. For example, 110/60 was used to describe her heart rate, but those numbers are a recording of blood pressure, not heart rate.

In my opinion, this book really needs to be more thoroughly proofread and edited, but those are really my only major concerns. Despite the errors, I absolutely love the premise and the story. This is a young adult novel which uses the typical formula I have seen in other young adult books. For example, a teenage protagonist who is secretly special in some way and plays a huge role in her society is definitely the typical format in most young adult books I have read. However, this book does have new elements and twists and turns that distinguishes it from other cookie cutter young adult books, so it is really refreshing and enjoyable to read.

I rate this book 3 out of 4 stars. Unfortunately, I have to knock down a star due to the writing errors, but the storyline itself is absolutely amazing. I highly recommend this book to people who like multiple genres in one novel. This book has a mix of paranormal, action, fantasy, and even romance. It has been awhile since I have read a book that made me excited enough to delay daily life chores and read instead. I do not want the adventure of this book to end, and I look forward to reading book 2 in the series.

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Letorian Descendants- Casey Blane Series (Book 1)
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Like CrescentMoon's review? Post a comment saying so!

I'm glad the story line on this one is good. It sounds quite interesting. It's too bad the grammatical errors kept you from enjoying it fully. Thanks for the review, though.

kandscreeley wrote:I'm glad the story line on this one is good. It sounds quite interesting. It's too bad the grammatical errors kept you from enjoying it fully. Thanks for the review, though.

Thank you kandscreeley. This was very enjoyable to read despite the errors.

Overall, this book sounds fantastic. I love YA fantasy. Too bad about all those errors though! I hope the author goes back to make a revision. Great review!

Afuglsan wrote:Overall, this book sounds fantastic. I love YA fantasy. Too bad about all those errors though! I hope the author goes back to make a revision. Great review!

Thank you Afuglsan. I agree, if the book is revised and proofread it would be absolutely amazing

Ah, I didn't need to read far to add this to my bookshelf, thanks for the review

geoffrey ngoima wrote:Ah, I didn't need to read far to add this to my bookshelf, thanks for the review

You won't regret reading this

I empathize with Cassie. Although this sounds like an interesting story, the errors will hinder full enjoyment of the story. Thorough editing is what's needed here.

The book sounds interesting. It is a shame lack of proper editing dampens an exciting reading experience. Thanks for the great review!

Your review is nicely thought out and well written. It is a shame about the lack of editing and that so many YA authors just stick to the same program for their plots.