Official Review: Bending Nature by Samantha Stone

katiesquilts · Post by **katiesquilts** » 02 Jan 2016, 20:11

[Following is the official OnlineBookClub.org review of "Bending Nature" by Samantha Stone.]

3 out of 4 stars

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Bending Nature by Samantha Stone is a vampire novel aimed towards young adults. Julie Sparks is an average teen who is in love with a statue in her local art museum. Her crush seems unrequited until one day the statue comes to life, killing the men who were trying to steal him/it. The statue, Michael, is actually a vampire – and since Julie was unfortunate enough to witness the entire event, she finds herself involved in Michael’s world and targeted by the men after him.

Michael is different from the typical vampire. He can go out in the sunlight, “swoon” people into following his suggestions, and he has many other neat tricks to show off to Julie and her friends. It’s quite obvious that Stone had fun thinking up twists on the original vampire lore. Not only did she make the lore her own, she also went as far as to make an entirely new world for her vampires, with an entirely new society. The background of that world and how it influenced the vampires as beings, as well as the storyline itself, was a great addition to the novel.

More than the world set-up, I thought that the wide arrangement of memorable characters was the novel’s best asset. Each character had a well-defined, strong personality. It was also interesting to see how each character interacted with each other as Julie tried to keep Michael’s vampire side a secret from her friends.

Unfortunately, some of the characters in the novel seemed to be created just to fill in stereotypes. Emo kid? Check. Sassy blond fashionista? Check. Cheerleaders with nasty personalities? Check. And of course Julie, our super-normal nothing-special protagonist. Although the characters’ personalities were spot-on, I don’t think the author needed to empathize their place on the high school food chain. Or, since they never really went to school anyways, their specific character tropes.

Another problem I had with the novel was the writing style. The author focused too much on the actions of the characters, especially before and after lines of dialogue. It was almost as if she was afraid to have a short line of dialogue with blank space after it, so she had the character stand up or fling their arms open wide or bat their eyelashes, just to take up space. It was very distracting and felt more like she was trying to direct a movie rather than have a group of friends talk casually. In my opinion, the flow of the novel would go much more smoothly if she took a few of those lines out and toned down a few of the more outlandish gestures, such as the “Japanese anime smile” Julie’s friend gives her. Sometimes a simple “grin” works better. Readers are very good at visualizing details even when given only a minimum of detail, so it’s never necessary to write down every move they make.

Overall, I would give this book 3 out of 4 stars. In its current state there are a few typos and grammatical errors, but it is completely readable and enjoyable. The story is very involved and has obviously had much thought put into it, even if the pace is a little fast in some places. I would recommend it to young readers who enjoy supernatural romance.

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Bending Nature
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gali · Post by **gali** » 04 Jan 2016, 14:27

Great review! I am glad you enjoyed the book.

bluemel4 · Post by **bluemel4** » 04 Jan 2016, 15:42

Fantastic review! You made very insightful comments about the book. I really liked how you introduced the stereotypical characters.

katiesquilts · Post by **katiesquilts** » 04 Jan 2016, 20:24

Thanks for reading my review!

Ramona · Post by **Ramona** » 07 Jan 2016, 18:23

Thanks for an interesting review. I agree that often times less is more! It's something I have had to learn! I'm still learning! I still have to fight off the "more" every time I write anything!!

katiesquilts · Post by **katiesquilts** » 07 Jan 2016, 19:07

Ramona wrote:Thanks for an interesting review. I agree that often times less is more! It's something I have had to learn! I'm still learning! I still have to fight off the "more" every time I write anything!!

Indeed! I feel like the "more" happens because the writer's brain and the reader's brain work at different speeds... For example, your brain is working overtime when you're writing, so it makes sense to add in a little bit more, but a reader approaches the sentences at a different pace, so what seemed natural is now unnatural!

Or something like that.

I could be completely wrong! It's been a while since I've written anything, so I'm a little envious that you're able to keep at it! Good luck!

LivreAmour217 · Post by **LivreAmour217** » 07 Jan 2016, 20:10

Although I don't think that this book is for me, I enjoyed reading your review. You did an excellent job describing the book's strengths and weaknesses!

kimmyschemy06 · Post by **kimmyschemy06** » 08 Jan 2016, 06:52

I think I've read enough vampire stories to last me a lifetime

. But then again, this might be different, like you said the author made 'an entirely new world for her vampires'. I see your point about 'outlandish gestures', they tend to be distracting sometimes.

steampunk_girl · Post by **steampunk_girl** » 10 Jan 2016, 15:10

Great Review! Not really into vampire stories at the moment, but when I am i'll being sure to give this a try.

katiesquilts · Post by **katiesquilts** » 10 Jan 2016, 15:13

Yes, I'm sure it would be better to read this around Halloween, when vampire and supernatural stories really seem to come to life!

If you ever decide to give it a read, let me know what you think! I'm always interesting in hearing other people's opinions!

anonanemone · Post by **anonanemone** » 18 Feb 2016, 11:27

This does sound like an interesting read, although I do tend to get annoyed with overly clichéd characters. The statue thing reminds me of the Anne Rice vampires (Akasha & Enkil). I am interested to see what is different about this vampire mythology. Congrats to the author on a good review!

signed · Post by **signed** » 25 Aug 2016, 09:08

Thanks for the review!

Strangerthanfiction · Post by **Strangerthanfiction** » 25 Aug 2016, 09:08

Great review! I love vampire novels for all ages and download my copy. Thank you.

lydialeigh71 · Post by **lydialeigh71** » 25 Aug 2016, 09:25

Great review! honest and to the point. Going to have to check this novel out for myself. hmmm since it is "young adult" do I need to hide the cover while I am reading in public places? neh

jesguz29 · Post by **jesguz29** » 25 Aug 2016, 09:38

Good review although the book sounds eerily similar to Twilight. However I don't think Twilight had an emo kid!

Seeing how I love vampires I still want to read this. The overly described actions can be a bit annoying but but does help to paint a clearer picture as to what is going on in the story.