Image & description from goodreads.com
Isabella Foxworthy was just another girl…until she learned she was an empath, able to read the energy of others. A secret world known as the Violet City lies beneath her family’s hotel in Los Angeles. Through this discovery, Isabella is catapulted into a whirlwind of magic, adventure, and danger. The Violet City holds the key to protecting her stability; her family hotel, her friends, and her very sanity. With morphlings, empaths, and fair folk also comes a powerful entity that twists her mind into knots, threatening everything she loves. Now, Isabella and her new friends—a guitar-playing jock, his gifted but neurotic brother, and a set of over-indulged twins—have until her 16th birthday to save her world with the help of someone who's been lost for a very long time...the lost Foxworthy heir. But will they find him in time? And will he be a friend or foe?
My Thoughts:
To start let me say that the cover of this book is GORGEOUS! Moving on to the thick of things...there is a lot, A LOT, going on in this book. It was over whelming to be honest. Things moved at such a fast pace that you never really have time to acclimate to all the changes. Therefore, it seemed like the characters really didn't have any realistic time to adapt to all their changes either. I liked Isabella, Seth, Micah, Cleo & Xander. However, the domino effect set in motion by the pace of the story is that there is little room for character & world development. The world the authors write about sounds amazing but I couldn't really picture it. The characters were erratic and I never got a feel for them. The idea of the story is a really good one. I just wanted to understand it more. I can't really elaborate more without throwing in spoilers. Isabella is 15 but she seems more like she's about 12. Her circumstances from the start seemed confusing. She lives with her grandmother who she claims doesn't really want her, but yet as the story progresses all her grandmother wants to do is protect her. Several things just didn't add up. Even though we clearly find out who the villain of the story is other characters are left a mystery. And where did Isabellas' grandmother & Theophilus go at the end, then suddenly come back??
I could go on & on.
So, it's not that I didn't like the book . The story could have been amazing. I just think this book could have actually been two books with a lot more structure & development. There is a slight cliff hanger at the end so I know there will be another. I just don't know if I have the patience to read it. There's always hope that things will slow down and be explained better in the next one.
I received this book from the publisher through NegGalley for my honest review.
Recommended for readers 12 & up. Mild language.
Your review was great. Very informative... Even though it sounds like the book might drive me crazy.... I am going to give a try... That cover is just breathtaking!
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