Wednesday 5 September 2012

Review: In Between Seasons

Title: In Between Seasons
Author: Cassandra Giovanni
Publisher: Self-published
Released: 9th May 2012
Rating: 3/5

Kate Ericson has always known her life is a lie. Despite knowing that a war has been raging for the past sixteen years, she doesn’t know how it started, why it’s happening or indeed anything about her world, and refuses to believe the stories she’s been told, all of which are flawed. It’s a shock when she’s kidnapped by Hunter, a general from another tribe, even more so when she finds out its thought she knows of a secret weapon that can be used against the tribe Hunter belongs to, run by his father – who is, she discovers, her father’s greatest enemy. Gradually, Kate learns more about the type of world she’s living in and comes to realise there really is only one person she can trust.

This was absolutely not what I was expecting. Even taking into account the notice (which I read far too late) beneath the GR synopsis, this book is far more character-focused than I would have thought. The book centres on Kate and Hunter both as individual characters and as a couple, with the world used only as a background. There was a significant lack of detail which I think worked in one way but perhaps failed in others. It very much helped to emphasise the characters, thus achieving the author’s goal. At the same time, I think I would have liked some time taken to be introduced to the world more fully, at least the world as Kate knows it. The writing had a distinctively rushed feel to it, and it was not long at all before the action kicked off. There were so many opportunities here for detail, and it would have helped with the confusion I couldn’t help but feel at times. Having said that, that confusion didn’t last long and I could quickly pick up what was happening.

Kate was a likeable character. It was good to see that, even if she didn’t know the truth, she still recognised the lies. Because of that, there wasn’t any time wasted in her trying to hold onto her old beliefs – already she was a stronger character, ready to move on, and that saved frustration. She wasn’t hesitant in leaving her old life behind and when the time came, she learnt how to fight, knowing it was necessary. What I would have liked to see in her character is perhaps some sort of emotional conflict to help her be more believable. When she found out the full truth about her family, she was quite accepting of it and was more than prepared to defeat them. It was up to another character to tell her that she didn’t want to kill someone she was supposed to be close to. She also had a habit of spilling everything at once and openly criticising things that were accepted by everyone else, which wasn’t a particularly sensible thing to do.

Hunter had me straight-up melting. Being a general and kidnapper, you’d think he’d be cold and indifferent, right? Not so. I felt really sorry for him because he had to keep up that facade in front of his comrades and his father. Especially his father. He had to go along with their crude jokes and opinions and basically not show his soft core. Around Kate, he was completely the opposite. He was allowed to show he cared, and it was more than evident that he did. It was sweet to see how she could see the turmoil in his eyes while everyone else looked at him and thought he had no emotions. The relationship between them was, I felt, a bit too quick to develop – and Kate was too quick to trust him – but somehow it wasn’t as annoying.

Overall, this was a thoroughly enjoyable book despite the flaws. I was surprised to find myself with something that was more romance than dystopia, but seeing as I’m something of a romance junkie (there, I admitted it!), it wasn’t too much of a problem for me. I would have liked a lot more world-building and explanation, and there were a lot of grammatical errors, but it wasn’t too hard to see past the latter and in the end, I just kept on reading. I’m definitely looking forward to reading Walking in the Shadows, which is being released next month.

A big thank you to the author for providing me with a copy in exhange for an honest review.

11 comments:

  1. Let me just get this out of the way:

    AAAAAAAH. An author approached you, Aa'Ishah! I know so many reviewers who've had this experienced but hearing about it every time makes me so fangirly... and slightly jealous. Heehee. Congrats, Aa'Ishah!

    *ahem*

    I've always loved character books because of my nature of liking people... most of the time =)) Sorry to hear that the character-driven-ess made the book a bit unbalanced.

    Great review!

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  2. Lovely review, A! I get some of the issues you mentioned here, especially with the world-building. That's usually been the problem if the book is more of character driven. I'm glad you enjoyed the overall. :)

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  3. I haven't heard of this before, but it sounds interesting enough. As long as I can invest myself in the romance fully, then I guess I'm happy to let the flaws slide. Brilliant review, Aa'Ishah! :)

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  4. It's unfortunate that the world building seems a little lacking, but I'm happy to learn that the book is character-focused. I like male characters that are tough but also have a soft side. Thanks for introducing me to Hunter ;)

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  5. Oh wow this book sounds brilliant Aa'Ishah, I love how you're expecting one thing but it provides so much more, Hunter and Kate sound like great characters too! Lovely review A! :)

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  6. Hey A, I have just nominated you for the Beautiful Blogger Award. I couldn't resist. =P For more information Click Here

    Good Luck A and may the odds ever be in your favour! :)

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  7. Wow this sound like an interesting read! I don't really like when the romance develops to quickly but I think I'll still give this book a chance. Great review!

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  8. Woah, I haven't heard of this one before, but it sounds really good! I really want to meet these characters - especially Hunter - and I loveee character-driven novels, so I'll definitely have to give this one a shot! Stunning review, Aa'Ishah! :)

    ~Keertana
    Ivy Book Bindings

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  9. I'd never heard of this book before, but this Hunter dude sounds quite interesting. Though the prospect of insta-love... well, that had me recoiling. Insta-love and I don't always go well together, but I've read a couple of books with insta-love that didn't really bother me a lot. Thanks for sharing your thoughts, Aa'Ishah!

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  10. Romance junkies unite!! I can overlook a lot if the romance is good. Wonderful review Aa'Ishah. :)

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  11. This is the first I hear of this novel it sounds really good. I love strong character driven stories and this one sounds very unique with a great romance to boot! Great review!

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