C.L. Denault

First let’s talk about that cover. Absolutely gorgeous. It is what attracted me to this in the first place. A to the illustrator!
Picture an old kingdom, with barons and baronesses, with pheasants and knights. Now transport this to a world with magical prodigies, mutant creatures called Ritters, and crazy advanced technology. Add that whole switch at birth scenario, stubborn female lead, complicated love life, and boom - you have Gambit.
Denault character development is on point. Willow’s story is that of a spunky, willful teenager and how she handles all the challenges makes her completely believable. She does not start of as this all-knowing, wise character. She makes rash decisions, mistakes and acts like an immature brat. The next minute she is thoughtful, kind and intelligent. With any young character, I would expect this change in attitude as they grow, and love that Willow is not an exception. Seeing her change into a strong, independent female character is fantastic (and I hope she continues with this path).
The love triangle..square?..is odd. I appreciate that it is taking it’s time to develop, and it just doesn’t happen, but am curious as to how it will go. If anything, this could make or break the next book.
Combining magic, science, and technology into one narrative can be tricky, but Denault has achieved this in her world. It took awhile for me to appreciate it, but by the end I was on Willow’s side, and am intrigued to see what will happen in the next one.
Not a bad read at all, though I wouldn't consider it stellar. The series as a whole has potential, but that could change either way quickly.
I received this from Netgalley in exchange from an unbiased review. That you to Netgalley, C.L. Denault, and REUTS Publications, LLC for this opportunity.… (meer)

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**I received a copy of this book from the publisher via Netgalley. All opinions are my own and not influenced by my source.**

I was really looking forward to reading this book but unfortunately, it came up short.

Part of the problem was the the plot seemed to take a long time to get going. It moved at a sluggish pace to me and that bored me. By the time we got to the City Core, my interest had significantly waned.

I find that bizarre because there seemed to be enough plot-lines to keep me interested in theory. But certain things just didn't click for me or they got pushed to the way-side so that I forgot about them.

The romance was also lacklustre for me. I didn't expect it to take centre focus in this story, but when it did, I wasn't totally on board with it.

And that might have been a result of Willow. I didn't really love her character. She wasn't anything new to me when it comes to leading ladies, but it took her a long time to get her backbone. If the girl we get in the last 50 pages or so made an earlier appearance, I probably would have enjoyed this story a lot more.

Overall, I'm sad I didn't enjoy this more because I really, really wanted to love it.

Check out more spoiler-free book and series reviews on my blog SERIESousBookReviews.com as well as read book series recaps!

Full Review: http://wp.me/p7hLUw-1vq

… (meer)