karlakolumna

It pains me to say so, but if I had to choose a word to describe this book it would be impersonal. While I admit that the story as a coming out YA story with a twist has its strong points here and there, I really can't ignore the fact that I couldn't connect to the characters at all, mostly because of the writing.

I usually really like reading books in the 1st person POV, it holds so much potential when it comes to describing a person and bringing them to life infront of the reader's eye. But here, the narrator's voice felt utterly unconvincing. No way got I the impression that the story was told from the perspective of a 17 year old boy. Instead, I got the impression that a middleaged man was telling the story, and not even in the most passionate way, on top of that; it lacked character, personality.

I think a better option would have been to go for a 3rd person narrator rather than opting for 1st person POV...

The plot in and of itself is okay, engaging enough, but I caught myself skimming through some parts more than once, so there's that.

The fact that this book as the first volume of a series ends on a cliffhanger didn't really fill me with much happiness, either. I usually try to avoid any kind of WIPs.
Even though I admit to being curious about how West will get out of his "mess" (and about proceedings in general) I am rather sceptical if said curiosity will be enough to motivate me to pick up Volume Two when it will be published...