Cate Masters

Not sure what was ever happening in this book. It jumped into this world that I never understood enough to like, and then proceeded to describe things with a thorough lack of consistency or detail .

Apparently this is modern day but with magic? But not everyone knows about it? But most people do? Hell if I know.

The weird inconsistencies with the setting were just compounded by how vague and confusing the plot was. Jackson has shadowy issues, randomly sees a friend and meets a guy who he lets tattoo him while there are lots of misty allusions to "magic" and "fate" and "destiny". Then he does off and it's like none of that happened and he's just looking for a job?

Not to mention his out-of-nowhere insta attraction to Layla. They are literally having a (weird as hell) conversation where everything is as normal as it can be in this book, then he's talking about how he'll have to work really hard to stay away from her. Why?? Where exactly did this conclusion come from?

Just read like a rough draft,even though it had the bones for a really intriguing story.

Copy courtesy of Kensington Books, via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.… (more)

This is a short story re-telling of Grimm's Fairytale, The Griffin. Let me start off by saying that story is well-written and the pacing was fine. I have never heard The Griffin fairytale, so I have nothing to compare this to. However, I was feeling a little lost as I was reading. I did not know why things were happening or what Jackson's curse was. So after I got about halfway through the story, I found myself going back to read the synopsis. I did not read it prior to reading the story... sometimes I do, sometimes I don't. Sometimes I skip it because I like to be surprised by the book. However, this is the case where you absolutely NEED to read the synopsis. It's actually part of the story. If you don't read it, you will not know how Jackson got cursed (other than simple references to the curse until he tells the whole story to someone in the second half of the book).

So once I did the preliminaries (albeit late), I was more tuned into the story and understood what was going on. Since I didn't know the original Griffin fairytale, this was just a short story for me about a pair of curses, sacrifice and love. The griffin is Jackson (obviously), a bike-riding musician who can't risk falling in love. He joins the band Malcontent as a roadie, and is instantly captivated by Layla. Layla isn't part of the band, but is forced to travel along with them on tour by her own curse. I liked both Layla and Jackson well enough, but I didn't have a great connection with either character. This has more to do with the length of the book than the writing - there just was not room enough to provide the details that would draw you in to connect with anyone in particular.

Regardless, I liked the story and it was a nice way to spend my lunch break. I think maybe I should have looked up The Griffin tale before I read it, just so I had some background info. I would have enjoyed it more with the background, and also if it was longer and more detailed. I like really developed characters, knowing who they are and what their role is in the story. The secondary characters we meet in the beginning - I wasn't sure what purpose they had, so I would have like to see their roles expounded upon. Same with some of the band members and roadies who were under Mal's spell - I would have liked some info on how that was accomplished. But otherwise, it was not bad.

I received a free copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. 3 stars / 2 flames.… (more)