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A review by morethanmylupus
The White Forest by Adam McOmber
1.0
I don't even know where to begin explaining how terrible this book was. I picked it up because it was (supposedly) comparable to Erin Morgenstern's [b:The Night Circus|9361589|The Night Circus|Erin Morgenstern|http://d.gr-assets.com/books/1320508797s/9361589.jpg|14245059], which I loved. It wasn't. Not even close.
McOmber completely failed to bring to life these characters and not a single one was particularly sympathetic. Moreover, the connections and relationships are shaky at best. Jane, Maddy and Nate are supposed to be the nearest and dearest of friends. It doesn't show. The main character, Jane, was a whiney brat. No matter the circumstances of her childhood, I just couldn't find myself liking her. Maddy is manipulative. Nate is selfish.
The what I will refer to as theology for want of a better term described in this book lacks sufficient details. Rather, the same details are repeated in different words. That didn't fool the reader into thinking she was gaining any new knowledge. While I have no problem with the creation of a new theology, I was wary of the interactions portrayed with other religions. Also, the explanation lacked so much detail that it hardly made sense. If the readers are supposed to be anxiously awaiting the completion of the novel to learn the details of this theology, well, good luck to them.
The other thing that bothered me was the descriptions I had read of this book's Victorian gothic story line. Um, no. If you want to read recently written Victorian gothic done right try [b:The Little Stranger|6065182|The Little Stranger|Sarah Waters|http://d.gr-assets.com/books/1348922866s/6065182.jpg|5769396].
I wanted to like this book, I really did. I just ... couldn't. The ratings this book got utterly baffles me.
McOmber completely failed to bring to life these characters and not a single one was particularly sympathetic. Moreover, the connections and relationships are shaky at best. Jane, Maddy and Nate are supposed to be the nearest and dearest of friends. It doesn't show. The main character, Jane, was a whiney brat. No matter the circumstances of her childhood, I just couldn't find myself liking her. Maddy is manipulative. Nate is selfish.
The what I will refer to as theology for want of a better term described in this book lacks sufficient details. Rather, the same details are repeated in different words. That didn't fool the reader into thinking she was gaining any new knowledge. While I have no problem with the creation of a new theology, I was wary of the interactions portrayed with other religions. Also, the explanation lacked so much detail that it hardly made sense. If the readers are supposed to be anxiously awaiting the completion of the novel to learn the details of this theology, well, good luck to them.
The other thing that bothered me was the descriptions I had read of this book's Victorian gothic story line. Um, no. If you want to read recently written Victorian gothic done right try [b:The Little Stranger|6065182|The Little Stranger|Sarah Waters|http://d.gr-assets.com/books/1348922866s/6065182.jpg|5769396].
I wanted to like this book, I really did. I just ... couldn't. The ratings this book got utterly baffles me.