A review by melodicfate
Grishma by Kelly Anne Blount
2.0
2.5 stars.
It’s not often that you come across a book that you don’t love, like, dislike, or even outright can’t stand. But with this book, I did just that. There were elements that I appreciated, but in the end, I felt nothing for a good majority of the time.
The main characters were Brooklyn and Ryder. Ryder was more of a three-dimensional character, because he had a sad backstory, and he was a bit more developed. He was brave, and would do whatever he could to save the people he loved. I actually found him to be the only character I felt anything for in the whole book. As for Brooklyn, I didn’t know what to think. When she was first introduced, I felt sorry for her because she had a crush on someone who didn’t like her, and he and her best friend ended up spending time together. But then, she got unreasonably angry that that happened, and it made me mad. However, once the book moved along, all of that was just thrown away, and it became hard to tell what kind of person she was. Granted, circumstances prevented Brooklyn from truly being herself for a lot of the time, but I never got attached to her. I never cared about what happened to her. And that’s not a good thing.
There weren’t any well-developed side characters. Adeline was an evil villain, Aljid was a very jealous prince, and Ryder’s allies were steadfast and brave. But beyond that, they were very one-dimensional, and not developed beyond those stereotypes. I never got attached to any of them, so when bad things happened, I didn’t really care like I should.
The plot could have been interesting. It followed Ryder on his quest to kill Grishma, because the monster caused the death of his father, and the kidnapping of his sister and mother. It took him out of the world of Necoh, to Earth where he met Brooklyn. Through various events, Brooklyn ended up in Necoh, where she and Ryder became separated. Soon, everyone thought she was the lost-long Princess Sophie, and she began to believe it herself. There was betrayal, intrigue, and the ever-lurking monster. The world of Necoh was interesting, with lots of different creatures. However, none of this made me feel anything. I didn’t feel tense when bad things happened. The relationships between characters never impacted me. It just fell flat, which is sad as it could have been wonderful and different.
In the end, I neither recommend you read or pass up this book. It was a YA fantasy, with a whole new world. I did appreciate the author’s inventiveness when it came to Necoh and it’s various creatures. But the plot and characters never grabbed me, and I never became fully immersed in the book. So if any of this sounds appealing, definitely try it out for yourself, you may have better luck than I did.
It’s not often that you come across a book that you don’t love, like, dislike, or even outright can’t stand. But with this book, I did just that. There were elements that I appreciated, but in the end, I felt nothing for a good majority of the time.
The main characters were Brooklyn and Ryder. Ryder was more of a three-dimensional character, because he had a sad backstory, and he was a bit more developed. He was brave, and would do whatever he could to save the people he loved. I actually found him to be the only character I felt anything for in the whole book. As for Brooklyn, I didn’t know what to think. When she was first introduced, I felt sorry for her because she had a crush on someone who didn’t like her, and he and her best friend ended up spending time together. But then, she got unreasonably angry that that happened, and it made me mad. However, once the book moved along, all of that was just thrown away, and it became hard to tell what kind of person she was. Granted, circumstances prevented Brooklyn from truly being herself for a lot of the time, but I never got attached to her. I never cared about what happened to her. And that’s not a good thing.
There weren’t any well-developed side characters. Adeline was an evil villain, Aljid was a very jealous prince, and Ryder’s allies were steadfast and brave. But beyond that, they were very one-dimensional, and not developed beyond those stereotypes. I never got attached to any of them, so when bad things happened, I didn’t really care like I should.
The plot could have been interesting. It followed Ryder on his quest to kill Grishma, because the monster caused the death of his father, and the kidnapping of his sister and mother. It took him out of the world of Necoh, to Earth where he met Brooklyn. Through various events, Brooklyn ended up in Necoh, where she and Ryder became separated. Soon, everyone thought she was the lost-long Princess Sophie, and she began to believe it herself. There was betrayal, intrigue, and the ever-lurking monster. The world of Necoh was interesting, with lots of different creatures. However, none of this made me feel anything. I didn’t feel tense when bad things happened. The relationships between characters never impacted me. It just fell flat, which is sad as it could have been wonderful and different.
In the end, I neither recommend you read or pass up this book. It was a YA fantasy, with a whole new world. I did appreciate the author’s inventiveness when it came to Necoh and it’s various creatures. But the plot and characters never grabbed me, and I never became fully immersed in the book. So if any of this sounds appealing, definitely try it out for yourself, you may have better luck than I did.