A review by aeoliandeductress
House of Dark Shadows by Robert Liparulo

4.0

My Take on It: This story took a while to get into. I’m not sure if it was the elaborate descriptions or the whiny attitude of the principal character (Xander) in the initial chapters but at first it seemed cumbersome. Fortunately the chapters were short and within the first 100 pages, things really picked up. I appreciated the map given by the author at the beginning- I think otherwise following all the physical twists and turns in an already convoluted story would have been nearly impossible. The three male characters were all full-bodied with great personalities, full of contrasts, humanity, flaws, and strengths. I do hope the author chooses to do the same for the female characters in future books- I felt they were flat and frankly weak. I also hope the author fixes his issues of perspective in future books- this one was mostly told in third person limited from Xander’s point of view until the end, when David’s voice entered here and there. Either switch around regularly or stick with one person- please! Maybe that’s just me. Overall though, the story was fascinating and certainly leaves me aching at the fact that I won’t have time to read the next 5 books any time soon due to the rest of this challenge. Fortunately I won’t mind re-reading this one again should I need to refresh my memory before enjoying the rest of the story!

Overall Grade: B+, A very good start with an excellent cliffhanger conclusion. While the beginning was a bit overwrought with extensive descriptions and excessive internal monologues, this series has no where to go but up!

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