Saturday, August 11, 2012

Mere Enchantment


   Title Mere Enchantment
   Author Alicia Rivoli
   Genre Young Adult, Fantasy
   Publisher CreateSpace
   Publication Date April 12, 2012
   How I Got This Book From the Author
   Paperback 392 pages
   Stand alone or series Book #1 in series
     My Average .2 pages a day... that's bad.
     Reading Difficulty 2
(on a scale of 1-5 5 = dictionary vernacular)
Mere Train-wreck


When a newly formed group of teens takes shelter from a freak storm, they soon discover there’s more to their vacation spot, and their own lives then they ever realized. To escape the scary weather, the five friends find them selves separated in an unknown world, a world they were all borne in. Now, they must learn years of untaught magic and combat if they want to defeat this new world’s dark threat. 

Hit The Mark:
*Great story/idea. This novel has an intriguing plot, but it really needed to be developed more and come to more of a conclusion, even if the author is planing on writing more, there needs to be some resolve. 

*Intriguing world development. The world development might be the best thing this novel has going for it. I was really intrigued with the world and the strange new creatures. I wanted more. 

*Interesting characters, though I would love them developed more.


Needs Improvement:
*Long-Winded (especially in the first few chapters) The first couple of chapters could have been condensed into a single chapter. Use an editing eye. Step back and think, does the reader really need to know each food that goes into your characters mouth? Do we need to know when the secondary characters are cleaning the house or packing all sorts of foods into a picnic basket?

*Telling, not showing. This seems to be a common issue with many novels. The author gets caught up in the direction of the novel, and ends up telling the reader the story. Instead, they should develop vivid scenery, unique characters and delectable dialect - all of which will lead the reader through your story. 

*Unrealistic dialogue. Contraction, contraction, contraction. When you read a novel, YA especially, you realize that people don't talk like that. People use contractions when talking. 

*More character names than possible to keep up with. The tertiary characters didn't need names.

*Conflict easily resolved. What makes books interesting are not the crazy character names or unique animals, it's the conflict. There was a lack of conflict throughout the novel, and the conflict that it did have was all resolved entirely too easily. Like playing a board game with your little brother who makes up rules to his advantage. You've gotta break a sweat to get their attention. 

*WTF happened to the ending? It just abruptly ended, nothing was resolved. Chloe doesn't finish the maze. The 4 main characters never met back up. Preston's bride was never truly revealed. The main antagonist was never even confronted. It's as if someone tore out of the last three or four chapters of my e-book.


Rating: D




About the Author

Alicia Rivoli is the author of the Enchantment Series. She is a stay at home mom, and currently resides in beautiful Northwest Arkansas with her husband and two sons. She enjoys reading, writing, spending time with her family, and traveling.

Check out the interview.



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