Not Your Mother's Author

Stars: 3.5. I found the story engaging and the characters interesting. Sera didn't draw me in as much as I hoped, but I did find her pain believable. Archer's issues also felt real. I like the side characters of Bookie and Nanette. The plot flows well. Although, I would liked to have seen Sera resist a little more and not handle the situation quite as well as she did. She seemed more inquisitive about it, instead of freaking out.

The world building was the problem for me. It was very intricate and I can only imagine the amount of notes the author has on it. However, it wasn't conveyed well enough to understand - too many unique terms (talya, teshuva, djinn, etc.), demon types not explained well (enigma-class etc), the powers weren't clear (still not sure of Sera's exact ability) and the descriptions were beautiful but too abstract for me to actually imagine.

That said, there is so much opportunity for growth here - both with the storylines in the series and the author's writing. I think once Slade figures out how to show us more of her world and make it palpable, we'll see great things from her.