Elaine White's Life in Books
The Author
Elaine White is the author of multi-genre MM romance, celebrating 'love is love' and offering diversity in both genre and character within her stories.
Growing up in a small town and fighting cancer in her early teens taught her that life is short and dreams should be pursued. She lives vicariously through her independent, and often hellion characters, exploring all possibilities within the romantic universe.
The Winner of two Watty Awards – Collector's Dream (An Unpredictable Life) and Hidden Gem (Faithfully) – and an Honourable Mention in 2016's Rainbow Awards (A Royal Craving) Elaine is a self-professed geek, reading addict, and a romantic at heart.
The Reviewer
I’m an author and reader, who just can’t get away from books. I discovered the MM genre a few years ago and became addicted.
Top #50 UK reviewer on Goodreads
#1 reviewer on Divine Magazine
Death Mask
Book – Death MaskAuthor – Lexi Ander
Star rating - ★★☆☆☆
POV – 1st character, one character POV
Would I read it again – No.
Genre – LGBT, MC, Magick, Warlocks, Shifters, Were
** COPY RECEIVED THROUGH NETGALLEY **
This one didn't work for me. First off, it was a 1st person narrative told in 3rd person style, so everything was explained in a way that is only really suitable for a 3rd person POV. We found out more through a 1st person POV than should really be possible.
There was a whole lot of explanation and detail that was neither necessary or relevant, and often it was repeated far too many times for things that we didn't need to be reminded about so often. There was also a lot of strange wording and a really strong attempt to be as provocative as possible, right from the start, using just about every swear word they could think of within the first chapter alone. It all felt very forced and unnatural. There was also a whole lot of stereotypical descriptions – e.g. Griffin's skin, the name Grim Misery, Grim's Irish accent, Red Hoods and dressing up like a superhero.
There are numerous explanations of MC life and slang that were mostly obvious, but wasted nearly 40% of the story not explaining what “the grace” meant. There was also a very strong attempt to keep things hidden, to hint at things while never actually explaining anything or giving answers.
The story was there. It had fantastic potential and there were a few moments that were great. But the overall process of storytelling meant that the emotional impact was lost and the chemistry was much more lacking than it could have been.
