With a gorgeous cover and the promise of a paranormal thriller delight, this book held so much promise. Sadly, many of these elements didn't end up working for me.
But lets start with some positivity, shall we? I really liked the narrative voice harnessed throughout. It managed to keep things light and fast-paced, while still tackling this air of darkness.
The way the vision-bits were incorperated throughout is another definite highlight of the story. Admittedly, I was confused what was going on with those at first, but with the tie in at the end of the story? Absolute perfection.
What wasn't quite perfection though, was the rest of the ending. Honestly, it felt pretty predictable and lacked the stakes necesary to keep my hooked all the way to the end. There is also this extra level of creepiness that is just tossed in there haphazardly that simply isn't the move. I know that creepy vibes is kind of the whole point of this one, but it felt underdeveloped and just straight-up icky.
All and all, Dark and Shallow Lies held promise, but didn't work for me. The potential of it all is astronomical, but with a predictable premise, a layer of creepiness, and a chunky middle, it didn't end up working for me.
But lets start with some positivity, shall we? I really liked the narrative voice harnessed throughout. It managed to keep things light and fast-paced, while still tackling this air of darkness.
The way the vision-bits were incorperated throughout is another definite highlight of the story. Admittedly, I was confused what was going on with those at first, but with the tie in at the end of the story? Absolute perfection.
What wasn't quite perfection though, was the rest of the ending. Honestly, it felt pretty predictable and lacked the stakes necesary to keep my hooked all the way to the end. There is also this extra level of creepiness that is just tossed in there haphazardly that simply isn't the move. I know that creepy vibes is kind of the whole point of this one, but it felt underdeveloped and just straight-up icky.
All and all, Dark and Shallow Lies held promise, but didn't work for me. The potential of it all is astronomical, but with a predictable premise, a layer of creepiness, and a chunky middle, it didn't end up working for me.