Venom and Song Baston and Hopper- Book Review

This is book two of the Berinfell Prophecies. I did not read the first one, but have read other titles by the authors. It is a fantasy/ otherworld/medieval feel type story with a wide cast of characters.

The good the bad and the ugly...

In reverse order...the ugly...the authors do a good job of describing some of the hideous creatures in the book.

The bad...too many characters, I suspect, even with reading the first book, the cast is too big to really do much character development of many of them, so some scenes were really forced and fell flat. I appreciated they put a cast of characters at the start of the book, but it was too little...too bad. There is also forced relationships between the male and female characters, you KNOW the authors are trying to communicate the characters have attraction to one another, but it falls flat, I think they would have been better off trying to sell the fact they are trying to be a family(after their individual families were killed via the first book) and work that angle. Also, there were a few chapters that really didn’t advance the plot, it just seemed like filler. There is a sense of finality with the ending, but then in a couple pages it leaves you wondering if there is a book three, and the way it read took away some of the triumph they had just achieved.

The Good. There were some clever tie ins with biblical truths, it is an easy read, they captured the sense of “a journey to a final battle” type book well, and the characters were all likeable even if they were underdeveloped. The authors write clearly and vividly. There are many action sequences and violence documented. I would recommend it for late preteen, teens and those who love reading about young characters facing adversity and rising above it, in a fantasy genre.

Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this book free from Thomas Nelson Publishers as part of their BookSneeze.com book review bloggers program. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255 : “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”