Fiction Book Review

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Book Title

Rowan of the Wood

Score: 44/60

Section 1

Did the story read like a movie?  6
Did you feel involved in the story?   yes
Could you identify with the primary characters?  yes

Addtional Comments

Section 2

Was the story compelling enough to keep you turning the pages?  6
Did you find the central theme of the book interesting?   yes
Could you identify the theme early enough to keep your interest?   yes

Addtional Comments

Section 3

Did you find the primary characters to be believable and interesting?   8
Did they have individual personalities and patterns of diction?   yes
Did each have an agenda of their own?   yes
Did those varied agendas provide enough conflict to keep you interested?   yes

Addtional Comments

Section 4

Did you find areas to be appropriately emotional/suspenseful?   8
Did you feel sad or worried/tense or anxious when you should have?   yes
Was there skillful build up in the story to create a forward push?   no

Addtional Comments

I thought that the story lagged a little in the middle. Rowan shows up fairly early on, and he and Cullen deal with the same dilema from then on, until the last few chapters when they finally meet up with Fiana.

Section 5

Was this book carefully edited and formatted?   8
Did you find word choices and tone to be appropriate to this book?   yes
Did you find yourself distracted by typos, grammatical an/or punctuation errors or other formatting issues?   no

Addtional Comments

Section 6

Would you recommend this book to the reading public?   8

Short Book Review: (300-500 words)

Cullen, Rowan, Max, and all the other main characters were well done, though Rex seemed to be a direct Dudley Dursley knock-off, only meaner. Ganging up with his football friends to pick on a blind girl? That's pretty bad. Rowan's plight is a unique one, but a boring one. Being stuck in the situation that's he in, there is nothing he can do. So he does nothing. Realistic, but boring. In the end Rowan makes up for it all, but it's a plodding journey. In much the same way, there's not much that Cullen can do. He's a foster child, loathed and mistreated at home, picked on at school, completely unable to deal with the stress of sharing his body with a wizard. He's shocked, frightened, and perhaps even traumatized, and since he doesn't know what to do, he does nothing. Cullen's teacher is one of those rare ones that has chosen to teach out of a love for children, and her feelings toward her beloved student are an example of the honest feelings that come across very well in this book. The most interesting parts of the story are those about Fiana. Her transformation over the long years as she traveled the world in search of Rowan is what kept me interested throughout the middle of the book, when Cullen and Rowan are doing little more than trying to figure out just what the heck is going on. When she obtains the power to continue her search forever, the lust for more power steadily grows until her quest has fallen by the wayside, her once-passionate love all but forgotten. The overall story is very good, the characters are believable, and the situation is bleak. Lovers of magic and fantasy set in the real world would do well to check this book out. A solid tale of magic, love, betrayal, and loss, Rowan of the Wood is well-inspired and lovingly written.