The Line by J.D. Horn

Sigh. I don’t like giving bad book reviews…

I was really looking forward to The Line. It is expected to be published February 1st 2014 by 47North. I haven’t read a magical book in a while and was really excited for a new series to unfold. However, now I’m left a tad speechless but yet I feel like I have so much to say. There was some good but some things I just couldn’t let go of. The book kept my interest throughout but I am left wanting more. The whole premise of witches and spirits in the South has SO MUCH POTENTIAL and this book just did not live up to that for me. I wouldn’t say “Don’t read it” because some people really like it, I just couldn’t get past some things.  

In order to properly give my opinion there will be spoilers ahead. Tread lightly…

Here’s the good and the bad:

World: I really liked the setting and world building surrounding this story. I like the idea of a magical Savanah and with so much potential in history to support a fantastic story. I think there could have definitely been more but I enjoyed what was given.

Characters: I really enjoyed most of the family dynamics. I love Ellen and Oliver and surprisingly even Mother Jilo in the end. The mystery surrounding Mercy’s mom and unknown father was alright and for the most part I liked Mercy. Hated Iris, hated Peter, hated Jackson, hated Macie… I couldn’t stand any of them. Iris was a joke and a lame excuse for a grown woman. Peter and Jackson? I mean what was the point? If there was supposed to be a love triangle here I DID NOT get it. Even when Mercy was under the love spell, it was just stupid… And Macie? I think this character was never really completed at any point it the book. She would just react and I had no idea why Mercy felt so attached to her sister. One minute J.D. Horn had Macie being loving, then exploding, then loving again, then trying to sabotage her sister, and then loving… I just didn’t get it, in general. Long story short I felt little-to-no connection to any of the characters I think I was supposed to feel drawn to.

Ending: Did not like it. I could tell that Horn is obviously leading into a second book but the whole pregnancy thing was a no go for me. I understand that sometimes first books in a series need to establish strong feelings for/against certain characters but all I felt at the ending was meh. Normally when I finish a book and tend to take the rest of the day to really gather my thoughts on it and relish in the story (Example: when Harry Potter ended for me the first time I read the series, I didn’t pick up another book for a good two weeks because it was all I could think about). When I turned the last page in The Line I instantly jumped into another book because I was just kinda over it.

Writing: It was good enough. There were some obvious grammatical errors but it had a good flow to the dialog and there were fluid transitions. There were decent plot twist and some good suspense in the last portions of the book however none of this was explained or executed properly, in my opinion. I don’t think J.D. Horn is a bad writer I just wished more time would have been taken to fully establish the storyline and really build up the characters and their relationships more. It felt to me that at times Horn didn’t even know what was to accomplished by certain actions or thoughts.  I think this book would have been a lot better if it were double in size and the thought process was written to completion.  

Overall it was alright. I read it in a few days and I wanted to know how the book was going to end. However! I want to add that I don’t know if I’ll pick up the second book (due out in July of this year) and if I do it will only be to try to understand what the heck is going on and what the Horn is trying to portray. I think the story is forgettable. 

It was okay

★★