My rating does not reflect this book, which is very good at what it does, only my discontent with the urban fantasy genre, which I have come to feel I have sadly grown out of,

I really liked this, but it started to feel a bit overlong and like it dragged in the middle. Awesome, original idea and the writing style was mostly fast-paced. Creepy cliffhanger ending too :)

(I received an ARC of this book from NetGalley and the publisher in exchange for a fair and honest review.)

In the midst of World War III and watching her classmates carted off to war, Callie discovers that she’s got a magical power: a connection to an ancient text. When she reads the strange poetry, she can project her feelings of peace to anyone who hears it… and with enough practice, perhaps she can save the world. Now, everyone wants to control her and angst ensues.

2.5 stars.

This book is pretty frustrating because there are parts where it is so very clear the author is a good writer. Honestly, it felt like she started with a lyrical and dazzling short story and then chopped it up and interspersed it with a mediocre urban fantasy. Here’s an example of Callie -Reading-, and these scenes are all beautiful:

“I already knew it by heart, each serif letter, each self-important capital. Even the images glistened in my mind, every golden apple, snarling lion and curling snake sliding through the grass. It was a mosaic of life, and all that went with life, all the harsh truths that made it possible. Evolution and extinction, hunger and prey, power and terror, consciousness, and the terrible loneliness that walks at its heels.”

I LOVED those scenes. When Callie Reads, she experiences these dreamlike visions and it’s like looking into the Heart of the Tardis.

I wanted more of this type of writing, but the rest of the novel falls short. We have some Baddies (who are also albino, so heavy Ableism there) who want the Book, and an Order that doesn’t communicate enough with our Protag. Been there, read that. Also, the UN is involved and there’s a priest, so this is like Inkheart meets the Da Vinci Code meets World War Z.

In every part but the Reading, the author is devastatingly guilty of Telling, not Showing. Here’s my favorite, which made me chuckle:

“I’d gone less than twenty yards when I heard yelling. It didn’t even occur to me to run the other way.”

Also, the relationship between Callie and her bodyguard is underdeveloped Instalove and just feels so predictable. I can’t even.

All in all, a frustrating read. Unfulfilled potential. I could see myself using excerpts of this book (uh, The Reading) as a mentor text for my students in a writing workshop, but I wouldn’t recommend the whole novel.

The devil's poetry by Louise Cole.
Callie’s world will be lost to war – unless she can unlock the magic of an ancient manuscript. She and her friends are being drafted and many of them won’t come back. When a secret order tells her she can bring peace just by reading from a book, it seems an easy solution – perhaps too easy. But how do you make the right decision when no one will tell you the truth? Callie soon finds herself hunted, trapped between desperate allies and diabolical enemies.
There are only two people Callie can trust – her best friend and her ex-Marine bodyguard. And they are on different sides. Callie alone must decide: how far will she go to stop a war? Dare she read this book? What’s the price – and who will pay?
Avery good read with good characters. I read at bed time it was slow at first but then pickedup. Can't wait for more. 4*. Netgalley and pikko's house.

I won’t describe the plot because I’m not sure I’d be able to and I think it may be one of those books where it’s better to jump in without knowing anything.

I liked this story at first. The concept seemed original, the world was pretty well described, I was into it.
Unfortunately, it didn’t last. I felt like the writing got messier and messier and it completely lost me.
I also couldn’t connect with any of the characters, they all drove me insane.
The relationship between the main character, Callie and the main guy, Jace, seemed rushed and unnatural. I didn’t see them, didn’t feel them fall for each other, I was just told they had.
Callie’s best friend, Amber, was insufferable and I regularly wanted to shake the shit out of her.
And Callie herself made me crazy. I couldn’t connect with her or the way she thought.
I felt like Jace was barely there too, that we barely knew him.
Also, different points of views were introduced as the story went forth and it made it more and more blurry.
Still, I wanted to know how it would resolve itself...
And then at 89%, the main male character, Jace, said : “You’re seriously scary for a girl.”
And I went like : “mmm fuck you”
And then, I skimmed…
Before, I was still planning to read the sequel… Now… I don’t know...