Premonitions
Author: Jamie Schultz
Reviewer: Gikany & Una
Rating: C+
What We’re Talking About:
Premonitions is an interesting novel that follows the bad guys as they try to survive the larger predators of the crime world. It is slow to start and Gikany and Una found it to be a bit lacking, though the potential was there.
The novel begins very slowly with Karyn and her crew celebrating after a successful theft and finding out about a new job. It wasn’t until over halfway through the novel that the action picked up. As the novel unfolds, we watch as the different pieces and people are moved into position for the big heist. This big job is one that they cannot refuse (if they want to continue in their chosen profession) offered by someone who can easily make them disappear if he chooses. Enoch is truly a big bad which allows us to root for these “lesser” criminals. However, it feels as if the bulk of the novel is the preparations for the heist, which is not all that interesting. We are given snippets of the players, but not enough to truly connect.
Premonitions is told through numerous points of view. Although it aids in giving a more rounded view of what is going on, there were too many shifting narrations. The frequent points of view changes made the reading of the novel jumpy. Also, because we are given so many glimpses of all the interested parties, it never allows for us to connect deeply with any of them. Especially considering that Karyn and Anna are our protagonists, we have only an inkling of their connection. We know how they met and that they had an instant bond that has connected them, but we were not able to experience it enough to partake of the connection ourselves. That despite this deep bond between them, Karyn finds she can just walk away from without a moment’s hesitation seemed wrong to us and confused us further. We are also only given glimpses of what appears to be a growing connection between Anna and Genevieve and therefore have no vested emotional interest in their developing relationship. We root Karyn’s crew (since they are fighting against evil) but it is without heart or passion.
Although in the end some wrongs are righted, there are still many lose ends at the conclusion of Premonitions. Without giving anything away, the team continues to find itself lost and in service to Enoch. Maybe the overarching plot of this series deals with how the crew frees themselves from Enoch. We are also left with some confusion over the plight of Karyn. It seems that as she ages either her abilities are getting stronger or she is building immunity to the Blind, the black market substance that helps to counter her abilities. Maybe it is a bit of both, but it seems that she requires more of it and that the effects of it last for shorter and shorter durations. We are not sure what the future could hold for her, if there is any hope for her.
Gikany and Una never like to judge a series by the first book. Although Premonitions fell a bit flat for us, we are interested to see what is in store for Karyn and her crew along with Enoch. The world has some great potential as do the characters, if the second book can help to build the emotional ties we need to be more fully invested in the story. As well as smooth the narration with less points of view and/or view point changes so we do not have to change gears so frequently.
Our Rating: C+ Liked It, but we had issues
About the Book:
TWO MILLION DOLLARS…
It’s the kind of score Karyn Ames has always dreamed of—enough to set her crew up pretty well and, more important, enough to keep her safely stocked on a very rare, very expensive black market drug. Without it, Karyn hallucinates slices of the future until they totally overwhelm her, leaving her unable to distinguish the present from the mess of certainties and possibilities yet to come.
The client behind the heist is Enoch Sobell, a notorious crime lord with a reputation for being ruthless and exacting—and a purported practitioner of dark magic. Sobell is almost certainly condemned to Hell for a magically extended lifetime full of shady dealings. Once you’re in business with him, there’s no backing out.
Karyn and her associates are used to the supernatural and the occult, but their target is more than just the usual family heirloom or cursed necklace. It’s a piece of something larger. Something sinister.
Karyn’s crew, and even Sobell himself, are about to find out just how powerful it is… and how powerful it may yet become.
Release Date: July 1, 2014
Publisher: Roc
Series: unnamed series #1
ISBN: #978-0451467447
Genre: Urban Fantasy
Format(s): Paperback (384 pages), e-book
Book Source: Publisher/NetGalley
Purchase Info:
Premonitions (Book #1)
