Superficial Main Character

On the surface, this was a tickbox of a certain type of fantasy crime. A woman at a crossroads in her life discovers her magical ability and a new home. This is thanks to an unexpected inheritance that takes her to a hidden town where the residents are magical in some way and new friends and dangers lurk. The trouble is that this was light on magic, light on character, light on romance or meaningful connections, light on town charm, and worst still, and light on much depth in the main character.

I found it difficult to like her. She seemed far more interested in designer labels and money than the people around her, and parts of the book sound like clumsy product placement. She notices nothing about her love interests but their looks and clothes. She also manages to learn very little about her own talents, never meeting or finding out more about 'her raven'. Most of the characters were one-dimensional, including her own it seems. Her lack of connection with others could be explained by the fact that she knows a master of dark magic and other threats hunt her, and that she grew up a loner. But it is unsatisfying when there is a lack of character development. Her materialistic personality can be understood to some extent by growing up with very little, but when that seems to be her main trait, it is disappointing. I got the feeling that the author was not yet at ease writing in the fantasy genre, and so skirted the edges of it instead of diving in. It's a shame because she has shown skill in her other work.

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