User blog:SecretCircleMegaFan/The Bone Season - my review

Hi everyone. I finished reading the first novel of the Bone Season series just yesterday, and I'm quite happy I received an uncorrected proof (thanks again Wikia and Gcheung28!). This was definitely one of the best read I had this year. Now, time for a little review, spoiler-free, I swear.

'''First things first, about the bright side of the novel. '''
 * a compelling universe: the world of the clairvoyant is well-built and original; a welcome change from vampires, werewolves, angels, witches and else.
 * a damn-good heroine. No need for a damzel in distress when you have a girl/young woman who can defend herself and make her own choices from the very beginning of the novel. This is refreshing from all the standards. And other characters I wish I knew more about. Sometimes, I could read a book and tell myself that the secondary characters were useless; but here, it's not the case. Especially the Seven Seals.
 * Mystery. No need to say more. The novel has shed some light on the intrigue, the secrets of the antagonists, etc -- but not that much when you think of it. And it must be a good thing to keep mystery for the sequels.
 * Characters do die (I won't tell who) ! I love that the author is not counting the blows. You would think "oh she killed --- ; then she won't kill any more character", but you're wrong. Even though you hate to see some die, because you grew close to them really quickly. But in this novel, say your goodbyes to unicorns, rainbows and cotton candy; welcome blood and death "à la Hunger Games".

'''But, there are also some flaws to this novel. And this is what is tragic about it, because you would LOVE for this first novel to be an EXCELLENT one; but in fact, it only remains a really good good (yes, double "good") one. Here's why:'''
 * Am I allowed to say that jumping right in this world was one of the hardest thing in the world? Because I had much difficulty with the first two chapters of the novel because of their complexity. One would expect an easier beginning with such a greatly-built universe. It took me some time to adapt to the specific words and everything.
 * the way the author reveals things at some point. Yes, mystery has to revealed at some points of the novel, otherwise we would understand nothing. But I sometimes had the feeling the author, instead of showing us, was directly telling us what is to be revealed. It was like the characters were sometimes giving a lecture, simply - and it bothered me.
 * the romance... Where does that come from? I mean, I didn't see it coming AT ALL. Never once while I was reading was I expecting this (friendship, yes - love, no). And because of it, the heroine lost a little of her "over-greatness" in the end.

That's it. I hope I won't have spoiled anything; I did my best not to mention anything important.