The Paper Gardens

The first half of Moonlit was incredibly slow. There's quite a bit of plot progression going on, but so little is explained in that first half that you aren't even aware that the plot is moving at all. Really. From the first half of the book, I could have sworn that this was the story of a girl who lost her father in a horse-riding accident, who is working to get past his death. And finds out she has magical powers.

And then you hit that halfway point, where Tanzy goes to see her Origin. And the book changes drastically. It goes from "let's go horse shopping, you're my BFF!" to "everyone is out to kill Tanzy" in a heartbeat.

I liked the second half of the book. The whole "past life, genetic experiment, will destroy the world" thing was interesting, and I loved all of the various twists and betrayals and reverse-betrayals that happened. Some of the betrayals were plainly visible, but others were actually surprising.

In the first few chapters while Tanzy is in the hospital, it looks like the book is getting ready to set up a love triangle, but it quickly rights itself. And while the romance is integral to the plot, it isn't overbearing, or the only thing the story focuses on. I liked that the story was able to move on without Tanzy fawning over someone every few pages, and the fact that the guy she is obsessed with isn't some flawless, chiseled specimen. It made her feel like a stronger, more realistic character.

I understand books that throw in heavy romances as a plot point, or the entire plot of a story - they're playing to women's obsession with hot relationships. But when the relationship is the only thing that defines your female protagonist, it's very hard to connect with her. So I enjoy books like this that can take a romantic approach, but still work on actual characterization outside of the relationship.

Aside from the snail-paced start, this was a pretty good book. I'm looking forward to the rest of the series.