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sorren_briarwood 's review for:
Coven
by Taous Merakchi
I recieved an ARC from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
Coven is an unobjectionable, if extremely middle of the road read. It feels a lot like somebody's first attempt at a webcomic: the characters aren't super well defined, the story kind of seems to trip over itself a little bit as it goes along, and there's some inconsistency with regard to the art- sometimes characters feel a bit "off model," or close-ups or awkward composition feels like it was put in place because the artist wasn't confident drawing the pose or angle that would have actually worked. Combined with slightly awkward panelling and some overstuffed dialogue bubbles, this definitley feels like it was drawn by an artist new to the medium. Not to say that there isn't potential here, though: the use of colour was thoughtful, and I loved the designs of our main gals: no same-face syndrome here, and a range of body types, fashion preferences, etc. helped them all feel unique.
In terms of the plot itself, this is pretty cookie-cutter YA urban fantasy fare, which is... fine, but definitley not very memorable. I think this could've worked better with three main leads- if not two- to let the characters breathe a little bit more and improve on the pacing. Their relationships also felt somewhat ill-defined: there wasn't time to establish their unique dynamics as pairs or really even get a sense of why these girls were friends (and even the narrative seemed to go back and forth on whether they remained close or used to be, and drifted apart?) I find I can't remember any of their names. It was nice to see a sapphic woc as a lead however, but again, the lack of focus on any of the characters individually means I can't dredge up any fondness for any of them.
Finally, the twist at the end was both a little bit predictable for me personally- it felt overly signposted- and... Arguably slightly undermined what little tension the book had managed to construct. This very much feels like the first volume in a series, as well, which makes for a slightly frustrating conclusion: I think that's what ultimately knocked this down from a three-star to a two-star for me.
Coven is an unobjectionable, if extremely middle of the road read. It feels a lot like somebody's first attempt at a webcomic: the characters aren't super well defined, the story kind of seems to trip over itself a little bit as it goes along, and there's some inconsistency with regard to the art- sometimes characters feel a bit "off model," or close-ups or awkward composition feels like it was put in place because the artist wasn't confident drawing the pose or angle that would have actually worked. Combined with slightly awkward panelling and some overstuffed dialogue bubbles, this definitley feels like it was drawn by an artist new to the medium. Not to say that there isn't potential here, though: the use of colour was thoughtful, and I loved the designs of our main gals: no same-face syndrome here, and a range of body types, fashion preferences, etc. helped them all feel unique.
In terms of the plot itself, this is pretty cookie-cutter YA urban fantasy fare, which is... fine, but definitley not very memorable. I think this could've worked better with three main leads- if not two- to let the characters breathe a little bit more and improve on the pacing. Their relationships also felt somewhat ill-defined: there wasn't time to establish their unique dynamics as pairs or really even get a sense of why these girls were friends (and even the narrative seemed to go back and forth on whether they remained close or used to be, and drifted apart?) I find I can't remember any of their names. It was nice to see a sapphic woc as a lead however, but again, the lack of focus on any of the characters individually means I can't dredge up any fondness for any of them.
Finally, the twist at the end was both a little bit predictable for me personally- it felt overly signposted- and... Arguably slightly undermined what little tension the book had managed to construct. This very much feels like the first volume in a series, as well, which makes for a slightly frustrating conclusion: I think that's what ultimately knocked this down from a three-star to a two-star for me.