I’ve just finished No-where but Here by Kate McGarry.
See it here:
Cover: Professional, fitting and non-generic.Editing/Proofing: Non-existent?
Editing/Proofing: Non-existent?
Characters: Complex
Overall: 5 star read, 1 star package. Split the difference and call it 3 stars?
This book is really hard to review… I snagged it on a .99 day because the blurb had me intrigued so it’s a good blurb and it is truly representative of the story. There are brilliantly complicated characters that sucked me in from the first page and there’s an air of mystery that, is one of those that – when some questions get answered, it only prompts more questions. As someone who predicts everything, I enjoyed this. It kept me guessing. And when I thought I had it all figured out, and it all came out, there was a detail I hadn’t seen coming! It’s so rare that an author – or anyone really – can surprise me.
Getting through the story and to this point would have been a glorious, 5-star experience… except for the lack of editing. I like a book to be professionally presented. I feel that unprofessional, unedited books are what gives the indie community a bad name, and I also feel that if an author cannot be bothered to put forth a professional-looking product, maybe I shouldn’t spend my time on it.
Throughout the book, I felt confident that this author had not used an editor. However, one is mentioned and even thanked in the back of the book so I stand corrected. Poor grammar, lack of punctuation and continuity issues are abundant. If her editor wasn’t checking for these things, I’m not sure what she was doing.
Ultimately – I’d give this book 5 stars if it was the fun, fast-paced read it should be… instead, it’s work. When continuity issues arise, I look back to see if I’m the one who missed something. When grammar is poor and punctuation is missing, I have to re-read a lot of it, to figure out what’s trying to be said.
The characters are likely to stay with me and the book has a profound message in between the lines throughout- that is actually uttered by one MC in the end. I’d like to go on in the series but, reading around this low-quality editing is a lot of work so, I’m undecided at the moment. I feel like reading shouldn’t be so much work!
“It’s what people do. Judge…” -Oz.
pelicanfreak 