Dylan Prescott’s life hasn’t been easy. Her parents died in a car accident. A boy in middle school played a nasty trick on her. During her childhood she’d been the victim of pranks and rumors.
Then Dylan starts college and hopes she can live a normal life.
Tristian Stewart changes all that. He’s mysterious, handsome, and totally out of Dylan’s league. So she thinks. But will Dylan want Tristian once she learns the truth about him. He’s a Soul Collecting Demon. And, as it turns out, Dylan is also a demon.
Poor Dylan. She just can’t catch a break. But it does make for entertaining reading.
This story has romance, mystery, intrigue, suspense, demons, vampires, werewolves, good guys, bad guys, and pretty much anything else you can think of. Sounds like a lot going on and yet, it all works. There are a lot of paranormal romance novels on the market. The trick for Yair-Levy isn’t to write another one just to add her novel to the list. Her goal is to create a story that takes familiar aspects and to make then unique enough to seem like a whole new concept. This is no easy feat and it’s admirable that the author is able to put her own spin on the genre without reinventing the wheel.
Then there’s the romance, which has the right amount of young adult angst, steaminess, and ups and downs that frustrates the reader, but in a way to keep the reader’s attention. It’s good to want to shout at a character to open his or her eyes. That means the reader is invested in the story and wants to know what happens next and cares about what will happen.
This novel will have many on the edge of their seats. Yair-Levy takes the reader on an emotional rollercoaster. Towards the end, the story begins to drag some. Without ruining the story, the author probably could have trimmed a few scenes to keep the reader in the moment.
While the story is entertaining, there are a few things Yair-Levy should pay closer attention to in future books in this series. The biggest would be editing. Many of the mistakes are simple blunders and are easily overlooked when an author is preparing for publication. Some examples include missing quote marks and proofreading errors such as using “nec” instead of “neck”. These errors aren’t detrimental but they are noticeable.
Another issue is using certain words repeatedly. Dylan padded barefoot, she padded through rooms, padded towards her closet, and she even padded slowly. Many items were described as “distressed” including tee shirts, coffee tables, jeans, doors, and beams. The characters were constantly looking in his or her direction or heading a certain direction. Little things like this really add up and readers may start to wonder if Yair-Levy utilized an experienced editor. Authors don’t want their readers to think this. And they don’t want their readers to start guessing if a tee shirt or coffee table is distressed before the author has had time to describe it. The plot isn’t predictable, but Yair-Levy’s word choice is.
Admittedly, not all readers will notice these issues. However, it is important for the author to be aware of them so she can avoid them in the future.
“Stolen” is a wonderful start to the series and the author has the ability to take her writing to the next level. When she does, she’ll win over many more fans.
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