Bests & Worsts Reviews from Amazon

When I read the plot synopsis, I thought, "Yes! This is going to be good...I can't wait to read it." The plot synopsis is the reason this is a two-star review and not a one-star review; it really did have promise.... I'm sorry to say it; I mean, I tried to like this book (I paid for it, after all, and if I don't like a book, then I've wasted my money buying it), but just trying to read this book was an uphill battle. For the purposes of this review, I wanted (needed) to put my finger on WHY exactly I didn't like it, and I came to the following conclusion: When I read a book, I look for a "rhythm" in reading it that has little to do with the plot (it's strictly mechanical in nature) -- this rhythm varies from author to author; once I get the rhythm of his or her writing style down, usually in the first few pages, it's all downhill from there. Then, I can enjoy the twists and turns the author takes me on. Think of it as surfing; once you get the rhythm down, you can rise and fall with the wave and enjoy a thrilling ride back to the beach. I trudged along to 24% on my Kindle, and I never did find a rhythm. The writing style was either choppy with short, blunt sentences, or tedious with run-on sentences that I thought would never end. I found myself repeatedly going back to paragraphs and trying to figure out what exactly I had just read -- going back repeatedly disrupts the natural flow of reading. Again, using the surfing metaphor, it's like repeatedly falling off of the board before you even catch the wave. Also worth mentioning is the (lack of) editing in this book. I'm by no means an expert, but I paid attention in English class. There's a difference between "affect" and "effect," and on at least one occasion a mistake between these two words was made. Also, I remembered reading the phrase, "could care less." The proper usage is, "couldn't care less," as in, "could NOT care less." I try not to take editing into account a whole lot, though, because I've noticed MANY editing mistakes in ALL of the Kindle books I've read so far; I don't know if this is due to the transition from one format to another OR if it truly is the fault of the writer. In that department, I defer to the writer and give the benefit of the doubt. Lastly, I'd like to note that this is MY opinion. Readers who gave this book four or five stars are entitled to their opinion as I am entitled to mine; I'll not leave comments arguing about personal tastes. I say this because I've noticed that a lot of people who rate on the low end of the scale on "Kindle authors" are frequently attacked (in the form of comments) by the people who leave higher ratings. I suspect (though I can't prove) that some of these people probably know the author because they seem so personally offended; many of these authors have only a handful of books (some, even less), so they haven't yet had the time to build a fan-base that would vehemently defend them (hence, the reason for my suspicion). That said, there's no need to be offended, whether you're personal friends with the author or not; leaving petty and obnoxious comments for my review isn't going to make this book easier to read.