Bests & Worsts Reviews from Amazon

*I was given a copy of this set to review. I managed to finish the first book, though it was a struggle. If I ever get to the other books I'll update this to reflect such, but for now I'm setting it aside.* The beginning was excellent. Great setup, interesting characters, lots of potential. Then it does a nosedive into unecessary backstory of a side character which completely breaks the mood. The entire dull, prolongued sequence explains at length things that could have been better conveyed through conversation later on. Then, before we get back to the actually interesting main character, there's a timeskip. The bouncing about from character to character never really gains any cohesion, and the pacing remains incoherent.. Magic is inconsistent, or else the main character is extremely narrow-minded and just doesn't think. I found myself regularly frustrated at the complete lack of any cohesion with their abilities. There is clearly a lot of fascinating history and worldbuilding potential in this series, but since nothing is explained until the thick of things, it reads like a series of minor deus-ex-machina (or diablos-ex-machina in several cases) revelations. Which wouldn't be bad in itself, if not for the fact that the story completely disregards the promises it's making. I'm not sure if it's trying to subvert expectations deliberately, but if so it's going it in such a way that it irritates more than anything else. Characterization, I couldn't even begin to follow. Character motivations are often unclear and their capabilities undefined, such that decisions felt arbitrary at times. Things that should be offscreen are shown, things that need to be shown aren't. I can't remember the last time I was driven to such frustration by a story. The worst part is that it has so much potential. There were scenes that genuinely pulled me in, made me care, wouldn't let me put the book down. Then there would be something jarring, throwing me out of the story so completely I nearly stopped reading again and again. If not for the fact that I was asked to review it, I wouldn't have made it as far as I did. I can see the shape of what the author was trying to do and it could be amazing, but in its current state it just isn't there yet. Overall it needs more work.