Weaver, by Katherine Arandez

(3/5 stars)

This book came to me from the author herself, so that's pretty nifty! Katherine contacted me through Tumblr and asked if I could do an honest review of her book, so of course I said yes. Weaver is Katherine's first published novel, and it is also the first book in her series: The Kervanian Chronicles. 

What I liked: The background in this book is completely on lock. There's backstory on backstory and lots of interesting information about the world that she built and the Kervanians themselves. I loved how knowledgeable Kate was about her family history- it wasn't one of those books where everything is new and almost annoyingly so. Kate has to explain everything to her brothers and that's how the audience learns about the world, too. That's really well done. I also really liked the time period it was set in, humans get to mix with dinosaurs which is totally, completely awesome! It was an entertaining read, that's for sure.

What I didn't like: I don't want to say it, but I'm going to say it: there needed to be more editing. There were grammar mistakes and plot holes that made it hard to get through at times. Sometimes the writing was stiff and the phrase "show not tell" (the writer's mantra) kept coming to mind. 

Not to say this book wasn't good, it was, but there's room for growth. Katherine has a lot of potential as an author, and I think that she's definitely someone to watch out for in the future.

-Annie