The Veil by Cory Putman Oakes
Reviewed by: Baby Sister Brittany
Received from: Jen at I Read Banned Books
The Sisters say: Interesting, Unique, but Underwhelming
Seventeen-year-old Addison Russell is in for a shock when she discovers that she can see the invisible world of the Annorasi. Suddenly, nothing is as it appears to be the house she lives in, the woman who raised her, even the most beautiful boy in town all turn out to be more than what they seem. And when this strange new world forces Addy to answer for a crime that was committed long ago, by parents she has never known, she has no choice but to trust Luc, the mysterious Annorasi who has been sent to protect her. Or so he says . . .
I have mixed feelings over this book. It was refreshing to read a paranormal book that didn’t involve vampires or werewolves or any of the other traditional creatures of fantasy lore. The world of the Annorasi was a creation unique to this book. It was well-thought out, original, and interesting to read about.
I liked the characters. Luc was charming. Gran was just plain awesome. Nate and Olivia were great best friend characters. Addy was a likeable. The cats were the ultimate win (I don’t want to give this away, but you’ll know what I mean when you read it).
The story had some twists and turns that though predictable, were exciting and definitely page-turning!
Despite all that, the story never really hooked me. I am normally the kind of person who reads books in one sitting because I just can’t put them down. This book I could have put down at any time. Not because it was bad, persay, but it just didn’t reel me in. In part, I think this was because lack of a distinct voice. I said that I liked Addy, and I did, but with the book being in 1st person, her voice felt pretty generic. She had some funny moments towards the beginning, but then her voice got a little over analytical, and just not interesting enough to carry the story on. I think it would have been a stronger story in third person.
I also didn’t buy the romance between Luc and Addy. I knew it was coming, and I was waiting for some moments between them, but they just didn’t happen. They were pretending to date so that Luc could be near Addy to protect her, and other characters kept making comments about how it was obvious they really had feelings for each other, but I never thought it was obvious. They seemed like acquaintances, and then it felt like boom, they were confessing their love for each other.
In all, I thought the idea of this book was good in theory, but just didn’t work in practice. I am holding out hope that the sequel will be stronger. The plot is there, it’s just not well executed, and hopefully it will be more successful the second time around.
I recommend this book to people who are sick of the lack of originality in the paranormal genre. I didn’t connect with the voice of the book, but voice is so subjective, so it might be just what one of you is looking for.