First I’m going to do the series as a whole, then I’m going to work through each book individually. This will take a LONG time, because I had A LOT to say. Please beware that there is a lot of shouting (capital letters) and a lot of disgruntled reader attitude to follow later. There will be spoilers ahead.
** I WAS GIVEN THESE BOOKS, BY THE AUTHOR, IN RETURN FOR AN HONEST REVIEW **
** THERE WILL BE PLOT SPOILERS IN THESE REVIEWS **
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Book – The Gifted Realm Series
Blurb: Crime, passion, intrigue, drama, family life, so much has already been lost, yet there is still so much to gain…join my characters as they navigate their way into their adult lives. A sinister criminal organization that longs for more power and the men that are trying desperately to stop them, tender passionate love that’s rapidly blossoming into an all encompassing fire, and the family brings everyone back home is all inside of The Gifted Realm.
Author – Jillian Neal
Star rating – ★★★☆☆
Plot – Very thinly spread through all books. Could have easily been 2 books instead of 4.
Characters – females are one dimensional and males are a little more broad spectrum.
Movie Potential – ★★★☆☆ (unless the sex is removed, then it goes up one star)
Ease of reading – okay. Simple words used, but too much flowery description that is distracting.
Would I read it again – No.
Analysis:
Overall, this series is about a bunch of different characters, mostly about Rainer and Emily and their ridiculous sex life. The real plot is about Wretchkinside and how he’s an evil genius who does disgustingly evil things. Dan, who has been hurt by him before, is on a mission to take him down and his whole criminal organisation with him. Rainer and his best friend Logan, Emily’s brother, are on his ‘elite’ team of ‘Gifted Iodex’ officers, helping him take down the bad guy.
In a nutshell, the Wretchkinside plot feels like a backlight to give Rainer and Dan some cool action crap to do, with car chases and guns going off, kidnaps and murder. It’s an excuse to have everyone in pain and give them all an opportunity to feel hurt, be soothed by their girl/boyfriends and then have outrageous sex. About 90% of every book in his series is sex. And no, I’m not exaggerating. Read it and you’ll see what I mean. Even when it’s not pivotal to the story, when other stuff is going on that’s more important, when you sit back and think a character is having a real moment, in comes an stupidly descriptive sex scene to ruin it.
I think if the author could, this series would be dragged on forever. You could get twenty books out of this weak, thinly plotted series and never get a solution. Which is also something you’ll have to deal with if you begin reading this. No book gives you a solution, only more frustration, anger and questions.
If I’m honest, if I’d been reading this for myself and not for review, I would never have got past the first 20% of book 1.
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Individual Books:
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Book – Within the Realm (The Gifted Realm Book 1)
Author – Jillian Neal
Star rating – ★★★☆☆
Plot – Missing. I don’t get the point of the book, unless it’s all about the sex.
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My Reviews - 2014
Non-FictionA collection of Book Reviews. Some were Read 4 Reviews and others were simply books I found or discovered that I enjoyed or hated. Find out which were which.
