Review of Revocation

January 2013

Revocation

Laura Fields

Canyon Wolves #1

Revocation is the first book of a new young adult series by Laura Fields, though it mercifully doesn't have anything to do with high school.

Harper's life is perfect. She has an awesome house, an awesome job, and an awesome boyfriend. Her only problem is that she can't remember any of it. To top it all off, she can't remember how she became a werewolf and how she ended up with the pack's leader as her mate. The event that wiped her memory was not an accident, and she needs to remember the culprit before it happens again.

This is an intriguing story with great potential but some unfortunate flaws.

The book kicks off with an immediate but rather jarring start. On the one hand, I'm always glad when I don't have to slog through a ponderous beginning. But some of this opening action is too abrupt, and I few times I had to take a moment to sort through the details.

The challenge of this story is its short length–‒20,000 words only–‒which gives rise to a number of issues that could have been worked out in a longer story. There are some pacing issues with things feeling rushed. The urgent vibe is appropriate to the plot, but the manner in which the story pushes along means some things just never come together. Specifically, the emotions and motivations of the characters could really use more time to develop effectively.

Some are a few editing slips, I feel obliged to point out. For example, there is one moment in the book when the narrative voice switches from third to first person.

Of course, now that I've criticized, let me talk about the things I liked about the book. Axle is a strong, likable character. Harper may be the focal point of the story, but he provides much of the drive and depth. 

Speaking of Harper . . . The story took a surprising, impressive twist towards the end. I can honestly say I didn't see that one coming, and my hat's off to the author for going a ways out on a limb. I'm not going to tell you what that is because it'd ruin the surprise, but it's good, trust me.

Also, Revocation is a great title, don't you think?

Sadly, the story ends just as things are truly taking off, but there is a sequel in the works.

This book was received courtesy of the author and LibraryThing Member Giveaways in exchange for an honest review.