Essenced by Connie L. Smith Ponderings

Essenced by Connie L. Smith

My rating: 2 of 5 stars

I was given a copy of this book from the author in exchange for an honest review.

“Years ago, demons were forced out of the earth’s realm by a band of supernatural fighters, banished from the place and its people in the aftermath of a horrific war. It should’ve ended there – would’ve – if not for the final demon’s claw snagging on the open portal. What felt like victory became only a reprieve, the winning warriors understanding that the tear would spread, and the demons eventually would escape exile. It was only a matter of time, and a need for future defense – a question of genetics and essences, magic and power.

Now, centuries later, a new army must bind together – one of teenagers with inhuman potentials and abilities…

AJ went to bed Sunday night an average teenage girl, clumsy and athletically lacking. So when she wakes up Monday morning with super-strength, she does what any rational person would do: She goes into denial. When a smoking hot guy in a suit shows up, rambling about the end of the war and demons spilling through some kind of rift, she refuses to listen, telling herself he’s insane. Except weird things just won’t quit happening, and the guy keeps popping up in her life, trying to explain the changes suddenly happening within her. Is she crazy, or is this guy… not so crazy after all?
I want to start this review out by saying that this book has a lot of potential – the story line seems extremely interesting, and the concept is something that I’d love to see explored more… but for me the writing just wasn’t there yet.” – Amazon Book Synopsis

First, the opening was extremely slow to get to – the book sped up pace once we got to the main female character, AJ. However… again, I was just having issues with the writing, the way that the book was put together, the grammar mistakes, etc. I ended up skimming through the majority of the book to get the general plot down, but there was something lacking in the writing – when I started to become engrossed in the story, something would jar me out of it and take me away from that wonderful realm of fantasy that the author was trying to envelope me in.

Honestly, I couldn’t get into the book as much as I would have liked. However, I can see that the author has potential, and if I ever get the chance to pick up one of her newer books, I’d love for her to prove to me as a reader that her writing can match her beautiful story lines.

-Other things to note: The formatting of the book was WEIRD. I know that it’s a self pub… but there were no page numbers, and it was one of those tall, awkward books to hold. The cover art, however… gorgeous. The cover art and synopsis were what got me interested.

I really hope, as I stated earlier, that the author of this book proves me wrong if I ever get the chance to pick up one of her novels again… but I probably wouldn’t go out of my way to purchase.

Until next time guys, keep reading and writing!

Author Amanda McCormick