A surprise and a pleasure.
There's a lot to enjoy with this book. First, I should say I did a book swap for reviews. The cool thing is we both finished on the same day. Unfortunately, a migraine slowed me down and I'm just now getting to my review. The second cool thing is both of our books tackle the idea of soul mates (with some spectacular colors manifesting).
Here's what worked for me--
- I loved the characters. They had well rounded personalities that I believed. Hope tugged at me. She wants to help others no matter the cost, and yet she also wishes for that normal life mentioned above.
- The pacing is perfect. I never had a moment that I wished it moved faster. The action and secrets come out at a steady pace.
- I enjoy a good romance, and although there are lots of other things going on, the romance is lovely. The chemistry between Tie and Hope is electrical. There's just something about what you can't have.
- I really wanted to find out what happened to Hope in her previous life. Which means I have to read the next book in the series!
- The Japanese connection and mythology is wonderful.
- The scene where Hope fights. Yeah. That.
- There's quite a bit of passive voice. It's something I notice, especially when coming out of editing mode. It isn't too bad and I don't think most people will notice.
- The trope feels really familiar. The love triangle, reincarnated demi-god with amnesia, best friend that's fiercely protective, et. BUT having said that, the details in the story telling make it fresh. Plus, I like most of those tropes. :)
All in all, I really enjoyed this book. I mean, I couldn't sleep when I finished. The story and how it ended kept running through my head. How would the next phase play out? How? How? How?
For this reason, I give The Healer by C.J. Anaya a 4.5.
1-5 scale and what it means:
1: I couldn’t even finish it / just plain bad
2: I hope I didn’t pay for this / disappointing
3: I didn’t hate it, but it was still missing something / forgettable but inoffensive
3.5: On the line between good and ok / like, not love
4: Solid mind candy / worth reading
4.5: So very close to perfection! / must read
5: I could not put it down and I’m still thinking about it! / a true treasure
