Monday, March 21, 2016

REVIEW: Gyre (Atlas Link, #1) by Jessica Gunn

**** (4) out of 5 stars!

This was a really good story with many of the elements that make a tale great: powerful characters you grow to care about, mysteries and intrigue, action, intellectual pursuits, romance. 

I especially like the strong female lead character of Chelsea.  Even though she was often afraid, admittedly didn’t know what to do, and often over-reacted emotionally, she still forged ahead, did the best job she could do and tried to do what she felt was right.   

The male lead, on the other hand, was not as endearing; mostly, Trevor was just annoying.  His inability to make a choice about anything or to do something productive probably led to or at least exasperated some of the bad spots they got themselves into.   

Personally, I did not like how the narrative switched from the male protagonist to the female protagonist every other chapter.  While I know that is a popular method of late, and it can be helpful to give insight to what both characters are thinking and how things appear from their perspective, I still found it rather confusing.  Not to mention that the chapter would often end on what seemed like a significant moment, but then the next chapter would start up with something entirely different, frequently with no resolution of the prior situation. 

I found it interesting how many times the author was able to weave the word gyre into the narrative, especially without it looking forced or overdone, and also while utilizing the various definitions of it in different settings.  I thought this was a nice way to tie-in the title without breaking the fourth wall, and to remind the reader about this theme that seems to be underlying just about everything in the story. 

The use of Atlantis as having been a real place and the discovery of apparent proof of it was very intriguing.  I was, however, very confused about who was working for which side in the conflict, how many factions there were in each group, and what were everyone’s objectives and motivations.  Hopefully that will be made more clear in future titles; since the story pretty much ends on a cliff-hanger, I’m fairly certain there will be at least one more book in the series!  I can't wait to read it!


I received a free eBook of Gyre from Curiosity Quills in exchange for an honest review. 

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