Review of Praesidium
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Fola Moni
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Review of Praesidium
[Following is a volunteer review of "Praesidium" by McKinley Aspen.]
What do you get when you cross the paranormal with crime-fighting heroism? Well, you would have to read this enthralling book, Praesidium by McKinley Aspen, to find out. It is the first book in the series, Shadows in the Wind.
Kathryn Bek couldn’t forget her 5th birthday even if she tried. That was the day her whole life changed forever. The day her beloved Dad disappeared into thin air when he had an encounter with his estranged sister, Jacquelyn, who suddenly appeared out of the blue. Kathryn had no choice but to move on with her life with her mum. She was doing well at Yale and even had a long-distance boyfriend, Scott, who lived far away, which was what she wanted. Life was good until a chance encounter with a stranger at a job fair changed her life again.
Who was Raphael Landy, and why did he offer her a job on the spot? What is HGS, and what does the organisation do? And why did Kathryn have a feeling that Raphael knows more about her than he is letting on?
From the start, I could tell the book was going to be an interesting one. The author’s writing style is both magnetic and intriguing, leaving one with just enough intrigue to keep turning the pages. I love how the suspense kept building up with each case the team tackled.
The lead characters are also easy to like and relatable. Kathryn is feisty and a natural-born leader. It's obvious she’s no pushover when making decisions, and she's also fiercely determined. Scott is a dark horse and might have issues with control. Jacquelyn is an enigma, and getting to know her is like peeling back an onion one layer at a time. There is so much more to her than meets the eye.
I would say, however, that somewhere along the line, the book lost a bit of the spark I encountered at the beginning. There were some parts where it dragged on longer than necessary. There were also some instances where I felt the antagonist, Jacquelyn, was playing an unnecessary cat-and-mouse game with Kathryn and her team. The ending was also a bit lacklustre and anticlimactic.
Overall, I would rate it 3 out of 5 stars. It started well with loads of suspense and mystery with dollops of paranormal phenomena thrown in, then it dragged on in the middle and ended with a whimper instead of a bang. I did not encounter any errors, so I must say it was exceptionally well-edited. With little or no profanity and zero erotic scenes, I would recommend it to young and old readers alike. Fans of the paranormal and crime thriller literary genre would find it very interesting.
******
Praesidium
View: on Bookshelves | on Amazon | on Smashwords
What do you get when you cross the paranormal with crime-fighting heroism? Well, you would have to read this enthralling book, Praesidium by McKinley Aspen, to find out. It is the first book in the series, Shadows in the Wind.
Kathryn Bek couldn’t forget her 5th birthday even if she tried. That was the day her whole life changed forever. The day her beloved Dad disappeared into thin air when he had an encounter with his estranged sister, Jacquelyn, who suddenly appeared out of the blue. Kathryn had no choice but to move on with her life with her mum. She was doing well at Yale and even had a long-distance boyfriend, Scott, who lived far away, which was what she wanted. Life was good until a chance encounter with a stranger at a job fair changed her life again.
Who was Raphael Landy, and why did he offer her a job on the spot? What is HGS, and what does the organisation do? And why did Kathryn have a feeling that Raphael knows more about her than he is letting on?
From the start, I could tell the book was going to be an interesting one. The author’s writing style is both magnetic and intriguing, leaving one with just enough intrigue to keep turning the pages. I love how the suspense kept building up with each case the team tackled.
The lead characters are also easy to like and relatable. Kathryn is feisty and a natural-born leader. It's obvious she’s no pushover when making decisions, and she's also fiercely determined. Scott is a dark horse and might have issues with control. Jacquelyn is an enigma, and getting to know her is like peeling back an onion one layer at a time. There is so much more to her than meets the eye.
I would say, however, that somewhere along the line, the book lost a bit of the spark I encountered at the beginning. There were some parts where it dragged on longer than necessary. There were also some instances where I felt the antagonist, Jacquelyn, was playing an unnecessary cat-and-mouse game with Kathryn and her team. The ending was also a bit lacklustre and anticlimactic.
Overall, I would rate it 3 out of 5 stars. It started well with loads of suspense and mystery with dollops of paranormal phenomena thrown in, then it dragged on in the middle and ended with a whimper instead of a bang. I did not encounter any errors, so I must say it was exceptionally well-edited. With little or no profanity and zero erotic scenes, I would recommend it to young and old readers alike. Fans of the paranormal and crime thriller literary genre would find it very interesting.
******
Praesidium
View: on Bookshelves | on Amazon | on Smashwords
Latest Review: Moonlight Serenade by Terry Mark
