Official Review: Nakelle by Allison Miller

[jhmende]

[Following is an official OnlineBookClub.org review of "Nakelle" by Allison Miller.]

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2 out of 4 stars

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The novel Nakelle is a fantasy written by Allison Miller, focusing on the trials and tribulations one adolescent girl, named Nakelle, goes through. Although it does feature an interesting main character and a fairly unique story, it stumbles because of its pacing and the quality of writing.

Nakelle is a fifteen-year-old girl, who, along with her older sister, was adopted by an elderly couple who couldn’t have kids. After having surgery for appendicitis, Nakelle wakes up to discover that her older sister, AlexaBella, has been accepted to a school in London. Her parents have decided to go to England with their older adopted daughter, and they are dragging Nakelle along, much to her chagrin. Upon reaching England, strange things start happening. Nakelle starts having visions of another world. It doesn’t help that she’s constantly harassed at her new school, or that she finds herself extremely attracted to one of her teachers. Things begin to spiral out of control, and it’s up to Nakelle to discover the fate of a strange, magical society and its secrets.

I would have had much more trouble reading this story if it weren’t for the protagonist. Allison Miller does a fairly good job of making the dialogue that comes from Nakelle interesting. I found myself chuckling quite a lot whenever the quirky, quick-witted adolescent was given an opportunity to make a quip at another character.

On top of that, the story, although hard to follow, is unique. I enjoyed learning what I could about the Enchantresses, and the love story of Annalah and David, and the mystery behind Nakelle and AlexaBella. There were interesting characters and unique ideas presented in this novel, but the struggle was keeping up with them.

The greatest problem this novel has is that it’s difficult to understand. Not that the mysteries are too complex for the reader to figure out: the writing itself is oddly paced, speeding along through important scenes, and many ideas that should be explained in more detail are dropped, as if the reader should already know. There is hardly any variation in the narrative’s pace. There are some things mentioned that are never mentioned again; scenes or comments that have absolutely no consequence.

Nakelle carries the reader along only because its titular protagonist is snarky, sarcastic, and, if occasionally annoying, she at least has personality. The book suffers from a distinct lack of flow, however, and a pace that often stumbles. In a story with a great amount of mystery, the reader is given no time to think as the narrative barrels on forward, heedless of the importance of the scenes or the logic that seems to be missing from them.

Because of the faulty way in which this novel was written, and the lack of flow or logic it has, I’m rating this one 2 out of 4 stars. If you enjoy slightly edgy fantasy novels, or thrillers with hints of the supernatural, this might be for you. For me, though, even if the protagonist was interesting, the quality of writing was more of a hindrance than a help.

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Nakelle
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Like jhmende's review? Post a comment saying so!

[oshinshalini]

Its good time pass

[kandscreeley]

Well, at least Nakelle sounds interesting. As for me, though, it doesn't sound worth reading. Thanks for the review, however.

[Joy Boudreau]

Thanks for the good review. This sounds like a book with lovely potential, once the author cleans up some things.

[Guppy]

Sounds like it could be a good read with some plot re-working. Still though Nakelle sounds like an interesting protagonist. A good, honest review.