Review by oduduima -- Opaque by Calix Leigh-Reign

oduduima · Post by **oduduima** » 11 May 2020, 10:37

[Following is a volunteer review of "Opaque" by Calix Leigh-Reign.]

4 out of 4 stars

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Adam is an angry teenager with genuine hate for every other human, including his father. He sees every other person like animals and treats them with utter disdain. However, only his Mother and a new girl in school – Carly, are exceptions to this hatred. Opaque by Calix Leigh-Reign is an intriguing suspenseful novel with a mix of science fiction. It takes us through the troubled life of Adam and how he battles with powers he doesn’t really understand.

The book was quite difficult to follow at first and pretty morally stilted in my view. Adam possesses a strong and disturbing infatuation for his mother, which I’m sure will not sit properly with a number of people. However, the story is intriguing as it weaves fantasy and science fiction to produce an epic young adult thriller. The relationship between Adam and Carly is rather interesting. Carly descends from a rather unique Russian bloodline that wields superpowers. Carly and Adam happen to meet in the same school and a roller coaster journey begins.

Despite my bias against Adam’s personality, I admire the way the author developed the character. He gave in-depth knowledge about the personality of the character which explains most of his actions. He emphasized teamwork and expounded on personal character development which is observable from the transformation that Adam underwent after meeting Carly. The romance side of the novel is beautiful. It enunciates teenage love and the transformation teenagers undergo.

Also, the novel is well-written with no significant errors. It contains no significant typographical errors to my knowledge and I must say it looks well edited. However, the book contains strong language which may make it unsuitable for some people. The book also contains some borderline erotic scenes, and the plot may not agree with some religious sects.

The author did a good job on the book with excellent narration. However, I found the language rather disturbing. This was a significant negative for me. I believe the strong language could have been toned down, but I guess that is the author’s choice. Also, the protagonist's character at first was very disturbing though it got better along the way.

I did not really enjoy the novel as I am personally biased to the plot. However, the book is quite interesting and has good character development. I rate this book 4 out of 4 stars. The book is on overall an interesting read. I recommend this book to all lovers of teenage romance books, as it focuses heavily on romance. Also, the book should agree with readers that lean towards science fiction.

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Opaque
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Jeanht · Post by **Jeanht** » 18 May 2020, 02:32

Loved your review,seemed very honest and clear,especially your ability to recognize and differentiate between your own bias and the overall opinion on the book

Jlblawrence · Post by **Jlblawrence** » 18 May 2020, 22:10

I love that even though you disagreed with some of the author's personal and artistic choices, you could still see that the book was well done and rate it highly. I applaud you for that. The book really does sound interesting. It's always unique to have a protagonist that you don't really like. Very good review.