The Becoming (The Anna Strong Chronicles, Book 1) by Jeanne C. Stein Summary and Reviews
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Book Reviews of The Becoming (The Anna Strong Chronicles, Book 1)
Book Review: The Becoming
Summary: 3 Stars
Good first book of a series. I think I will enjoy reading more about the characters. Just needs a little jazzing up.Book Review: Good - Not Spectacular
Summary: 3 Stars
THe book was good. I like reading a book where the heroine is actually a vamp and not just sleeping with one. However, the book read like a good first draft, not a finshed copy. The character development was lacking. The connections and relationships between characters could have been better developed. I still think the series has potential and will be reading the next book.Book Review: ok, but occasionally frustrating.
Summary: 3 Stars
THE BECOMING starts with a bang - as the book opens, protagonist Anna Strong is only moments away from a violent, but impermanent, death. Stein leads us through the attack, and then skips to the moment when Anna regains consciousness in the hospital. The doctor looking after her, Avery, doesn't seem to have much concern for hospital procedure - Anna has no memory of the attack, but Avery fills her in on all the gruesome details while Anna is still groggy and weak. He sends Anna home that very same day.
...Then shows up at her house later that afternoon, chipper as can be, to tell her what he couldn't before: actually, she's a vampire. He seems surprised that she hasn't already figured it out, and doesn't have any patience for her shock and disbelief. He wants to help her out, tutor her in vampire ways, but he expects her to be excited and happy about her new state pronto.
Avery is a total jerk. But he's suave and good-looking and willing to help, and Anna is completely smitten. She follows him back to his palatial home where he has a pretty easy time getting her into bed with him, despite the fact that she has a boyfriend of two years, Max.
At this point, I put THE BECOMING down. I have no patience for books about supposedly independent, kickass heroines who can't wait to fall into the arms of a big, strong man and let him solve all their problems. But this book had received so many fantastic reviews, and so many of the reviews had praised the twists and turns in Stein's plotting, that after a few days I decided I should pick the book up again and see what happens. Maybe Anna Strong would turn out to be more than just a doormat.
Well, everything I've described happens early on in the book. The plotting does have a lot of twists and turns, and I'm not going to spoil them. The problem that I had at the beginning never quite went away - either because Anna is a little stupid, or the author is a little clumsy, I'm not sure. I'm a little curious to find out what happens in subsequent books; Stein does have an interesting setup here, and if subsequent books are an improvement on the first, they could be very good. But as far as the becoming is concerned, my verdict is a great big, "MEH."
Book Review: Not bad...
Summary: 3 Stars
Anna Strong is a bounty hunter who is a recently turned vampire after she is attacked. This book is interesting in that you get to see the changes Anna goes through as she turns. And there is a good mystery in the book that keeps you turning the pages. However, there was something missing for me-it just didn't have enough substance. Anna is a good character-she is a strong woman (hence her last name) and I liked the decisions she made during the story. I would recommend this book for anyone wanting a very light and quick read to pass the time, but I can't see myself reading this one again. I might pick up the other books in the series if I have nothing else to read, but I'm not rushing out to get them to see what happens next.Book Review: Interesting, but distracting
Summary: 3 Stars
Just as a precursor, this is all personal preference on my part. The book is written first-person, which I'm accustomed to and absolutely love. It was written in present tense, though, which I can't recall reading recently. At first, I thought it was just going to be the first chapter or something. Sometimes books include dream/past sequences in present tense and I thought that's what it was, but the whole book is present tense. I just found it incredibly distracting. I can't even pinpoint why, which is the frustrating thing. It had a great plot, though I kind of anticipated the ending, which is saying something for me. I have about the foretelling capabilities of a head of lettuce.
I also had a problem with some of Anna's choices in the book. At the end of the book it seemed to try and justify them, but that didn't really redeem her any in my eyes. Anna is a strongly-written character, but I don't think I'd be able to get over the present-tense thing to read the rest of the books... :/ Which is a shame because I love urban fantasy.