- Title:
- Bridgebreaker
- Author:
- Joshua C. Cook
- Release:
- September 30, 2016
- Format:
- Audiobook
- Narrator:
- Trenton Bennett
- Series:
- The Echo Worlds, Book 2
I previously reviewed book 1 in this series and I made it clear I wasn’t overly fond of it. That being said, I thought it had potential and I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t curious where this series went.
The totally interesting protagonist from the first book actually had some character development this time around. He was actually interesting, for a change. Add in a new witch, whose name I can’t remember and the two of them have some chemistry and their relationship is tumultuous at best. I’m interested to see if they go anywhere or remain friends. Or if they’re even friends, to begin with.
I bring that up because there’s still far too much “Jasmine is the protagonist’s ex-girlfriend” talk. Despite Jasmine not having as much paper-time as the other characters, she seems more memorable this time around. But every time the story refers to how she and protagonist used to date once, it detracts from that. It feels as if they spend more time talking about how they dated once than they spent in a relationship.
Isran, as always, continues to be an insufferable jackass. I really hate him as a person and the type of person he represents and I hope he fails at all of his future endeavors in any book(s) yet to be released in this series.
While Cruella de Vil and Gizmo have their own little war brewing in their world, the pacing of the story overall is off. The heroes all speak of this impending doom if Gizmo manages to defeat Cruella, but their actions are those of people with all the time in the world. There were times when the protagonist was distracted or I’d realize I hadn’t heard from them in a while and wondered how Gizmo and Cruella were holding up. Their war didn’t really get the page time I felt it deserved.
The audiobook narrator did a great job with voices. The overall narration was good, I enjoyed it and he brought a lot of life to the story.
The section below will contain spoilers.
I was thinking back on the Forgemaster Cycle, which I felt had a lackluster ending, much like this story. The entire story builds up this giant war that’s relegated to the background. Only for it to fizzle out in a matter of seconds in the most anticlimactic way possible. As I made that realization, I noticed that both series had a power-hungry, backstabbing leader, who betrayed their people in the end because they blamed the new-guy prodigy for all of their problems.
I’m not a fan of the recycled plotlines with a new coat of paint when neither story was paced particularly well. It admittedly soured my opinion of both series. This book doesn’t have a sequel. All I’m going to think about when I remember this series and the Forgemaster Cycle book 3 is how they both have the same terribly paced, over-used plot trope about the leader who dislikes the upstart new prodigy. That and the big deal over an impending doom that’s defeated easier than a house of cards.
Despite my opinion of this story being sullied, I enjoyed it and I still recommend it for a read.
NOTE: This copy was provided to me free of charge as a digital review copy. The opinions stated in this review are mine and mine alone, I was not paid or requested to give this book a certain rating, suggestion, or approval.