DNF Review – The Geomancer (Gareth and Adele, Book 1) by Susan and Clay Griffith (2/5 stars)

Reading Level: Adult
Genre: Fantasy
Length: 321 pages
Publisher: Pyr
Release Date: November 3, 2015
ISBN-13: 978-1633880948
Stand Alone or Series: 1st book in the Adele and Gareth series (4th in the Vampire Empire series)
Source: ARC from Amazon Vine
Rating: 2/5 stars

I was a big fan of the Vampire Empire series and was excited to see that a new novel in that series (well more of a spin-off series) was going to be released featuring Gareth and Adele. However, I ended up being very disappointed in this book and really struggled to read it. I ended reading the first half of the book and then finally gave up.

Bloody murders are happening in London..again. It looks like despite Adele’s purging of vampires in all of Britain, somehow vampires are finding a way to return to London. Adele and Gareth are puzzled and their investigating lead to them finding about a geomancer called the Witchfinder. The Witchfinder has not only found a way to make vampires immune to Adele’s power but also a way to kill humans on a mass scale, just like Adele did to the vampires. Adele and Gareth must unravel the plot around this Witchfinder until it’s too late and many, many humans die.

There is a lot about this book that I was struggling with. I was excited to see what adventures Adele and Garth went on next…but seriously do we have to use a similar plot all over again? Again the problem is vampires and again geomancy is at the heart of it all.

I expected some growth in these characters and their relationship; especially Gareth and Adele. However they have stagnated; no growth, still the same issues plaguing their relationship, nothing has changed.

Additionally parts of the book are written in completely different styles. I really felt like I was reading two stories mashed together at times; the writing styles clash. For example there are beautifully descriptive scenes where Adele and Gareth are out ice skating together; then suddenly we are dealing with war and strategy again and the writing changes to a stark military like style. I can only assume that the two authors wrote separate parts of the book; but greater care should have been taken to make the writing style more consistent throughout.

My main issue with this book however was that I just didn’t care. The plot was boring, the characters were boring and as I result I struggled to stay engaged in the story. I was literally falling asleep every time I picked up this book. I absolutely could not get through more than a chapter or two at a time (and they are very short chapters). I finally gave up half way through. I just have way too many books to read to slog through this one.

Overall I truly wish I had never read (or read the portion that I did) this book. I would have preferred to leave Adele and Gareth in the happy place they occupied in my head after the last Vampire Empire book. I don’t recommend this book. It’s boring, rehashes the same type of plot that the original Vampire Empire series did, and the characters are stagnant. Not to mention that the writing style is inconsistent and doesn’t flow well. Sorry Gareth and Adele…I guess it’s time for us to part ways.