Crystal Mack

The book is a YA fantasy/world-building story and is the first in a series. It is about the world of the Pentrals, who are the beings who inhabit our shadows and reflections. The story is very clever. A group of teenagers are at the heart of the book and the shadow of Violet, whose name is Antares, narrates the book. Antares and Violet end up switching places and in a human body, Antares begins to see that there is something very wrong with the world that Violet is living in. As Antares show more learns more about her shadow world she also begins to understand the mystery behind why all the adults are so miserable in Talline. Talline itself is interesting. It's a city built in the Grand Canyon comprised of mirrors on every surface, creating a bright, shining city but also containing darkness in the reflections it presents.

I thought the world building was very successful and the writing is great. It's clear and concise and also had some deep themes that were presented without being overworked or getting too cheesy. The love triangle and relationships between the teenagers were a bit over-dramatic for my personal taste, but then again, teenagers are pretty dramatic!

I don't read a lot of YA fiction, but I did enjoy reading this book and will continue with the series when it's published. I think that teenagers who like fantasy will love this book and I think that most adults who enjoy series like The Hunger Games will like it as well. show less

This isn’t the shadows of J. M. Barrie’s classic. Here shadows have thoughts and are aware of everything their “Person” does. They are Pentrals and their job involves matching the angle and movement of everything their Person does. According to a Latin dictionary, pentral means spirit or soul of life; an innermost chamber. While the Pentral Antares may not be Violet’s soul, she definitely looks out for her Person and stays true to her spirit. In fact, when Violet begins to make show more poor choices, her Pentral Antares finds the two have switched places. Antares shows how much she wants to be true to her Person even pretending to love Violet’s boyfriend though the kisses are empty and evoke no spark. To complicate things, there’s an instant attraction and chemistry between Antares and her boyfriend’s best friend. Mack has created an original plot that is intriguing. What is missing is the how and why of the Pentrals. show less

This title was provided by Apologue Entertainment (via NetGalley) for review purposes.



Okay, okay. I'll admit it--I judged a book by its cover. The cover art caught my eye immediately, and once I read the synopsis, I knew I had to read The Pentrals. The concept is so unlike anything I've read, and I was really curious to see how the author pulled it off!

Right off the bat, I had a hard time connecting with this story until the switch took place. The narrative from Antares' point-of-view felt a show more little hollow (and rightly so, I guess--I mean, she is a shadow). There are only so many times that you can describe the way a shadow shadows someone before it gets a little stale.

Things pick up once Violet and Antares trade places, but my biggest problem with this book (and it's always a big problem with any book) is that I still wasn't able to connect with the characters. I didn't feel for Violet or Antares. The reader follows Violet for only a brief while before she's suddenly plastered to the floor beneath Antares' shoe, after which period of time we don't really get any taste for her personality again throughout the book.

As for Thomas... I couldn't love Thomas at all. The author doggedly enforces how wonderful he is--good-looking and beloved and a star athlete and a perfect boyfriend--and I just couldn't buy it. I was far more interested in Ben and Sam than most of the main cast of characters (though Ben's total 180° turn after his confrontation with Thomas and Violet bothered me, too).

Another thing that bothered me was the mirripulation concept. While I'm sure it would be horrible to see your face so horribly disfigured and grotesque (and I do appreciate what's going on, metaphorically), and we certainly have no reason to doubt what we see reflected in a mirror... didn't anyone think to, I don't know, touch their face and feel that they didn't have scabs and protruding veins and things? Or ask someone they trust, "Hey, does this look like a rash or something?" instead of just assuming that their family and friends were just not bringing it up for the sake of their ego? Because I certainly would have.

The end is where this book finally caught me. I was captivated by the details of Antares' previous life (and death?) and her connection to Ben. The culminating of all the events so far finally added up to something I could get into and honestly, despite some of the predictable plot devices sprinkled throughout, I am curious to know what happens next. show less

I wrote a post about negative reviews, and how I don't review if I don't finish, and a very wise blogger pointed out that knowing what a blogger doesn't like can be valuable to publishers and authors too. I think that it also helps my readers build trust that I am not just slapping good ratings on everything I read. I have a knack for picking what I will lack based on synopsis and reviews, but that even fails. Then another blogger mentioned she did a did not finish post and I thought it was show more a great idea. So, here we go:

The world building didn't work for me. And I didn't connect with Antares, understand her purpose or what exactly her role was. I liked that her and Violet were artists, but didn't really understand how that worked. I didn't know why shadows came to be.

I really enjoy the premise, I just didn't get into the narration.

Stopped at: 7%

That isn't to say that the writing is poor or the characters are poorly constructed, it's personal on my end.
I'd love to see if you have a great review of any of these books and what you loved about them. show less