The Well of Tears-

Book: The Well of Tears
Author: Roberta Trahan 
Rating:★★★★



I stayed up late last night finishing this one! It was an enjoyable read. I thought the author showed a lot of promise and skill.

Unfortunately the book wasn't all that original. It relied heavily on a lot of familiar fantasy tropes. It was like 10 different fantasy books smooshed into one. I wish the author had chosen to set more bounds on her magic system, or even created a magic system. It was just kind of a vague mishmash. Between that and the unimaginative worldbuilding, this book kinda fell flat on that level. There were a lot of characters. I felt like the author could have cut the whole Tribe of t he Wolf King or MacDonagh clan out. While the relationship between Alwen and Bledig was a nice touch it just went too Diana Gabaldon for me. It felt like some dimension should have been cut while other areas developed better. It stretched too thin, more depth was needed. 

BUT that didn't make it a bad book. I still enjoyed reading it. I wanted to know what happened next, I was interested in the characters. The sex scenes I could have done without. Not that sex and fantasy don't mix, I just think it can head into paperback romance territory if an author isn't careful. Sometimes it's more powerful just to close the scene than reveal every detail.

Now perhaps I sound a little critical-- and I don't feel bad about that. Because I think this author has a lot of potential. She could write a really amazing book. I just wish I heard her voice a little more, and less of other authors. I feel like in a few months, I wont even remember what this book was about. It wont stick with me.

Thanks to NetGalley for providing the book in exchange for my review.