Review - Tower of Change: Keys of Fate #1 by Tina M. Randolph

(Disclaimer: I had originally typed this up at about 4 in the morning. I held off on actually publishing because this entire entry seemed harsh, even to me (and I wrote the dang thing). I even tried to read some more of the book to see if it got any better. It didn't, and as harsh as this is, obviously it's been posted. Please don't in any way shape or form think I am against people who self publish. I'm not. I applaud people who do. With that being said, I think if you are going to claim to own a publishing company, then at least make the effort to present it as reputable and have someone proof read and edit the material that's going to print so it doesn't look like a 3rd grader wrote it.)

I'm going to preface this by saying I absolutely HATE it when I read a book and dislike it. It makes me sad. And I can't stand giving negative reviews. I will generally try and find SOMETHING good about the book and go from there. But come on, you can only expect so much out of me, and this was ridiculous.

I must be reading an entirely different book than the people on Amazon who reviewed Tower of Change by Tina M. Randolph. Seriously. Either that or maybe I've flown to another planet where I am the only sensible person in the entirety of the population.

I've read about 50 pages of the book and am no closer to finding out what's going on than I was on page 1. IMMEDIATELY the story drops you in to what seems like it should be the middle of the book. There's names thrown all over the place and I can't figure out what they are or where they are or even WHO they are. There's no descriptions given for ANY of the places that are being talked about. The main character is described as average height, athletic, and penetrating eyes I think. That's it.

The editing is horrendous. I've never seen a book so full of commas that DON'T BELONG AT ALL. I mean seriously. It's literally, like doing this, for absolutely, no reason what,soever. IE: "Delphi had entrusted Elazar with the most important duty, there was." Honestly, I couldn't believe that it had been published. And this is all within the first 50 pages remember?

I couldn't tell what time frame the book was supposed to be in. At first it seemed like one of those medieval fantasies. With castles and what not. But then one of the secondary characters is carrying a pen and a notebook in his "robes" and yet, at the beginning of the book another character is walking around reading parchemnts. Which is it? Parchment? Or actual notebook and pens? The dialogue goes back and forth between old time-y and modern. It's frustrating. I've given up trying to figure it out.

There are a ton of great concepts and ideas in the first 50 pages but NONE OF THEM are used past their description. If they're described at all. For instance... there's a summit to discuss what's been going on with changes in the eco-system and what not and how it's effecting the magic and the people/things on the planet. No one bothers to tell you that the planets name is Amunet. The name is just thrown out there and it's assumed you'll figure it out eventually.

The master wizards name was Sidoneas Elazar. In the course of one paragraph she calls him by his first and last name, then his first name, then his last name. I mean, pick one please. Because when you say 'Sidoneas looked at him. "Blahblahblah," said Elazar' it looks like you're talking about two different people.

The author illustrated the book (really dodgy pen sketches, the worst being some kind of tall glass of something, with photoshopped smoke coming out of it... oy), and even quoted herself at the beginning... umm... k. And then... THEN I found her facebook page and it all became clear to me. How this book managed to bulldoze its way in to print. She "owns" the "company" that published it. She quoted herself at the beginning of the book, which wouldn't have been an issue except she's taken quotes other people have said, mashed them together, and passed off the sentiment as her own. THEN she prefaced the first chapter with a "riddle" from Sidoneas Elazar that is just.... not a riddle. Most riddles you can look at for a while and finally go OOOOOH. And click, the lightbulb turns on. But this? No. Just... no.

I'm sorry, I really wanted to like the book. I was wicked excited to read it. It was an idea that I haven't really seen done before... she just couldn't pull it off. And I'm just so let down. I don't think I could recommend this as a read to anyone. There was zero editing done. There are a lot of grammatical errors (and I am, by no means, perfect... but SOME attempt at making it look professional would have been a good idea), a lot of punctuation mistakes, just... too much ridiculous stuff that it wasn't worth the effort. :-(

Teaser Tuesday

Teaser Tuesdays is a weekly bookish meme, hosted by MizB of Should Be Reading. Anyone can play along! Just do the following:

•Grab your current read

•Open to a random page

•Share two (2) “teaser” sentences from somewhere on that page

•BE CAREFUL NOT TO INCLUDE SPOILERS! (make sure that what you share doesn’t give too much away! You don’t want to ruin the book for others!)

•Share the title & author, too, so that other TT participants can add the book to their TBR Lists if they like your teasers!

Ok, so this week I'm going to post teasers for more than one book. The book I'm reading. The book I won on GoodReads which is on deck. And MockingJay which is in the hole.
City of Bones by Cassandra Clare is up first.

"If you wanted me to rip my clothes off you should have just asked." He dug into his pocket and brought out his stele. "It would have been a lot less painful." p 187

On deck is The Keys of Fate novel number 1: Tower of Change by Tina M.Randolph.

Suddenly there was an outpouring of melodramatic opposition, and one of the wizards roared, "Maybe we shouldn't allow them to co-exist. Maybe we should use our magic to make them extinct!" p 36

Last not least comes the batter in the hole,

Mockingjay by Suzanne Collins. The last in the Hunger Games trilogy!!!!! Happy birthday to me!! Hehe.

"Oh no. It costs a lot more than your life. To murder innocent people?" says Peeta. "It costs everything you are." p 23

In My Mailbox

FIRST of all, because I JUST posted this,click here to go read about my bookstore dream!

Ok, now that that's over.

In my mailbox is a weekly meme hosted by Kristi the Story Siren. It's to showcase books that you've received/borrowed/purchased/stolen/won/etc throughout the week.

Money's been a little tight for me recently BUT I do have something for this weeks IMM. Yay!

This past week I received Tower of Change by Tina M. Randolph. Tower of Change is The Keys of Fate novel number one and I was fortunate enough to win this in a contest on GoodReads - First Reads which is totally awesome. I absolutely love the cover.


GoodReads description: Secrets and mysteries are locked within an ancient tower that the wizard's apprentice must guard with his life. One simple slip-up puts the fate of the world in the power of a desperate King's Mage, threatening to destroy peace and harmony throughout the world. Time is running out, and Galax Hanz is the only one with the magical arts to lead a collection of unlikely allies to retrieve the precious Keys of Fate. But when Galax is pursued by the evil Mage's Bloodwyns—the half-man, half-bird shadowy creatures of darkness—he soon realizes he has been drawn into a monumental struggle that challenges the foundations of his tradition. Galax will be forced to test his faith and training, which will guide him into the unknown regions on the road to the discovery of the alchemistic formula of life, death, and destiny.

Can't wait to read this one! I'm currently reading City of Bones by Cassandra Clare so unfortunately I'll HAVE to wait just a tad.

What came in your mailbox this week?!?


* Edit to add:

My 8 year old had a book fair at her elementary school this past week. They had some games with some prizes to win, and she won me this totally awesome bookmark that says "Please GO away! I am reading something really really good." And I loved it. I've got it in City of Bones right now keeping my spot. Love it!