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Tuesday, July 1, 2014

Review: Eternal Night by Carina Adly MacKenzie



Eternal Night
by Carina Adly MacKenzie
August 26, 2014
The Studion (Paper Lantern Lit)

There are gods among us...
Six young gods are hiding in plain sight among mortals, living secretly in cities across the world. From lavish penthouse soirees to pulsing underground clubs, for them, the party literally never ends. Until now.

On a hot June morning, the body of a beautiful girl is found floating in the rooftop pool of the Jefferson Hotel, her white-ink tattoos revealing the story of a life much longer than seems possible. Only the immortals know the truth: Nadia was the goddess of hope. Now she’s gone, and the world as they know it is ending. The Hudson River has turned blood red. Storms rage overhead. Mania is rapidly spreading across the globe.

It is up to the remaining gods—Lola, Dean, Weston, Mark, Nike and Peitha—to put aside centuries of betrayal and heartbreak, and stop the mysterious source of darkness that is taking over… before the sun sets forever.

Carina Adly MacKenzie, blogger and television critic, has penned a steamy, romantic, and ultimately redemptive story of forgotten gods, the persistence of hope, and the power of love to save us.




I’m a huge mythology fan and love discovering books that spin and twist these stories and elements in new ways...so, I was really looking forward to reading Carina Adley MacKenzie’s Eternal Night. Unfortunately, I walked away from this YA book rather disappointed.

There are gods among us: they’re not very powerful anymore and hide in plain sight. When Nadia, the last goddess of hope, is found dead, her six godly friends (Lola, Dean, Nike, Mark, Weston, Peitha) must uncover the truth behind her death and stop the impending apocalypse it has brought on. These six gods, trapped forever in the bodies and minds of teenagers, must get past all their centuries old bullshit and work together to save the world.

Eternal Night starts off strong enough with a cool premise and some genuinely unique, captivating mythological elements. However, I found the overall execution, writing, and characterizations to be mediocre. While reading this book, I just kept thinking to myself This book could really use another round of editing. And in many ways, it seems like this book is trying way too hard to be something- hip, different, or edgy maybe- and just ends up feeling stiff.

The story definitely has its moments, whether they be funny; romantic; or thrilling, but I found myself mostly bored, and, at times, utterly frustrated with all the unnecessary descriptions. Seriously, I did not need to be told what each character was wearing, in full details, at every single moment or what each room/setting/new place looked like down to the tiniest detail. And the words “hipster” and “artfully” were used so much that I just started replacing them, in my head, with more fun to say words: His hair was whimsically/adroitly/wilily messy.

I think my biggest issue with Eternal Night, are its characters. I didn’t hate any of the characters, but, for a group of centuries old gods and goddesses, they’re all rather uninteresting. I did find myself amused by Dean and his humor though (and he totally reminded me of Dean Winchester from Supernatural, which I’m pretty sure was on purpose. So yay for that!). These six gods and goddesses are neither likable or unlikable, engaging or annoying, they’re all just easily forgettable.

There’s some neat twists and revelations thrown in toward the ending of Eternal Night, but the conclusion itself feels rushed and, like much of the book, feels disjointed.

My Final Thoughts: I was hoping Eternal Night would wow and entertain me, but, despite its good qualities, I found it disappointing and dull overall.

MY RATING


Carina Adly MacKenzie grew up in Greenwich, Connecticut, where she boldly defied the no-reading-at-the-dinner-table rule time and time again. After studying English at the University of Colorado at Boulder, Carina moved to Los Angeles to pursue a writing career. Carina was a television critic and entertainment reporter for Zap2it.com, the Los Angeles Times, and Teen Vogue, among other publications. Currently, she spends her days obsessing over vampire sibling rivalry as a writer for The CW’s new drama, “The Originals.” She loves coffee, Twitter, and her little dog Pacey. Eternal Night is her first novel. 




2 comments:

Jessirae said...

This book sounded like it would be promising because I too like mythology and always try to find twists on that. I'm sad to hear that it was disappointing. I'm definitely not a fan of over-desciption, I get really fed up with that easily. And it's disconcerting to know that the character were very much unmemorable when you're looking for ones that stay with you for a long while. Again, sorry to hear that this one was not a big hit. I think I will pass too. Thanks so much for this insightful and honest review (: xo

Amelia said...

A shame that it didn't turn out better. The summary packed potential, I thought. I started reading your review thinking that if I found it at the library, I would pick it up, but then your remarks on an overabundance of descriptions... Oi. I have no patience for that. Good thing to know about this book!

Might give it a pass, then. Thanks for sharing! Great review.

Amelia | The Authoress