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Thursday, June 2, 2011

Bone Dressing by Michelle I. Brooks



TIME IS RUNNING OUT … THE DARK THAT’S BEEN CHASING SYD FOR MANY LIFETIMES HAS FINALLY CAUGHT UP WITH HER … Sydney Roberdeau lost her parents as a young girl. Waiting for her life to start and the freedom that will come with her eighteenth birthday, Syd spends much of her time haunting the local cemetery. It is there, stretched out among the dead, that she feels most alive, most at home. Until one rainy night when Beau, Sarah and T.J. crash her ghostly sanctuary, appearing out of nowhere, turning her already inside-out world one degree past upside down. Syd must now revisit past lives, dressing in the bodies of her previous selves … bone dressing. Her only chance to outrun the evil breathing down her neck is to face her own worst nightmares and her strongest desires. But if she can’t stay out of trouble in this life, how can she possibly fix mistakes from past lives? And just how many lives has she lived, loved and lost? What is Syd exactly, and what will she risk for the life of a man she doesn’t remember, the man she spent a lifetime with, the man she loves? Everything … including her very own life? Bone Dressing, the first in a series of seven books, will carry Syd and Beau on an adventure that transcends life itself.


Sydney has a history that she’s not aware of, but it finds her in the middle of the night on her parent’s grave.  
Bone Dressing has the makings of a good novel - the story is intriguing, the characters are likable and the villain is evil. However, there are a few hiccups. 
Firstly, the protagonist. For fear of giving away the plot I will be a little vague, but, there were times where I found myself wishing Sydney would keep quiet and move on. She is a very wordy story teller, throwing metaphors at the turn of every page and over explaining situations. Her emotions overflows as she spends half a page confessing her feelings to a stranger as impending doom sits and waits for her finish speaking before pouncing. 
I loved Syd more when she was not-quite-Syd and this was actually a good thing because it shows the development of a different character through the protagonist — while the two may be one person they are different people (yes, I get that it’s cryptic, but I fear I’m saying too much already!) 
Secondly, there were quite a few paranormal elements and I was left a little confused as to what was really happening in the end, however, as this is the first of a series I do believe that all of these elements that were presented would be resolved in one way or another. 
Lastly, I really was not sold on Beau - the love interest. Initially he didn’t intrigue me, however, towards the end I did find myself wondering what his story was. I might even enjoy reading a story from Beau’s point of view. 
Looking past these issues, the story itself was intriguing and fast paced. I’m keeping my eye on this to see how it unfolds. 
[Review based on copy from author. ]

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