Review: UnEnchanted

UnEnchanted by Chanda Hahn

My rating: 2 of 5 stars

I downloaded this book for free from Barnes & Noble because it seemed to have a unique premise. The reviews I read were generally favorable too, so I thought it might be worth a shot.

The premise is indeed very unique, but the book is bogged down by SO. MUCH. CLICHE. that it's almost maddening. It's repeated time and time (and time) again that the main character, Mina, is 'not like other girls'. I understand the urge to make your character unique and relatable to the myriad of "perfect" book characters, but there comes a point when it's just overkill. It hindered the story, for me, because it was just so over the top at times. A prime example was the fact that Mina, a modern-day 16 year old attending what seemed to be a normal enough high school, had no idea what Twitter was. Um, what?

The pacing of the book seemed inconsistent. Scenes that did not feel pertinent to the storyline were described in great detail, while others that would have helped developed the plot were given just a few lines. There were more than a few moments of reading this book that I literally went "Wait, what?!". Everything seemed so rushed. I feel like the entire book would have benefited greatly from just sloooowing down a little, even if it meant adding another hundred pages or so.
Several reviews that I read prior to downloading this book said that it was very much in need of an editor, and I strongly agree. I feel like this book had so much potential to be a good, solid tale, but fell short.

Despite the issues I had with this book, I don't necessarily feel it was an entire waste of time to read. Like I've said, the concept was intriguing, and it was enough to keep my interest to the end. I can't say I'd highly recommend it, though. Maybe if you needed something to fill the time, perhaps, but not much else.

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