New Book Review: "Loveweaver" by Tracy Ann Miller, published June 30, 2016

Official Synopsis:

When Slayde pulls Llyrica from the ocean off the shores of Kent, how she arrived there from Denmark becomes the first of many questions. Her beauty and alluring voice evoke a deep and troubling need in him, but he must stay focused on the job at hand: Ridding England of the last of the Viking raiders.

Llyrica is now a stranger in a strange land, on a mission to fulfill a deathbed promise. But, she must now also find her missing brother. This man, Slayde, known as The StoneHeart in his country, seems determined to block her at every turn. And yet she can't help but be drawn to the sad and lonely side of him that awakens when he sleeps, the sleepwalker.

Unknown to both Llyrica and Slayde, each will use the other to accomplish their quests. Both will also fall under Llyrica's love spell, that of the Songweaver.

Set in the year 895, the story of Loveweaver happens among actual events. It was a time when many Vikings were settling peacefully in England while other would-be conquerors still sought to overtake the country. A romance between a Viking woman and English (Saxon) man was certainly not unheard of, but might still raise eyebrows.

The fact that Llyrica makes a living as a weaver appeals to those who value the importance of feminine creativity, cultural arts, and using those talents to carve out a place in the world.

Slayde depicts a man struggling to live up to a character of military might, while denying a life he would rather live, that of an inventor, a dreamer, a builder.

Llyrica's presence reignites in Slayde a reason to be done with war, to open the way for peace and his love for the beguiling weaver.

Details:

Author—Tracy Ann Miller

Publisher—TracyMillerDesigns (Self-Published)

Genre—Historical

Sub-genre—Viking

Date Published—June 30, 2016

Pages—246

Setting—895 England

Main Characters—Llyrica and Slayde the StoneHeart

Review:

I received a free copy for review from the author.

Spoilers

I wanted to like this book. I have a great respect for anyone who is able to write and edit a novel, as I have gone—and am going—through the process myself. Unfortunately, “Loveweaver” was just not ready for publication.

There were several issues with story, character, technique, and even the cover. I'd like to address each point in order to give the author some detailed feedback.

*The Cover

This cover looks severely outdated. When first looking at it I thought this was a novel from the 1970s, and that is not a good thing in self-publishing. The cover is the first thing customers will see and a poor one will make them overlook your novel. While I do think the author's technical skills in making the cover were good, the execution was poor.

*The Characters

Neither Llyrica nor Slayde are interesting or compelling. Llyrica is a typical Mary-Sue that is good at just about everything, but is also pretty much helpless. Slayde is supposed to be the strong, in-charge male, but comes across extremely insecure. He also resigns himself to his fate on more than one occasion even when the fate was easily avoided.

The chemistry is non-existent. Barely any time is dedicated to character development or to the romance. It just sort of happens and feels forced and unappealing.

Too many side characters are introduced by name, then described in great detail, bogging down the novel unnecessarily.

*The Concept

While I believe the concept is workable, the author falls into common pitfalls of novice writers. The main pitfall is not starting close enough to the action. So much is explained in the first two chapters that is unnecessary and slows down the pace, when the novel could have been started later and to more effect.

The “Songweaver” concept is supposedly the core idea, and yet is presented clumsily and not thoroughly explained. There is no explanation of how it is supposed to work, or whether it is either real magic or a placebo effect. Clearer mechanics and using the idea more centrally would have helped greatly.

The novel is not a romance novel. The “romance” takes up only a small percentage of the novel, and it's a stretch to even call it that. No time is taken for the characters to really get to know each other, to find real reasons why they should fall in love. It's reduced to Slayde confessing his love only 15% through the book, and then several scenes of sex for the remainder. The rest of the novel deals with taking down a warlord and Llyrica's many family problems. (Slayde's as well.)

*The Technique

The prose is far too purply to be effective. Every person, action, setting, etc is described unnecessarily, dragging down the pace of the novel and padding the length. I would estimate a good half of the novel is description alone.

While the research is apparent and appreciated, there is far too much of it used and too little explained. So much is described without actually describing anything, as she uses proper terms for clothing, houses, boats, etc. This is done without any explanation as to what these terms mean and she keeps using them. It's frustrating and needless.

The sex feels clunky, emotionless, and juvenile. There is nothing sexy about it, no exploration into the emotions and sensations behind it. It also feels very mechanical. And since I don't care about the characters it feels pointless.

There were some grammatical issues, mostly typos and incorrect comma usage. These can be forgiven, however. The main issue was the lack of contractions and the use of older language. Authors try to do this for it to seem as authentic as possible, but it slows down the pacing and feels unnatural. In most historical romances, authors will use contractions and more modern language in order to make communication and flow easier.

Ratings:

Hotness Rating: 1/10

Overall Rating: F

I appreciate the author's efforts and wish her luck in the future. Even bad novels are good for practice and should be used as stepping stones for future works.

If you would like to purchase a copy of “Loveweaver” you can find it here: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01H7M46BC/ref=cm_sw_su_dp

Mary

Mary