“THE SEVEN MARKETS”
by David Hoffman
PUBLISHER: Smith Publicity
PUBLICATION DATE: November 23, 2012
REVIEWED BY: Books4Tomorrow
OVERVIEW
Once in every century, for three days only, the
Market comes.
Her whole life, Ellie MacReady has delighted at her papa’s stories of the fantastical Market. The creatures that walk its streets. The wonders waiting in every shopkeeper’s window. The exotic foods and unearthly scents which tempt travelers on every corner.
But in all his stories, her papa never mentioned the irresistible Prince, or the perils which await young girls who wander away to explore the Market on their own.
Her whole life, Ellie MacReady has delighted at her papa’s stories of the fantastical Market. The creatures that walk its streets. The wonders waiting in every shopkeeper’s window. The exotic foods and unearthly scents which tempt travelers on every corner.
But in all his stories, her papa never mentioned the irresistible Prince, or the perils which await young girls who wander away to explore the Market on their own.
REVIEW
I can
honestly say I’ve never read anything like this before. The title and premise
of the book tickled my curiosity and led me to believe that I’ll be taken on a
fantastical journey through vibrant, mysterious markets like none other. In
that sense, “The Seven Markets” lived up to its promise. Also, I really liked
the cover, which only added more to my curiosity. The reader, along with Ellie,
visits seven markets with the first starting in the eighteenth century and the
last ending in the distant future. Each market is different than the one before
and I applaud the author for creating truly imaginative worlds for the reader
to explore.
The
reasoning behind my three-star rating though, is that I simply didn’t get the
point of this book. The plot is imaginative, unique and complex, but hard to
follow. It started out really well with a story full of promise, but near the
end of the first market, I was completely lost and couldn’t manage to catch up
again. Each market is set in a different century and the further along I read,
the more confused I was. Nothing made sense to me and I only finished this book
out of sheer curiosity, hoping for a conclusion which would explain everything
to me. Sadly, this never happened.
Now,
I’m not saying you shouldn’t pick up this book. No, I’m saying that for me,
this just wasn’t my cup of tea. I really liked Ellie’s character at the start
of the book, but I felt that when the journey to the markets started, Ellie and
the rest of the characters became rather dull. What kept my interest was the
feel and ambience of the different markets – which the author managed to
describe rather well, enough mysteries and surprises to keep me guessing all
the way, and of course the fact that I thought somehow it would all come
together at its finale. The writing was done very well, but most of the time
the transitioning from one scene to the next was abrupt and left me feeling
whiplashed.
Usually
I wouldn’t read anything by an author whose first book I read disappoints me,
but in this case I’ll make an exception, because although this story made no
sense to me whatsoever, I still enjoyed the author’s creativity. And like I
said before, the writing was really well-done. It showed me that this writer
has potential and the ability to come up with fresh new ideas to intrigue and
enthral the reader. Overall the story
concept was interesting and out of the ordinary, and I’m happy I had the opportunity
to have read this book.
I
received a free copy of this book from the publisher via Netgalley, in exchange
for an honest review.
READ
more REVIEWS
“The
Seven Markets” by David Hoffman has 4 reviews on Goodreads. Read it here.
PURCHASE LINKS
ABOUT
the AUTHOR
David
Hoffman is the author of The Seven Markets and the forthcoming suburban fantasy
Beautiful Handcrafted Animals. He earned his B.A. in English at the University
of Wisconsin, Madison and lives with his wife in Westchester, New York. Hoffman
is currently working on two books, and really ought to sleep more.
AUTHOR LINKS
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