With such a cool spooky looking cover, and an intriguing synopsis, I really expected Heartsnare by Steven B Williams to be a fantastic new gritty fantasy world for me to indulge in. And it might be! Just, not for me. I unfortunately had to call it quits on the book after approximately 30%. Almost all of the cool things mentioned in the synopsis never happens a third of the way through, save for Eric’s best friend dying.
I feel as though Heartsnare fell into a trap many writers wanting to introduce a new world do. Whereas we have some authors who give you too little, Williams gives too much. He makes you feel settled in and a bit mundane. Yes, I understand the importance in grounding the reader in the familiar before throwing them into the dark and unknown, but this was far too much. Additionally, writing in accent for the entirety might not have been the best idea if the goal was to reach a wider audience. At first, it was fun for me, a novelty that quickly lost its charm as I continued reading.
There are slight hints of what might happen, of some dark power Eric may have inherited related to a heart condition he suffered from in his younger days. Two or so instances in the first thirty percent where a slight something happens when he gets emotional, angry. But it’s never given further thought and it certainly wasn’t enough to keep me interested in continuing. I think, perhaps, if the horror element was introduced earlier on, had attempted to hook me, I would have continued on. The writing was solid, the characters likeable. Or, if it was going to take this long to get to the horror, I might have been able to stick around if the build-up and character interactions weren’t all in accent. But, to have everything in accent AND the horror not pop up? I just couldn’t stick through it.
Heartsnare by Steven B Williams has solid writing, and I’m certain Williams knows his world thoroughly. I think this is a book a lot of people can love, just not me. The constant use of accent and slow build-up were a tough combination I could not break through to finish this book.
