Mara’s Awakening is the first book in The Mara Files by Leo Flynn. With snappy dialogue and action galore, this short piece felt very reminiscent of comic book writing. The main plot arc is simple enough: Mara has been locked away for several years and in the first pages of the story the warden is finally allowing her out of solitary confinement. One step closer to her escape, yet there is history and other complications she must overcome to get her freedom.
The only downfall of this style of storytelling is that after a certain number of pages without enough worldbuilding, the reader has nothing to hold on to… just a bunch of running and fighting. I needed more of a reason to care about this protagonist and her cause.
I do think that the holes will be filled in as there are eight books scheduled in the series. And I like this idea of a serialized story in this format Take a chance on Mara’s Awakening… and you may have a bit of fun!
3 out of 5 stars
Thank you to the author for an advanced copy for review.
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