Review: A Touch of Fever by Nazri Noor
SYNOPSIS:
What do you do when you can’t cast spells? You make your own magic.
Jackson Pryde was never great at wielding magic. Instead, he works as an artificer, crafting enchanted devices in the Black Market, a shadowy bazaar of wonders. But Xander Wright, the mouthy, pretentious mage next door, hates all the hammering in Jackson’s workshop.
When a chance assignment forces them to team up, they discover a terrifying predicament. Something is driving members of the magical community into murderous rages. Jackson and Xander must combine might and magic to find the source of the Fever and stop it. Can they put aside their differences long enough to end the Fever, or will they succumb to its bloodthirsty curse?
REVIEW:
New to me authors are always so hit or miss and unfortunately, this book and author were a miss for me. I was in the mood for an urban fantasy, but not ready for the emotional commitment that Hailey Turner’s novels require, so I decided to give Nazri Noor a try.
The plotline itself wasn’t bad, I didn’t hate the characters or how the story built up. But I had several issues. First of begin there was way too much descriptive text and not enough dialogue. It was to the point where after 60-some percent into the book I started skimming text because it was a lot of useless filler information that didn’t contribute to the storyline or character arcs. Secondly, what I desperately needed more of was character conversations and development.
Xander and Jackson’s arc from enemies to boyfriends was weird and lacked any fluidity. Of course there was definitely some chemistry between the two of them, but there was as an awkward tension that blanketed them every time their mouths weren’t fused together. Was it really unrequited love for years that these two just had for each other and why the sudden distance after Xander went to school? There were some gaps here that desperately needed filled.
The ending seems rushed and very abrupt but I also don’t like that the plot didn’t feel like it was building up to one culprit and the culprit’s justification for doing what they did, didn’t make sense. It all felt very anti-climatic and once the chapter ended I sat here and said, ‘that was it?’. Everything just fell short of my expectations and as a result I won’t be picking up this series or author again.
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