Pokémon Book Reviews

Velvet Crescent - by Sheare

Velvet Crescent:

"She stuffs her hand in her pocket, glaring at her opponent that was scrambling to her feet. Her eyes fill with malice, with every bone of her body moving fluently to conquer her prey. A handgun clicks before the unarmed girl, the pointer finger curls around the trigger firmly without any trembling. Her palm holds the grip snugly, aiming the gun at the chest of her target.

What can I to do?

'This,' she starts, her voice harsh between her teeth. She takes a sharp intake of air and finishes, 'is for him.'

Who is this 'him?'

I can sense something deeper; the loathing of the shooter's eyes, those eyes as deadly as her ammunition. She longs to pull the trigger, serving some bout of justice.

I fling out from behind the cardboard box, my hand stretches out as if to catch the incoming bullet. Her eyes widen as she pulls the trigger, the gun jerking back as it fires.

Then, my vision cloaks in a bright white light."

Genre: Fanfiction, Romance

Velvet Crescent is one of my favorite books on Wattpad. From the first time I read it as a judge for the Pokémon Watty Awards, I was really impressed.

What I liked best about it was its realistic setting, which was so different from the types of worlds that I usually see, both in fanfic and in my real life. I've never lived in a city as large as Sheare's depiction of Goldenrod, but it was written so vividly that I almost felt as though I was actually visiting. The book captures not only the description of the city itself but also the people and the culture. At the same time, it explores some of the problems that are typically seen in these kinds of cities: gangs, drug use, troubled neighborhoods. We see diverse characters from different backgrounds who are all shaped by the city. That lent the story realism and depth of the kind that I really enjoy seeing.

Another plus is that the story is fairly well written. It has good descriptions and dialogue, a good balance of different elements, and is overall smooth enough to encourage continuous reading, especially after the plot starts kicking in. Many of the later chapters will truly make you want to binge read until you reach the end.

I would say that the book starts a little slowly, but, for me, the writing and the setting would have been enough to keep going even if I hadn't been required to read it all the way through. My biggest issue with the beginning is that we only see the main character's name one time initially and it doesn't reappear until fairly late in the story. Combined with the fact that it's an unusual name, this meant that, the first time I read the book, I forgot what her name was and it took some effort for me to recall it correctly. Actually, I now know that I was recalling it incorrectly because "Wiktoria" is actually meant to be an alternate spelling of "Victoria" and is pronounced with a "V" sound, not a "W" sound. It would have been very helpful to have some short passage of the book explain this near the beginning because I'm sure I wasn't the only reader thrown by this. Perhaps some other character could see it written somewhere, like on her luggage tag as they hand it to her coming off the train she's on at the beginning, and mispronounce it so she can correct them.