Pokémon Book Reviews

"The Time Gear" - by hayleyinreverse

The Time Gear:

"Time is a precious thing, you never know when time will corrupt, or if someone will try to use it's power. A protector is needed. Three time gears. One person. A haunted past and an unwanted kinship. No one can fix the past, but everyone can create the future."

Genre: Fanfiction/Teen fiction

Rating: PG-13

Ivy (@RiverIvy)'s review:

The worst thing about this story is definitely its confusing plot. Without revealing spoilers, there were multiple times where I had to re-read chapters just to understand - and even till now, there are parts that I'm still puzzling over.

Now don't get me wrong - I am certainly not saying that the plot isn't good, it is in fact well thought-of, but it's just that the author seems to be... I'm not quite sure how to explain it: disorganized in her writing?

For example, one moment we're reading about (this is an example, it isn't real) a girl that's playing tennis and then all of a sudden... we're reading about bananas. That's how I felt in this book: the ideas seemed to struggle to flow smoothly to another.

Now for the grammar...

The grammar itself could be improved. Some spelling errors here and there, though not too much. But, just a tiny detail I noticed: When a new character speaks, yes, you do indeed start a new paragraph, but, just ONE new paragraph. Let me explain through examples:

Incorrect: I said,

"Hi, how are you?"

My friend responded,

"Good, you?"

(^^ That's what the writer was doing)

Correct: I said, "Hi, how are you?"

My friend responded, "Good, you?"

 Okay, enough of that. Now onto what I liked:

Description was vivid, something which a lot of books lack. The writer did a good job on that part, which I applaud to.

But the best was definitely - characters.

I loved the character development, but what really captivated me were the relationships between characters. I thought it was very well-handled and realistic, and definitely not in black and white. Although most writers don't see this, character is a major element in a book; possibly just as important as plot.

Only two things I didn't like:

- Main character's relation (Serena) with Green: It seemed forced and abrupt.

-Crystal: One day she's a bitch, the next she's an angel? I know that she had a motive, but still, it was hard to believe.

And a side-note: In the beginning it was said that Serena was the girl on the cover. Well, in the book she's described as having blonde hair, blue eyes, and tan skin – and yet the girl on the old cover had black hair, dark eyes, and very pale skin, where as in the new cover she has white hair, gray eyes, and again pale skin. I'm confused.

Another note: The paragraphs are a bit too long for my liking. I suggest breaking them down into smaller chunks.

Overall, it was a well-developed novel; but just a good edit would make a huge difference!

Rating: 6.5/10

Lilly (@ChronaLilly)'s review: