Traci's Reviews > Glamour

Glamour by Penelope Fletcher
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's review
Jan 31, 12

bookshelves: abandoned, kindle-library, 1-star

I am really disappointed in this one. It sounds so good, and it was free, and I was excited to read it. Unfortunately I only got to 40% before it came down to either giving it up as abandoned or clawing my eyes out because I tried to read another word and… well, I like having eyes.

The mortal enemy of this novel, and this storyline (which still has potential) was apparently time. It was rushed. It was all rushed. The 40% I read all took place within a few hours. A few hours. And it was painfully obvious that the only editor this novel ever saw was a quick run-through with spell check. The editing alone was painful. The rushed storyline made it worse. The slang made it unbearable.

This novel is about a girl named Rae, who lives in a post-war society where very few humans still live on the planet. There was a war at some point in the distant past between "demons" (which are all vampires, were-creatures, goblins, fairies, and witches—and I’m not sure how witches aren't human, but it's the not my classification) and humans. The humans all live in a big city protected by Clerics, which is what Rae is in training to become. There's something around the wall called a klaxon, which may or may not be an alarm of some sort—it was never explained before I stopped reading. And right before I stopped, there was the slam-in-the-face sort of foreshadowing that "hinted" that maybe this version of history is all wrong, anyway.

Our plucky heroine, Rae, is an orphan. The only tie she has to her past is a mysterious amulet that has never left her neck. She wears it to remind herself that she has no one. She is super fast, can heal super quickly, and has a compulsive punching problem—evidently when people touch her, she hates it so much that she just wants to lay them out. And I don't mean she's getting groped between the two classes she actually visited. I mean she wants to punch people when they accidentally brush against her in the hallways. She can also make a hole in the wall so she can get out without disturbing the klaxon, so she can go Outside.

And this is where our story starts. Rae is dressing, and it's not even one percent into the book and I've highlighted the first proofreading error that I just can't get past: "Stood in my fraying bra and panties, I groggily scratched at my knee, trying to pull myself together." Every time I have to stop myself and say "what?" it means that I'm pulled out of the story.

She is going for her morning run and happens to find two of her teachers murdering a fairy. The first thought that occurs to her is how horrible this is. And I'm not going to argue with that, it is horrible. But she's spent her whole life believing that these beings are subhuman and that there's nothing wrong with hunting them. She is in training to hunt them.

This upsets her so badly that she punches one teacher and runs from another, and she somehow breaks into a run which is super fast even for her. "Taken by shock, I planted my feet and slammed to still." As she stops, she sees a boy watching her. This boy is, to no one's surprise, a fairy. His name is Breanden. She is instantly attracted to him.


"Without thinking, I reached to touch his jaw and it felt like strength." What does strength feel like? If I reach out to pet the glistening, rock hard six pack abs of a weight lifter, am I feeling strength? Or is it just feeling up a stranger?

Also, Breanden is apparently a toddler. One of the first things he says to her? "Since I saw you first you have to be mine."

Anyway, after his little territorial display of dominance, he tells Rae that she too is a demon/fairy and that she has been hidden in the human city by a glamour that is now going to fade because breaking into a run means she's discovered her true nature. Despite all this, and despite the fact that she's punched her teacher and the other teacher saw her do this, and she's fully convinced they're going to kill her (which is, I guess, what happens to people who disobey) Breanden takes her back to the city. On her way to her first class of the day, she gets waylaid by a vampire named Tomas, and hides him in her closet to talk to him after the day is over.

We're treated to a bit of unnecessary description about school uniforms, and a bit of that slang I was mentioning earlier. The clothing object in question is a green blazer, and "the girls rocked them shorn at the elbow or tied around the waist to show off their tattoos." I went from "compulsive punching problem" to "teenage mutant ninja turtle" at this point.

Oh, and Rae is apparently a Mary Sue: "I was pretty much good at everything I tried and took eight classes instead of the six most Disciples preferred; Martial Arts, Explosives, Subterfuge, Entomology, Demon Theory, Equestrianism and Alchemy." I am… not entirely sure what the point in listing her class schedule was, considering that I was almost halfway through the book and she only went to Demon Theory long enough to argue with the teacher (the one who chased her in the forest that morning, and incidentally blow her cover in that whole fiasco) and skip Alchemy to sit in the library.

She also takes the time to worry about Breanden (who, in case you've forgotten, she only met about an hour ago): "The thought of him being discovered was making me feel slightly sick. I even threw up in my mouth a little."

I threw up in my mouth a little too, Rae.

Her friends are annoying: "Ro saw all the questions on my face and winked at me. 'We talk all about it later and I say hai proper,' he said."

So, really, I got no resolution. It's roughly halfway through a book, she's met some fairies, apparently fallen in love with the king of the toddler fairies, there's a vampire in her closet, and she's discovered she's a demon and tried (unsuccessfully) to stick it to the man, and she hasn't even had lunch yet. I don't know what the demons did, whether there are humans outside the wall or why I should give a damn.

I will leave you with one parting shot: "Our dietary staples were caffeine, sugar and bread."

Holy shit.
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Reading Progress

40.0% "another for the abandoned shelf."


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Traci You're not kidding. I kind of want to know if it gets any better, I just can't force myself.

Rabbit {Paint me like one of your 19th century gothic heroines!} I think I might be the masochist for the job once I get to this series. LOL

Traci It is free on amazon if you don't mind reading on the computer LOL

message 5: by Kimberly (new)

Kimberly I saw this as a giveaway, but I don't even think I want to have it given to me if it were that bad. It seemed like a maybe-i'll-give-it-a-try book, but now, I don't think I'll waste my time.

Traci I don't think you should :)

Megan Love your review! I read 15 pages and had to quit before I threw up in my mouth a little.

Traci Thanks! I'm not sure how I got as far into it as I did... stubborn, I guess!

message 9: by Tina (new) - rated it 1 star

Tina haha omg I was about to sit and read this ..for when I saw your review. I think I shall pass on this one. I already suffered through Sweet Evil this week, no reason to make myself suffer more from poor books.

message 10: by Traci (new) - rated it 1 star

Traci I haven't read Sweet Evil but now I don't think I want to! LOL

message 11: by Tina (new) - rated it 1 star

Tina Oh God, if you even consider it go read FreakChiq's review. I literally don't know how I read as much of that book as I did. Now I need to find a GOOD book to begin :-/

message 12: by Traci (new) - rated it 1 star

Traci You'll find a good one!

message 13: by Tina (new) - rated it 1 star

Tina oh Gods curiosity and boredom made me look back and open the book. I feel ashamed, and btw it gets worse

message 14: by Tessa (new) - rated it 1 star

Tessa I know you read this a year ago, but seriously just read it, and yeah! The book does not get better. You were lucky curiousity didn't compel you to finish it, like it did for me. I honestly just wanted to know wtf was up with the vampire. It's a trilogy so I will never know! (I refuse to actually pay for this)

message 15: by Tina (new) - rated it 1 star

Tina I did the same tessa. To bad the whole love triangle to me seemed awkward and out on left field. I definitely would not pay to finish this story.

message 16: by Traci (new) - rated it 1 star

Traci I'm glad to still be getting comments on it! If anyone ever finishes the trilogy and explains the vampire I will be sure to message you LOL

message 17: by Tina (new) - rated it 1 star

Tina The end of book 1 explains the vamp a bit. Its her 2nd lobe interest. Like a seer told fae boy she was destined for him a seer tells vamp boy the same. And she has light and dark powers and each of the boys complete one half of her. Its a triangle. The vamp race is dieing and they think she can hold of his death. Sounds more interesting than it was .

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