Piercing the Veil by Nicole L. Taylor

It’s the little things that matter.

Piercing the Veil has a classic plot: a coming-of-age Lost Princess, complete with family secrets, mysterious powers, and a forbidden first romance. Nicole L. Taylor wraps all of this together with a pinch of darkness and some serious geeking out over Shakespeare. When the plot got going, I was happy to be swept along for the ride.

Unfortunately, it’s the little things that matter. Things like the inconsistent italicisation of pop culture references, or the misspelling of –esque as –esk. The devoted and overprotective grandmother okaying her 15-year-old granddaughter going on a date with a 20-year-old. The refusal of the main character to accept magic, when she and her cousins are already telepathic and she’s an empathetic mindreader. The love triangle I saw from a mile off, which I thought had been killed off nicely but appeared to rear its ugly head afterwards. The overly-analytical first-person narrator who was so self-aware it jarred me out of my suspension of disbelief. The excessively ornate turn of phrase, stilted dialogue, and constant telling, not showing.

On the good side, kudos for the explicit takedown of rape culture and that perfect scene where the heroine tells the love interest off for messing her around. There's a lot of miscommunication in this book, but it is followed by actual apologies, which makes up for it.

This is a debut novel and it shows. It’s an original twist on some classic tropes, but it’s dressed for prom on the first day of school. It ends on a semi-cliff-hanger and I want to know what happens next, as long as Ms. Taylor leaves the purple prose at home.

Three cobalt stars accented with little flecks of gold

I received a copy of this story from the author through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.