Minutes Before Sunset

Great book!

Characters
I really like all the characters in this book. They have been well developed and definitely seem realistic. Each one has their own personality and they stay within character.

Eric has the sort of attitude you would expect from someone his age who has no choice over his own destiny. He has a good balance of wanting to dwell in loneliness and wanting to be close to someone. His internal conflict is believable and well described.

Jessica is a very determined girl, capable of sticking up for herself. Despite the difficulties in her life, she is a strong female character. She follows what she believes in but she can also get lost in her emotions.



Plot
I really enjoyed the plot and the pace of the story. The reader is told enough information to understand what is happening, but there is also enough held back to keep you guessing and wanting to read more.

I also found the difference between the Dark and Light to be very refreshing. It is the complete opposite of the usual stereotype, which is unique with my reading experience.

While I have a rough idea of what the title means, I’m not sure it was made clear how it is relevant to this particular part of the story. Not a big deal, but something to think about.



World
This book is set in the modern world, though I assume the town of Hayworth is made up. I would have liked a little more area description. Some of the important places were given more focus but a lot of the world is left to the imagination of the reader. Description might not seem as important in an urban fantasy than it is for a high fantasy, but I like having more information about where the characters live and what the environment is like.

I was also a little confused with the limitations of magic. I felt that the shades were quite powerful but then they were much weaker than the lights. While some of the lacking is explained, I was left wondering why the shades could not use other powers to assist them.



Grammar and Writing
This book is really well written. I think I might have come across one or two typos, but they were not really noticeable. In fact, I only remembered that there were some because I make notes as I read.

A lot of the story is focused on conversation between characters. Information is passed from one person to the next and relationships are explained or formed. Conversation is not necessarily a bad thing, but there are other ways to help the plot develop and using some alternatives might have been more interesting.



Overall
I definitely like the ideas behind this story and I look forward to reading the rest of the trilogy. I have read this book before, but it was a long time ago and I am ready to read the others now so I wanted a reminder of what happened. However, it has made me realise how much I really do not like rereading books. I spent a lot of time trying to push ahead and remember what happened instead of just enjoying the moment.

That being said, I am still glad I read it because now I can dive into the rest of the trilogy and I really want to know what happens next. Also, just as a quick finishing note, the cover is amazing!