CBR Bingo: Black
I picked up Jack Serpent because I liked the cover (you can’t really tell from the photo, but it’s super shiny) and the synopsis (it sounded like a monster huntery Witcher-vibes type story).
Despite nothing in the title, cover, or synopsis indicating that this was to be the case, this reads like a typical bad YA romantasy title. I don’t have anything against either of those things, and in fact, some of my favourite stories are YA and/or romantasy books, but this wasn’t really something I was in the mood for. It’s also pretty badly written (I found so many typos) and felt a bit like a first draft rather than a published novel. The worldbuilding is sort of hazy and confusing (not in a purposeful way where it feels like the author is trying to reveal things slowly throughout the story, but more of a “how many made-up words can I fit into this book” sort of way).
The story perspectives are split between the titular Jack, a sort of supernaturally enhanced human that is the last person alive to have passed a set of deadly trials, and Aylla, a woman who lives in a swamp with some wolves. Jack is summoned by the King to accompany a team of soldiers to kill a monster, and Aylla gets brought along as a sort of guide to the swamp. The lead soldier is obviously a dick and promptly fucks off and abandons the rest of the team to use them as bait for the monster. The other two soldiers were actually kind of interesting, but of course they have to die pretty quickly so that Jack and Aylla can be left alone to have lusty feelings at each other. Despite being fully grown adults (Jack is 34 and Aylla never gets a specific age, but by context clues I think she’s late 20s), they spend most of the book acting like stupid teenagers.
There’s absolutely nothing original or engaging about this book. I am stupider for having read it.