Westside, by W.M. Akers
HarperAudio - 2019
Fantasy / Historical Fantasy
Audiobook
Narrated by Bailey Carr
Fantasy / Historical Fantasy
Audiobook
Narrated by Bailey Carr
10 Hours, 50 Minutes
My Rating (out of 5)
⭐⭐⭐
I liked this book. I really wanted to Love it, and was quite excited for it as its pub date grew near. In the end I can say that I liked it, but I didn't love it as much as I had hoped to.
Set in an alternate 1920's New York, Manhattan is divided. A 13 mile fence with a controlled crossing point separates the seedy Westside from the more affluent Eastside. Gilda Carr happily calls the Westside home, living in the house she grew up in before the Westside went downhill. She is a detective who specializes in tiny mysteries. You know the kind - lost pets and missing sandwiches, misplaced gloves and the like. Of course there are bigger mysteries - people are disappearing at an alarming rate and some dark magic seems to be eroding the Westside almost right before her eyes.
While investigating one of her "tiny mysteries" - a lost glove, Gilda gets sucked into much bigger mysteries - some of which are hitting pretty close to home for her, as well as an impending gang war. Gilda struggles to solve the bigger mysteries in a hope of saving friends, family, and the city she loves from destruction.
First off, the imagination factor on the storyline is this book's major strength. Multi-faceted and highly original, Akers debut shows him to be a writer of unique and original ideas.
For me though, I just never felt fully connected with the characters. There seemed to be a rather large cast of secondary and minor characters and without much of a connection to any of the characters at all, I found it hard to keep all the connections straight in my mind.
I also felt that the juxtaposition between the tiny mysteries and the greater goings on was too pronounced to have a really cohesive feel. The idea was definitely good, but the execution of it seemed a little "too much of a good thing" for me.
Narration was provided by Bailey Carr who performed with a good range of character and emotion. Her voice was clear and her tempo and cadence made for a comfortable listen.
I liked this book. I really wanted to Love it, and was quite excited for it as its pub date grew near. In the end I can say that I liked it, but I didn't love it as much as I had hoped to.
Set in an alternate 1920's New York, Manhattan is divided. A 13 mile fence with a controlled crossing point separates the seedy Westside from the more affluent Eastside. Gilda Carr happily calls the Westside home, living in the house she grew up in before the Westside went downhill. She is a detective who specializes in tiny mysteries. You know the kind - lost pets and missing sandwiches, misplaced gloves and the like. Of course there are bigger mysteries - people are disappearing at an alarming rate and some dark magic seems to be eroding the Westside almost right before her eyes.
While investigating one of her "tiny mysteries" - a lost glove, Gilda gets sucked into much bigger mysteries - some of which are hitting pretty close to home for her, as well as an impending gang war. Gilda struggles to solve the bigger mysteries in a hope of saving friends, family, and the city she loves from destruction.
First off, the imagination factor on the storyline is this book's major strength. Multi-faceted and highly original, Akers debut shows him to be a writer of unique and original ideas.
For me though, I just never felt fully connected with the characters. There seemed to be a rather large cast of secondary and minor characters and without much of a connection to any of the characters at all, I found it hard to keep all the connections straight in my mind.
I also felt that the juxtaposition between the tiny mysteries and the greater goings on was too pronounced to have a really cohesive feel. The idea was definitely good, but the execution of it seemed a little "too much of a good thing" for me.
Narration was provided by Bailey Carr who performed with a good range of character and emotion. Her voice was clear and her tempo and cadence made for a comfortable listen.
A good debut with a strong, original storyline.
Happy Reading,
Christine
o
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