Review: Ethereal Fury (Gemini Rising, #1)

Author: Jessica O'Gorek
Series: Gemini Rising, #1
Publisher: Cogent Publishing (self published work)
Release: April 13th 2013
Source: Purchased
Pages: 278 (ebook)
( Amazon | Goodreads )

Angry at the human race and its methodical destruction of her resources, Mother Earth recruits souls who have just left their bodies to serve Her, and turns them against humanity. Gemini, a clan of paranormal beings, picked from these possessed humans, emerges. A powerful, rising force proceeds to carry out Mother Nature’s plan to systematically destroy towns, cities, states… and eventually, the world. Amidst the chaos, a forbidden relationship between a human girl, Violette, and Onyx, a lead Gemini, begins. They will both find themselves in the middle of a revolutionary war that will either save, or destroy our world.

I had high hopes for Ethereal Fury. It was both refreshing and exciting to find a paranormal novel that is not about vampires, werewolves, or angels. The concept of Mother Earth and how she plans to destroy human race due to our long-going destruction to the environment screamed originality and I couldn't wait to start it. Unfortunately, after a long reading struggle (I almost give up on this book 5 times), I have to conclude that Ethereal Fury was not what I have hoped at all and this left me very sour at heart. So, be prepared and let the rant begin.

The synopsis of Ethereal Fury promised a lot of awesome things: a desperate and cruel divine force - Mother Earth, a clan of demon like paranormal beings, a forbidden romance between enemies, and a revolutionary war that will change the future of mankind. How can you possibly walk away from all that? But guess what, none of those promises were fulfilled in the book. Instead, Ethereal Fury spent most of its chapters focusing on the love triangle between Onyx, Violette, and Slate (a human), but the romance was still very much forced and lacking at best. I never really understood the attractions between the three of them. Their affections towards each other started with no reason and no bearing, sort of a instalove, which is never my type of romance. 

The characters are not well developed either in the sense that they are extremely one-dimensional, especially Violette. She is characterized as innocent and pure, but sometimes I think she is just naive and stupid, maybe even weak. It really annoys me the fact that she just absolutely loves the guy no matter how much he hurts her. Onyx is not any more likable than Violette. His backstory, things he did before he was recruited as a Gemini, makes it even more difficult for me to perceive him as anything less than a despicable and selfish coward.

It is hard enough already to get through a book with uninspiring characters, but the writing made it even worse. Almost everything is described to the same extend which leaves no emphasis on what is important and critical. Too many unnecessary details also clutter the plot and make it feel dry and boring. Another thing that really bugs me is Jessica O'Gorek's style of narrating in Ethereal Fury. To sum it up, you basically get everyone's POV regarding the same event. I understand that it helps readers to really get to know everyone's inner thoughts, but it is miserable to sit there and read the same exact thing 2 or 3 times. This really bogged the pacing down and the whole 280 pages of Ethereal Fury didn't end up progressing the story much at all. And maybe the worst part of all? It ended at a very obnoxious cliffhanger.

It always makes me sad when a brilliant idea gets ruined in execution. Ethereal Fury is one of these disappointments. It had a lot of potential, but O'Gorek was not able to fully utilize them and polish the storyline. Some of the plot points did not seem to be well thought out. Instead, they were rushed and sometimes even inconsistent. I truly wish to see another story from her with the same innovative look on a conventional genre and I wish next time I will be able to enjoy it.

My Rating: ★☆ (1 and 1/2 stars)