We've been talking a lot about writing reviews, and not saying anything negative, but I think that honesty is still best when sharing thoughts on a story. I recently read an eBook I'd received in exchange for a review, so I didn't hold back on the truth as I saw it from my reader viewpoint.

In His Command by Rie Warren

My rating: 3 of 5 stars

In His Command is a hard book for me to review. Post-apocalyptic fiction is on the rise and anti-homosexual views aren't exactly new in that scenario, easily leading to an overdone and predictable plot. Yet that was the lynch pin of this entire story. It didn't stand out enough to interest me and the elements of the plot that related to the action were so spaced out that I grew bored in the middle of the book, almost making this a dnf.

I think that both main characters were well fleshed out. We got to see exactly why Caspar and Nathaniel are who they are. The backstory was revealed piece by piece, when it was relevant, and provided by the characters--not the author in narration--so I really liked that aspect of the author's writing. Still ... I didn't really feel for either character and their romance wasn't enough to pull me in either.

The biggest issue I faced reading this story was boredom. If I hadn't been reading his for the purpose of reviewing it, I'd have quit reading during the scenes at the nomad camp. The internal monologues Caspar kept having, his indecision, the overly flowery language and writing ... it felt completely out of character. I rolled my eyes several times in disgust at his teenage girliness that seemed to go on and on.

So, my thoughts overall? It was okay, and I finished it. If this story was about half the length, and a lot of the sex and internal drama were removed, I'd have liked it a lot more.

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