Tainted: Astin Fell Book 1

Name: Tainted

Author: H. C. Cavall

Published: August 13, 2016 by H. C. Cavall

Purchased: I voluntarily reviewed a complimentary copy of this book

☆☆☆☆/5

Blurb: Astin Fell lives a normal life as a struggling barista until, one night, he suddenly sprouts wings and horns. Astin has “expressed” as an Other, a mythological creature trapped in a human shell. The problem is, no one seems to know just what kind of creature he is. To make matters worse, he’s drawn the attention of the Taint, an ancient horror devouring the universe one tiny piece at a time. Whatever it consumes, it adds to its army—permanently.

And it’s hell bent on making Astin its next victim.

Thrown headfirst into a world where creatures of myth hide among society, Astin must learn to use his new powers while staying one step ahead of the Taint. He’ll have help: Nemesis, the shotgun toting, bike riding Goddess of Vengeance; Claudia Fischer, a woman with three souls bonded inside her; his nightmarish vampyre ex-girlfriend; and his telepathic house cat. But if Astin and his friends can’t unravel the dark conspiracy lurking among the Other, the extradimensional horrors will devour them… and then, the entire city.

Review: This was actually a surprisingly good read. A little lax in feeling a good connection with the characters, especially when the author threw in a little bit of romance.

This was a lot of fantasy but it was done in a way that wasn’t overwhelming. Not my favorite book, it was just a little fast and abrupt in some places so, it’s not a five star for me but it’s a really good book all-in-all.

Even when they were trying to find out what exactly Astin was, it wasn’t boring. It was funny, had great dialogue between the characters, the cover is a bit creepy but gives the reader an idea about what the Taint kind of looks like.

The pace was, as I said, a little fast and abrupt but otherwise it was a good pace for the story, getting a lot in while keeping it fun to read. A great action-packed story with lots of creatures and creepy crawly ooze. I would love to see more from this author, maybe there’s a five star in the next book?

Thank you for reading my review.