Book Review: Gilted; Jill C. Flanagan.

I've been putting off this read for a while now. It's an early Netgalley request that I received in haste, before realising that it's erotic fiction which is really not my thing. But I wanted something quick to start the month with, and the idea that there would be other elements (fast-paced thrills and supernatural powers) kept me interested enough. I need to start listening to my instincts more though, it would seem...

SOURCE: Netgalley
TYPE: E-Read

TITLE: Gilted
AUTHOR: Jill C. Flanagan
SERIES: Gilt (#1)
PUBLISHER: Wyrd Publishing
PAGES: 79
GENRE: Adult, Urban Fantasy, Thriller, Romance

RATING: 1.5/5 Stars

Blurb:
Ash needs to make money. Her brother is going to trial, her sister is pregnant, her mother’s health isn’t great and her father is a dreamer who spends all their savings on the next best thing. 

Good thing she was brought up to con people. Even better that she has always had a little bit of ‘mind magic’ as her Mam calls it. 

Small cons are all she’s ever done. This time her family needs a big chunk of cash and the best way to do that is a long con. 

The target? A honeypot scheme involving a powerful man running for Governor. 

And the Gubernatorial candidate’s Communications Officer? Too bad he’s the first guy she’s been interested in, well, forever. 

Even though politics are dangerous, politicians may be deadly.

What I Liked:

• To be honest...not a whole lot? I think the concept was a really cool-sounding one. I normally enjoy books with con-artists (especially if it's a family thing) and the fact that the had powers too? Awesome. The powers were a big draw here. That, and the cover.

What I Disliked:

• Oh boy, get ready! Let's start with the writing shall we. I think that if a book is written well then you can't really fault it because it means the story just wasn't for you. However, if a book is a bit of a jumbled mess and OH SO REPETITIVE then you certainly can. This is a short enough story (which turned out to be a bit of a blessing) without saying the same facts over and over.
• The characters? Meh. I didn't like protagonist Ash. She spent far too long talking about how much she loved her twin sister but also her sister is way better and prettier than her and she's so ugly because she's not stick thin and blonde. Ugh. Ash's family pretty much sucked too, with little to no depth other than a phone call. Let's not even go there with Charles but Lee? Am I supposed to root for a guy who refers to women as 'colleagues or fucks' in his mind? Just because he doesn't say it out loud doesn't make it alright.
• There's really not a lot of anything in this story and it's paced so badly.  There's way too much explanation and not enough action, meaning the 'finale' is over in ten seconds. It falls pretty flat too. I wanted to at least have a bit of substance in there but no... even the erotica was reduced to reflections upon the sex and a very badly handled rape scene. Trigger warning for those affected by that sort of thing: it hits you like a ton of bricks, is there for pretty much no reason other than to further plot, blames the victim a lot and just made me want to throw up.

Overall Conclusion:

This book felt like a waste of time. Bad writing, poor character building and terrible pacing. It was too short, but I was actually pleased about that in the end because it meant I got through it quickly! I liked the idea of certain elements here but they weren't executed well at all. Kudos to the cover designer though, it looks so awesome! I just wish the content had matched.