ARA Review by Chris Brooks 1 of Inside Dweller

[Chris Brooks 1]

[Following is an OnlineBookClub.org ARA Review of the book, Inside Dweller.]

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3 out of 5 stars

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Inside Dweller: Book1, Genesis
By Kirsten G. Schuder

Synopsis:
Miranda has been having bad dreams/visions since her parents died. Her parents were renowned therapists and spiritualists. She became a ward of her sister, Allison, until she was an adult. She is currently a young adult. Her visions have been getting worse, and she believes she is either going insane or something more sinister is happening.

I listened to the audiobook, so I am not sure about some of the spellings.

Review:
As a teenager, Miranda was ordered into therapy but didn't take it seriously. She used to challenge her therapists by telling outlandish stories to see if they were listening. I found Miranda hilarious, and the relationship between the sisters was believable and endearing. Allison was the pragmatic, sensible older sister forced into a parenting role. She was always looking out for her wayward sibling the best she could.

I love the way Kirsten Schuder was able to mix highly technical psychology concepts into her fantasy world. I had nerdgasms over her description of black bodies and the ID. I could tell she understood the material. Her magic system was believable and well-grounded in current psychology and spirituality.

I felt that some of her characters were redundant and could have been rolled up into fewer of them. The myriad of individual similar characters added very little to the story. This was mainly, doctors and paranormal researchers. How many cousins could they possibly have However, Officers Right and Wrong should most definitely be kept. I may be misspelling their names since I listened to the audiobook, but I nearly spit out my coffee when they were introduced.

Miranda's love interest, Stephen, was somewhat banal as well. He felt like a stand-in or placeholder. I liked the villian, but I won't spoil the story by revealing it in this review. I will use "they" pronoun to hide the gender. However, they were like a Bond villain with the info-dumping of the entire plan. I imagined them petting a white Persian cat with their pinky up to the side of their mouth as they revealed their evil plans. Perhaps a maniacal laugh thrown in for good measure.

Overall, I liked the story and the sister dynamic, and I loved the technical details, but there were glaring problems with character development. The pacing was pretty good as well.

I give it 3 out of 5.

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