Review: Intangible by C.A. Gray

Intangible (Piercing The Veil, #1) by C.A. Gray
Published: December 1st 2013 by Wunderlust Publishing
Pages: 307

Peter Stewart grew up on a unique version of the Arthurian legends taught him by his father, a harebrained quantum physicist who asserts that anything is possible. But Peter disbelieves anything which cannot be scientifically explained, despite a nagging sense that there is more to the world than meets the eye.

Lily Portman is an orphan with a secret: she can see creatures that are invisible to everyone else. These creatures control every human being she has ever met to varying degrees... until she meets Peter and his father.

When a mysterious stranger stages an accident which nearly costs Peter and Lily their lives, suddenly Lily learns that she is not crazy after all, and Peter discovers the truth of his father’s stories… including the existence of Arthur’s ancient nemesis, one who calls himself the Shadow Lord, and a prophecy with implications so profound that it will alter not only the course of their lives, but potentially the fate of the world.
"The Watchers have been protecting you to the best of our ability all your life, and have been watching for your birth for approximately 1500 years." Then he added pleasantly, "Would you like some coca?"
Thank you Netgalley and Wunderlust Publishing for providing me with a copy of this book!

DNF at 55 %

Intangible is without a doubt, a book that holds great potential. It reminded me a lot of Rick Riordan's Percy Jackson series, and therefore it could have been the next big thing in the middle grade genre. Notice the emphasis I now put on 'could have been'. In a way I'm really sorry to say this, but this book was not my cup of tea.

When it comes to a fantasy novel I understand that it's necessary to focus on the world building. In this case, however, the author focused so much on the world, and seemed to have completely forgotten about the rest. Let's start off by saying how little plot there actually was to be found. It constantly involved the characters discussing things that were completely out of topic, shouting at each other, doing research and hearing about the Arthurian legends. It felt way too stretched out and started dragging after a while. I feel like the whole story could have been told in one book instead of stretching it out in order to have a series.

The characters in Intangible are likable, though that's where it ends. I didn't love or feel for any of them, even though there were some that were very interesting and I would have liked to learn more about. Others, on the other hand, were extremely annoying. The protagonist, in particular, was someone I really didn't care about. I've never had a thing for prodigies in books, but when that is combined with a boy who tries to push science into everything and explains everything by means of science. Everyone has a passion, but this went way too far for my enjoyment. After a while I wasn't afraid anymore to skip a few pages just because they were filled with Peter's scientific explanations. It did make Peter's character come across as realistic, which I must consider as a good thing. Also the fact that the author managed to combine fantasy and science is an important reason why so many people seem to like this book so much. Yet honestly, it really didn't do anything for me and became more and more annoying by the page.

The only thing I really did like about this book are the Arthurian legends it is based on. I've always had a weakness for mythology and folklore, and the story of Arthur is not an exception. This was my first read based on these legends, and I just adored that aspect of the book. The idea of an imaginary world which resembles a utopia with a lot of influences from that time made me want to pack my bags and go search for it, if I actually knew where to start looking.

I wanted to like this book so much, mainly because of the Camelot folklore, yet in the end there was nothing left that could possibly hold my attention. I couldn't get into it, and I don't think continuing would have helped. Intangible just did not live up to my expectations. Those reasons all together eventually turned out to be the main reason why I gave up on this book, and I'm sad I did.


Aurélie Cremers is an eighteen-year-old living in Belgium. As an active member on Goodreads, Edelweiss and Amazon, she's always spreading her reviews to express her opinion and influences her followers to read the books she fairly enjoyed. When she's not writing, you can find her at her local bookstore or in a classroom. With her blog, "Exploring Pages", Aurélie hopes to gain a larger public in the near future and to continue that what she'll always love doing: writing.

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