Experimental Heart: Pieces by Shannon Pemrick

Experimental Heart: Pieces

Author: Shannon Pemrick
Publisher:  Self-Published
Pages: 740

Release Date: December 4th, 2014

Source: Received from author in exchange for an 
honest review

"...Do you know what it's like to kill without regret?"

Eira only knew one thing in life. To kill. Designed to be an emotionless killing machine of war she had no desire to be a puppet of another's master plan. Escape was the only option. A normal, free life was the only goal. Labeled as a failure, she took the opportunity to run and was hunted.

"...Do you know what it's like to kill without being able to feel?"

Now given a second chance at life thanks to a mysterious dragon, Eira is forced to make a crucial decision. Accept his help to gain her desired freedom or keep running with an eye over her shoulder.

"...Do you know what it's like to live in hell?"

But, can she really trust him?

"...Didn't think so..."

Experimental Heart: Pieces is a well-thought out book that clearly has more story to tell. With a rich world, interesting characters, and an action filled story, there is a lot of promise in this novel. Eira is a interesting narrator, and her relationship with Radikidan develops slowly as the story progresses. I liked the world and the setting, and would be interested to see where it would go from here.

I did feel like there were places the story dragged a bit, and sometimes the rich detail felt unnecessary. Personally I don't need to know every outfit the characters wear, and some scenes felt a little distracting from the main story line. There was a training sequence in particular that seemed to take up a large segment of the book and I felt it could have been shortened, and there were other areas where a little trimming might have helped with flow. I can tell the author put a lot of work into the story, but sometimes, details can be distracting if they aren't entirely relevant. There were also a few places where the narrator changed, and perspective shifts always bug me when you're dealing with first perspective, but that's a personal pet peeve. 

I liked the characters for the most part. I felt they were dimensional and believable. There were times I got a little frustrated though with Radikidan. He felt a little like a scapegoat for explanations, and while he was curious and it helped fill the reader in on the story, I wanted to hear a little of Eira's back story in narration. It felt odd having so many details in the dialog.

Overall, the story was engaging, and while long, there was plenty to fill the pages.