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I really wanted to like this. I really did. I've been dancing around it for years. I hadn't really enjoyed the sample, so I left it alone for a long time. But GR and Amazon (I know, same thing) kept recommending it to me. When I saw the new cover, I assumed there had been a rewrite and, tripping a bit over the higher price point, bought it.

Maybe because I was in withdrawal from having finished the Captive Prince series and wasn't ready to let go. But I did not jive with the writing style of Counterpoint. It was full of flowery language and very little substance. Tons of telling, little showing. It aggravates having the characters do and say one thing while their over-active mental narration is doing another. It all just seemed like junior writing, something a budding fanfic author would throw out there. And if I hadn't had the $7 price stuck in my craw, I may have pushed through. But I just couldn't. Everything anyone said or did in this book irritated me for being over-the-top or out-of-character or just not making any sense. Example: Ayden runs after his sister. He sees 19 dudes and he goes charging in to get her, knowing he's not going to be able to take them all on. What on earth happened to the soldiers that were camping at the base of his tree? His friend? Anybody that had been there before? Nope. Not only do they not show up, Ayden doesn't even think of them, not even to dismiss them as bad allies or something. They don't try to help him. Why?

Another example: If Freyric can be dismissive of his men's reactions to the elves, why is he walking around with a boner and is just overawed by them? He says that he's seen them before, but for some reason can't deal with these two. He dreams of sleeping Ayden on a pillow with pretty eyelashes fanning on a delicate cheek right after torturing him. What on earth?? If he was shaping up to be a psychopath, I guess that would be ok, but I don't think this book has that much depth. Also, for a prince who is worried about a coming battle he is calling for help for, I'm thinking he'd be a bit pissed at having an elf kill about 8 of his dearly needed soldiers. Nope, not Freyric. He's all about the booty.

I really wanted to dig this book. I was really hoping for a fun ride. But I had to return it just 14% of the way in. Clearly not my cup of tea.