Brimstone

I think my expectations for this book didn't quite line up with the reality. From the synopsis, it almost sounded like some sort of romance (though not quite) but I soon learned that the book alternates points of view between the characters mentioned, Alice and Tomas. Not exactly what I thought and the result was a story that I never fell into. It took a while before I was really hooked and in the case of Brimstone, I was never truly hooked, just interested enough to keep reading rather than put it aside. I thought the setting was unusual but interesting, told in the 1920's in Florida. There wasn't too much in terms of the world-building beyond the location and a few details here and there, and I would have liked to have seen more but being set in our world (with a twist), I was able to fill in the blanks a bit.  The two perspectives kind of worked but, like in most multi-POV stories, I ended up picking a favorite and disliking reading the other. In this case, I enjoyed Alice's scenes more despite how she got on my nerves at times. She was the stronger of the two characters, though Tomas had his moments. As for the rest of the characters, they never really made an impact on the reading experience and didn't strike me as anything beyond names on a page.  Finally, the killer for me on this one is the pacing. I liked Priest's style to a degree, but the book took forever to pick up. When it finally did, well, IT DID, but the lead-up to that was too long for my tastes.  Ultimately, I think a combination of mixed signals as to what to expect and the story itself made this one a no-go for me.