SECTION 1: URBAN FANTASY BOOKS SIMILAR TO I SEE ME
Perhaps this relates to the main character archetypes.
In I See Me, Rochelle Saint Paul has been in the foster system and suffers from seizure-like events that, in reality, are psychic visions. Unfortunately, Rochelle has no idea about magic and presumes she’s going mad until she’s introduced to the magical world of the Adepts.
In Bishop’s Written in Red, the main character, Meg Corbyn, knows about her visions. Horrible people in her world buy psychic girls like her to keep them secluded and imprisoned because said captors want to sell the visions off to the elite. When Meg escapes and discovers the world of the Others, she truly starts to understand her power and place in the world.
SECTION 2: MOST POWERFUL THEMES REPRESENTED IN I SEE ME
Since I have read other books from Doidge’s world, I can see how this theme connects to a repeating pattern within the Adepts’ society concerning the pros and cons of mentorship.
Many magical mentors in this world have the best intentions but often keep powerful characters under their thumb to restrict them from getting too powerful. They do this to protect them, so they don’t realize how much they are inhibiting those individuals. With Rochelle lacking magical mentorship, she has had to deal with the guidance of regular people telling her repeatedly that she’s broken, making her believe that fact and all the adverse mental health problems that come with it.
SECTION 3: WHAT I DID NOT LIKE ABOUT I SEE ME
Concerning pacing, I found the book fairly slow, with far more telling than showing. Granted, even though this book takes place within an established urban fantasy world, it’s coming from the perspective of someone with no concept of magic. The speed of the pacing, therefore, mirrors the main character, Rochelle, and her ability to accept or deny this new world.
Speaking of Rochelle, it felt strange that a young woman raised in the system and has massive trust issues totally goes out of character and invites a stranger into her private space for intimacy. True, at this point in the book, she finally gains autonomy over herself as a legal adult, and this could be her wild, rebellious stage, but it just feels out of place.
In some ways, I feel the plot needed Rochelle to take this course of action more than anything else. I think Doidge could have set things up a bit better. Doidge could have hinted at Rochelle being envious of people who could connect with others or that Rochelle had sexual desires she could never fulfill before. Something to explain this character shift would have made a bit more sense and added a new layer to Rochelle’s development.
SECTION 4: WHO WILL LOVE AND HATE I SEE ME
If you are a reader who prefers more action, explosions, and visually entertaining magical abilities, you may find the story a bit dull. Likewise, it may be challenging to get into Doidge’s writing if you're not a big fan of paranormal romance. Note that I say this as someone who is not super into paranormal romance, yet I tolerate those elements because Doidge creates such engaging characters and storylines.
Section 5: L. Rigdon’s star rating of I See Me
As an author, I also recognize that you never know when a reader will come into your world, so you have to guide them. Nevertheless, this book didn’t seem to have a good balance between pacing, character development, and world discovery scenarios.
In my humble opinion, Doidge also wrote herself into a corner by restricting this story to fit in with crossover scenes from the far better-established Dowser Series. I See Me is the first book within the Oracle Series, and sometimes it takes a minute for a series to get going. Therefore, I hope that as the Oracle Series continues, the pace improves, and readers can learn to love the main character Rochelle, as much as they love Jade, the main character from the Dowser Series.