ashleyeleigh

I think it's really a 3.5 out of 5.

When I read the blurb for this book, I thought I'd be in for a story about a young woman discovering she isn't as powerless as she originally thought. Nothing new, but when done well there's nothing wrong with that kind of story. But this story does go wrong by being all set up and no execution. This book actually made me angry because nothing, and I mean nothing, that is set up is resolved in any kind of satisfying manner. For example, there is a huge conflict set up between the main character, Tamsin, and her family when she finds out they've been lying to her for her entire life. She thought for her whole life she didn't have any powers, or Talent as it's called in this book, and that's not true. And this was an involved lie. Several family members knew, and they roped in other clueless family members too. And why did they do this? I have no idea. I kept waiting for some sort of resolution, but there was none. There was a huge fight about it in the middle of the book and that was it. No one explained themselves and nothing was resolved. This also affects the other storyline involving the villain because at one point Tamsin's sister Rowena (who was basically the enforcer of the cover up about Tamsin's talent) is kidnapped by the villain. But until that point all I knew about Rowena is that she was very dismissive of her sister. And she acted this way knowing how powerful Tamsin really was. So I really didn't care if she lived or died. On the bright side the villain has very little time on the page. This of course means that entire part of the plot is dished out in info dumps or not really explained well at all, but who cares. I certainly didn't. Really by the end of this book I only really cared about Tamsin. She's a well developed and sympathetic character. She did some stupid things that made me roll my eyes and I got frustrated with her. But I liked her. And even she got on my nerves because she never really takes her family to task for being so needlessly cruel to her at the end of the book.

So in the end this book takes a well worn story and literally does nothing with it. Womp, womp.

Really a 2.5.

Lots of ideas here that I would have liked expanded upon in a novel and not a novella. Also because the short length, the shift from conflict to resolution was abrupt. The male MC Brian was kind of a nothing character too. I couldn't see why Eve pined after him for years even though she waxed poetic about him a lot.

Loved it!

A fun, fluffy romp.

Loved it!

Really a 3.5. The sometimes irksome first person narration kept it from being a four. Seriously, why did Pat talk like that? And it was inconsistent, especially in terms of the words he used. His vocabulary shifted in difficulty depending on the page. I kept wondering what the story would be like from Tiffany's point of view towards the end because I liked her character so much. Pat started to grate on me a bit at the very end of the book and I appreciated that Tiffany was one of the few characters who pushed him to get out of his delusional mindset.

Anyway, on to less negative thoughts. The unfinished nature of this book really resonated with me. Maybe I've been reading too many books with happy endings, but I liked how when this book ended things weren't fixed for everyone. The main character Pat had grown and changed, but his storyline didn't end wrapped up in a neat little bow. The same can be said for all the other characters, especially the rest of his family. After the journey Pat took, that was the kind of ending his story needed.

Despite the problems I had with this book, I enjoyed the story a lot. I definitely recommend it.

Unnecessary secrets and a tacked on suspense plot killed this one. From the beginning there was something about it I didn't like, and as time went on the problems I had with it annoyed me more and more. The heroine had too many "too stupid to live" moments and the nice guy hero was too judgmental for my tastes. Throw that together with the thin plot, and you get a hot ass mess. On the bright side, the sex scenes were hot. That wasn't enough to make me like this book though because even they had problems. The descriptions were downright confusing at times. In general the prose was confusing because the POV switched a lot; multiple times in fact in single scenes with no warning.

Did not finish. In fact, I rage quit this book.

So much potential here, but the execution is a muddled mess. I couldn't finish this one. I thought I could power through the scatter shot plot and the lack of real character depth, but after taking a break to do Nano, I can't do it. I just can't. Now this isn't to say that this book is a total travesty or anything. Like I said, there is so much potential here. This book read like a first draft. There are things here that would be tightened up or gotten rid of all together after a few more passes by the writer. Unfortunately now that this book has been picked up by a publisher, I doubt that will happen. They'll probably just change the cover, raise the price and be done with it. I only paid .99 for this book. I cannot recommend anyone read it for more than that unless the new version is heavily edited and rewritten.

Good, well thought out characters. The story's a bit thin though and the ending is rushed. I got this for free on Amazon. Definitely worth a read at that price.

A very real story and a quick read.

Eh.

I read this book in middle school because it sounded dangerous and mysterious. And back then it kind of rocked my world. Looking back on it now, it was clearly written by an adult trying to teach children a lesson. It's so over the top and ridiculous.

I couldn't finish this one because I got halfway through and not much had been developed beyond the central premise that reality shows aren't real. This book is only 2 years old. I'm pretty sure "The Hills" was already over then and "The Real Housewives" was already full steam ahead. A lot of people know the reality shows they watch fabricate entire situations and put people together in a cast who aren't really friends or don't even know each other. I kept waiting for this book to either tell me something I didn't know, or take something I am aware of and really do something with it, and it just didn't happen. And the plot threads I did care about, like Jesse and Drew's relationship and Jace, who seemed about to snap at any moment, weren't really going anywhere either. Every time I thought they were, I'd get pages and pages of "let's set up this shot again" drama. We get it! It's fake! Move on to the ramifications of that please. And some character development wouldn't have hurt either. Maybe I'm just not the right person for this book, because I can see other people really enjoying it as a fast, fluffy read. But for me it was far too tedious to just sit back and enjoy it. So I suppose in the end it's the pacing that killed this one for me. I love fun, fluffy stuff, but when it's so slow I can see where the whole thing is kind of coming apart at the seams, I can't enjoy it as easily as I would've otherwise.

This is a very good book. I don't know how else to say it. It's YA, but I can think of many people who would like it. I feel like Stefon from SNL listing off all the things that are thrown together here but seem to work anyway; angels, crazed cannibals, a prominent character who has schizophrenia and a kick ass heroine with a terrible name.

Oh, Penryn. You are awesome. It's a shame that I feel like I only have Katniss to compare Penryn to, but with the current state of YA heroines, that's how it is. The two characters have a lot in common besides generally being awesome too. They each go on a journey to protect/save their younger sister and have complicated relationships with their mothers. They're also both resourceful, tough, and great fighters. The entire cast of characters of this book are enjoyable in their own ways from Penryn's family to the angels to the human resistance fighters. The other main character is a warrior angel named Raffe. I like him enough, but he held his emotions close to his chest and the book is told in first person from Penryn's point of view. We only learn more about him when Penryn is able to needle information out of him. That doesn't happen nearly enough by the way, and not just when it comes to information about Raffe. Penryn doesn't get a lot of him about the angels in general, and she often gives up when he gives half-answers to her questions. I say this all the time; I hate when characters in books don't ask the questions they should be asking all for the sake of the plot. That happens a lot in this book.

Anyway, on to more things I like. I love that this book takes place so soon after the apocalypse. It's only been six weeks since everything's gone to hell. The way the world has fallen apart so quickly is chilling. Each new thing we're introduced to paints a more horrific while simultaneously hopeful view of the world. I know that doesn't make sense, but read the book and you'll see.

Another great thing is that while it's about angels, the book's use of religion is not heavy handed. I'm always fearful of books that deal with supernatural creatures with ties to religion, as that can go off the rails quickly and badly. That doesn't happen here. If you've ever seen the show "Supernatural," that's the kind of angels we're getting here in so many ways.

But what knocked this book down a star besides Penryn not asking enough questions is that there are a lot of things introduced towards the end of the book that are left unresolved. In about the last fifty pages or so, so much is thrown out there it's hard to process it all. It definitely felt like set up for the next book, so I started to check out and stop caring as much about all the new reveals as I got closer and closer to the end.

In the end this book is awesome and well worth the 3 bucks I spent on it despite the niggling problems I had with it.

Very slow with a rushed ending. The story doesn't really earn it's action packed ending. The characters become instruments of the plot too.

There was a lot of running around in circles in this book too, which makes the rushed ending harder for me to take than I would have otherwise. I felt like information was doled out in these little bits and pieces. Characters did two things that really bother me, not asking questions and not answering questions/telling the truth for no good reason other than to cater to the plot.

While I found this book boring at times, I was enjoying it until that ending. Knocked it down from 3 to 2 stars for me.