This book was filled with so many young adult tropes that I honestly don't know why I enjoyed it so much. Oh wait, yes I do...it was that slow burn, sThis book was filled with so many young adult tropes that I honestly don't know why I enjoyed it so much. Oh wait, yes I do...it was that slow burn, semi love-triangle romance between the brothers with a girl who is of course not beautiful yet somehow manages to make all the noble men fall in love with her. But wait, there's more. She's also one of 'the last of her kind' and she is naturally so much more gifted with only 8 months of practice and can do so many things other aura-seers can't do.
Dark and tormented experienced diver Xavier is hands down one of my new favorite characters. Damaged and ready to die he lays his life on the line eveDark and tormented experienced diver Xavier is hands down one of my new favorite characters. Damaged and ready to die he lays his life on the line every single time he jumps for humanity, and with almost one hundred jumps under his belt that's a lot of life to lay down. He's bound and determined to do what he can to help humanity survive their life in the sky. What I thought was wonderful about all of the characters was that none of them felt useless. Every single person had a purpose and that isn't something you usually find in fiction. You always wind up with one person that twiddles their thumbs and lets things fall through the cracks that could have been otherwise avoided.
The world building done in this book is phenomenal but I won't lie, the reason I enjoyed it so much was because of how dark and gritty everything is. I love a super dark, post apocalyptic survival story and R.C Bray narrating it just made it twenty times better. With that smooth buttery voice swearing up a storm I was sold. With little additions, like the change to how Chicago is pronounced, it just made me want to listen to everything this man has ever narrated. I honestly wasn't sure I would enjoy the book as much as my husband said I would but I am immediately ready to dive into the next book and see what else is in store for humanity.
Humanity wasn't meant to survive in the sky but with hell living on Earth's surface what other choices did they have? Radioactive mutants have claimed Earth for their own and humans are merely visitors for short periods of time while they scavenge what they can to continue their sky bound journey. When all hell breaks lose aboard the Hive and humanities survival is called into question will X finally get his death wish or will he finally have found something worth surviving for? ...more
With a universe as expansive as Star Wars you can't help but feel a little overwhelmed when trying to find a 'safe' spot to dive into. I chose what feWith a universe as expansive as Star Wars you can't help but feel a little overwhelmed when trying to find a 'safe' spot to dive into. I chose what felt like a relatively safe spot where I would be able to expand my knowledge about key players that I already have some background on and where I would still learn a little about other people I may have only heard mentioned. Darth Plagueis helped allow me to get more of an insight as to how Emperor Palpatine actually turned to the Dark Side, who his Master was, and how the rule of two works. While there were a few times where things got a little convoluted and therefore confusing I found that for the most part I was able to figure out what was being discussed.
Seeing some of the characters we've all known for so long in the movies and finally learning how they came into their power was extraordinarily interesting to me. Finding out that Palpatine killed his whole family, hearing about some of the inner workings of the Jedi council, hearing about how/why Dooku left his position as a Jedi, finding out that he had multiple apprentices, seeing Darth Maul's origin. All of it is mentioned and at least partially explained in this book. You get to find out a whole bunch of information lacking if you are just watching the movies and hoping to understand what's going on.
The narrator was absolutely amazing and I felt fully immersed the entire time I was listening to him. The writing, while like I said was slightly confusing, was rich and full of information. Nothing was thrown at me in abundance and I appreciated that the pacing allowed me to absorb what was being introduced rather then just heaping piles of new things onto me.
For fans looking to broaden their horizons and dive a little deeper into all things Star Wars I definitely recommend maybe starting with this novel as it isn't too outrageous and can act as a stand alone....more
Much like the first book in this series I was drawn in right away and my attention was held throughout its entirety. I like reading things that have aMuch like the first book in this series I was drawn in right away and my attention was held throughout its entirety. I like reading things that have a little bit of a speculative element and with the religious aspect of this book being a huge portion of the story I liked that things actually felt like it could have been biblical. While there are aspects I can't talk about because it will spoil things in the first one I can say that I enjoyed that they still tied bits and pieces to the 'Angel Killer' case. I was left unsatisfied with that ending and this shed just a little bit more light on how things may proceed.
The characters stay pretty much the same and while in the first book I found Jessica to be an enjoyable narrator to follow I found myself getting frustrated in this one with how she constantly seemed to know so much more then everyone else. I felt like at every single turn she was the one stumbling upon evidence that was exactly what they needed at that given moment. Nobody else in the FBI seemed to know what was happening or how to solve anything. I'm truly confused in understanding how she had so much pull in other countries. All she had to do was Skype someone in another part of the world and they would just tell her she was beautiful and bow to her every wish.
One thing I am extraordinarily happy with is the ending of this one. I liked the wrap up of the bad guy, but most importantly I love that we get some more of her and Damien. While it might not be the smartest decision to wish they would wind up together I do. ...more
For a $0.10 Salvation Army find I'll say this was worth the read, even though the synopsis on the back cover definitely leads you to believe that a coFor a $0.10 Salvation Army find I'll say this was worth the read, even though the synopsis on the back cover definitely leads you to believe that a couple of our main characters may have a re-kindling romance and that is not the case. I enjoy a good revenge story and this was one of the better written ones I've read. While I wish a little bit more would have been done as far as the actual revenge plot I did enjoy seeing a little bit into Finney's mental state before and as he was trying to accomplish his task. The fact that he knew he needed a secondary person, and found said person to help him complete his goal made for a much more interesting story. I understand grief, and I understand loss, what I don't understand is how someone could take the time, effort, and money that Finney did just to ensure the ruin of another individual.Â
As far as the characters went I felt like for the most part they were pretty fleshed out. I didn't feel as if I was lacking any information regarding their reasoning behind what they were doing or why. I did get slightly confused between Sebastian and Spencer only because of the names being similar but was able to overcome that relatively quickly. I really enjoyed that we did get a glimpse of a few secondary characters and their lives/backgrounds and how they affected our main characters without feeling like they were overtaking the story. How they just had little impacts on what these characters did without even truly being a huge part.
Remember to check out my blog for more reviews of what I'm reading! beautyandthebookwormonline.wordpress.com...more
After reading some very dense and very long books this last week I needed something that was going to be light and fun, and I found exactly that in DaAfter reading some very dense and very long books this last week I needed something that was going to be light and fun, and I found exactly that in Daughter of the Pirate King. It was significantly shorter then my last couple reads which I think helped in how much I found I enjoyed it. The characters were developed well enough that I didn't have too many questions upon nearing the end and I enjoyed the growth and development of said characters when presented with circumstances they had not prepared for. I appreciated the mission Alosa was sent on and thought it made for a very interesting read, however I did find the "uniqueness" of her gift a bit strange. I liked it, but it presented a whole new twist to the story that I wasn't sure about when actually reading the book.
Truly I didn't really have any complaints about this book other then the amount of romance included. I wanted a book that was going to be all about a kick ass female pirate who didn't take no for an answer and instead found myself reading about teenage love between a ruthless pirate princess and a pirate with morals. Not as much of the swashbuckling as I would have liked.
I'm a sucker for a good pirate story and this completely fit the bill with Alosa as my new favorite pirate! Captain Hook you better watch out as this girl is just as fierce and fiesty as her hair!...more
Everywhere I go all I hear is how amazing of a story teller Karin Slaughter is. It was getting to the point that I almost didn't want to read her becaEverywhere I go all I hear is how amazing of a story teller Karin Slaughter is. It was getting to the point that I almost didn't want to read her because she was so hyped up as a mystery/thriller author. Once making the decision to join the Tome-Topple Read-A-Thon this year I saw that this qualified and thought well, why the hell not? Overall I found the story to be rather enjoyable. Very very graphic in nature but I was drawn into finding out who everybody was and what their stories were. After the horrific events of the Quinn family 28 years prior what drew people back to this tiny town called Pikesville?Â
The characters were flawed in the most believable way which for me was quite a relief. I liked that marriages were falling apart and that old traumas reemerged to once again cause problems among people not yet over them. The graphic content didn't bother me enough to lower any of my rating but be warned it is extraordinarily detailed, so for people reading this who cannot deal with depictions of rape of a young girl you should turn back now.Â
What I found this book lacking was a consistent direction. I felt like I was always being pulled to follow two different stories. While yes they converge at the end to wrap everything up nicely I found that for about half of the book I was just wanting more information on the school shooting and the person behind it. What was the motivation? Who is this mysterious teacher? Why do bad things keep happening to the same family? Yet none of those questions got answered until the last 10% of the book! Then as we are gathering more information as too what "really" happened all those years ago to the Quinn girls I found myself wondering why if that was of so much importance wasn't it what this book was supposed to be about?
Personally everything wrapped up a little too nice and neat for me to appreciate fully. I felt like everything kind of just fell into place when there was so much going on that needed rectifying. I still liked the book as a whole and am more then willing to give the author another try as I was engrossed and engaged throughout the book I'm just thinking maybe this one wasn't what I wanted it to be....more
I am a sucker for books set in the Jack the Ripper times. Especially if they take place in London or France during said times. So this, much like KerrI am a sucker for books set in the Jack the Ripper times. Especially if they take place in London or France during said times. So this, much like Kerri Maniscalco's novel 'Stalking Jack the Ripper' absolutely drew me in. I was hooked from the first page and drug through a wagon ride of a book. Since the book was translated from another language it did leave me at times feeling disoriented and slightly confused but I was able to get over that quickly by going back a couple pages and reading a tad bit slower to decipher what was happening.Â
What I found captivated me the most about this book were the characters themselves. I absolutely adored Mademoiselle Karno and appreciated the fact that she started fighting to continue to do forensics for her father. I also loved the Commissioner. You could tell what kind of a man he was and that the murdered souls meant more to him then just solving some case. He genuinely cared about finding out what happened even though he was not the inspector leading the cases. Everyone was written so well that even the people you know you weren't supposed to like wound up meaning something to you in the end and you didn't want to see everything come to a close.
The world was very well developed and I really enjoyed that the same attention to detail with the characters got brought into her descriptions for the settings visited along our journey through this investigation. The relationships developed and the conversations had were some of the most intriguing things I've come across in a book in a very long time and while this book was written a few years ago I felt like it brought a breath of fresh air into the things I've been reading lately.Â
For anyone looking to enjoy a wonderfully written mystery told from a woman's perspective during a time when women weren't supposed to have a chance to flourish then you will love this book and everything that it brings to the table. I cannot wait to dive into the second book in the series and hopefully fall just as much in love with that as I did with this....more
I really really wanted to love this book. The premise sounded extraordinarily interesting, and you know I'm a sucker for domestic thrillers, but it woI really really wanted to love this book. The premise sounded extraordinarily interesting, and you know I'm a sucker for domestic thrillers, but it wound up being completely dry. While I felt like I whipped through the book itself I really don't know how I made it through as quickly as I did.
There were a few times I was left wondering why the author chose to include certain things that felt like they had nothing really to contribute to the story or why she wrote some things the way that she did. The beginning for instance, where it starts off on Monday morning and then alternates between then and Sunday night gets a bit weird. Why would you start off there to just give very little subtext and then go right back to Sunday night and flesh out the story more? Normally a flash forward beginning doesn't bother me but this one just felt poorly done. Then there was the whole deal with Sam, I understand that they wanted to create more of a romantic connection between Tess and him rather then Tess and her husband because of the alcoholism but it held very little in the way of substance for the story being told. Also, speaking of romantic connections why in the heck did the author feel it necessary to add that super awkward kiss between Zoe and Lucas? Literally nothing came from that cringe-worthy moment other then shudders all around.
What I did really enjoy was the 'twist' at the end. I definitely did not see the who actually killed the mother coming. I also enjoyed that a large portion of the characters felt completely real. Zoe knows after her bout with the law at 14 how things are going to happen when her mothers body is discovered and the police become involved, which causes her to act certain ways and do things she normally wouldn't have done to keep herself out of suspicion. I also really enjoyed the narrator for the audio book. She was absolutely phenomenal and I would love to listen to more books read by her.
Even though this wasn't my favorite book I would give this author another try!...more
Compared to the first book this one felt slower. I got lost a couple times with all the new animatronics so I had to try and pause for a bit to figureCompared to the first book this one felt slower. I got lost a couple times with all the new animatronics so I had to try and pause for a bit to figure out who was who. I did enjoy the book however and look forward to the third one coming soon. Full review to come....more
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