AMAZON DESCRIPTION: When a teenage runaway named Maggie Bennett is drawn to the small but odd town of Thieves, she is unaware of what adventure awaits her. Maggie must journey to a world beyond the one she knows to undertake the trials and train to became a Guardian, all while an ancient and malefic presence is secretly haunting her every step, and it desires, more than anything, that which it once held. Journey along with Maggie as she learns about the world of the Veil, her place within it, and the Fallen hordes who want to watch it burn.
THE CRITICAL POINTS First let me say, I purchased this book directly from the author at an author event. I always enjoy meeting authors and talking about not only their stories but their process. W.M. Martin wrote this book with his daughters. Through telling bedtime stories that they participated in, they brought this book to life. I was inspired by his story and how excited his wife and children were when I spoke to them.
WRITING: Shadow of Okeaous ~ Be the Light is a self-published fantasy novel. Like most self-published novels, my own included, there are a few typos, editing issues, and formatting errors. However, none of these issues let me to put the book down. I will say, fantasy isn’t my favorite genre. Therefore, it did take me a bit longer to get through the book than I had hoped.
STORY: The story is perfect for children, young and old. However, some of the vocabulary could be challenging for younger readers. I was surprised by how much I actually enjoyed this ‘Harry Potter’ like story and am looking forward to reading the next one.
CHARACTERS: Maggie Bennett comes from a long line of strong women and although she doesn’t know it in the beginning, she discovers just how powerful she really is throughout the novel.
For me, there were a bit too many characters. I did get lost from time to time wonder who everyone was, but the main characters; Maggie, Elliot, Nancy, Lucy, Alice, and a few of the others, were very well-developed and easily recognizable throughout the story.
APPEARANCE: The cover, which was designed by Gabriela at BROSEDESIGNZ did a beautiful job bringing Maggie Bennett to life.
MY FAVORITE QUOTE: “A single light can pierce the deepest darkness. Be the light.”
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AMAZON DESCRIPTION: Fall in love—from the very beginning. Discover the first book in the captivating, #1 New York Times bestselling Selection series.
Prepare to be swept into a world of breathless fairy-tale romance, swoon worthy characters, glittering gowns, and fierce intrigue perfect for readers who loved Divergent, Delirium, or The Wrath & the Dawn.
For thirty-five girls, the Selection is the chance of a lifetime. The opportunity to escape a rigid caste system, live in a palace, and compete for the heart of gorgeous Prince Maxon. But for America Singer, being Selected is a nightmare. It means turning her back on her secret love with Aspen, who is a caste below her, and competing for a crown she doesn’t want.
Then America meets Prince Maxon—and realizes that the life she’s always dreamed of may not compare to a future she never imagined.
THE CRITICAL POINTS I didn’t make the choice to read this book, my daughter did. She picked it out of a hundred other books in the school library while deciding which book to write her book report on. She isn’t a big reader, and I knew automatically that she wasn’t going to finish such a large book on her own. So, we made it our latest Mother/Daughter book club selection and read it together. To be honest, I didn’t expect to like it as much as I did.
WRITING: Kiera Cass’s writing style is very easy to grasp. She is fluid, moving from one scene to the next perfectly. It’s almost as if she were writing the story for screen, rather than a book shelf. She keeps her language simple, so that younger readers would easily understand the story and everything going on within the world she has created. Her world building is left more to the reader’s imagination than laid out through her descriptions and although I can see how some readers might not like that, I personally love it.
STORY: The story is not unique, as girls we’ve all read Cinderella… A prince falls in love with a common girl who is poor with nothing to give but her heart. However, The Selection puts a twist on the classic and brings in a more modern reality show ‘The Next Bachelor’ feel. At first, I didn’t think I would enjoy this, but it turned out to be a fun twist leading to a lot of character development and choices right away.
I also feel like this book has a lot of good life lessons for the younger female readers to include, how to stand up for yourself (see favorite quote below).
APPEARANCE: I’m not sure who designed the cover, as the cover artist’s name wasn’t listed on the copyright page, but it is truly stunning.
MY FAVORITE QUOTE: My favorite quote comes from a conversation between America (the lead) and her friend Marlee. America basically asks Marlee how to handle the other girls – we all know someone who falls into this category – the MEAN GIRLS.
Marlee’s response, and my favorite quote, is: “I ignore it. I know one girl at home who gets so irritated when she can’t bother you, she just ends up sulking. So, don’t worry,” she said. “All you have to do is not let them know they’re getting to you.”
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AMAZON DESCRIPTION: Fans of the Divergent trilogy by #1 New York Times bestselling author Veronica Roth will be thrilled by Four: A Divergent Collection, a companion volume that includes four pre-Divergent stories plus three additional scenes from Divergent, all told from Tobias’s point of view. This collection also makes a great pick for fans of the blockbuster movies who want to delve deeper into the character played by Theo James.
Readers first encountered Tobias as “Four” in Divergent. His voice is an integral part of Allegiant. Readers will find more of this charismatic character’s back story told from his own perspective in Four: A Divergent Collection. When read together, these long narrative pieces illuminate the defining moments in Tobias’s life. The first three pieces in this volume—”The Transfer,” “The Initiate,” and “The Son”—follow Tobias’s transfer from Abnegation to Dauntless, his Dauntless initiation, and the first clues that a foul plan is brewing in the leadership of two factions. The fourth story, “The Traitor,” runs parallel with the events of Divergent, giving readers a glimpse into the decisions of loyalty—andlove—that Tobias makes in the weeks after he meets Tris Prior.
Also includes three additional scenes from Divergent, told from Tobias’s point of view!
WRITING: Veronica Roth takes us deep into Four’s perspective with this one, and she doesn’t disappoint.
STORY: Four, the 4th book in the Divergent Series is actually a set of novellas. What it reminded me, after the disappointment of Allegiant, is that I really enjoy Roth’s storytelling and the world she created within the Divergent Series. Seeing her world through Four’s eyes was a great way to wrap up the series and give her readers the closure we didn’t get with Allegiant.
I won’t give anything away, but I will say even if you were disappointed with Allegiant, you have to pick up Four! Give Roth another chance and read these awesome novellas. It’s a fast-paced read, I think I finished it in one night… maybe two. You won’t be disappointed.
If you’ve already read Four, what did you think? Please share your thoughts by leaving a comment below.
APPEARANCE: The cover blends well with the rest of the Divergent series books and fits the story VERY WELL! I love the imagery as well as the meeting behind the Ferris wheel.
MY FAVORITE QUOTES:
“One thing I know: For helping me forget how awful the world is, I prefer her to alcohol.”
“Dead people can be our heroes because they can’t disappoint us later; they only improve over time, as we forget more and more about them.”
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AMAZON DESCRIPTION: This first book in Veronica Roth’s #1 New York Times bestselling Divergent trilogy is the novel the inspired the major motion picture starring Shailene Woodley, Theo James, and Kate Winslet. This dystopian series set in a futuristic Chicago has captured the hearts of millions of teen and adult readers.
Perfect for fans of the Hunger Games and Maze Runner series, Divergent and its sequels, Insurgent and Allegiant, are the gripping story of a dystopian world transformed by courage, self-sacrifice, and love. Fans of the Divergent movie will find the book packed with just as much emotional depth and exhilarating action as the film, all told in beautiful, rich language.
One choice can transform you. Beatrice Prior’s society is divided into five factions—Candor (the honest), Abnegation (the selfless), Dauntless (the brave), Amity (the peaceful), and Erudite (the intelligent). Beatrice must choose between staying with her Abnegation family and transferring factions. Her choice will shock her community and herself. But the newly christened Tris also has a secret, one she’s determined to keep hidden, because in this world, what makes you different makes you dangerous.
WRITING: Veronica Roth’s writing style reminds me of Suzanne Collins. She is a fast-paced story-teller who uses a lot of great descriptive language. She paints a picture in your mind without forcing the details down your throat over and over again.
STORY: Let me start by saying, I had never heard of the Divergent series when I first picked it up. I had seen a movie trailer for the first film in the series and quickly decided I needed to read the book before the movie hit the theatres. I’M GLAD I DID!
If you liked the Hunger Games or The Maze Runner, then you’ll love Divergent. Divergent is the first book in the series, and is sure to keep you on the edge of your seat page after page. This YA novel is full of characters every YA reader can either relate to fall in love with. Our heroine starts out as a young, quiet, innocent girl in the Abnegation faction but quickly claims her spot as a fearless Dauntless initiate.
Roth is an excellent character builder. The reader gets to know Beatrice, and the others, as if they are our friends and family. They struggle and you struggle along with them, they get excited and as a reader you get excited too. Roth brings these characters to life.
Have you seen the movie? Me too! I have to say; the first movie did a pretty good job keeping up with the book. However, they missed some key character-building moments and friendship building moments that were prominent in the book. The effects weren’t terrible in the first movie, but because of what was missed, the later movies suffered – In my opinion.
APPEARANCE: The cover is eye-catching. The blaze of fire in a ring of fire caught my attention right away when I passed it in the bookstore. I didn’t know anything about the story at the time, but the cover drew me in!
MY FAVORITE QUOTES: “We believe in ordinary acts of bravery, in the courage that drives one person to stand up for another.” “Becoming fearless isn’t the point. That’s impossible. It’s learning how to control your fear, and how to be free from it.”
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NOT YET RECORDED
Check out the official movie trailers here:
Movie Information:
In a world divided by factions based on virtues, Tris learns she’s Divergent and won’t fit in. When she discovers a plot to destroy Divergents, Tris and the mysterious Four must find out what makes Divergents dangerous before it’s too late.
AMAZON DESCRIPTION: John Wayne Cleaver is dangerous, and he knows it. He’s spent his life doing his best not to live up to his potential. He’s obsessed with serial killers, but really doesn’t want to become one. So for his own sake, and the safety of those around him, he lives by rigid rules he’s written for himself, practicing normal life as if it were a private religion that could save him from damnation. Dead bodies are normal to John. He likes them, actually. They don’t demand or expect the empathy he’s unable to offer. Perhaps that’s what gives him the objectivity to recognize that there’s something different about the body the police have just found behind the Wash-n-Dry Laundromat—and to appreciate what that difference means. Now, for the first time, John has to confront a danger outside himself, a threat he can’t control, a menace to everything and everyone he would love, if only he could. Dan Wells’s debut novel, I Am Not a Serial Killer, is the first volume of a trilogy that will keep you awake and then haunt your dreams.
WRITING: I love Dan Wells’s writing style. He dives deep into the mind of a psychopath with this one and leaves you disgusted, intrigued, afraid, and sad. His use of description left me with a new determination that after death, I want to be cremated. There will be no embalming, no open casket, no mortician poking and prodding along my body to “make it pretty”.
STORY: We start of by being introduced to a young John Wayne Cleaver, the stories protagonist. He is the perfect combination of Michael C Hall’s characters in both Dexter (where he plays a psychopath) and Six Feet Under (where his family owns a funeral home). John Wayne Cleaver is the teenage version of Dexter. Although instead of an obsession with forensic science and blood, his obsession is serial killers. John has all the impulses of a psychopath… he feels the draw of the kill, but he doesn’t want to act on those impulses. Like Dexter, he has established strict rules to live by, rules he must follow to keep him “normal”.
The twist takes place when a “real” serial killer shows up in John’s town. Through John’s research we quickly learn that this serial killer isn’t like any of the others he has studied. Not even close. The supernatural aspect of this killer takes the story to a whole new level. I loved watching as John was discovering who he is, who the killer is, what the killer is, and how his inner struggle of wanting to know more about death and killing and also wanting to be normal effected his choices.
APPEARANCE: The simple cover, much like a young kid’s school notebook, was excellent. The cover artist did a wonderful job making it appealing to the eye and not overly crowded.
MY FAVORITE QUOTE: “The thing about boxes, is that you can open them up. Even though they’re completely boring on the outside, there might be something interesting inside. So while you’re saying all of these stupid, boring things, I’m imagining what it would be like to cut you open and see what you’ve got in there.”
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AMAZON DESCRIPTION: Things should be great for Janie—she has graduated from high school and is spending her summer with Cabel, the guy she’s totally in love with. But deep down she’s panicking about how she’s going to survive her future when getting sucked into other people’s dreams is really starting to take its toll.
Things get even more complicated when she meets her father for the very first time—and he’s in a coma. As Janie uncovers his secret past, she begins to realize that the choice thought she had has more dire consequences than she ever imagined.
Janie thought she knew what her future held. And she thought she’d made her peace with it. But she can’t handle dragging Cabel down with her.
She knows he will stay with her, despite what she sees in his dreams. He’s amazing. And she’s a train wreck. Janie sees only one way to give him the life he deserves: She has to disappear. And it’s going to kill them both.
Then a stranger enters her life—and everything unravels. The future Janie once faced now has an ominous twist, and her choices are more dire than she’d ever thought possible. She alone must decide between the lesser of two evils. And time is running out…
EXCERPT FOR GONE: He reaches toward her, his fingers black and bloody, his eyes deranged, unblinking. Janie is paralyzed. His cold hands reach around her neck, squeezing tight, tighter, until Janie has no breath left. She’s unable to move, unable to think. As his grasp tightens further around Janie’s neck, his face turns sickly alabaster. He strains harder and begins to shake.
Janie is dying.
She has no fight left in her.
It’s over.
THE CRITICAL POINTS
WRITING: Out of all three of the books in this series, I think this is the only one that is truly YA. Lisa McMann’s writing style has been consistent and enjoyable although I think there were a few more typo’s and editing issues in this book than there were in the previous two books.
STORY: What would you do if out of nowhere the father you’ve never known is back in your life? The kicker… he is unconscious and dying.
Although I like the way GONE ended, it doesn’t feel like a true ending to the story. It seems like there could be another book to really tie up all the loose ends and give us closer with Janie and Cabel and what fate brings to her.
I’m looking forward to seeing what else Lisa McMann has written and what she come out with next.
APPEARANCE: There are two covers for this book. I have the simple black and green cover with the lonely chair in the middle. It is intriguing and grabbed my attention the moment I saw it. The other cover, with the photo of who I can only image is meant to be Janie and Cabel is not my favorite. I prefer to conger up the images of the characters on my own, as I read. These to people just don’t really bring the characters to life for me.
MY FAVORITE QUOTE: “I lurve you, too, you big lumpy monster man.”
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AMAZON DESCRIPTION: “Run, Star Girl.” Bryony Adams is destined to be murdered, but fortunately Fate has terrible marksmanship. In order to survive, she must run as far and as fast as she can. After arriving in Seattle, Bryony befriends a tortured musician, a market fish-thrower, and a starry-eyed hero who is secretly a serial killer bent on fulfilling Bryony’s dark destiny. Mercedes M. Yardley’s Pretty Little Dead Girls: A Novel of Murder and Whimsy is a dark, lovely fairy tale with lyrical language and a high body count, and features a cover by Hugo award-winner Galen Dara. Includes “Oliver Bloom” by Ryan Johnson, a short story featuring characters from Pretty Little Dead Girls.
Let me start by saying I know I’m in a minority with this book review. I’ve seen the amazon reviews… Pretty Little Dead Girls has an average of 5 stars with 82 reviews and that is awesome! I guess this narrative style of writing just really isn’t my cup of tea. Or maybe it isn’t the narration, its more that every character seems to have the same voice… but more of that later, when I talk about characters.
With all that said – I still think that Mercedes M Yardley is a talented writer, and I do plan on reading more of her work.
WRITING: I have never read anything like this… The author writes from a narrator’s point of view, but instead of standing outside the story and telling you what happens, the narrator speaks directly to the reader. Addressing the reader, outside the context of the story, is very jarring.
STORY: Right from the start of the story, the reader is intrigued. We’re told that Bryony is the type of girl who gets murdered. We don’t know why, but we accept it as truth. Starting on page one, you are drawn in and you start searching each new character you meet to find out if they might be the one to murder Bryony.
This is when the story falls apart for me. I’m intrigued by the concept of the story, the idea that this girl has a destiny that is so plainly clear to everyone, but it’s never explained. We never – throughout the whole book – learn why she is destined to be murdered or who EVERYONE KNOWS IT! The whole story is about how she is destined to be murdered, everyone knows it and tries to protect her, and how she escapes her destiny as people around her die.
I just felt like the potential was there for this to be a really amazing story, but it fell flat for me.
CHARACTERS: I’m not really sure how to describe the characters in this book. Honestly, they all feel the same, other than Bryony. Because everything is told from the Narrator’s point of view, everyone seems to speak in the same voice. I think the part that really threw me, was when there was a full conversation, between Bryony (our lead) and the Murderer, using only eye contact. A conversation that was so absurd… so ridiculous in the moment… that it pulled me right out of the story. This is only one example of many, where I found myself shaking my head and asking myself, “why am I still reading?” Yet, I read it from page one until the end.
APPEARANCE: The cover was designed by Galen Dara, and the artwork is truly beautiful. Reading the story, I didn’t really envision Bryony looking like the girl on the cover, but that didn’t take anything away from the book for me.
MY FAVORITE QUOTE: “Bryony Adams was the type of girl who got murdered.” It’s the first sentence of the book and immediately draws you in.
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AMAZON DESCRIPTION: Stephen King teams up with long-time friend and award-winning author Richard Chizmar for the first time in this original, chilling novella that revisits the mysterious town of Castle Rock.
There are three ways up to Castle View from the town of Castle Rock: Route 117, Pleasant Road, and the Suicide Stairs. Every day in the summer of 1974, twelve-year-old Gwendy Peterson has taken the stairs, which are held by strong—if time-rusted—iron bolts and zig-zag up the precarious cliffside.
Then one day when Gwendy gets to the top of Castle View, after catching her breath and hearing the shouts of kids on the playground below, a stranger calls to her. There on a bench in the shade sits a man in black jeans, a black coat, and a white shirt unbuttoned at the top. On his head is a small, neat black hat. The time will come when Gwendy has nightmares about that hat…
The little town of Castle Rock, Maine has witnessed some strange events and unusual visitors over the years, but there is one story that has never been told—until now.
WRITING: I’ve never read anything by Richard Chizmar, but I’ve always loved Stephen King. This book, although it doesn’t have the creepy factor of a typical Stephen King book it does still have the mystical… magical elements that are all to familiar with reading Stephen King. One of the things I love most about reading Stephen King’s writing is that he doesn’t treat his readers like they’re stupid. He assumes you’re just going to be able to suspend your disbelief and fall into this world he has created as if it is the most natural thing in the world. The funny thing is, you do. I crack the spine and instantly I’m transported to a whole new world where everything-anything is possible.
STORY: The story was simple. It asks the question, if you had a magic button box that could destroy lives and essentially grant your every desire, what would you do? OK, that is dumbing it down a bit, but you get the point. Simple story, but then you ask that question of a twelve year old girl and lay on her the responsibility of protecting the box and essentially the world and it becomes much more complex.
CHARACTERS: The story follows Gwendy, from the time she is twelve until after her college graduation. Although it’s a fast read, I still feel like the reader really gets to know Gwendy. We understand her decisions and we can even anticipate what she is going to do next. I love that in such a short novella, Stephen King and Richard Chizmar are still able to satisfy my craving for detail and in depth character development.
APPEARANCE: Beautiful cover. It doesn’t give anything away and yet, when you read the book the cover fits perfectly.
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AMAZON DESCRIPTION: Don’t miss Tidal, the spellbinding third book in the Watersong series by New York Times bestselling author Amanda Hocking!
Gemma and Harper Fisher are facing the fight of their lives. Gemma has been cursed with extraordinary powers that have a terrifying dark side, but she’s finally found what she needs―a way to break the curse and become human again. But finding the means to do it will be her greatest challenge yet. And now Penn, Lexi and Thea―the gorgeous but deadly creatures who cursed her―are determined to kill her before she has a chance. Making matters worse, Penn has her sights set on Daniel―the guy Harper loves―and Penn always gets what she wants.
As Gemma and Harper race to break the curse before it’s too late, they’re thrust deeper into a mythical world of immortal secrets. They must delve into their enemies’ past to find the answers they need, even if it means being drawn deeper into their savagely beautiful world. But one of the girls is not what she seems…and Gemma finds an unlikely ally as she struggles to save herself. But will it be enough to break an ancient curse that no one has ever escaped alive?
THE CRITICAL POINTS Before I get into the book… lets first talk about the Author. Amanda Hocking WAS an indie-author, like me and so many others. But, somehow, she beat all the odds and managed to find a way to get her books seen – AND READ. In early 2011, she was averaging 9,000 book sales each day!!! Trust me, that is no easy task. It’s hard enough to sell 9 books a week much less 9,000 a day. In March of 2011, she signed her first conventional publishing contract with St. Martin’s Press, a 4-book deal, and joined the big leagues. In 2015, she announced that she had signed a new 3-book deal with St. Martin’s press and her success just continued to skyrocket.
As an indie-author, I’d love to pick her brain and find out what it was she was doing, in those early years, to spread the word about her books. I personally find marketing myself and my books to be the hardest part of being an indie-author. How you get hundreds, let alone thousands of sales, in a day I’d love to know. I’d love to get my hands on her “marketing pan.”
WRITING: Hocking writes young adult paranormal fiction/urban fantasy (like me)… I LOVE THIS STUFF! I’ve found some typos throughout the book, but I can’t remember the last book I read that didn’t have any typos. I honestly don’t fault the author for that. It’s her job to make the story interesting, the editor is the one who is supposed to ensure the grammatical issues and typos are dealt with.
STORY: I picked this book up at the Dollar Tree… I liked the cover and I had read a couple of books by Hocking in the past, so I was intrigued. I didn’t know, at the time, that Tidal was the third book in a series. With that said, the first 1/3 of the book seemed very odd… as if I was missing huge chunks of the story. Truth be told – I WAS! I’m sure that if I had read books one and two I would have been up to speed and loving it. In the end however, it didn’t really matter that I hadn’t read the first two books. I enjoyed the story enough to finish the book in just two days… It’s a quick beach-read! It’s not typical to read the third book first, but I do plan on going back and picking up books 1, 2, and 4… Now that I know what happens to Lexi, I have to know what happens to all the other characters and how they got themselves in the situation they’re in.
CHARACTERS: Hocking gives each character their own unique personality and purpose. The only thing that seemed off about the characters is that everyone is beautiful… I tend to like a bit more diversity when it comes to character development, but still easy, fun read.
APPEARANCE: The cover is beautiful. Considering the cover is what made me pick up the book, I’d say the cover artist did their job very well.
AMAZON DESCRIPTION: Don’t miss this breathtaking collection of stories set in the world of the best-selling Darkest Minds trilogy, now in paperback:
IN TIME A desperate young man is forced to make a terrible choice between his own survival and the future of a little girl who won’t speak, but who changes his life in ways he could never imagine.
SPARKS RISE A spark of light brightens a brutal world when a girl named Sam encounters her childhood best friend at the government-run “rehabilitation” camp, Thurmond. Lucas and Sam form a risky escape plan, but sometimes even love isn’t powerful enough to overcome unspeakable cruelty.
BEYOND THE NIGHT The camps are closed. A tyrant president has been deposed. But for many Psi kids living rough, there is no home to return to, no place for them in a country devastated by the past and anxious about the future. Every day is a struggle for Sam, who knew all the rules at Thurmond and has been thrown into a terrifying and uncertain new life. But there’s more at stake than Sam’s own survival. She once made a promise to someone she loves, and the time has come to fulfill it.
From New York Times best-selling author Alexandra Bracken comes a collection of three hauntingly beautiful novellas set in the world of the Darkest Minds series. In the most harrowing of times, it takes a ferocious strength not only to survive, but to stand up for those who cannot fight their own battles. The characters in these stories–some new, some familiar–face impossible missions, and the hardest of all may be protecting the last flicker of hope in a seemingly endless night.
WRITING: Overall the writing in this set of novellas meets the level you would expect from a Bracken story. She is a wonderful author, one of my new favorites. Definitely one of the newest authors to join my list of “I’d buy their book even if I didn’t know what it was about.” The only reason this book is getting a lower overall review rating is because of the third novella, Beyond the Night. I just didn’t really care for the story… or maybe it was the Character Mia. I just didn’t feel like her character was that fleshed out. Compared to all the other characters in the series, I just didn’t care for Mia.
STORY: I’ll take this section one story at a time…
• In Time If you were to read these stories in chronological order, In Time would come right after book one. However, having read the first three books in the series before picking up this one, it is my recommendation that you read the novellas after you read the first three books… Why? Because in order to truly appreciate the story of Gabe, a want to be skip tracer, you really have to have a deep hatred for skip tracers in the first place.
Gabe is just like all the other adults living out in the world Bracken has created for us. Those too old to be afflicted by IAAN but those not pulled in to work for the government at the “rehabilitation” camps. He is struggling… hungry… down on his luck… Basically, he is just barely surviving. He sees becoming a skip tracer as a way to turn his luck around. Through his struggle… his journey… we, as readers, get to see a completely different side of the story. We get to sympathize with “the enemy” in a why we never could have only reading the main books of the series. Bracken does a wonderful job telling Gabe’s story, and even though I didn’t want to, it was hard not to understand his decisions.
On its own, I would give this story a ★★★★ (4 star) rating.
• Sparks Rise This was my favorite of the three novellas. I LOVED glimpsing into the mind of Lucas (a RED) and learning more about Sam (a GREEN), who we only briefly meet in book one. I loved the tragic love story Bracken introduced with these two characters. Their struggle… their pain… their anger… their innocence. Everything about Sam and Lucas feels right and yet… Well, I won’t tell you what happens, but if for no other reason, you should pick up Through the Dark to read this story.
Well done, Bracken. I would give this story a ★★★★★ (5 star) rating.
• Beyond The Night I didn’t love this story. I didn’t hate it either, but comparing it to everything else in this series, it just feel flat. Although I love the characters of Sam and Lucas, Mia just fell short for me. She seemed like an afterthought… as if her character wasn’t fully fleshed out. Mia felt to young and yet to mean-spirited for her age. I’m not really sure that is what Bracken was going for, or maybe it was. I didn’t believe Mia as a stand-alone character, but instead felt like she was pieces of other characters pulled together haphazardly to form one.
This story started on page 217, but it wasn’t until page 289 that I feel like the character issues I had with Mia finally started to fade away and I actually started to enjoying it. If this had been a Stephen King novel that wouldn’t have been a big deal, but it was a 183-page novella not a 500-1000 page mega-novel. At page 289 the story did get good and I quickly finished after that, turning page by page eager to find out how it would end. And end it did, beautifully.
On its own, I would give this story a ★★★ (3 star) rating.
If this had been the last book in the series, I would have been satisfied, but it isn’t. The Darkest Legacy is up next… Not sure I will read it right away as I have a number of other books on my list, but I’m sure that I will eventually get to it.
CHARACTERS: I gave characters a 3-star review… only because 2 out of 3 of the stories had excellent character development. 2 out of 3… That third story, Beyond the Night, just didn’t meet my expectations for what I have become accustomed to when reading Bracken.
APPEARANCE: Beautiful! Stunning! Breathtaking! I’m sure you’ve learned by now that I absolutely love Bracken’s covers. This one is no different. You can almost feel the fire burning just beneath the cover. The character quote for this one is, “I want to feel every ounce of pain and happiness life can serve up, because it’ll mean I’ve survived.” When I first read the quote, before reading the book, I though I knew who would have said it… and maybe that character would too, but I was wrong. I was wrong in such a good way. Hold your breath… wait for it… You’ll be glad you did!
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TITLE: Divergent
TITLE: I AM NOT A SERIAL KILLER
Nina Soden 