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ClareR (5667 KP) rated Savage Beasts in Books
Jul 4, 2023
Savage Beasts is a re-imagining of the story of Medea. This time, Meena (not Medea) betrays her father, the Nawab of Bengal, and runs away with an adventurer called James Chilcott. But Meena’s initial feelings of adventure and excitement soon wear off when she realises that the man she took to be an adventurer, was just an opportunist who spends her money and betrays her in turn.
I thought it was really clever how the Greek myth was woven into Meena’s story, and showed the impact of colonialism. Great Britain doesn’t come out of this well. James’ uncle, Sir Peter Chilcott, is a powerful man in the East India Company. He’s cold, unforgiving, and sees Meena, Indians, Bengali’s, and anyone from anywhere foreign, as below him and little better than an animal.
It made for really uncomfortable reading, and made me so angry!
Meena comes across as being so young but desperate to be older. She’s determined to make a good life for herself and her child - despite how difficult James and his reprehensible family make it for her.
Honestly, by the end I firmly believed they deserved whatever was coming their way!
I listened to this on audiobook, kindly sent to me via NetGalley by HarperCollins UK Audio. The narrator, Shazia Nicholls, really was outstanding. It always amazes me how a good narrator can make all the characters sound so different - especially in this case, the men. Sir Peter came across as a sneering, superior, calculating monster, and in contrast, Meena was both young and wise - and it felt as though she was really there, speaking for herself. Shazia read with such emotion that it became entirely believable. This could well have been an historical memoir as much as a piece of fiction.
Yes, this is described as a Greek retelling, but it has been made into something all of its own. If you know the story of Medea, then you’ll see where in particular it is borrowing from that story - but this is a great story in its own right. It’s powerful, feminist and it’s about colonialism. It’s a story about family, trust and the devastation of betrayal.
Highly recommended!
I thought it was really clever how the Greek myth was woven into Meena’s story, and showed the impact of colonialism. Great Britain doesn’t come out of this well. James’ uncle, Sir Peter Chilcott, is a powerful man in the East India Company. He’s cold, unforgiving, and sees Meena, Indians, Bengali’s, and anyone from anywhere foreign, as below him and little better than an animal.
It made for really uncomfortable reading, and made me so angry!
Meena comes across as being so young but desperate to be older. She’s determined to make a good life for herself and her child - despite how difficult James and his reprehensible family make it for her.
Honestly, by the end I firmly believed they deserved whatever was coming their way!
I listened to this on audiobook, kindly sent to me via NetGalley by HarperCollins UK Audio. The narrator, Shazia Nicholls, really was outstanding. It always amazes me how a good narrator can make all the characters sound so different - especially in this case, the men. Sir Peter came across as a sneering, superior, calculating monster, and in contrast, Meena was both young and wise - and it felt as though she was really there, speaking for herself. Shazia read with such emotion that it became entirely believable. This could well have been an historical memoir as much as a piece of fiction.
Yes, this is described as a Greek retelling, but it has been made into something all of its own. If you know the story of Medea, then you’ll see where in particular it is borrowing from that story - but this is a great story in its own right. It’s powerful, feminist and it’s about colonialism. It’s a story about family, trust and the devastation of betrayal.
Highly recommended!
Hazel (1853 KP) rated Book of Fire in Books
Mar 7, 2020
I was provided a copy of this book via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review
Combining dystopia and ancient history, Michelle Kenney's debut series Book of Fire slots nicely into the list of best young adult science-fiction. Set in the not so distant future, the world has been destroyed and human life can only be sustained within a specially designed lifedome - at least that is what everyone living inside has been told. The protagonist, Talia, begs to differ, having lived in secret on the outside all her life.
A rogue test missile exploded with cataclysmic effect on 3rd November 2025, leaving cities in ruins. Whilst most people ran to the lifedome, Talia's grandfather and a few others ran in the opposite direction. For years, they have lived in the relative safety of Arafel, whose existence has been kept hidden from the majority of the people living in the dome.
Unfortunately, the leader of the lifedome is one of the few who knows of their existence and wishes to eradicate them and Talia's peaceful life is suddenly destroyed when her grandfather and her twin brother Eli are captured by soldiers. Determined to rescue them, Talia and her friend Max break into the dome but what they discover makes them even more concerned about the life of not just their families but all the remaining humans.
Obsessed with Ancient Rome, the lifedome's leader Octavia has created a replica of the historical city, going as far as to genetically produce strong and powerful gladiators. Yet, the more Talia sees of the lifedome - Pantheon - the more she realises it is not just extra-strong humans that Octavia has been experimenting with. Hidden in the depth of the dome are mythological creatures made from a mix of human and animal parts; creatures that should not exist, however, they all have various defects.
Talia soon learns that her grandfather was kidnapped for a reason: he knows the secret to create the perfect DNA for these creatures and, in turn, Talia unwittingly knows it too.
Initially, all Talia wanted was her grandfather and brother back but now she is part of something much bigger and must choose between her family, self-preservation and the rest of the human race. On top of that, she begins to fall for a pseudo-Roman Gladiator. Could it get any more complicated?
Michelle Kenney has created a world where the monsters turn out to be the heroes and the humans in charge, the monsters. Reading this at the time of the coronavirus makes the apocalyptic situation a little too close for comfort but it provides a strong message not to mess with things that no longer exist. Imperfection is a common by-product of life's recover - if only Octavia could have accepted that.
Book of Fire is the first in a promising trilogy that will transport you into a world of fantasy, danger, wonderful creatures and a hint of reality. For those who love ancient history and dystopian fiction will thoroughly enjoy this series.
Combining dystopia and ancient history, Michelle Kenney's debut series Book of Fire slots nicely into the list of best young adult science-fiction. Set in the not so distant future, the world has been destroyed and human life can only be sustained within a specially designed lifedome - at least that is what everyone living inside has been told. The protagonist, Talia, begs to differ, having lived in secret on the outside all her life.
A rogue test missile exploded with cataclysmic effect on 3rd November 2025, leaving cities in ruins. Whilst most people ran to the lifedome, Talia's grandfather and a few others ran in the opposite direction. For years, they have lived in the relative safety of Arafel, whose existence has been kept hidden from the majority of the people living in the dome.
Unfortunately, the leader of the lifedome is one of the few who knows of their existence and wishes to eradicate them and Talia's peaceful life is suddenly destroyed when her grandfather and her twin brother Eli are captured by soldiers. Determined to rescue them, Talia and her friend Max break into the dome but what they discover makes them even more concerned about the life of not just their families but all the remaining humans.
Obsessed with Ancient Rome, the lifedome's leader Octavia has created a replica of the historical city, going as far as to genetically produce strong and powerful gladiators. Yet, the more Talia sees of the lifedome - Pantheon - the more she realises it is not just extra-strong humans that Octavia has been experimenting with. Hidden in the depth of the dome are mythological creatures made from a mix of human and animal parts; creatures that should not exist, however, they all have various defects.
Talia soon learns that her grandfather was kidnapped for a reason: he knows the secret to create the perfect DNA for these creatures and, in turn, Talia unwittingly knows it too.
Initially, all Talia wanted was her grandfather and brother back but now she is part of something much bigger and must choose between her family, self-preservation and the rest of the human race. On top of that, she begins to fall for a pseudo-Roman Gladiator. Could it get any more complicated?
Michelle Kenney has created a world where the monsters turn out to be the heroes and the humans in charge, the monsters. Reading this at the time of the coronavirus makes the apocalyptic situation a little too close for comfort but it provides a strong message not to mess with things that no longer exist. Imperfection is a common by-product of life's recover - if only Octavia could have accepted that.
Book of Fire is the first in a promising trilogy that will transport you into a world of fantasy, danger, wonderful creatures and a hint of reality. For those who love ancient history and dystopian fiction will thoroughly enjoy this series.
Zuky the BookBum (15 KP) rated Under the Banner of Heaven: A Story of Violent Faith in Books
Mar 15, 2018
Also read my review here: http://bookbum.weebly.com/book-reviews/under-the-banner-of-heaven-a-story-of-violent-faith-by-jon-krakauer
<b>TRIGGER WARNING: rape, incest, domestic abuse, child abuse, animal abuse, child murder</b>
I’m speechless. (OK, maybe not). What the <i>heck</i> did I just read? You’re telling me this is <b><i>non-fiction?</b></i> ...How? <b>HOW?</b> This isn’t just some freak incident either, people live like what’s described in this book, I’m baffled by it. I mean I’m a little baffled by strict religious following anyway (no offence meant) but Mormonism is just on another level.
The story of Mormonism is so strange because Joseph Smith was a fucking control freak and swindler but also the way society got away with treating him and his followers was awful. You really can’t pick a right and wrong side, they’re both pretty terrible.
This book's main focus is on how people's strong faith in Mormonism makes them believe they're above the laws of the land, so they go and commit crimes they think are justified and right. For example, Dan and Ron Lafferty, who <i>truly</i> believe God has spoken to them and told them they need to kill their brothers wife and young baby. A deed done by them so brutally, the poor baby was basically beheaded. <b>Clearly this book isn’t for the faint hearted.</b>
One of the saddest moments in this book is when Krakauer meets a Mormon family and their young daughter (I think she was between 8 to 12) comes into the room with floor plans of her dream house, where she's drawn out several different rooms for the other wives of the husband she is going to share. How <i>awful</i> is that, to believe that you must share your husband with other women, because for men of the Mormon faith, women are just child bearers, nothing more. <b>Joseph Smith actually declared God said "women shall be man's handmaid".</b> For this young girl to be planning her life with a shared husband and feeling that's <i>normal</i>, even feeling <i>happy</i> about it, is a terrible, terrible thing to think about.
This took me around 3 months to finish, not only because I accidentally left this in my dad’s suitcase when I came back from Spain, but also because this was such heavy non-fiction reading. Not only did it describe, in gruesome detail, the crimes committed by those under the Mormon faith, it was also a long historical timeline of how Mormonism was created and has grown to where it currently sits today. (<i>Did you know,</i> there are currently more Mormons on this planet than Jewish people?) Not to mention the confusion it causes when trying to remind you who everyone is and how everyone is related, because they’re pretty much <i>all</i> related through marriage.
This is certainly an interesting read. I'm sure you’ve heard about Mormon’s and the Book of Mormon and polygamy, etc, but never really looked further into it. Well, for those of you that would like to look further into it, then this is the book for you! It's incredible to read all about how Joseph Smith magicked up Mormon faith and how gruesome and evil polygamy really is.
I really recommend this book for all of you who love learning about religions or just love to have some random shocking facts to dish out around the dinner table. A seriously interesting, if not disturbing read.
<b>TRIGGER WARNING: rape, incest, domestic abuse, child abuse, animal abuse, child murder</b>
I’m speechless. (OK, maybe not). What the <i>heck</i> did I just read? You’re telling me this is <b><i>non-fiction?</b></i> ...How? <b>HOW?</b> This isn’t just some freak incident either, people live like what’s described in this book, I’m baffled by it. I mean I’m a little baffled by strict religious following anyway (no offence meant) but Mormonism is just on another level.
The story of Mormonism is so strange because Joseph Smith was a fucking control freak and swindler but also the way society got away with treating him and his followers was awful. You really can’t pick a right and wrong side, they’re both pretty terrible.
This book's main focus is on how people's strong faith in Mormonism makes them believe they're above the laws of the land, so they go and commit crimes they think are justified and right. For example, Dan and Ron Lafferty, who <i>truly</i> believe God has spoken to them and told them they need to kill their brothers wife and young baby. A deed done by them so brutally, the poor baby was basically beheaded. <b>Clearly this book isn’t for the faint hearted.</b>
One of the saddest moments in this book is when Krakauer meets a Mormon family and their young daughter (I think she was between 8 to 12) comes into the room with floor plans of her dream house, where she's drawn out several different rooms for the other wives of the husband she is going to share. How <i>awful</i> is that, to believe that you must share your husband with other women, because for men of the Mormon faith, women are just child bearers, nothing more. <b>Joseph Smith actually declared God said "women shall be man's handmaid".</b> For this young girl to be planning her life with a shared husband and feeling that's <i>normal</i>, even feeling <i>happy</i> about it, is a terrible, terrible thing to think about.
This took me around 3 months to finish, not only because I accidentally left this in my dad’s suitcase when I came back from Spain, but also because this was such heavy non-fiction reading. Not only did it describe, in gruesome detail, the crimes committed by those under the Mormon faith, it was also a long historical timeline of how Mormonism was created and has grown to where it currently sits today. (<i>Did you know,</i> there are currently more Mormons on this planet than Jewish people?) Not to mention the confusion it causes when trying to remind you who everyone is and how everyone is related, because they’re pretty much <i>all</i> related through marriage.
This is certainly an interesting read. I'm sure you’ve heard about Mormon’s and the Book of Mormon and polygamy, etc, but never really looked further into it. Well, for those of you that would like to look further into it, then this is the book for you! It's incredible to read all about how Joseph Smith magicked up Mormon faith and how gruesome and evil polygamy really is.
I really recommend this book for all of you who love learning about religions or just love to have some random shocking facts to dish out around the dinner table. A seriously interesting, if not disturbing read.
Lottie disney bookworm (1056 KP) rated The Stars That Guide You Home in Books
Oct 25, 2021
Wow.
Just…wow.
Now I make no secret of the fact that I am a crier. Christmas TV ads, airport arrivals halls, old men crying, anything has the ability to set me off blubbing! So I am never entirely surprised when I start crying at a book, even my husband doesn’t mock me anymore. But this book? THIS BOOK had me crying the entire way through and just when you thought life for the characters couldn’t get any worse…Jemma Robinson says hold my coat!
Sophia and Tom live in a quaint little farmhouse in the town of Lowshore. Their life is a simple one but their happy marriage practically radiates from the page. However, Sophia never told her husband about her past and that past is about to catch up with her!
Whilst Tom is at work, Sophia is kidnapped from her happy home and forced to live the life that she tried so desperately to escape. Beaten, abused and powerless, Sophia manages to find two people worthy of her trust but will she ever escape? Can she ever regain the life that she used to have with Tom?
The beauty of this book is that it revolves around its characters. There is very little world building here but, honestly, it isn’t needed. Nothing matters to Tom and Sophia except one-another and that is reflected in Jemma Robinson’s writing style.
The characters themselves stay with you long after the final page: Sophia wears her heart on her sleeve, Tom is steadfast and passionately protective, James and Annalise are, in contrast, calm and collected individuals but Edmund is nothing short of a psychopath!
Edmund is no fairytale villain, despite the Lord Farquaad vibes I was getting from him. Robinson’s antagonist wouldn’t be out of place in Game of Thrones: he is truly revolting, controlling and revels in his absolute power over everything and everyone in his kingdom.
The Stars That Guide You Home is marketed as historical romance, not a fairytale, and with its medicine, photographs and labour camps then it does seem too modern to be considered a fairytale. However, I would argue that castles, arranged marriages, medieval torture and absence of any morally grey characters could push this into the category of dark fairytale.
There are a number of trigger warnings within this novel that I want to highlight. This is by no means a YA book – it is definitely Adult Fiction or New Adult at a push. These trigger warnings include rape, physical and mental abuse, animal cruelty, torture (in detail), kidnap, burns, suicide, miscarriage and general violence.
Dark fairytale still doesn’t seem enough… Sinister fairytale might just do it!
The Stars That Guide You Home is simultaneously beautiful, horrifying and inspiring. This book will break your heart over and over again and keep you coming back for more. Thank you to The Book Network for the opportunity to review this amazing novel, and thank you to Jemma, even though you did make me cry for 486 pages!
Just…wow.
Now I make no secret of the fact that I am a crier. Christmas TV ads, airport arrivals halls, old men crying, anything has the ability to set me off blubbing! So I am never entirely surprised when I start crying at a book, even my husband doesn’t mock me anymore. But this book? THIS BOOK had me crying the entire way through and just when you thought life for the characters couldn’t get any worse…Jemma Robinson says hold my coat!
Sophia and Tom live in a quaint little farmhouse in the town of Lowshore. Their life is a simple one but their happy marriage practically radiates from the page. However, Sophia never told her husband about her past and that past is about to catch up with her!
Whilst Tom is at work, Sophia is kidnapped from her happy home and forced to live the life that she tried so desperately to escape. Beaten, abused and powerless, Sophia manages to find two people worthy of her trust but will she ever escape? Can she ever regain the life that she used to have with Tom?
The beauty of this book is that it revolves around its characters. There is very little world building here but, honestly, it isn’t needed. Nothing matters to Tom and Sophia except one-another and that is reflected in Jemma Robinson’s writing style.
The characters themselves stay with you long after the final page: Sophia wears her heart on her sleeve, Tom is steadfast and passionately protective, James and Annalise are, in contrast, calm and collected individuals but Edmund is nothing short of a psychopath!
Edmund is no fairytale villain, despite the Lord Farquaad vibes I was getting from him. Robinson’s antagonist wouldn’t be out of place in Game of Thrones: he is truly revolting, controlling and revels in his absolute power over everything and everyone in his kingdom.
The Stars That Guide You Home is marketed as historical romance, not a fairytale, and with its medicine, photographs and labour camps then it does seem too modern to be considered a fairytale. However, I would argue that castles, arranged marriages, medieval torture and absence of any morally grey characters could push this into the category of dark fairytale.
There are a number of trigger warnings within this novel that I want to highlight. This is by no means a YA book – it is definitely Adult Fiction or New Adult at a push. These trigger warnings include rape, physical and mental abuse, animal cruelty, torture (in detail), kidnap, burns, suicide, miscarriage and general violence.
Dark fairytale still doesn’t seem enough… Sinister fairytale might just do it!
The Stars That Guide You Home is simultaneously beautiful, horrifying and inspiring. This book will break your heart over and over again and keep you coming back for more. Thank you to The Book Network for the opportunity to review this amazing novel, and thank you to Jemma, even though you did make me cry for 486 pages!
Kara Skinner (332 KP) rated Fractured in Books
Dec 13, 2019
Genre: Science Fiction
Page Count: 198
My rating: 3.5 out of 5 stars
I am many things. A man. A soldier. Trained to kill. Born to hunt. Focused and lethal.
Nothing gets through the stoic control that hides my inner animal, an animal that simmers with rage and power. And that power makes me the perfect assassin. My first task—eliminate the vile head of a science lab responsible for creating and distributing a cruel mutation. Easy. And almost done when suddenly she invades my world.
Charlotte—petite, beautiful, and sexy as hell—a cop who claims a past with me that I don’t remember. At all. Suddenly she’s everywhere, interfering, asking too many questions, endangering herself and my mission, and pushing buttons I didn’t know I had. A dangerous distraction. My beast is captivated but suspicious, torn between wanting to sink teeth into her and wanting to sink teeth into her. My body craves her.
But I don’t remember her. I don’t trust her. And I don’t trust myself around her. Who is she? Is she lying? And do I have enough control to not be blinded by her? To protect my secrets and uncover hers? And who pays the price?
First of all, I’m so, so happy this book was from Kellan’s point of view. He’s very private and evasive, preferring to give into his near-constant lust than focus on the task at hand. Frankly, I don’t understand what makes him such a good soldier. Sure, he’s deadly and can shift into a killing machine– when he’s not too busy staring at Charlotte’s ass.
If the book was from Charlotte’s point of view, Kellan would have been completely unsympathetic. But after reading his thoughts and seeing how much he cares for Charlotte, I like him a little more. I especially like how he acknowledges Charlotte’s ability to take of herself. After all, she is a cop, not a damsel in distress.
Charlotte actually reminds me a lot of Meg.
Charlotte was pretty good. She’s definitely a badass and I liked seeing a glimpse into her work life. She’s calm and peaceful, which is a good contrast to Kellan. But honestly, I’m not sure they’re a good fit.
I love how she’s not afraid of him even though he was so afraid of hurting her. And it’s really obvious how much they care about each other. I also can’t deny that I loved the sex scenes. But Kellan and Charlotte’s relationship still felt pretty toxic.
Not only does he have to keep everything a secret from her, but he also knocked her out and tied her up, supposedly for her own protection. Less than an hour later, they’re having sex. After the sex, he still won’t tell her what happened to him, and he laughs and ties her back up again because she’s pissed and he finds it cute. Seriously, she had a legitimate reason to be angry and he does the caveman version of “calm down”.
A lot of things don’t make sense to me. Kellan is trying to keep Charlotte a secret from his boss, but he brings Charlotte to his apartment and gives her his phone number. As if his boss, who is running a classified military operation, doesn’t have cameras in Kellan’s apartment and hasn’t bugged his phone.
However, I can forgive other things, like how he thinks his boss, who is anonymous and only communicates with a voice disguising device, is not sketchy at all. Judging by how Kellan acts when on the phone with him, I think he’s being hypnotized and that’s why he has amnesia. It would explain a lot. So maybe that can make up for some of his behavior.
The ending was abrupt and didn’t feel like an ending. Which makes sense considering there’s a sequel. I’m definitely going to read the sequel eventually because I want to find out what happened. However, I think I would have enjoyed this more if books 1 and 2 were combined into one complete book. There was no real closure for the first book. It barely even felt like a chapter ending, let alone a story ending.
If you want to read Fractured, plan on reading both at the same time. This is a good fit for those looking for a shifter romance full of steamy sex scenes and an alpha hero. However, I’m rating it only a 3.5 out of 5 stars because Kellan and the plot confused me.
Get Fractured at your local bookstore or your favorite online retailer.
Zelly Jordan was generous enough to donate to Trees for the Future in exchange for this review. Find out how you can do the same.
The Indiebound link in this post is an affiliate link, meaning I get a small commission every time you purchase a book through that link, but at no additional cost to you. I donate half of my affiliate earnings to Trees for the Future.
Page Count: 198
My rating: 3.5 out of 5 stars
I am many things. A man. A soldier. Trained to kill. Born to hunt. Focused and lethal.
Nothing gets through the stoic control that hides my inner animal, an animal that simmers with rage and power. And that power makes me the perfect assassin. My first task—eliminate the vile head of a science lab responsible for creating and distributing a cruel mutation. Easy. And almost done when suddenly she invades my world.
Charlotte—petite, beautiful, and sexy as hell—a cop who claims a past with me that I don’t remember. At all. Suddenly she’s everywhere, interfering, asking too many questions, endangering herself and my mission, and pushing buttons I didn’t know I had. A dangerous distraction. My beast is captivated but suspicious, torn between wanting to sink teeth into her and wanting to sink teeth into her. My body craves her.
But I don’t remember her. I don’t trust her. And I don’t trust myself around her. Who is she? Is she lying? And do I have enough control to not be blinded by her? To protect my secrets and uncover hers? And who pays the price?
First of all, I’m so, so happy this book was from Kellan’s point of view. He’s very private and evasive, preferring to give into his near-constant lust than focus on the task at hand. Frankly, I don’t understand what makes him such a good soldier. Sure, he’s deadly and can shift into a killing machine– when he’s not too busy staring at Charlotte’s ass.
If the book was from Charlotte’s point of view, Kellan would have been completely unsympathetic. But after reading his thoughts and seeing how much he cares for Charlotte, I like him a little more. I especially like how he acknowledges Charlotte’s ability to take of herself. After all, she is a cop, not a damsel in distress.
Charlotte actually reminds me a lot of Meg.
Charlotte was pretty good. She’s definitely a badass and I liked seeing a glimpse into her work life. She’s calm and peaceful, which is a good contrast to Kellan. But honestly, I’m not sure they’re a good fit.
I love how she’s not afraid of him even though he was so afraid of hurting her. And it’s really obvious how much they care about each other. I also can’t deny that I loved the sex scenes. But Kellan and Charlotte’s relationship still felt pretty toxic.
Not only does he have to keep everything a secret from her, but he also knocked her out and tied her up, supposedly for her own protection. Less than an hour later, they’re having sex. After the sex, he still won’t tell her what happened to him, and he laughs and ties her back up again because she’s pissed and he finds it cute. Seriously, she had a legitimate reason to be angry and he does the caveman version of “calm down”.
A lot of things don’t make sense to me. Kellan is trying to keep Charlotte a secret from his boss, but he brings Charlotte to his apartment and gives her his phone number. As if his boss, who is running a classified military operation, doesn’t have cameras in Kellan’s apartment and hasn’t bugged his phone.
However, I can forgive other things, like how he thinks his boss, who is anonymous and only communicates with a voice disguising device, is not sketchy at all. Judging by how Kellan acts when on the phone with him, I think he’s being hypnotized and that’s why he has amnesia. It would explain a lot. So maybe that can make up for some of his behavior.
The ending was abrupt and didn’t feel like an ending. Which makes sense considering there’s a sequel. I’m definitely going to read the sequel eventually because I want to find out what happened. However, I think I would have enjoyed this more if books 1 and 2 were combined into one complete book. There was no real closure for the first book. It barely even felt like a chapter ending, let alone a story ending.
If you want to read Fractured, plan on reading both at the same time. This is a good fit for those looking for a shifter romance full of steamy sex scenes and an alpha hero. However, I’m rating it only a 3.5 out of 5 stars because Kellan and the plot confused me.
Get Fractured at your local bookstore or your favorite online retailer.
Zelly Jordan was generous enough to donate to Trees for the Future in exchange for this review. Find out how you can do the same.
The Indiebound link in this post is an affiliate link, meaning I get a small commission every time you purchase a book through that link, but at no additional cost to you. I donate half of my affiliate earnings to Trees for the Future.
Writing (3 more)
Characters
Inconsistencies
Not a horror book, as marketed
What if a powerful virus was released in the air? What if you had to be tested for it every time you tried to walk into a building? Does this sound a little familiar? What if I told you this scenario was written about back in 2010?
In her novel Feed, writer Mira Grant gives readers this very scenario of an airborne, blood transferred virus; something that seems very familiar in today's environment and day-to-day living- - - just minus the zombies.
Grant started out as an urban fantasy writer known as Seanan McGuire, with her first full-length novel being Rosemary and Rue. She received the 2010 John W. Campbell Award for Best New Writer, as well as many other awards for her work in fiction. There are four books in the Newsflash series (Feed being the first of these).
We meet our main characters, Georgia and Shaun, while they're out in the 'field' filming some zombies for their blog. Shaun is the more careless one, as we witness him poking at zombies with his hockey stick. The two suddenly have to leave when the zombies become a pack. This is where it gets a little strange- - -Georgia explains to the readers that when zombies are in a pack, they become stronger and somehow smarter, but throughout the rest of the book, it's never really explained how this happens.
In this world, blogging and your view count determines your quality of life. Georgia and Shaun have spent years making their blog- - - After the End Times- - - into a popular blog. Every blogger's dream is to be picked to follow the campaign trail of any upcoming politician, and that is exactly what happens to our main characters. Unfortunately, this is when the book turns into a political thriller- - - this happens within the first fifty pages. Zombies end up taking a backseat from here-on-out.
We still get to learn about the virus (Kellis-Amberlee) throughout the book. We're told that any animal that weighs more than 40 pounds is capable of having the virus, and that some people are even born with a dormant-type of the virus inside of them, but this is also never explained in the entire story, at least in book one. Georgia makes it quite clear throughout the novel that she is completely against anyone owning pets that weigh over 40 pounds, but this is due-to her family having lost their younger son to a pet that went viral. This becomes extremely repetitive. Every time that an animal is brought up or seen, Georgia has to retell her stance on owning pets, when once or twice was enough to let the readers know where she stands on the subject.
There are moments of zombie attacks- - - such as after a political rally in a small town where Georgia and her crew are following Senator Ryman on his race to become President, when bodyguards are attacked by a small group of the undead, and Georgia and Shaun become cornered by a few of them- - - these scenes read as if to just keep the zombie trope going, not to actually make the story better. Grant continually repeats herself throughout the book, and because of this, the story didn't have to be as long as it is. Such as with these few zombie attacks, the reader never feels much danger for the characters. And I found that the characters turn out to just not be that likable.
One such character that had potential is Buffy; the backbone of the After the End Times blog. Scenes that were meant to make the reader care for her fell short. Unlike scenes with Georgia and Shaun, including the bond between them, is not felt with Buffy's scenes; she merely seems like a filler character to make certain parts of the story make sense by constantly disappearing and reappearing wherever need be.
Georgia does have an interesting quirk in the book. She harbors the dormant Kellis-Amberlee virus, which has effected her eyes. She can't be in bright lights because they give her blinding headaches, so she wears sunglasses nearly everywhere: " I collapsed onto our bed at the local four-star hotel a little after dawn, my aching eyes already squeezed shut. Shaun was a bit steadier on his feet and he stayed upright long enough to make sure the room's blackout curtains were drawn. "
The technical side of the story - - - the computer world and the electronic usage- - - in Feed is done pretty well. It's like the movie Nightcrawler meets 28 Days Later, but with a lot less zombies. We get to see the seedy underbelly of journalism- - - where bloggers are willing to do anything to get their view count high. Readers also get to witness how life is like living in a world held hostage by a virus - - -something that is very relatable today.
Georgia constantly reminds readers that she doesn't care about other people, and that Shaun is the only person she cares for- - - and, of course, the view count. She continually blames her lack of empathy on their adoptive parents, stating that they only took them in for the their own blog view counts. Oddly after such information, Shaun doesn't seem to be the immature one in the duo.
I haven't read the other three books, one which is a republishing of Feed, but from a different point-of-view. This story was disguised as a horror novel, but just ended up being a political thriller with some zombies thrown in for a much wider reading audience. The book skims over what life would be like after a devastating virus takes over, but focuses on what politics would be like. I can't recommend Feed as a horror novel; the tagline is also misleading: " 'The good news: we survived. The bad news: so did they. " Unless Grant was talking about politicians....
I didn't give the story a low rating because it wasn't exactly a horror book, but instead for these reasons: throughout the story, Grant repeats a lot of information that was explained earlier in the book (and only needed to be explained once); she also had inconsistencies throughout, sometimes even in the very next sentence. Adding things that needed to be explained which weren't, and the afterthoughts that broke up the flow of the story, I just couldn't enjoy it. But, if you like political thrillers, then you might like this one. I won't be continuing this series.
In her novel Feed, writer Mira Grant gives readers this very scenario of an airborne, blood transferred virus; something that seems very familiar in today's environment and day-to-day living- - - just minus the zombies.
Grant started out as an urban fantasy writer known as Seanan McGuire, with her first full-length novel being Rosemary and Rue. She received the 2010 John W. Campbell Award for Best New Writer, as well as many other awards for her work in fiction. There are four books in the Newsflash series (Feed being the first of these).
We meet our main characters, Georgia and Shaun, while they're out in the 'field' filming some zombies for their blog. Shaun is the more careless one, as we witness him poking at zombies with his hockey stick. The two suddenly have to leave when the zombies become a pack. This is where it gets a little strange- - -Georgia explains to the readers that when zombies are in a pack, they become stronger and somehow smarter, but throughout the rest of the book, it's never really explained how this happens.
In this world, blogging and your view count determines your quality of life. Georgia and Shaun have spent years making their blog- - - After the End Times- - - into a popular blog. Every blogger's dream is to be picked to follow the campaign trail of any upcoming politician, and that is exactly what happens to our main characters. Unfortunately, this is when the book turns into a political thriller- - - this happens within the first fifty pages. Zombies end up taking a backseat from here-on-out.
We still get to learn about the virus (Kellis-Amberlee) throughout the book. We're told that any animal that weighs more than 40 pounds is capable of having the virus, and that some people are even born with a dormant-type of the virus inside of them, but this is also never explained in the entire story, at least in book one. Georgia makes it quite clear throughout the novel that she is completely against anyone owning pets that weigh over 40 pounds, but this is due-to her family having lost their younger son to a pet that went viral. This becomes extremely repetitive. Every time that an animal is brought up or seen, Georgia has to retell her stance on owning pets, when once or twice was enough to let the readers know where she stands on the subject.
There are moments of zombie attacks- - - such as after a political rally in a small town where Georgia and her crew are following Senator Ryman on his race to become President, when bodyguards are attacked by a small group of the undead, and Georgia and Shaun become cornered by a few of them- - - these scenes read as if to just keep the zombie trope going, not to actually make the story better. Grant continually repeats herself throughout the book, and because of this, the story didn't have to be as long as it is. Such as with these few zombie attacks, the reader never feels much danger for the characters. And I found that the characters turn out to just not be that likable.
One such character that had potential is Buffy; the backbone of the After the End Times blog. Scenes that were meant to make the reader care for her fell short. Unlike scenes with Georgia and Shaun, including the bond between them, is not felt with Buffy's scenes; she merely seems like a filler character to make certain parts of the story make sense by constantly disappearing and reappearing wherever need be.
Georgia does have an interesting quirk in the book. She harbors the dormant Kellis-Amberlee virus, which has effected her eyes. She can't be in bright lights because they give her blinding headaches, so she wears sunglasses nearly everywhere: " I collapsed onto our bed at the local four-star hotel a little after dawn, my aching eyes already squeezed shut. Shaun was a bit steadier on his feet and he stayed upright long enough to make sure the room's blackout curtains were drawn. "
The technical side of the story - - - the computer world and the electronic usage- - - in Feed is done pretty well. It's like the movie Nightcrawler meets 28 Days Later, but with a lot less zombies. We get to see the seedy underbelly of journalism- - - where bloggers are willing to do anything to get their view count high. Readers also get to witness how life is like living in a world held hostage by a virus - - -something that is very relatable today.
Georgia constantly reminds readers that she doesn't care about other people, and that Shaun is the only person she cares for- - - and, of course, the view count. She continually blames her lack of empathy on their adoptive parents, stating that they only took them in for the their own blog view counts. Oddly after such information, Shaun doesn't seem to be the immature one in the duo.
I haven't read the other three books, one which is a republishing of Feed, but from a different point-of-view. This story was disguised as a horror novel, but just ended up being a political thriller with some zombies thrown in for a much wider reading audience. The book skims over what life would be like after a devastating virus takes over, but focuses on what politics would be like. I can't recommend Feed as a horror novel; the tagline is also misleading: " 'The good news: we survived. The bad news: so did they. " Unless Grant was talking about politicians....
I didn't give the story a low rating because it wasn't exactly a horror book, but instead for these reasons: throughout the story, Grant repeats a lot of information that was explained earlier in the book (and only needed to be explained once); she also had inconsistencies throughout, sometimes even in the very next sentence. Adding things that needed to be explained which weren't, and the afterthoughts that broke up the flow of the story, I just couldn't enjoy it. But, if you like political thrillers, then you might like this one. I won't be continuing this series.
Tui Snider has long since been a favorite author of non-fiction of mine. Her research when it comes to her books is impeccable. I try to never miss an opportunity to read a book by Tui Snider, so when I was presented with the opportunity to read 6 Feet Under Texas by Tui Snider, I jumped at the chance!
6 Feet Under Texas by Tui Snider is a book for those who love history as well as for those who have an appreciation for cemeteries and the people who are buried there. Snider goes all over (mostly) north Texas to talk about the history behind some of the graves famous, infamous, and the just plain interesting. As always, Tui Snider has done excellent research for her book, and it really does show the dedication behind it all. In fact, Tui Snider solved the mystery about the identity of the one legged rope walker who's buried in Corsicana. The photos included in the book aren't in color, but I enjoyed them just the same. It was nice to place the story to the photo. I also appreciated Tui Snider placing each city in alphabetical order for easy findings. She also includes the address to where each cemetery is located after each story in case you wanted to visit.
I will admit that many books, I skip the intro. However, I know that Tui Snider never writes a dull and boring intro for her books. 6 Feet Under Texas' intro did not disappoint. Snider talks about how cemeteries are not morbid at all and how cemeteries are actually for the living. Seriously, read the intro. It is short and so very interesting!
I learned so much reading 6 Feet Under Texas. For example, did you know there was such thing as a backronym? I sure didn't until I read about Amber Hagerman, the little girl from which the AMBER Alert was invented. Tui Snider discusses about Amber's case and gives us an English lesson as well! There's also a touching story about a reverend who took in single mothers back in 1894, a time when society shunned those who weren't married. That story really warmed my heart. In Danville, a young woman by the name of Karen Silkwood is buried. She died under mysterious circumstances back in 1974. The mystery of Silkwood's death definitely left me intrigued. Her story was also very interesting. I learned that in the olden days, scraped graveyards were commonplace. Tui Snider explains that the grass from cemeteries was scraped because the lawn mower actually wasn't invented until 1830, and lawn grasses weren't a thing until the 1930s. Grass, back then, was home to all sorts of snakes and insects, and dry grass could catch on fire easily. So back then, people would get rid of all the grass growing around graves. It's pretty interesting to read about. I also read about Marlene Johnson in 6 Feet Under Texas. Marlene Johnson was the first female postmaster for Eastland, Texas. She made a huge mural out of millions of postage stamps. I loved reading about Mrs. Johnson, and I believe others will too. I was intrigued by Anthony Bascilli's grave. He went all out for his grave including having brick walls around his coffin, doors leading down to his coffin, and pipes sticking out of his coffin where keys to the door were to be dropped. Those pipes are still visible above ground if you take a trip out to the cemetery in Thurber, Texas.
It's not just humans that Tui Snider includes in her book 6 Feet Under Texas. Did you know that back in the day, it was a normal thing to have your limbs buried? For example, there are true stories of people burying amputated limbs and having grave markers made for them. What I really loved was how Tui Snider also mentions animal burials. She discusses the Alamo cats who are buried at the Alamo. (I had no idea that the Alamo had official cats!) She also writes about other animals that were special in some form, but I really loved reading about the Texas horned lizard that had been buried alive for thirty-one years and came back to life when he was exhumed.
I could go on and on about how amazing Tui Snider's newest book is, but you are better off just reading it for yourself. This was one of those books where I never wanted it to end. Luckily, Tui Snider is making a volume 2! I would definitely recommend 6 Feet Under Texas by Tui Snider to everyone that would love to go on a real life adventure without leaving wherever their reading Snider's book from. Seriously, pick up your copy of 6 Feet Under Texas so you can understand why I gushed so much on this book!
--
(A special thank you to Lone Star Literary Life for providing me with a paperback copy of 6 Feet Under Texas by Tui Snider in exchange for an honest and unbiased review.)
6 Feet Under Texas by Tui Snider is a book for those who love history as well as for those who have an appreciation for cemeteries and the people who are buried there. Snider goes all over (mostly) north Texas to talk about the history behind some of the graves famous, infamous, and the just plain interesting. As always, Tui Snider has done excellent research for her book, and it really does show the dedication behind it all. In fact, Tui Snider solved the mystery about the identity of the one legged rope walker who's buried in Corsicana. The photos included in the book aren't in color, but I enjoyed them just the same. It was nice to place the story to the photo. I also appreciated Tui Snider placing each city in alphabetical order for easy findings. She also includes the address to where each cemetery is located after each story in case you wanted to visit.
I will admit that many books, I skip the intro. However, I know that Tui Snider never writes a dull and boring intro for her books. 6 Feet Under Texas' intro did not disappoint. Snider talks about how cemeteries are not morbid at all and how cemeteries are actually for the living. Seriously, read the intro. It is short and so very interesting!
I learned so much reading 6 Feet Under Texas. For example, did you know there was such thing as a backronym? I sure didn't until I read about Amber Hagerman, the little girl from which the AMBER Alert was invented. Tui Snider discusses about Amber's case and gives us an English lesson as well! There's also a touching story about a reverend who took in single mothers back in 1894, a time when society shunned those who weren't married. That story really warmed my heart. In Danville, a young woman by the name of Karen Silkwood is buried. She died under mysterious circumstances back in 1974. The mystery of Silkwood's death definitely left me intrigued. Her story was also very interesting. I learned that in the olden days, scraped graveyards were commonplace. Tui Snider explains that the grass from cemeteries was scraped because the lawn mower actually wasn't invented until 1830, and lawn grasses weren't a thing until the 1930s. Grass, back then, was home to all sorts of snakes and insects, and dry grass could catch on fire easily. So back then, people would get rid of all the grass growing around graves. It's pretty interesting to read about. I also read about Marlene Johnson in 6 Feet Under Texas. Marlene Johnson was the first female postmaster for Eastland, Texas. She made a huge mural out of millions of postage stamps. I loved reading about Mrs. Johnson, and I believe others will too. I was intrigued by Anthony Bascilli's grave. He went all out for his grave including having brick walls around his coffin, doors leading down to his coffin, and pipes sticking out of his coffin where keys to the door were to be dropped. Those pipes are still visible above ground if you take a trip out to the cemetery in Thurber, Texas.
It's not just humans that Tui Snider includes in her book 6 Feet Under Texas. Did you know that back in the day, it was a normal thing to have your limbs buried? For example, there are true stories of people burying amputated limbs and having grave markers made for them. What I really loved was how Tui Snider also mentions animal burials. She discusses the Alamo cats who are buried at the Alamo. (I had no idea that the Alamo had official cats!) She also writes about other animals that were special in some form, but I really loved reading about the Texas horned lizard that had been buried alive for thirty-one years and came back to life when he was exhumed.
I could go on and on about how amazing Tui Snider's newest book is, but you are better off just reading it for yourself. This was one of those books where I never wanted it to end. Luckily, Tui Snider is making a volume 2! I would definitely recommend 6 Feet Under Texas by Tui Snider to everyone that would love to go on a real life adventure without leaving wherever their reading Snider's book from. Seriously, pick up your copy of 6 Feet Under Texas so you can understand why I gushed so much on this book!
--
(A special thank you to Lone Star Literary Life for providing me with a paperback copy of 6 Feet Under Texas by Tui Snider in exchange for an honest and unbiased review.)