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Hazel (1853 KP) rated Mirror, Shoulder, Signal in Books
Aug 7, 2017
Danish Literature
I received this book for free through Goodreads First Reads.
Shortlisted for The Man Booker International Prize 2017, Mirror, Shoulder, Signal is a piece of Danish literature by Dorthe Nors, translated into English by Misha Hoekstra. It has a tragicomic nature, introducing the 40-year-old Sonja, a woman who is trying but failing to move in the right direction.
Sonja is the type of character full of flaws that readers will recognise in themselves. Although she has successfully become self-employed, translating crime novels from Swedish into Danish, Sonja feels she has not accomplished anything in life. Despite one unlucky attempt at love, Sonja has remained single, moving to Copenhagen in an attempt to find herself. Determined to earn her driving licence Sonja braves the lessons in the busy city, however, she cannot handle gear changes. In other areas of her life, she tries weekly massage therapy and attempts a meditation exercise. Unfortunately, Sonja remains apathetic to the whole scenario and would rather be somewhere warm eating cake.
Mirror, Shoulder, Signal is a cleverly crafted title that makes repeat appearances throughout the narrative. The three words are instructions that Sonja repeats as a mantra each time she pulls away from the curb in her instructor’s car. The majority of the book takes place during these lessons, or, if not there, face down on Ellen’s massage table.
Sonja’s narration constantly varies between the present and memories from her childhood. A particular focus is the recollection of events involving her sister Kate. They may not have been close when they were young, but now it is almost impossible for Sonja to contact her sister. It is as though Sonja has been alienated from her own family.
Embellished with sexual innuendos, poor attempts at humour fail to bring any excitement to the story. There is no clear plot. At the beginning, readers may wonder if she will earn her driver’s licence – she does not – find love – she does not – find herself – she does not. What, then, was the point of this novel? Apart from a suggestion of future happiness in the final chapter of the book, there is no sense of resolution.
The issue with some translated stories is the loss of original intent and meanings. This does not seem to have been much of a problem in this instance; however, the translator has not been entirely successful in converting the Danish into a naturally flowing English.
Overall, Mirror, Shoulder, Signal is a bit of a disappointment, especially because it has been shortlisted for such a prestigious prize. Since the prize is meant to be awarding the author for continued creativity and contribution to fiction, it makes you wonder what critics saw in this novel to believe it stood a chance at earning the honour.
Shortlisted for The Man Booker International Prize 2017, Mirror, Shoulder, Signal is a piece of Danish literature by Dorthe Nors, translated into English by Misha Hoekstra. It has a tragicomic nature, introducing the 40-year-old Sonja, a woman who is trying but failing to move in the right direction.
Sonja is the type of character full of flaws that readers will recognise in themselves. Although she has successfully become self-employed, translating crime novels from Swedish into Danish, Sonja feels she has not accomplished anything in life. Despite one unlucky attempt at love, Sonja has remained single, moving to Copenhagen in an attempt to find herself. Determined to earn her driving licence Sonja braves the lessons in the busy city, however, she cannot handle gear changes. In other areas of her life, she tries weekly massage therapy and attempts a meditation exercise. Unfortunately, Sonja remains apathetic to the whole scenario and would rather be somewhere warm eating cake.
Mirror, Shoulder, Signal is a cleverly crafted title that makes repeat appearances throughout the narrative. The three words are instructions that Sonja repeats as a mantra each time she pulls away from the curb in her instructor’s car. The majority of the book takes place during these lessons, or, if not there, face down on Ellen’s massage table.
Sonja’s narration constantly varies between the present and memories from her childhood. A particular focus is the recollection of events involving her sister Kate. They may not have been close when they were young, but now it is almost impossible for Sonja to contact her sister. It is as though Sonja has been alienated from her own family.
Embellished with sexual innuendos, poor attempts at humour fail to bring any excitement to the story. There is no clear plot. At the beginning, readers may wonder if she will earn her driver’s licence – she does not – find love – she does not – find herself – she does not. What, then, was the point of this novel? Apart from a suggestion of future happiness in the final chapter of the book, there is no sense of resolution.
The issue with some translated stories is the loss of original intent and meanings. This does not seem to have been much of a problem in this instance; however, the translator has not been entirely successful in converting the Danish into a naturally flowing English.
Overall, Mirror, Shoulder, Signal is a bit of a disappointment, especially because it has been shortlisted for such a prestigious prize. Since the prize is meant to be awarding the author for continued creativity and contribution to fiction, it makes you wonder what critics saw in this novel to believe it stood a chance at earning the honour.
Haley Mathiot (9 KP) rated Birthmarked (Birthmarked, #1) in Books
Apr 27, 2018
Gaia is a midwife, apprentice to her mother. But her job is not just to deliver the babies: it’s to take the first three of the month to the city within the wall away from their families, to “Advance” them and let them join the government there. Gaia has never questioned the government—until she has to advance a baby herself, until her innocent parents are taken away, until she sees the injustice that happens behind the wall… Gaia’s only wish is to get her parents back, safely outside the wall, and then flee to the Dead Forest—which may or may not exist—but when she finally gets in, a series of events makes her question what is really right, who she loves, and what she lives for.
When I first started Birthmarked, I had a hard time getting through the first chapter. The thought of these people taking the newborn babies away from their parents to live in the richer society but away from the ones who loved them made me sick to my stomach, and I almost put it down completely. It also struck me as familiar, and I realized later that it was the whole concept of taking the children away. It reminded me of The Hunger Games, and I didn’t want a lousy play-off. But I couldn’t stop reading, because it was just so good. Good thing I didn’t stop.
The plot had me guessing every step of the way. It was completely unpredictable and I’m still reeling from it.
The writing was beautiful and descriptive, so visual that I could see everything exactly. It almost had a rhythmic feel to it.
The characters were wonderful. Gaia is a strong willed girl, willing to do anything for the people she loves. The other characters are quickly defined and unique. Gaia’s father is a sweet wonderful man, and her mother was strong and beautiful like Gaia herself.
One of the things I love about this book is the realness behind everything—the dialogue, the feelings, even the romance. Especially the romance. I hate it when the main characters get crushes for each other within the first paragraph of the book. In Birthmarked, I didn’t see it coming until maybe halfway through the book (and that was only because the character just kept reappearing). I love that!
The ending, though, left me hanging a little. It wasn’t as horrible as The Hunger Games endings have been (hurry up, Suzanne!) but it did leave me saying “but… but… but….awww dang….” I shall be sitting on the edge of my seat, waiting for the sequel. And there better be a sequel.
Content: Clean of sex, language, and violence.
Recommendation: Ages 12+ Adults will love it, too!
When I first started Birthmarked, I had a hard time getting through the first chapter. The thought of these people taking the newborn babies away from their parents to live in the richer society but away from the ones who loved them made me sick to my stomach, and I almost put it down completely. It also struck me as familiar, and I realized later that it was the whole concept of taking the children away. It reminded me of The Hunger Games, and I didn’t want a lousy play-off. But I couldn’t stop reading, because it was just so good. Good thing I didn’t stop.
The plot had me guessing every step of the way. It was completely unpredictable and I’m still reeling from it.
The writing was beautiful and descriptive, so visual that I could see everything exactly. It almost had a rhythmic feel to it.
The characters were wonderful. Gaia is a strong willed girl, willing to do anything for the people she loves. The other characters are quickly defined and unique. Gaia’s father is a sweet wonderful man, and her mother was strong and beautiful like Gaia herself.
One of the things I love about this book is the realness behind everything—the dialogue, the feelings, even the romance. Especially the romance. I hate it when the main characters get crushes for each other within the first paragraph of the book. In Birthmarked, I didn’t see it coming until maybe halfway through the book (and that was only because the character just kept reappearing). I love that!
The ending, though, left me hanging a little. It wasn’t as horrible as The Hunger Games endings have been (hurry up, Suzanne!) but it did leave me saying “but… but… but….awww dang….” I shall be sitting on the edge of my seat, waiting for the sequel. And there better be a sequel.
Content: Clean of sex, language, and violence.
Recommendation: Ages 12+ Adults will love it, too!
Haley Mathiot (9 KP) rated The Lawyer's Lawyer (Jack Tobin, #3) in Books
Apr 27, 2018
You know what makes certain books fantastic? Character development. That was the strongest point of The Lawyer’s Lawyer; the characters were wonderful.
Jack, the protagonist, was clever and intelligent and innovative and full of emotion (and hilarious when drunk). He was the kind of person I’d want to hang around… and for that matter, so were his friends. They left you with the feeling of belonging, of security. And by the end of the book, you’re thanking your lucky stars Jack had those friends, because they saved his rear end!
Danny was awesome. For the sake of keeping this review spoiler-free, I’ll just say this: The best people are the ones who do everything in love—whether those things are good or bad is up for you to decide.
And the bad guys! Sometimes the bad guys are the best! This was definitely the case in this book. One of the characters, Sam (the police chief), started off as this guy who was a little annoying. But as the story went on, I began to like him less and less, and finally at the end, I despised him. And the lawyer who represented the State in the case? Man that guy was a twit. I hated his guts. I wanted to slap him across the face.
The other exceptional attribute of this book was the narrator for the audiobook. He is incredibly talented, giving unique and identifiable voices to each character that totally described their person in a few sounds. I’m adding Rick Zieff to my list of narrators to look for in the future!
There were a few parts I would have liked to see improved: namely the beginning of the story, a chapter in the middle, and the very last scene. In the beginning, we are met with character development and background information, which is all fine… but there’s this one random case that Jack works that has nothing to do with the main plot. I kept waiting for it to come back into the main story, but it never did, and it felt out of place.
Then there was the scene in the middle, and the other part, the ending. These scenes were just borderline sappy. Danny and Jack are in love and they date and have hot sex and get all wishy-washy and twitterpated. And I’ll be the first to admit that I thoroughly enjoy being twitterpated, especially with sexy fictional characters. But I’m going to be brutally honest here… James Sheehan, you are a thriller writer… NOT a romance writer. And there’s a good reason for that: Because you suck at romance.
All in all, I absolutely loved The Lawyer’s Lawyer, and look forward to more from Sheehan.
Content/Recommendation: Some language, mild violence, mention of sex. Ages 17+
Jack, the protagonist, was clever and intelligent and innovative and full of emotion (and hilarious when drunk). He was the kind of person I’d want to hang around… and for that matter, so were his friends. They left you with the feeling of belonging, of security. And by the end of the book, you’re thanking your lucky stars Jack had those friends, because they saved his rear end!
Danny was awesome. For the sake of keeping this review spoiler-free, I’ll just say this: The best people are the ones who do everything in love—whether those things are good or bad is up for you to decide.
And the bad guys! Sometimes the bad guys are the best! This was definitely the case in this book. One of the characters, Sam (the police chief), started off as this guy who was a little annoying. But as the story went on, I began to like him less and less, and finally at the end, I despised him. And the lawyer who represented the State in the case? Man that guy was a twit. I hated his guts. I wanted to slap him across the face.
The other exceptional attribute of this book was the narrator for the audiobook. He is incredibly talented, giving unique and identifiable voices to each character that totally described their person in a few sounds. I’m adding Rick Zieff to my list of narrators to look for in the future!
There were a few parts I would have liked to see improved: namely the beginning of the story, a chapter in the middle, and the very last scene. In the beginning, we are met with character development and background information, which is all fine… but there’s this one random case that Jack works that has nothing to do with the main plot. I kept waiting for it to come back into the main story, but it never did, and it felt out of place.
Then there was the scene in the middle, and the other part, the ending. These scenes were just borderline sappy. Danny and Jack are in love and they date and have hot sex and get all wishy-washy and twitterpated. And I’ll be the first to admit that I thoroughly enjoy being twitterpated, especially with sexy fictional characters. But I’m going to be brutally honest here… James Sheehan, you are a thriller writer… NOT a romance writer. And there’s a good reason for that: Because you suck at romance.
All in all, I absolutely loved The Lawyer’s Lawyer, and look forward to more from Sheehan.
Content/Recommendation: Some language, mild violence, mention of sex. Ages 17+
Kyera (8 KP) rated Clockwork Princess (The Infernal Devices, #3) in Books
Jan 31, 2018
Clockwork Princess is the stunning conclusion to Cassandra Clare’s the Infernal Devices trilogy. The pacing of the third book is much brisker than its predecessor and immediately drags you into the plot. There are also significantly more scenes with action in them, which help to break up the scenes that steadily move the story along. As with the previous books, the story is very character-driven and continues to bring further depth to each character’s personality.
Will continues to be my favourite focus of any scene with his witty comments and sense of humour. It was nice to see him play off his sister at times, because normally only Tessa can manage Will. Although they have been apart for many years they still have a wonderfully authentic relationship, like how easily she is able to get under his skin. Will and Jem’s parabatai relationship, as it was in the previous books, is so real that you can easily imagine the love they have for one another, the pain each feels when the other is hurt, and how they would do anything for each other.
It was nice to see the continued development of characters that we’ve grown to love, as well as the new faces that have joined the familiar at the Institute. The number of important characters does not ever feel overwhelming or confusing, as each has been given the time to become established and grow in the world that Cassandra Clare has created. I love each and every one of the characters because they are not only true but integral to the story as a whole.
Despite having read this entire series before and knowing what will happen – it is still so brilliantly written that it elicits myriad emotions throughout. Each character feels real and their lives affect your own. A tear slips down my face as one character experiences unbearable pain, while another comes at the thought of losing a character I’ve grown to love so much. A grin overtakes my face in light of the overwhelmingly happy news. The books that I have grown to love are the ones that speak to you, change you, and will forever stay with you.
Clockwork Princess is quite possibly the best series finale that I have read and certainly the best final book in a trilogy. Despite the book causing me to cry, multiple times, I never felt dissatisfied with the conclusion. The story comes to a climactic end, then Cassandra Clare takes the final chapter to pull everything together and the prologue to make me cry again. I loved re-reading this series so much and hope that you are inspired to read it as well.
Will continues to be my favourite focus of any scene with his witty comments and sense of humour. It was nice to see him play off his sister at times, because normally only Tessa can manage Will. Although they have been apart for many years they still have a wonderfully authentic relationship, like how easily she is able to get under his skin. Will and Jem’s parabatai relationship, as it was in the previous books, is so real that you can easily imagine the love they have for one another, the pain each feels when the other is hurt, and how they would do anything for each other.
It was nice to see the continued development of characters that we’ve grown to love, as well as the new faces that have joined the familiar at the Institute. The number of important characters does not ever feel overwhelming or confusing, as each has been given the time to become established and grow in the world that Cassandra Clare has created. I love each and every one of the characters because they are not only true but integral to the story as a whole.
Despite having read this entire series before and knowing what will happen – it is still so brilliantly written that it elicits myriad emotions throughout. Each character feels real and their lives affect your own. A tear slips down my face as one character experiences unbearable pain, while another comes at the thought of losing a character I’ve grown to love so much. A grin overtakes my face in light of the overwhelmingly happy news. The books that I have grown to love are the ones that speak to you, change you, and will forever stay with you.
Clockwork Princess is quite possibly the best series finale that I have read and certainly the best final book in a trilogy. Despite the book causing me to cry, multiple times, I never felt dissatisfied with the conclusion. The story comes to a climactic end, then Cassandra Clare takes the final chapter to pull everything together and the prologue to make me cry again. I loved re-reading this series so much and hope that you are inspired to read it as well.
Hazel (1853 KP) rated Mirror, Shoulder, Signal in Books
Dec 7, 2018
<i>I received this book for free through Goodreads First Reads.</i>
Shortlisted for The Man Booker International Prize 2017, <i>Mirror, Shoulder, Signal</i> is a piece of Danish literature by Dorthe Nors, translated into English by Misha Hoekstra. It has a tragicomic nature, introducing the 40-year-old Sonja, a woman who is trying but failing to move in the right direction.
Sonja is the type of character full of flaws that readers will recognise in themselves. Although she has successfully become self-employed, translating crime novels from Swedish into Danish, Sonja feels she has not accomplished anything in life. Despite one unlucky attempt at love, Sonja has remained single, moving to Copenhagen in an attempt to find herself. Determined to earn her driving licence Sonja braves the lessons in the busy city, however, she cannot handle gear changes. In other areas of her life, she tries weekly massage therapy and attempts a meditation exercise. Unfortunately, Sonja remains apathetic to the whole scenario and would rather be somewhere warm eating cake.
<i>Mirror, Shoulder, Signal</i> is a cleverly crafted title that makes repeat appearances throughout the narrative. The three words are instructions that Sonja repeats as a mantra each time she pulls away from the curb in her instructor’s car. The majority of the book takes place during these lessons, or, if not there, face down on Ellen’s massage table.
Sonja’s narration constantly varies between the present and memories from her childhood. A particular focus is the recollection of events involving her sister Kate. They may not have been close when they were young, but now it is almost impossible for Sonja to contact her sister. It is as though Sonja has been alienated from her own family.
Embellished with sexual innuendos, poor attempts at humour fail to bring any excitement to the story. There is no clear plot. At the beginning, readers may wonder if she will earn her driver’s licence – she does not – find love – she does not – find herself – she does not. What, then, was the point of this novel? Apart from a suggestion of future happiness in the final chapter of the book, there is no sense of resolution.
The issue with some translated stories is the loss of original intent and meanings. This does not seem to have been much of a problem in this instance; however, the translator has not been entirely successful in converting the Danish into a naturally flowing English.
Overall, <i>Mirror, Shoulder, Signal</i> is a bit of a disappointment, especially because it has been shortlisted for such a prestigious prize. Since the prize is meant to be awarding the author for continued creativity and contribution to fiction, it makes you wonder what critics saw in this novel to believe it stood a chance at earning the honour.
Shortlisted for The Man Booker International Prize 2017, <i>Mirror, Shoulder, Signal</i> is a piece of Danish literature by Dorthe Nors, translated into English by Misha Hoekstra. It has a tragicomic nature, introducing the 40-year-old Sonja, a woman who is trying but failing to move in the right direction.
Sonja is the type of character full of flaws that readers will recognise in themselves. Although she has successfully become self-employed, translating crime novels from Swedish into Danish, Sonja feels she has not accomplished anything in life. Despite one unlucky attempt at love, Sonja has remained single, moving to Copenhagen in an attempt to find herself. Determined to earn her driving licence Sonja braves the lessons in the busy city, however, she cannot handle gear changes. In other areas of her life, she tries weekly massage therapy and attempts a meditation exercise. Unfortunately, Sonja remains apathetic to the whole scenario and would rather be somewhere warm eating cake.
<i>Mirror, Shoulder, Signal</i> is a cleverly crafted title that makes repeat appearances throughout the narrative. The three words are instructions that Sonja repeats as a mantra each time she pulls away from the curb in her instructor’s car. The majority of the book takes place during these lessons, or, if not there, face down on Ellen’s massage table.
Sonja’s narration constantly varies between the present and memories from her childhood. A particular focus is the recollection of events involving her sister Kate. They may not have been close when they were young, but now it is almost impossible for Sonja to contact her sister. It is as though Sonja has been alienated from her own family.
Embellished with sexual innuendos, poor attempts at humour fail to bring any excitement to the story. There is no clear plot. At the beginning, readers may wonder if she will earn her driver’s licence – she does not – find love – she does not – find herself – she does not. What, then, was the point of this novel? Apart from a suggestion of future happiness in the final chapter of the book, there is no sense of resolution.
The issue with some translated stories is the loss of original intent and meanings. This does not seem to have been much of a problem in this instance; however, the translator has not been entirely successful in converting the Danish into a naturally flowing English.
Overall, <i>Mirror, Shoulder, Signal</i> is a bit of a disappointment, especially because it has been shortlisted for such a prestigious prize. Since the prize is meant to be awarding the author for continued creativity and contribution to fiction, it makes you wonder what critics saw in this novel to believe it stood a chance at earning the honour.
Ivana A. | Diary of Difference (1171 KP) rated Beautiful Demons (The Shadow Demons Saga #1) in Books
Jul 20, 2018
Nice YA Read
www.diaryofdifference.com
I used to read a lot of Young Adult, Fiction and Fantasy books before. My little sister mentioned to me a few weeks ago that she started reading this genre. I decided that it would be a good thing to join her in this adventure, and to read some of the books she's reading.
I have also asked for recommendations on the bookshelf that I made especially for this, and received so many responses. Thank you to all of you who contributed, and this is the list that we have now - Tea's Wishlist
Beautiful Demons is the first book of the Shadow Demons series.
It is a story about Harper Madison, an orphan, that went from one family to another, causing troubles all her life and on one occasion, unintentionally made fire and burned people to death. With no family willing to take her now, she has to go to Shadowford, a place for troubled orphan girls.
But what if everything happens for a reason? And why is this whole town so mysterious? Why, for the first time, she actually belongs somewhere?
Everyone in this town seems to be hiding something? And that is just the beginning…
Even though this book is quite short, I was actually amused as to how much it was able to cover. I was pulled in from the first chapter, and this kept me going until the last.
We have all seen the new girl, new town, new school, being bullied type of scenario, and the cheerleaders owning the school and dating the jocks. This is the same, except it isn’t. It is spiced up with mystery and magic, and cheerleaders are just a metaphor of all that lies behind it. I will only reveal this much - the moment you get accepted to become a cheerleader, your life changes. But that is also the moment you realise it's only the beginning.
I liked Harper's character, and how she was presented. Sometimes she was too naïve and vulnerable for her own good, sometimes a bit too reckless when she didn't have enough information and clues. She was though, a nice young girl example of making brave decisions, but also a bad example of making stupid decisions…
The plot twist in the end was amazing, and I could never see that coming.
I think the purpose of this book was to make a nice scene building for the next books in the series, and to raise our curiosity. A lot of questions were raised, and not many were answered, which proves my point.
I really enjoyed the beginning of this series, and will definitely be reading the next books.
I used to read a lot of Young Adult, Fiction and Fantasy books before. My little sister mentioned to me a few weeks ago that she started reading this genre. I decided that it would be a good thing to join her in this adventure, and to read some of the books she's reading.
I have also asked for recommendations on the bookshelf that I made especially for this, and received so many responses. Thank you to all of you who contributed, and this is the list that we have now - Tea's Wishlist
Beautiful Demons is the first book of the Shadow Demons series.
It is a story about Harper Madison, an orphan, that went from one family to another, causing troubles all her life and on one occasion, unintentionally made fire and burned people to death. With no family willing to take her now, she has to go to Shadowford, a place for troubled orphan girls.
But what if everything happens for a reason? And why is this whole town so mysterious? Why, for the first time, she actually belongs somewhere?
Everyone in this town seems to be hiding something? And that is just the beginning…
Even though this book is quite short, I was actually amused as to how much it was able to cover. I was pulled in from the first chapter, and this kept me going until the last.
We have all seen the new girl, new town, new school, being bullied type of scenario, and the cheerleaders owning the school and dating the jocks. This is the same, except it isn’t. It is spiced up with mystery and magic, and cheerleaders are just a metaphor of all that lies behind it. I will only reveal this much - the moment you get accepted to become a cheerleader, your life changes. But that is also the moment you realise it's only the beginning.
I liked Harper's character, and how she was presented. Sometimes she was too naïve and vulnerable for her own good, sometimes a bit too reckless when she didn't have enough information and clues. She was though, a nice young girl example of making brave decisions, but also a bad example of making stupid decisions…
The plot twist in the end was amazing, and I could never see that coming.
I think the purpose of this book was to make a nice scene building for the next books in the series, and to raise our curiosity. A lot of questions were raised, and not many were answered, which proves my point.
I really enjoyed the beginning of this series, and will definitely be reading the next books.
Debbiereadsbook (1166 KP) rated Surreal Estate in Books
Nov 5, 2018
love love LOVED this one!
Sasha can't live at home, so he's on the streets. He finds an empty home that calls to his 6th sense and moves in. Then Nick buys the house. The house reacts badly to Nick wanting to sell it, and makes Nick's already tight budget and time frame almost impossible. Sasha doesn't want Nick to end up in the hospital, or worse, so he has to come up with something quick, while clearly out and healing his grandfather's house.
I won a copy of this book, and I am so bloody glad I did! Ms Ryan usually writes Young Adult and had this book came with that tag, I would not have entered, cos I'm not a YA fan. This is Ms Ryan's first foray into a much more adult setting, and into the male/male genre, and BOY does she smash it out the park!
Sasha can read houses, they call to him. His skill isn't made immediately clear, and we have to wait for the full picture. I think it really hit me, just what this meant for Sasha, when he was healing his grandfather's house.
I loved we got all of Nick's internal wrangling with himself over his growing feelings and attraction to Sasha. Loved that he was like, "okay then, must be bi" Loved the interaction between Nick and his brothers! His older brother needs a story now, needs to find his happy ever after, especially after what happened here. Well both brothers should have a story, I think!
It's not overly explicit, I thought, but it wans't lacking in any thing regards to the heat and steam level between these two! Not at all! It does carry a violence and drug use warning. These ARE needed and are an integral part of the story, but they are all off screen. We know Sasha's mum does drugs, but we don't see it. We know WHAT happened to Nick, cos we deal with the fall out, but not HOW. It also comes with a non-con warning. It's mostly touching, and doesn't develop into a full blown attack, but could very well have. It needs mentioning though.
It's told from both Sasha and Nick's point of view, in the first person. Each change occurs as a a chapter changes and is clearly headed. I didn't quite manage to read it in one sitting, but very nearly!
I can't wait to see what Ms Ryan comes up with next. I love finding new to me authors, especially ones who step outside their comfort zone! She impressed me here, greatly, and, apparently, I'm a tough critic! I'm not sure that's true, but I LOVED this book.
so,
5 full and shiny stars!
**same worded review will appear elsewhere**
I won a copy of this book, and I am so bloody glad I did! Ms Ryan usually writes Young Adult and had this book came with that tag, I would not have entered, cos I'm not a YA fan. This is Ms Ryan's first foray into a much more adult setting, and into the male/male genre, and BOY does she smash it out the park!
Sasha can read houses, they call to him. His skill isn't made immediately clear, and we have to wait for the full picture. I think it really hit me, just what this meant for Sasha, when he was healing his grandfather's house.
I loved we got all of Nick's internal wrangling with himself over his growing feelings and attraction to Sasha. Loved that he was like, "okay then, must be bi" Loved the interaction between Nick and his brothers! His older brother needs a story now, needs to find his happy ever after, especially after what happened here. Well both brothers should have a story, I think!
It's not overly explicit, I thought, but it wans't lacking in any thing regards to the heat and steam level between these two! Not at all! It does carry a violence and drug use warning. These ARE needed and are an integral part of the story, but they are all off screen. We know Sasha's mum does drugs, but we don't see it. We know WHAT happened to Nick, cos we deal with the fall out, but not HOW. It also comes with a non-con warning. It's mostly touching, and doesn't develop into a full blown attack, but could very well have. It needs mentioning though.
It's told from both Sasha and Nick's point of view, in the first person. Each change occurs as a a chapter changes and is clearly headed. I didn't quite manage to read it in one sitting, but very nearly!
I can't wait to see what Ms Ryan comes up with next. I love finding new to me authors, especially ones who step outside their comfort zone! She impressed me here, greatly, and, apparently, I'm a tough critic! I'm not sure that's true, but I LOVED this book.
so,
5 full and shiny stars!
**same worded review will appear elsewhere**
Sophia (Bookwyrming Thoughts) (530 KP) rated The Polaris Uprising (Polaris, #1) in Books
Jan 23, 2020
Another bystander review yet again. T_T But throughout the story, I was making connections – yet again – to movies and books:
Corsets – Incarceron. Mercifully no prisons.
Probe Bots – *that seriously cute voice from that one movie* Wall-E! Of course, those robots had inflection and it's not Wall-E's voice I'm calling cute.
Arranged Marriages – At the time I started The Polaris Uprising, I completed Delirium not too long ago and it turned out to be a TERRIBLE experience. Fortunately, this book fared better off and it's not similar to Delirium. *phew* In fact... this quote got me quite worried:
<blockquote>When you’re president, this will all be a distant memory.</blockquote>
Is this similar to "When you're cured, this will all be a distant memory" or what? I could have sworn I saw that exact same sentence in Delirium a million times maybe. O_O (Obviously I didn't let that stop me from continuing).
Truth Serum – Welcome to the Candor faction. Need I say more?
That one sentence before this: And then all hell broke loose – Similar to The Hunger Games, but different. And no, that's no spoiler. Close, but no.
<blockquote>Alanna! Alanna!</blockquote>
e_e 1984's B! B! B! That book was quite dreadful, so I'm surprised I still remember the letter B! (that was not me in exclamation).
Now that I've gone through my dreadful (and some positive) experiences with some dystopians, let's get on with some positive notes and why I gave The Polaris Uprising a high rating:
~ The message comes across clearly throughout the book. Maybe confusing at first (switching views from the prologue and first chapter), but everything fits in nicely later.
~ Here's the big plus: it's different from other dystopians. As in really different. How? It's like many years later, a dystopian AFTER another dystopian failed. At least, that's what I assume. The signs were there, which brings me to my next point.
~ Dare to be different. I would've had to choose a faction back in September if I were in Divergent (Movie's out in 28 DAYS). Here, you're an adult at 25. That gives me what? 7-8 years to be a semi-kid? Yippee.
~ This might actually take a different end from other dystopians. Of course, there's no guarantee, so don't take that word for granted.
But overall, an impressive debut novel for Jennifer Ibarra.
-----------------------
Review copy provided by the author for review on the blog tour
Formatting is lost due to copy and paste
This review and more can be found at <a href="http://bookwyrming-thoughts.blogspot.com/2014/02/blog-tour-the-polaris-uprising-by-jennifer-ibarra-review-and-giveaway.html">Bookwyrming Thoughts</a>
<a href="http://bookwyrming-thoughts.blogspot.com/"><img src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-Gi5Rk5yLloA/UtliaUbdL3I/AAAAAAAACbE/J27z92_qrYU/s1600/Official+Banner.png"; /></a>
Corsets – Incarceron. Mercifully no prisons.
Probe Bots – *that seriously cute voice from that one movie* Wall-E! Of course, those robots had inflection and it's not Wall-E's voice I'm calling cute.
Arranged Marriages – At the time I started The Polaris Uprising, I completed Delirium not too long ago and it turned out to be a TERRIBLE experience. Fortunately, this book fared better off and it's not similar to Delirium. *phew* In fact... this quote got me quite worried:
<blockquote>When you’re president, this will all be a distant memory.</blockquote>
Is this similar to "When you're cured, this will all be a distant memory" or what? I could have sworn I saw that exact same sentence in Delirium a million times maybe. O_O (Obviously I didn't let that stop me from continuing).
Truth Serum – Welcome to the Candor faction. Need I say more?
That one sentence before this: And then all hell broke loose – Similar to The Hunger Games, but different. And no, that's no spoiler. Close, but no.
<blockquote>Alanna! Alanna!</blockquote>
e_e 1984's B! B! B! That book was quite dreadful, so I'm surprised I still remember the letter B! (that was not me in exclamation).
Now that I've gone through my dreadful (and some positive) experiences with some dystopians, let's get on with some positive notes and why I gave The Polaris Uprising a high rating:
~ The message comes across clearly throughout the book. Maybe confusing at first (switching views from the prologue and first chapter), but everything fits in nicely later.
~ Here's the big plus: it's different from other dystopians. As in really different. How? It's like many years later, a dystopian AFTER another dystopian failed. At least, that's what I assume. The signs were there, which brings me to my next point.
~ Dare to be different. I would've had to choose a faction back in September if I were in Divergent (Movie's out in 28 DAYS). Here, you're an adult at 25. That gives me what? 7-8 years to be a semi-kid? Yippee.
~ This might actually take a different end from other dystopians. Of course, there's no guarantee, so don't take that word for granted.
But overall, an impressive debut novel for Jennifer Ibarra.
-----------------------
Review copy provided by the author for review on the blog tour
Formatting is lost due to copy and paste
This review and more can be found at <a href="http://bookwyrming-thoughts.blogspot.com/2014/02/blog-tour-the-polaris-uprising-by-jennifer-ibarra-review-and-giveaway.html">Bookwyrming Thoughts</a>
<a href="http://bookwyrming-thoughts.blogspot.com/"><img src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-Gi5Rk5yLloA/UtliaUbdL3I/AAAAAAAACbE/J27z92_qrYU/s1600/Official+Banner.png"; /></a>
Ivana A. | Diary of Difference (1171 KP) rated I Know Who You Are in Books
Feb 3, 2020
<a href="https://diaryofdifference.com/">Blog</a>; | <a href="https://www.facebook.com/diaryofdifference/">Facebook</a>; | <a href="https://twitter.com/DiaryDifference">Twitter</a>; | <a href="https://www.instagram.com/diaryofdifference/">Instagram</a>; | <a href="https://www.pinterest.co.uk/diaryofdifference/pins/">Pinterest</a>;
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<b>I Know Who You Are by Alice Feeney is a book that stays with you after you read it. Dark, twisted and unpredictable until the very last chapter.</b>
In the very beginning, we are met with the unknown. Aimee Sinclair is an actress and when she comes home, she realizes her husband is missing. The police suspect she is hiding something. They are right, she does have a secret…
The book switches between two timelines; the first being Aimee today and the second being Aimee’s childhood. We get to enjoy these parallel stories and understand how Aimee’s childhood directly influences her decisions as a grown up.
<b><i>‘’Sometimes it only takes one person to believe in you, to change your life forever. Sometimes it only takes one person not believing in you to destroy it. Humans are a highly sensitive species.’’</i></b>
Alice’s writing is brilliant, and when reading the two timelines, you feel the child and you feel the adult. A skill not many writers can perfect.
Aimee’s whole life has been about being a different person. That is why she choose to become an actress. She can change into different people as she wants, and keep her true self hidden somewhere safe. But she didn’t learn this all by herself.
The book will leave things unpredictable until the very end. I had my theories and they kept changing all the time. The moment you feel you are close to the truth, something happens and you are back at the start. I loved it!
I wasn’t disappointed with the ending, but I did feel grossed out and disgusted by a certain someone. At times, some scenes felt like too much, but they were crucial to the story.
<b><i>If you love dark and twisted psychological thrillers, you will most probably enjoy reading I Know Who You Are by Alice Feeney.</i></b>
<b>Trigger warnings for abuse in all shapes and forms, animal cruelty and childhood trauma.</b>
Thank you to the team at HQ, for the opportunity to be part of this blog tour, and for sending me a paperback copy in exchange for an honest review.
<a href="https://diaryofdifference.com/">Blog</a>; | <a href="https://www.facebook.com/diaryofdifference/">Facebook</a>; | <a href="https://twitter.com/DiaryDifference">Twitter</a>; | <a href="https://www.instagram.com/diaryofdifference/">Instagram</a>; | <a href="https://www.pinterest.co.uk/diaryofdifference/pins/">Pinterest</a>;
<img src="https://i0.wp.com/diaryofdifference.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/I-Know-Who-You-Are-blog-tour-banner.jpg?resize=768%2C909&ssl=1"/>;
<b>I Know Who You Are by Alice Feeney is a book that stays with you after you read it. Dark, twisted and unpredictable until the very last chapter.</b>
In the very beginning, we are met with the unknown. Aimee Sinclair is an actress and when she comes home, she realizes her husband is missing. The police suspect she is hiding something. They are right, she does have a secret…
The book switches between two timelines; the first being Aimee today and the second being Aimee’s childhood. We get to enjoy these parallel stories and understand how Aimee’s childhood directly influences her decisions as a grown up.
<b><i>‘’Sometimes it only takes one person to believe in you, to change your life forever. Sometimes it only takes one person not believing in you to destroy it. Humans are a highly sensitive species.’’</i></b>
Alice’s writing is brilliant, and when reading the two timelines, you feel the child and you feel the adult. A skill not many writers can perfect.
Aimee’s whole life has been about being a different person. That is why she choose to become an actress. She can change into different people as she wants, and keep her true self hidden somewhere safe. But she didn’t learn this all by herself.
The book will leave things unpredictable until the very end. I had my theories and they kept changing all the time. The moment you feel you are close to the truth, something happens and you are back at the start. I loved it!
I wasn’t disappointed with the ending, but I did feel grossed out and disgusted by a certain someone. At times, some scenes felt like too much, but they were crucial to the story.
<b><i>If you love dark and twisted psychological thrillers, you will most probably enjoy reading I Know Who You Are by Alice Feeney.</i></b>
<b>Trigger warnings for abuse in all shapes and forms, animal cruelty and childhood trauma.</b>
Thank you to the team at HQ, for the opportunity to be part of this blog tour, and for sending me a paperback copy in exchange for an honest review.
<a href="https://diaryofdifference.com/">Blog</a>; | <a href="https://www.facebook.com/diaryofdifference/">Facebook</a>; | <a href="https://twitter.com/DiaryDifference">Twitter</a>; | <a href="https://www.instagram.com/diaryofdifference/">Instagram</a>; | <a href="https://www.pinterest.co.uk/diaryofdifference/pins/">Pinterest</a>;
Good dark fantasy in an interesting setting
Faithless takes place in a world where blacksmithing is a big deal. Those who master the arts of smithing are priests in the religion of the Forgefather. The lowest class of people are those spending their lives down mines, struggling to find anything more valuable than coal in order to meet their tally and avoid a whipping. This is the essence of the world we are in, with an established class system and clear economy, based on metal ores.
There is a hint of magic here, with chanting at the forge, but until the final few chapters it is unclear whether this is magic or simply a way to mark time and ensure the metal is at the right temperature and worked at the right pace. Not overly labouring the magic here was an excellent choice by the author, as it keeps the attention on the mundane aspects of life, which is excellently told.
The story follows two main characters, firstly Wynn, a young lad sold (or mis-sold in his mind) by his father, a struggling farmer, into the mines for a life of back-breaking work down cramped, dangerous caves, endlessly trying to find enough ore to avoid a beating. His only chance of escaping the mines is to pass the tests and have a chance of ascending to the temple and possibly priesthood. Some way through the book we then meet Kharios, a young adult who appears to have somewhat failed in his first attempts at entering the priesthood (smithing) and is trying to get back to the forge.
The characters' stories are very similar, with hard, thankless, dangerous labour and periods of learning. For some time I struggled to tell the difference between them, thinking they seemed like very similar characters, but I have since re-thought that for reasons.
I found the pacing a little off. There were times I felt like I was reading a biography of a miner, rather than a fantasy novel, as long chapters are essentially that. And then these develop into long chapters learning smithing, was again a bit of a slog. And then all of a sudden we have periods of conflict down the mines, accidents, cave-ins, and the eventual calamity that leads to the second half of the book. The changes in pace were sudden and exciting, but the change was a little extreme at times.
I loved the way the two stories seemed at times independent yet similar, but eventually start to overlap. Though again, we have a change in pace where exciting, cataclysmic events are put aside for another chapter of walloping hot iron.
These pacing issues aside, this was an interesting and well written book with an unusual setting and a good message on belief systems.
There is a hint of magic here, with chanting at the forge, but until the final few chapters it is unclear whether this is magic or simply a way to mark time and ensure the metal is at the right temperature and worked at the right pace. Not overly labouring the magic here was an excellent choice by the author, as it keeps the attention on the mundane aspects of life, which is excellently told.
The story follows two main characters, firstly Wynn, a young lad sold (or mis-sold in his mind) by his father, a struggling farmer, into the mines for a life of back-breaking work down cramped, dangerous caves, endlessly trying to find enough ore to avoid a beating. His only chance of escaping the mines is to pass the tests and have a chance of ascending to the temple and possibly priesthood. Some way through the book we then meet Kharios, a young adult who appears to have somewhat failed in his first attempts at entering the priesthood (smithing) and is trying to get back to the forge.
The characters' stories are very similar, with hard, thankless, dangerous labour and periods of learning. For some time I struggled to tell the difference between them, thinking they seemed like very similar characters, but I have since re-thought that for reasons.
I found the pacing a little off. There were times I felt like I was reading a biography of a miner, rather than a fantasy novel, as long chapters are essentially that. And then these develop into long chapters learning smithing, was again a bit of a slog. And then all of a sudden we have periods of conflict down the mines, accidents, cave-ins, and the eventual calamity that leads to the second half of the book. The changes in pace were sudden and exciting, but the change was a little extreme at times.
I loved the way the two stories seemed at times independent yet similar, but eventually start to overlap. Though again, we have a change in pace where exciting, cataclysmic events are put aside for another chapter of walloping hot iron.
These pacing issues aside, this was an interesting and well written book with an unusual setting and a good message on belief systems.