Smashbomb

Search

Search results

All (1122)

Content

A Thousand Glittering Lights

Jennie Lynn Roberts

10.0 (2 Ratings) Rate It

Book

Only she can see him. Ellie is about to release the hotly anticipated sequel to her...

Contemporary Fantasy Romance

Merissa (11950 KP) rated Surfacing in Books

Nov 28, 2017

Surfacing

Daniel Stephens | 2016 | Fiction & Poetry, Romance

10.0

(1 Ratings)

Book Rating

Surfacing by Daniel Stephens

Surfacing is the engrossing story of a young man, hurt beyond belief and grieving, lost to his world but desperately trying to reconnect. Everywhere he turns, he drowns in memories of the life and loves that have been taken from him. So he returns to his roots, to the cabin where he spent the summers with his grandparents, hoping to find some solace. What he finds is a family - a group of people where many of them remember him from his youth. Where he can find out just who he is, and learn to deal with the grief, and maybe even move forwards and find love again.

The descriptions in this book are second to none - whether it is the characters, the wolf, or even the cabin. They will pull you in and keep you reading. It is a story of pain, of loss, of heartbreak. And yet there is also the glimmer of hope, of the future, if only you feed the right wolf! There were no editing or grammatical errors that disrupted my reading flow, and the pacing was smooth throughout. Whilst this book is also about love, the only thing that is 'shown' is kissing - the rest is fade to black.

This is a poignant story that I thoroughly enjoyed, and would highly recommend to all.

* A copy of this book was provided to me with no requirements for a review. I voluntarily read this book, and my comments here are my honest opinion. *

Merissa
Archaeolibrarian - I Dig Good Books!

Kudos

Jenny Houle (24 KP) rated Beasts Made of Night in Books

Jan 13, 2018

Beasts Made of Night

Tochi Onyebuchi | 2017 | Science Fiction/Fantasy

5.3

(3 Ratings)

Book Rating

I received a free ARC of this book from FirstToRead.com for an unbiased opinion.

Tochi Onyebuchi's debut novel definitely shows a balance of light and dark in all it's themes.

The story is of a city ruled by a royal family, their top advisers called Mages. The Mages use children called "aki" to literally eat the sins of others, the sins branding their skin like tattoos after they've consumed them. The main character, Taj, is a cocky teenage aki who is desperate to provide for the family he was forced to leave behind. After defeating a sin-beast of the King's, he finds himself in the employment of the royal family. Unlike most aki, his tattoos never fade and almost all of his skin is branded from one sin or the next.

I felt like the story was very interesting. The different classes within the city, as well as the different characters within each class were well developed. Around half way through the book, the ability to put it down went out the window...I had to see how things ended...

And then they didn't.

I'm not sure if Onyebuchi's plan is to write a second book, or if we, as readers, are meant to decide for ourselves what the future of Kos is. What still lies ahead for the city, the palace, the aki, Taj. I suppose either is an option. But I, personally, like a strong ending, and leaving off where it did left me feeling wronged as a reader. I really enjoyed the book until that.

Kudos

Rachel King (13 KP) rated Enclave in Books

Feb 11, 2019

Enclave

Ann Aguirre | 2011 | Science Fiction/Fantasy

8.3

(8 Ratings)

Book Rating

This book is less dystopia and more post-apocalypse, with zombies thrown in - though they are never given that name. Though the plot focused solely on Deuce's life inside and outside the enclave, I was much more curious about the details of the world that Deuce lived in. The answers to these questions were sadly few and far between. It quickly became apparent that it was not in Deuce's nature to be inquisitive, and I was often distracted from Deuce's single-mindedness to be a Huntress. Deuce's two closest friends come from the other two groups, but little is told about these groups or the members that populated them. I was especially curious about Deuce's Breeder friend, who fathered a baby boy, but he is unfortunately removed from the plot before much development could occur.
Many loose threads are pushed aside to make way for the character of Fade, and Deuce's relationship with him. I saw much potential in Fade's character because of the potential of his backstory, but the possibilities of what he could accomplish in the enclave are wasted. In the end, despite the title of the book, the plot seems to be more about what happens Topside than saving or reforming the enclave. Plus, I know little more about the Freaks (zombies) than I did when I started the book. While the book brimmed with potential, much of the characters' potential was unrealized, and the book ended with too many loose ends and unanswered questions. While I typically love YA literature, I think this book was too juvenile for me.