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Sensitivemuse (246 KP) rated The Municipalists in Books

Sep 24, 2019

The Municipalists

Seth Fried | 2019 | Fiction & Poetry, Science Fiction/Fantasy, Thriller

8.3

(3 Ratings)

Book Rating

Watch the Friendship Bloom :)

I didn’t imagine I would like this novel much but in fact, I did. It’s a rather quick read but the adventure is quite the ride!

Henry starts off as an average, run of the mill model employee. He pretty much blends in the background and plays by the rules. Sounds uninteresting doesn’t it? He’s got a thing for trains and his past isn’t shining bright considering what happened to his parents. He’s a wallflower with a sad past and he just immerses himself into his work.

Then comes OWEN.

He changes Henry - a lot. Their friendship is laughable at first and off to a rocky start. (like most when you have an odd couple/opposites in a team) OWEN has wit and a rather unconventional way of solving things whereas Henry likes to stick with the rules. Yet it’s because of OWEN that Henry’s character develops and changes. They end up being a likable pair and they start growing on you despite the rather awkward start. OWEN does provide the comic relief in the story though, he’s a supercomputer you would not mind hanging out with.

The plot is straight to the point and there’s not much in the way of twists and turns. There are a few revelations here and there but it’s mainly about Henry and his view on the world and how it changes. That’s really the main point of the novel. There’s some action scenes and some intrigue but nothing over the top. There are going to be parts that pack a punch but it’s effective as you really do connect with both Henry and OWEN.

It’s a quick read and an enjoyable one, I say read it for character development and watching the friendship between Henry and OWEN- and enjoy it.

Kudos

Eleanor (1463 KP) rated A Faint Cold Fear (Grant County, #3) in Books

Jul 13, 2019

Started off well..... (0 more)

Went down hill rapidly...... (0 more)

Hope this was just a blip in a promising series......

Contains spoilers, click to show

I really enjoyed the first two books in this series so was looking forward to reading this, and I may be guilty of over anticipation as it fell far short of expectations.

It got off to a powerful start but soon turned into a bit of a slog. The previous books felt more story driven, while this more focused on the characters which isn't my ideal. Despite the focus the characters didn't seem to develop. Lena I could do without at this point, yes she's been through a lot and she's not coping well but god make the odd good decision at least, just so frustrating.

Jeffery and Sara's constant bickering followed by making up is tedious, why she wants to get back with the guy is lost on me. When Jeffery looses is because Sara is speaking to an old colleague in a hospital while a loved one is in critical condition made me just want to yell run from him he's a controlling, cheating bastard stop going back to him your a strong woman you don't need that. Updates on the critically injured sister just got stupid how many times was it just "she's doing better" without really addressing what was going on with her just seemed odd, we got more detail on how long and much traffic there was on the way to the hospital.

The main plot just never caught on for me and the investigation just lacked any sense of urgency or intrigue.

I'll be continuing with the series hoping this one was a blip and we return to stronger stories.

Kudos

Leanne Crabtree (480 KP) rated Written in Red (The Others, #1) in Books

Aug 26, 2019 (Updated Sep 3, 2019)

Written in Red (The Others, #1)

Anne Bishop | 2013 | Science Fiction/Fantasy

8.5

(4 Ratings)

Book Rating

Well I thought this one started on a bit of intrigue. Where had Meg come from? What were these scars she had? How had she so new to...life?

I found this really hard to put down, if I'm honest, the story really pulled me in and despite there not being much of a romance, I'll admit I was hooked. I loved the innocence of Meg and her just being really nice to everyone, which equally confused them and made them want to protect her. It was nice seeing them turn from scary "other" beings to almost friendly. Especially with Meg. She became one of them. Part of their family.

Despite its lack of romance--I can't decide if something may happen between Meg and Simon in the future--I enjoyed this. It had a few elements of horror style things in--at the beginning and towards the end some trespassers are eaten alive and then some detailed snow related deaths towards the end--but although I didn't enjoy that bit so much, I forgot about it quickly enough.

I loved how every species of other in the Courtyard had their own little traits. The Crows with the "shiny". The wolves with their "arroooo" greetings. Tess with her living hair. The Hawks and their love of rats and mice. The elementals and their horses.

It was really well thought out and though it was almost 500 kindle pages long, I didn't lose interest once.

I'm interested enough in this group of characters to carry on the series. I even read the excerpt for the next book and it HAS given me hope for something more between Meg and Simon so I will be buying the next book at some point in the future.