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Joelene Marie (28 KP) rated Dread Nation in Books

Oct 1, 2018

Dread Nation

Justina Ireland | 2018 | Science Fiction/Fantasy, Young Adult (YA)

7.6

(8 Ratings)

Book Rating

I read Dread Nation a few months ago and I thought it was just ok. I had been looking forward to it for some time before I read it so maybe because of my high expectations I didn't give it a fair shot, idk.

I did like the analogous way Ireland tackled the race and social issues for the most part but the plot was basically a mess. It just didn't flow well from the events in Maryland to being sent out west and some parts felt more like random filler than relevant to the plot. I'm generally a fan of longer books but this one could have easily been 100 pages shorter without really losing anything, at least in my opinion.

The world building wasn't anything special. I felt like she had the chance to do something truly original here but instead it relies on preconceived notions of the old south and the wild west as depicted in old westerns, just with the addition of zombies.

With the exception of Jane, I didn't really think the characters were as well developed as they could have been. Jane's sass was great, I enjoyed how clearly her personality comes through in the writing but I did find her kind of 'know-it-all,' smarter than everyone around her type of attitude a bit grating at times. I was hoping to see something more than just the enemies to friends trope with Jane and Katherine as well.

Overall, I was a little disappointed with Dread Nation. I expected it to be so much more original than it turned out to be as far as a piece of spec fiction. As commentary on slavery, racism, and social injustice issues I thought it was done well.

I'll most likely pick up the sequel though, as I believe this series will continue to improve.

Kudos

Micky Barnard (542 KP) rated Girls of Paper and Fire in Books

Jan 26, 2019

Girls of Paper and Fire

Natasha Ngan | 2018 | LGBTQ+, Science Fiction/Fantasy, Young Adult (YA)

8.9

(9 Ratings)

Book Rating

A fresh YA fantasy

Natasha Ngan created a fascinating world in GIRLS OF PAPER AND FIRE, it was complex and yet not difficult to grasp a hold of. It is a world of castes, paper, moon, steel and demon, with the Demon King at the head. Lei is paper caste, the most lowly of the castes but there is something special about her, her eyes. She is kidnapped and brought to be one of the honoured paper girls that the king gets to choose and bed for a year as he wishes. A grim life for a 17 year old.

This is a tale of politics, war, oppression, slavery and fear. Lei embarks in a journey from fearful new paper girl to a young woman who has a streak of fearless bravery, almost foolish at times. The land of the Demon King was colourful and diverse, the descriptions were excellent and my mind supplied all the mental pictures that I needed. The characters were a range of sweet, fiery, plain mean and evil.

The diversity elements of this book were fabulous. I welcomed the relationship between Lei and Wren and yet sometimes I struggled to connect with their coupling because the chemistry lacked a little something. This being a first in the series, I am hoping for more of a a build in the relationship between these two. The sisterly relationships of the paper girls were almost like a high school corridor with the resident mean girl, Blue. In addition, I loved to hate the Demon King, he really was vile.

This had both a sense of completion and an “oh heck, what” moment at the end. I am definitely looking forward to catching up with these characters again and finding out what happens in this world.

I voluntarily read an early copy of this book.

Kudos

Merissa (12061 KP) rated Descending Into Darkness (Descending #1) in Books

Mar 16, 2020

DESCENDING INTO DARKNESS is the first book in the Descending series. We start off with Jess being kidnapped following her shift as a waitress and taken to a stronghold. There she is told she isn't a prisoner but is, instead, a Seelie princess whose powers haven't yet awakened. At the same time, her sister, Alyss, is kidnapped by the UnSeelie Court and taken there although they are reunited very quickly.

This is a fast-paced novel with plenty of action and a dash of mystery. Being the first book, there is world-building to help the reader understand what's going on, as well as learning more about the characters that are introduced. Fallon tells Jess that he is her mate very quickly and, just like everything else, Jess accepts that and moves on. Whilst I don't like unnecessary histrionics, I do feel Jess accepted everything just a little too easily. After all, she's gone from a waitress who works the late shift to a Princess of the Seelie Court and has the ability to save not one but two races from slavery and/or extinction and she takes it all in her stride.

There is a good storyline here that I would like to read more about and the cliffhanger ending will leave the reader wanting more. The only thing I would say (and it may have been the copy I received to review) but it wasn't always clear who was talking. It seemed to change from one paragraph to another with nothing to indicate a change of point of view.

A good first book and I look forward to reading more in this series. Recommended by me.

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