(I received this book for free as part of Goodreads First Reads giveaways).

(This review may contain spoilers).

This is another book I have very mixed feelings about. I did find it quite well-written, but I also found it nearly impossible to relate to Kenstibec.

I did feel the author did a good job of showing the lack of true emotion. I felt that I was able to have a glimpse into the working mind of the Engineered race.

Kenstibec’s interactions with the rest of the characters were quite interesting, as was his evolution throughout the course of the book. I felt that his and Fatty’s working relationship (if that’s even the right word) came across as really intriguing.

I really didn’t know what to make of Starvie and even reaching the end of the book, I still don’t know what to think of her. In a way, she was even less understandable than Kenstibec.

I think I would have liked a bit more explanation about how the society collapsed in the way it did. Showing the events in flashbacks made a certain type of sense, but I think it might have been interesting to see society’s collapse from the perspective of one of the Reals.

The book itself was really well-written and even though I couldn’t empathise with Kenstibec, I found the world to be a really intriguing one. I think I’d probably read a sequel to this book, if one’s published, at some point in the future.

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Barricade

Barricade Kindle Edition

(I received a free copy of this book in exchange for a review).

(This review may contain spoilers).

This is another book I’d ideally give 3.5 stars to…

For a lot of this, I did find it quite intriguing. Although I felt that some things could have been further explored, I liked Riley as a character and I felt her relationship with Tristan was one of the strongest points of this book.

Apart from Riley and Tristan, however, I didn’t really like the other characters in the book. They all seemed to have their own agenda, but I kept feeling that some of them (Abby in particular) came across as trying too hard to be a nice person.

I did like the supernatural elements in this book and I would have liked to see more of those. The ghost was a really intriguing aspect, but I didn’t think enough explanation was given to make this book truly belong in the supernatural genre.

I did like the use of the wolf pack hierarchy in this book and it was quite an interesting use throughout the book. I felt Riley’s responses to things came across really well, but I found myself rolling my eyes more than once throughout the book.

There were some things that surprised me, but not so much who the bad guy turned out to be. Zoe and Colin’s relationship was quite an interesting one and I thought it would be good to see it from one of their perspectives, even though I wasn’t sure I really liked either of them as characters.

I have to say… I did think that the sex scene at the end of the book really didn’t work. I cringed when I read it. I didn’t think it was the time or the place.

I’d probably be interested in reading other books by this author, so long as the characters were a bit more complex and likable. I struggle more when I find myself disliking more characters in a book, film, etc. than ones I like.

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The Haunting of Wolfe Haven

(I received a free copy of this book in exchange for a review).

(This review may contain spoilers).

Ideally, I’d give this book 3.5 stars. I felt that the science fiction aspects weren’t as explored as well as they could have been and although the book itself was readable, I wavered a lot between liking Anna and not really liking her very much.

There were some things about Anna that I could really empathise with, but I kind of found myself disliking her a bit more when it came to the things about the boys. I think perhaps some of it was due to just getting a summary of her interactions with Steve when they realised they had so much in common.

The other characters in the book were a bit more interesting. By the end of the book, I found Jared to be quite intriguing. I would have liked to see more of the science fiction elements explored. The marks on Anna’s arm weren’t really shown as much as I felt they should be.

I also liked Anna’s relationship with her mother and brother, although some of her interactions with them kind of made my head spin. I couldn’t tell if she really cared about them or not.

I did think there were some cliched moments in this book. The nerdy girl who forms a relationship with the quarterback is something that’s seen explored a lot, but I felt that Steve was a more conflicted character than Anna herself. I think I would have preferred to see the events from his perspective, or maybe even Heather’s.

I probably would read the second book in the series, partly to find out what will happen to the characters, but also, I hope book two will have more of the science fiction elements explored in it.

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Anna (The Starseed Series Book 1)

(I received this book for free as part of Goodreads First Reads giveaways).

(This review may contain spoilers).

I don’t tend to read a lot of drabbles. It’s not because I don’t like them – I just haven’t come across too many authors who write them.

I have run into a variety of different opinions on word length. One particular person mentioned that they wouldn’t read a chapter of something shorter than 1000 words.

Personally, I do think that drabbles can be done well, but in some ways, they take more effort than longer pieces of fiction. In this case, I felt the author did a really good job of writing a collection of different drabbles that managed to be really entertaining to read.

I liked how some of the drabbles had similar themes that ran through and even how some of them were linked between settings and characters. There were some that made me smile and others that made me cringe… and a few that confused me and which I’m still not sure I really understood.

It was really good how some of the drabbles were able to surprise me, too. Not all of them were what I would have expected.

I think the drabbbles in this book were really creative and although some of them shard similar themes, there was enough variety to keep my attention throughout. I would definitely say this book is one that’s worth reading. It’s a quick, easy read and I feel it’s a good showcasing of creativity.

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100 One Hundred Word Tales

(I received a free copy of this book, through NetGalley, in exchange for a review).

(This review may contain spoilers).

With this being the third book in this series that I’ve now read, I’ve found myself quite drawn into this series. Although they’re more like bite-sized books, I like the fact that each one so far has focused on one individual character. Although that means that the other characters seem a bit less three-dimensional, the character that is focused on comes across as much more well-rounded.

Even so, I felt that enough detail was given with the other characters to make them come across as quite interesting. It’s quite intriguing that Ryan (and possibly Proctor) is the only one to actually retain all of his memories. From Ai’s perspective, I found it intriguing that her priorities were to keep Proctor alive – and all of the others were just extras.

So far, I’ve found Ai to be the most interesting character, even though I’m not sure I really ‘like’ her. I felt the author did a good job of showing that her lack of speech isn’t just due to her choice not to. The glimpses of her past allowed me to empathise with her quite a lot.

I also felt Ryan’s attitude towards the others, in particular Jabo, came across really well. I could see that he felt so much differently towards them than they did to him, even despite the altercation in the previous book.

This sort of style of storytelling probably isn’t for everyone, but I’m personally quite enjoying this series so far. At some point in the future, I fully intend to read the next books in this series.

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Survivor 1.02 – The Factory: SF-Thriller (Survivor 1 (English Edition))

(I received this book for free as part of Goodreads First Reads giveaways).

(This review may contain spoilers).

I’ve read a few historical-fiction books to date and I found this one a fairly entertaining read, though I struggled a bit with the constant switching between first person and third person.

I only know bits and pieces about historical figures, but I recognised a number of those used in the book. I did feel some sympathy towards some of the characters and I felt the author did a good job of showing how different the time then was to how it is now.

One of the things that I felt was really showcased well in this book was the fact that women were really considered unequal to men. I also empathised with Alicia’s unequal marriage… but I did struggle somewhat to believe in Eble’s feelings towards her. I didn’t feel enough time was spent on their relationship forming.

I had more sympathy towards the women in this book than the men. Even John (who was interesting at first) kind of lost my sympathy as the book went on.

It was interesting to see the historical figures from the outside perspective. I was particularly intrigued by Queen Isabella. I know she’s often portrayed as quite an evil person, but I felt there was a bit less of that here.

I did think there was a bit too much skipping over time. It felt like years passed by in a matter of seconds.

This book was quick and easy to read, but I would have preferred it to stick either with first or third person. I’d probably check out other books by this author in the future and I think I’ll pass this book on to my sister to read at a later date.

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Favoured Beyond Fortune: He is rich who has that which his heart desires

(I received a free copy of this book in exchange for a review).

(This review may contain spoilers).

Having read the first book in this series, I was fairly eager to read the second one; though I have so many books to read, I keep forgetting what some of my deadlines are.

It was good to see the characters from the previous book, as well as meet new ones. I felt that the author made Joshua come across as a much more well-rounded character in this book.

The switching between the two different groups worked quite well and although there were a few cliffhanger moments throughout the book, I didn’t feel like that plot device was over-used.

Once again, it was interesting to see that the ice in Joshua and the fire in Hunter were almost like living beings in the way they communicated with their ‘hosts’. It was also really interesting to see the way Hunter had to adapt to no longer being able to access her powers at will.

I would have liked to see a bit more variety in the guards in the research-prison. They all came across as pretty evil thugs and it would have been nice to see a little more humanity in them.

A few scenes did make me cringe in this book; though, interestingly, those were more the ones that left it to my imagination. One particular scene towards the end was quite horrifying.

It was really interesting to see the different powers that the other kids had, though I would have liked to know a bit more of the origin of said powers. It was also intriguing to see the differences in personality between Jet and Marcus.

I was also really glad to see that Hunter didn’t just fall in love with someone else… though the hints at the love triangle have made me a little hesitant.

The book was mostly well-written, with only a few errors that I noticed. I’d definitely be interested in reading the third book in the series at some point in the future.

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Embers & Ice (Rouge Book 2)