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lolasreviews's review against another edition
3.0
I received a copy in exchange for an honest review
Urban Fantasy and statistics? Yes please! The original concept of this one made me curious and I knew I had to read to read it. I have grown quite fond of statistics thanks to my psychology study and was curious how the author would combine those two things in a book. Romancing the Null was a fun read. It takes place in a world with oracles and predictions and statistics. But when an oracle is predicted to die things turn serious. Due to a bit of a coincidence Kate gets involved and then Becker and they are determined to solve this thing. It's like solving a murder mystery that hasn't taken place yet and it was really interesting.
This book started right off with the main plot line. It is very story driven and it's quite fast paced. The whole story took place in a few days time. Which does make sense due to the time sensitive nature of the problem they're dealing with. But at the same time it felt a bit rushed almost. Due to that it seemed there was less time for side plots or character development. And it also felt a bit slow at first as we're missing some pieces of information and it felt for a while like they sat around doing paperwork and calculations and I couldn't fully grasp what exactly they were doing as it was mostly summed up. Luckily after that things picked up when they leave the house. And then at the end when everything comes together it all speeds up and then slows down again when things wrap up.
I can't fully explain why, but while I enjoyed this book something was missing that could've bumped it up to a 4 star. So it's more like a 3.5 star rating, except I don't do half star ratings. It just felt like tiny pieces or details were missing. A few scenes were just a tad confusing, but not so much you didn't know what was going on. More like these tiny things were missing and I can't even say what exactly. It just felt it didn't quite flow right in some places or could've used a bit more explanation or clarification in some parts.
Kate is the main character in this book. And while the story was told from her point of view at the end of the book I still felt like I didn't fully got a grasp on her personality. We do learn some things about her, but there wasn't as much time for character depth and development and I think that's one of the things that I felt was a bit lacking in this book. I did like Kate well enough, but I just want to get to know her better. Then there are some side characters; Becker, Mica, Ali and Jack who play a role and anyone besides that only plays a small part. The focus is very narrow due to the way the story is told, but it worked. There is a bit of a hint of a possible romance, but it's only a hint at this point. Becker was quite interesting and I look forward to see more of him and Kate in the next book.
The world building was probably my favorite part of this book. The concept and the world is so original. I liked the concept of the oracles and how they made these predictions and how the government worked with that and prevented some of these things. The whole society was changed and build upon these predictions. It was really thought through and felt realistic. I liked how this concept of oracles and predictions influenced the whole world and how these people lived and the society functioned. And I just wanted to know more and see more of how this society works.
But there is more than just oracles and at times it felt like there was a bit too much. Every fantasy creature seemed to be real in some sort of another and magic is real too, but very little of that gets explored and because of that it felt difficult to get a grip on the complete world. Then again that's also a good thing, because I think it would've been too much to fit all in one book. So we mostly get the oracles and their predictions with a bit of magic and werewolves on the side.
To summarize: This was a good story driven book where the characters try and solve a murder that hasn't taken place yet. I enjoyed it and thought the concept was very original with the focus on oracles and their predictions. It just felt that at times something was missing, not sure what. It feels almost rushed with how much happens in so little time and slow at first when they mostly do paperwork. I liked the characters well enough, but would've liked a bit more focus on the characters and getting to know them. There is a hint of a possible romance, which seemed promising. The world building was probably my favorite aspect with how unique this world was. It's really thought through and the oracles and prediction influence how society works. It just felt like there was a bit too much at times, as there's also magic and paranormal creatures and there's hardly time to explore that. Which is also a good thing as else it probably would've been too much for one book. All in all this was a promising start to the series and I am looking forward to continuing this series!
Urban Fantasy and statistics? Yes please! The original concept of this one made me curious and I knew I had to read to read it. I have grown quite fond of statistics thanks to my psychology study and was curious how the author would combine those two things in a book. Romancing the Null was a fun read. It takes place in a world with oracles and predictions and statistics. But when an oracle is predicted to die things turn serious. Due to a bit of a coincidence Kate gets involved and then Becker and they are determined to solve this thing. It's like solving a murder mystery that hasn't taken place yet and it was really interesting.
This book started right off with the main plot line. It is very story driven and it's quite fast paced. The whole story took place in a few days time. Which does make sense due to the time sensitive nature of the problem they're dealing with. But at the same time it felt a bit rushed almost. Due to that it seemed there was less time for side plots or character development. And it also felt a bit slow at first as we're missing some pieces of information and it felt for a while like they sat around doing paperwork and calculations and I couldn't fully grasp what exactly they were doing as it was mostly summed up. Luckily after that things picked up when they leave the house. And then at the end when everything comes together it all speeds up and then slows down again when things wrap up.
I can't fully explain why, but while I enjoyed this book something was missing that could've bumped it up to a 4 star. So it's more like a 3.5 star rating, except I don't do half star ratings. It just felt like tiny pieces or details were missing. A few scenes were just a tad confusing, but not so much you didn't know what was going on. More like these tiny things were missing and I can't even say what exactly. It just felt it didn't quite flow right in some places or could've used a bit more explanation or clarification in some parts.
Kate is the main character in this book. And while the story was told from her point of view at the end of the book I still felt like I didn't fully got a grasp on her personality. We do learn some things about her, but there wasn't as much time for character depth and development and I think that's one of the things that I felt was a bit lacking in this book. I did like Kate well enough, but I just want to get to know her better. Then there are some side characters; Becker, Mica, Ali and Jack who play a role and anyone besides that only plays a small part. The focus is very narrow due to the way the story is told, but it worked. There is a bit of a hint of a possible romance, but it's only a hint at this point. Becker was quite interesting and I look forward to see more of him and Kate in the next book.
The world building was probably my favorite part of this book. The concept and the world is so original. I liked the concept of the oracles and how they made these predictions and how the government worked with that and prevented some of these things. The whole society was changed and build upon these predictions. It was really thought through and felt realistic. I liked how this concept of oracles and predictions influenced the whole world and how these people lived and the society functioned. And I just wanted to know more and see more of how this society works.
But there is more than just oracles and at times it felt like there was a bit too much. Every fantasy creature seemed to be real in some sort of another and magic is real too, but very little of that gets explored and because of that it felt difficult to get a grip on the complete world. Then again that's also a good thing, because I think it would've been too much to fit all in one book. So we mostly get the oracles and their predictions with a bit of magic and werewolves on the side.
To summarize: This was a good story driven book where the characters try and solve a murder that hasn't taken place yet. I enjoyed it and thought the concept was very original with the focus on oracles and their predictions. It just felt that at times something was missing, not sure what. It feels almost rushed with how much happens in so little time and slow at first when they mostly do paperwork. I liked the characters well enough, but would've liked a bit more focus on the characters and getting to know them. There is a hint of a possible romance, which seemed promising. The world building was probably my favorite aspect with how unique this world was. It's really thought through and the oracles and prediction influence how society works. It just felt like there was a bit too much at times, as there's also magic and paranormal creatures and there's hardly time to explore that. Which is also a good thing as else it probably would've been too much for one book. All in all this was a promising start to the series and I am looking forward to continuing this series!
kblincoln's review against another edition
4.0
4.5 stars, actually.
So here's the deal. Urban Fantasy with Accidental Death Actuaries? Concept is so cool. And there's a werewolf detective involved who is packless and that sets up all kinds of delicious emotional conflict as well.
Truthfully, the blurb doesn't do much for me so I might not have picked up the book if I came across it randomly. However, I came across a few posts by the author and liked what she had to say on other things so I took a risk. And I'm glad I did :)
The first third of this book really draws you in. The whole bureaucracy-built-on-predictions thing is a hoot. Kate Hale as a character is interesting. She comes with the baggage of having been demoted due to a prior love affair with a work colleague so she has something to prove. She also has a fun cousin Ali who keeps shoving her in the right direction.
The half star is lost in the latter part of the book where all the different factors regarding which oracles were predicting what and thus Kate and Becker were doing certain actions to counter various predictions got tangled up and a bit fuzzy for me. This made the final confrontation with this book's villain a bit fuzzy as a result.
But I can't deny that the hint of a greater challenge to come, as well as certain developments in Kate and Becker's relationship already had me pushing the buy button on the next in the series. Definitely a cute take on Urban Fantasy with some action and references to statistics and actuary stuff.
So here's the deal. Urban Fantasy with Accidental Death Actuaries? Concept is so cool. And there's a werewolf detective involved who is packless and that sets up all kinds of delicious emotional conflict as well.
Truthfully, the blurb doesn't do much for me so I might not have picked up the book if I came across it randomly. However, I came across a few posts by the author and liked what she had to say on other things so I took a risk. And I'm glad I did :)
The first third of this book really draws you in. The whole bureaucracy-built-on-predictions thing is a hoot. Kate Hale as a character is interesting. She comes with the baggage of having been demoted due to a prior love affair with a work colleague so she has something to prove. She also has a fun cousin Ali who keeps shoving her in the right direction.
The half star is lost in the latter part of the book where all the different factors regarding which oracles were predicting what and thus Kate and Becker were doing certain actions to counter various predictions got tangled up and a bit fuzzy for me. This made the final confrontation with this book's villain a bit fuzzy as a result.
But I can't deny that the hint of a greater challenge to come, as well as certain developments in Kate and Becker's relationship already had me pushing the buy button on the next in the series. Definitely a cute take on Urban Fantasy with some action and references to statistics and actuary stuff.
kelic's review against another edition
2.0
Synopsis- There are three kinds of lies. Lies the fates spin as half truths. Lies of destined love. And statistics. As a fateless, Kate Hale is immune to the first two, but the third kind of lie is her profession. After spending years as an actuary for the Traffic Department, Kate is promoted to Accidental Death Predictions. It’s all she’s worked toward, and her career is finally on track. But when an oracle delivers an impossible death prediction and insists on her help to solve the case, she might lose any chance of impressing the brass.
Her only hope comes in the form of the police liaison assigned to her department, latent werewolf Ian Becker. Becker can grant her the clearance to find answers, but he’s a wild card with a shady past who doesn’t play well with others.
Every prediction has a loophole, but if Kate can’t solve the case before the crime is fated to occur she won’t just lose her job–she’ll have the blood of an oracle on her hands.
Review- There were a lot of things I liked about this book- the plot was engaging, the characters were fun, and the world seemed interesting, but there were some major tone and timing issues that greatly affected my enjoyment of the novel.
So the premise, the MCs accidental involvement in subverting a massive terrorist plot which threw an unlikely cast of characters together, was not novel, but it was still incredibly readable and solid. The cast of characters were also rather cliché for this genre consisting of the zany one, the aloof and sensitive one, the gruff male and the cute intelligent female, but again, it didn't make the novel less than a four star read. There are a lot of books that have that kind of character formula but are consistently four and five stars reads, The Charley Davidson series for example.
What let the book down was the tone and the strange timing structure. In terms of tone it wanted to be a budding romance set in a fantasy mystery but the romantic moments came at the weirdest times. Like a character would have a sensitive moment talking about impending death and the MC would be all yeah, we need to keep you alive then immediately consider whether she's attracted to the werewolf. Or like the scene when just after the three main characters are thrown together they go back to a house and the werewolf falls asleep. Seriously? He just finds out the one of the characters will die in 48 hours, decides to take the case to prove himself but then immediately falls asleep? It was weird. And there were many odd moments like that. It would also sort of have big moments of action and then moments of exposition which made the story feel disjointed. It was emotionally confusing.
Overall though, I think the characters, the world and the story were more fun than the disjointed nature was weird. It's also a debut and the first in a series, so I'll cut the author some slack. Sadly, though it wasn't enough to get me to buy the next in the series. At least, not straightaway.
Rating - Two it was enjoyable if disjointed stars. ⭐⭐
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ - Devoured the book, couldn't put it down.
⭐⭐⭐⭐ - Really liked it, consumed within days
⭐⭐⭐ - Enjoyed a fair bit, better than average
⭐⭐ - Meh
⭐ - Absolute drivel
Her only hope comes in the form of the police liaison assigned to her department, latent werewolf Ian Becker. Becker can grant her the clearance to find answers, but he’s a wild card with a shady past who doesn’t play well with others.
Every prediction has a loophole, but if Kate can’t solve the case before the crime is fated to occur she won’t just lose her job–she’ll have the blood of an oracle on her hands.
Review- There were a lot of things I liked about this book- the plot was engaging, the characters were fun, and the world seemed interesting, but there were some major tone and timing issues that greatly affected my enjoyment of the novel.
So the premise, the MCs accidental involvement in subverting a massive terrorist plot which threw an unlikely cast of characters together, was not novel, but it was still incredibly readable and solid. The cast of characters were also rather cliché for this genre consisting of the zany one, the aloof and sensitive one, the gruff male and the cute intelligent female, but again, it didn't make the novel less than a four star read. There are a lot of books that have that kind of character formula but are consistently four and five stars reads, The Charley Davidson series for example.
What let the book down was the tone and the strange timing structure. In terms of tone it wanted to be a budding romance set in a fantasy mystery but the romantic moments came at the weirdest times. Like a character would have a sensitive moment talking about impending death and the MC would be all yeah, we need to keep you alive then immediately consider whether she's attracted to the werewolf. Or like the scene when just after the three main characters are thrown together they go back to a house and the werewolf falls asleep. Seriously? He just finds out the one of the characters will die in 48 hours, decides to take the case to prove himself but then immediately falls asleep? It was weird. And there were many odd moments like that. It would also sort of have big moments of action and then moments of exposition which made the story feel disjointed. It was emotionally confusing.
Overall though, I think the characters, the world and the story were more fun than the disjointed nature was weird. It's also a debut and the first in a series, so I'll cut the author some slack. Sadly, though it wasn't enough to get me to buy the next in the series. At least, not straightaway.
Rating - Two it was enjoyable if disjointed stars. ⭐⭐
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ - Devoured the book, couldn't put it down.
⭐⭐⭐⭐ - Really liked it, consumed within days
⭐⭐⭐ - Enjoyed a fair bit, better than average
⭐⭐ - Meh
⭐ - Absolute drivel
ahsokatano8dee0's review
adventurous
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
4.0
gabism's review against another edition
4.0
The worldbuilding was original and honestly the thing I liked the most about this series. Great read.
drvibrissae's review against another edition
4.0
I originally downloaded this book as a free title from Amazon. The beginning of the book drags a bit, and I don't love first person narrative as a style, generally. The author, however, does such a thorough job of world building and making very interesting characters (I love the idea that actuaries are involved with oracle predictions and it's so incorporated into the world that everyone finds it very boring.) The series only gets better and more involved as it progresses and I ended up binge reading all 4 books (plus the novella) in one long weekend.
mariaschneider's review
adventurous
funny
hopeful
lighthearted
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
5.0
I enjoyed this one. It was a lot less romance and more action than the title implies. The main guy seemed like he might be a dud at first, but he quickly came into his own after an intro that made him seem like a less-than-interesting-ladder-climber. Good character growth, intriguing mystery to be solved, and good world building without overdoing it. Her past mistakes were normal ones, not some hidden murder or demon father. Really enjoyed the character interactions which had a realistic flow. Cute ending. This is a great read for cozy mystery readers, but there is some bad language that could have been left out or toned down. Not egregious or overly frequent, but just so cozy readers know it's there. I'm looking forward to the next book in the series!
donnek's review
4.0
Good story with the best part, at least for me, being the characters and the dynamics between them. While the story was good and the plotline interesting, I struggled with all the statistical/prediction dialog and about at the 70% mark started skimming a little through those parts. At this point, I was thinking the book was a solid 3star rating and not a whole lot of interest in continuing the series, until the last chapter.
It was at this point that my interest perked up with a "WHOA" didn't see that happening. I like it when a story does that to me. It wasn't until the last couple of pages that had me going "ok, that was interesting" with the last page having the customary cliffhanger - one that has me wanting to read the next book just to find out what happened, especially since the next book is on Becker.
Of all the books characters, Becker is, by far, the most interesting one. This will definitely have me reading, at least, the next book in the series. Hence, the 4star rating.
It was at this point that my interest perked up with a "WHOA" didn't see that happening. I like it when a story does that to me. It wasn't until the last couple of pages that had me going "ok, that was interesting" with the last page having the customary cliffhanger - one that has me wanting to read the next book just to find out what happened, especially since the next book is on Becker.
Of all the books characters, Becker is, by far, the most interesting one. This will definitely have me reading, at least, the next book in the series. Hence, the 4star rating.
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