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laura_corsi's review
4.0
Love Anne Bishop! And the Others Series is the most exciting thing she has written since The Black Jewels Trilogy! I can’t wait to read the rest of the series. It does get bogged down in a few places but hopefully things will smooth out in the rest of the series. Sometimes starting a new world verse things get clunky and squeaky around the edges.
alisha_j's review
adventurous
challenging
emotional
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
5.0
cosymilko's review against another edition
5.0
Anne Bishop spins quite an elaborate new world in this book. Set in an alternate version of earth, there's enough similarity to make it familiar but it's the strange that hooks you in. When humans started to spread across the world they found that something/someone was already living there. The Others are strange and powerful and view the humans as smart meat.
An uneasy truce has been established with the humans useful to the Others until they step out of line.
Meg is on the run and finds herself in a Courtyard of the Others. She manages to get a job and stay there knowing that someone is looking for her. She's seen her own death but is finally starting to live as she gets to know the Others.
This book has the potential to be riddled with cliches that have been dogging (no pun intended) the shifter/werewolf/vampire paranormal genre. Somehow, Bishop sidesteps them all and manages to deliver a quite unique spin on the genre and manages to keep her supernaturals creepy and scary through the whole book.
The plot moved a little slowly in the start as the world building took first place but once engrossed I had to know more about the world and about what was happening.
There's enough in this book to keep someone reading and enough not said, in that typical show don't tell, that I need more of this world.
Bishop's dialogue is always tight and sassy in places and was something I thought may have been unique to Blood Jewels. It's not. Characters are witty without looking like they're comedians and "human" enough that they're not always making the right decisions but the ones they feel they need to make.
I can't wait for the second book in this series to come out. I look forward to it. I also wouldn't mind the chance to pick it up at Howling Good Reads.
An uneasy truce has been established with the humans useful to the Others until they step out of line.
Meg is on the run and finds herself in a Courtyard of the Others. She manages to get a job and stay there knowing that someone is looking for her. She's seen her own death but is finally starting to live as she gets to know the Others.
This book has the potential to be riddled with cliches that have been dogging (no pun intended) the shifter/werewolf/vampire paranormal genre. Somehow, Bishop sidesteps them all and manages to deliver a quite unique spin on the genre and manages to keep her supernaturals creepy and scary through the whole book.
The plot moved a little slowly in the start as the world building took first place but once engrossed I had to know more about the world and about what was happening.
There's enough in this book to keep someone reading and enough not said, in that typical show don't tell, that I need more of this world.
Bishop's dialogue is always tight and sassy in places and was something I thought may have been unique to Blood Jewels. It's not. Characters are witty without looking like they're comedians and "human" enough that they're not always making the right decisions but the ones they feel they need to make.
I can't wait for the second book in this series to come out. I look forward to it. I also wouldn't mind the chance to pick it up at Howling Good Reads.
notruse's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.75
selenajean's review
2.0
2.5 stars.
Parts of this story were engrossing and there were a couple of characters I really enjoyed. The story rambled on with stuff that did not add to the plot though. Also I felt the actions of the Others did not match the build up of the world building and how they were portrayed as a whole. It was just an OK book for me. Not sure if I'll read another of these books.
Parts of this story were engrossing and there were a couple of characters I really enjoyed. The story rambled on with stuff that did not add to the plot though. Also I felt the actions of the Others did not match the build up of the world building and how they were portrayed as a whole. It was just an OK book for me. Not sure if I'll read another of these books.
genmajay's review
adventurous
dark
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
One of my favorite urban fantasy series. A darker take on the prompt “what if monsters existed?” Except this one asks “what if monsters had the upper hand in society?” And it’s great. A series I reread semi-annually.
gillianw's review against another edition
4.0
First read: March 2015
Second read: Sept 2021
This book was better than I remembered. I recall thinking this was supposed to be a PNR when I first read the series, a misconception that initially made me frustrated with Simon and Meg’s relationship. But it’s so much more than that, and going into this series knowing that it doesn’t work like every other PNR made me appreciate the story that much more.
Second read: Sept 2021
This book was better than I remembered. I recall thinking this was supposed to be a PNR when I first read the series, a misconception that initially made me frustrated with Simon and Meg’s relationship. But it’s so much more than that, and going into this series knowing that it doesn’t work like every other PNR made me appreciate the story that much more.
mels_reading_rook's review against another edition
5.0
Written in Red was a great urban fantasy read. The setting is much darker and grittier than the novels I usually read, but for me, that grittiness that the author brings to the pages only enhances the story she is trying to tell as she uses it to help establish the setting. This isn't a nice world the characters are living in - it's harsh, filled with monsters and magics that are significantly more powerful than you. And yet, people thrive and survive around the tentative truce between the divided species.
This book follows the story of Meg Corbyn, a blood prophet who has escaped from her not-so-gilded cage. She's determined to survive as long as she can, determined to live life the way she wants, and not how others tell her or force her to. Meg finds herself building a life for herself in the Lakeside Courtyard, a section of human given land controlled by the Others to keep an eye on them. She's hired to be the new Human Liaison by the leader of this area's Others, Simon Wolfgard, who's wary about allowing someone with a clear secret and a lack of a prey scent into the fold.
The story is a bit slow-moving, but it's because the author is taking her time to develop the characters and establish the setting they live in. She allows the characters to interact with one another, develop bonds, and establish their motivations. I didn't mind the pace at all because the author had entranced me with the characters and their interactions as they progressed through the story.
Even in the grittiness of the world, what I liked best about this novel was how the characters managed to find moments of levity that made me genuinely laugh. Not only did I care about the characters, I cared with them.
By the end, while the major conflicts of the story had been resolved, there were still some hooks left for her to pull on and follow in future books, and I am eagerly looking forward to seeing where she takes the story next.
This book follows the story of Meg Corbyn, a blood prophet who has escaped from her not-so-gilded cage. She's determined to survive as long as she can, determined to live life the way she wants, and not how others tell her or force her to. Meg finds herself building a life for herself in the Lakeside Courtyard, a section of human given land controlled by the Others to keep an eye on them. She's hired to be the new Human Liaison by the leader of this area's Others, Simon Wolfgard, who's wary about allowing someone with a clear secret and a lack of a prey scent into the fold.
The story is a bit slow-moving, but it's because the author is taking her time to develop the characters and establish the setting they live in. She allows the characters to interact with one another, develop bonds, and establish their motivations. I didn't mind the pace at all because the author had entranced me with the characters and their interactions as they progressed through the story.
Even in the grittiness of the world, what I liked best about this novel was how the characters managed to find moments of levity that made me genuinely laugh. Not only did I care about the characters, I cared with them.
By the end, while the major conflicts of the story had been resolved, there were still some hooks left for her to pull on and follow in future books, and I am eagerly looking forward to seeing where she takes the story next.
sawesome's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
funny
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
5.0