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3.68 AVERAGE
3.68 AVERAGE
This is one of those books that I really don't know if I liked or disliked. I love sci-fi, especially sci fi with aliens. I'm a total geek for life on other planets and spaceships, which this book had. It just wasn't executed as well as it should have.
I've read The These Broken Stars trilogy by these authors, so I was expecting something just as good if not better. Instead I was left with a plotless story where we just waited and waited for something to happen. The characters were great, but that can't save the book when nothing happened until the last few chapters.
I've read The These Broken Stars trilogy by these authors, so I was expecting something just as good if not better. Instead I was left with a plotless story where we just waited and waited for something to happen. The characters were great, but that can't save the book when nothing happened until the last few chapters.
Science fiction is not dead!
Amazing world building and characters. Crazy twists and turns on every page. Conflict and contact amazingly created into a space adventure like no other. And that ending? Why ladies, why?
Bring on the sequel. I’ll be sitting here patiently waiting.
Amazing world building and characters. Crazy twists and turns on every page. Conflict and contact amazingly created into a space adventure like no other. And that ending? Why ladies, why?
Bring on the sequel. I’ll be sitting here patiently waiting.
Warning: Cliffhanger ending.
My feelings about this book are a little complex. I really ended up deciding that I like it overall, but I definitely think there are some things that could potentially be fixed in the sequel. Mainly, I think it was rather inconsistent. I thought the romance plot was a little unbelievable (insta-love p much), and distracting in that it felt more juvenile than the rest of the writing. The action scenes would be great and exciting and well-written and suck you in and make you feel like you were right there, and then the whole thing would be derailed by them talking about how attracted they are to each other and "oh my hormones". It just came off a little weird to me in a difficult to describe way.
And then the puzzles ended up getting less and less exciting as they went on with just intermittent bits of moderate excitement that should've upped the stakes but fell short.
I think perhaps my expectations were just too high from the description honestly. I do think that a lot of what I took issue with can be completely fixed in the sequel.
You'll enjoy this book if you like typical teen romance stories, but that are centered around an adventure/survival story set in space.
My feelings about this book are a little complex. I really ended up deciding that I like it overall, but I definitely think there are some things that could potentially be fixed in the sequel. Mainly, I think it was rather inconsistent. I thought the romance plot was a little unbelievable (insta-love p much), and distracting in that it felt more juvenile than the rest of the writing. The action scenes would be great and exciting and well-written and suck you in and make you feel like you were right there, and then the whole thing would be derailed by them talking about how attracted they are to each other and "oh my hormones". It just came off a little weird to me in a difficult to describe way.
And then the puzzles ended up getting less and less exciting as they went on with just intermittent bits of moderate excitement that should've upped the stakes but fell short.
I think perhaps my expectations were just too high from the description honestly. I do think that a lot of what I took issue with can be completely fixed in the sequel.
You'll enjoy this book if you like typical teen romance stories, but that are centered around an adventure/survival story set in space.
*I read this in December and reviewed it then. I read it as an ARC, and as always, this is my honest opinion.
When I found out Amie Kaufman and Meagan Spooner were writing another series together, I was ecstatic. I adored These Broken Stars.
This one didn’t work for me, mainly because it was incredibly slow at the beginning and didn’t pick up until the last 100 pages or so. I considered not finishing it, because I wasn’t connecting with the story or the characters.
A lot of it is very abstract. Mia’s struggles and motivations are good ones, but because we’re detached from the reality of them, it was hard to keep them in mind as the story progressed. Jules and Mia’s chemistry was a miss for me as well, and I just didn’t ship them at all.
It has wonderful descriptions, and I do see the Lara Croft/Indiana Jones vibe and while it works, it also slows down the story even more, to the point where I skimmed over it just to get to the action.
A lot of the action-90% of it-is running away from things, FYI. Which gets old pretty quickly.
It may very well be a perfectly good story, but I was bored throughout the entire thing. Up until the end. The ending caught me off guard slightly, and pulled my rating up an extra .5 and brought it to 3.5 overall. I will definitely read the next book. Hopefully, I’ll like it better.
When I found out Amie Kaufman and Meagan Spooner were writing another series together, I was ecstatic. I adored These Broken Stars.
This one didn’t work for me, mainly because it was incredibly slow at the beginning and didn’t pick up until the last 100 pages or so. I considered not finishing it, because I wasn’t connecting with the story or the characters.
A lot of it is very abstract. Mia’s struggles and motivations are good ones, but because we’re detached from the reality of them, it was hard to keep them in mind as the story progressed. Jules and Mia’s chemistry was a miss for me as well, and I just didn’t ship them at all.
It has wonderful descriptions, and I do see the Lara Croft/Indiana Jones vibe and while it works, it also slows down the story even more, to the point where I skimmed over it just to get to the action.
A lot of the action-90% of it-is running away from things, FYI. Which gets old pretty quickly.
It may very well be a perfectly good story, but I was bored throughout the entire thing. Up until the end. The ending caught me off guard slightly, and pulled my rating up an extra .5 and brought it to 3.5 overall. I will definitely read the next book. Hopefully, I’ll like it better.
Pretty solid sci-fi. I loved the parts that were Indiana Jones/ National Treasure-esque (the first half).
A brilliant, complex tale reminiscent of a Twilight Zone episode (I won’t say which one, as it would be a spoiler). I loved the alternating narrators and the clever questing.
Unearthed by Amie Kaufman and Meagan Spooner launches a new series from the dynamic duo set in outer space, a thrilling read featuring the adventure of a lifetime. Read my full review here
changing my rating.
might be shocking to some but I found this boring and unmemorable (except for the parts the characters wanted to get into each others pants so soon - THAT WAS TOO MEMORABLE).
I gave it the benefit of the doubt originally because I do like to support authors from my country, but I don't think I can mask the disappointment any longer :,(
might be shocking to some but I found this boring and unmemorable (except for the parts the characters wanted to get into each others pants so soon - THAT WAS TOO MEMORABLE).
I gave it the benefit of the doubt originally because I do like to support authors from my country, but I don't think I can mask the disappointment any longer :,(
Not quite as hilarious as Illuminae, but I enjoyed the interplay between the two main characters. The style reminded me of the Legend trilogy.
One odd thing that I noticed is that it was the girl who was the hornier of the two. The guy was thinking about her hair, smile, lips, stuff like that. She was often thinking about his crotch, under his clothes, and stuff like that. Usually, the stereotype is the other way around.
Regardless, I really enjoyed it and look forward to continuing the series. The last sentence of the book is definitely one I did not expect.
One odd thing that I noticed is that it was the girl who was the hornier of the two. The guy was thinking about her hair, smile, lips, stuff like that. She was often thinking about his crotch, under his clothes, and stuff like that. Usually, the stereotype is the other way around.
Regardless, I really enjoyed it and look forward to continuing the series. The last sentence of the book is definitely one I did not expect.
Take Indiana Jones, mixed with Lara Croft, and set it in the largest, twistiest, most dangerous escape room to ever exist ever, and you’ve got Amie Kaufman and Meagan Spooner’s thrilling adventure story, Unearthed. This book was so amazing. Space operas are one of my most favorite genres and Amie and Meagan write some of the best galactic adventures I’ve ever read.
One of the greatest aspects of this book is the characters. Jules and Mia are so fun to read about and get to know. Jules is just the biggest geek, filled with wonder and excitement and knowledge about the alien race known as the Undying. All he wants to do is find the answers left by the Undying that will clear his father’s name and restore his honor. He never expects to stumble upon Mia, a scavenger, who is also searching for a way to save her little sister from a life of enslavement. Mia is fierce and strong, clever with numbers, and so, so funny. Their banter is excellent, and I wouldn’t complain one bit if book two featured even more of it. I also really like the development each character undergoes as an individual and then later, together, in both a working and romantic manner. They need each other in order to survive and solve the puzzles presented by the ancient temple, and that is expressed very well throughout the entire book.
For me, this book was close to perfect, but there were still a drawback or two. It felt oddly slow in the beginning, which is weird because the action begins almost immediately. I think the problem was that initially there was a bit of info dumping, and it’s done introspectively rather than through dialogue. This makes sense for the plot, because a big part of these characters is their initial reaction of “I must keep my agenda a secret from this other person so it can’t be used against me” which is fine, and works well for the rest of the story. It just made the initial pacing a bit slow. The only other qualm I had while reading was that some of the puzzles seemed too simple. I am someone who loves puzzles and problem solving, and escape rooms, which are a huge trend right now. This entire book felt like one giant escape room to me, which was so cool, because I’ve experienced quite a few of them but haven’t really ever read anything that portrays them in a some way or another. I was okay with some of the puzzles being seemingly easy the further I got into the book because of all the other plot twists that started coming left and right.
I really loved this book. Mia and Jules are wonderful, the story is well plotted and mostly fast paced, and the puzzles and escape room vibe really speaks to my soul. The wait for book two is going to be excruciating, especially after the mind-boggling ending that left me saying “NOOOO IT CAN’T END LIKE THAT!”
*Thank you to Disney-Hyperion and Netgalley for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.*
One of the greatest aspects of this book is the characters. Jules and Mia are so fun to read about and get to know. Jules is just the biggest geek, filled with wonder and excitement and knowledge about the alien race known as the Undying. All he wants to do is find the answers left by the Undying that will clear his father’s name and restore his honor. He never expects to stumble upon Mia, a scavenger, who is also searching for a way to save her little sister from a life of enslavement. Mia is fierce and strong, clever with numbers, and so, so funny. Their banter is excellent, and I wouldn’t complain one bit if book two featured even more of it. I also really like the development each character undergoes as an individual and then later, together, in both a working and romantic manner. They need each other in order to survive and solve the puzzles presented by the ancient temple, and that is expressed very well throughout the entire book.
For me, this book was close to perfect, but there were still a drawback or two. It felt oddly slow in the beginning, which is weird because the action begins almost immediately. I think the problem was that initially there was a bit of info dumping, and it’s done introspectively rather than through dialogue. This makes sense for the plot, because a big part of these characters is their initial reaction of “I must keep my agenda a secret from this other person so it can’t be used against me” which is fine, and works well for the rest of the story. It just made the initial pacing a bit slow. The only other qualm I had while reading was that some of the puzzles seemed too simple. I am someone who loves puzzles and problem solving, and escape rooms, which are a huge trend right now. This entire book felt like one giant escape room to me, which was so cool, because I’ve experienced quite a few of them but haven’t really ever read anything that portrays them in a some way or another. I was okay with some of the puzzles being seemingly easy the further I got into the book because of all the other plot twists that started coming left and right.
I really loved this book. Mia and Jules are wonderful, the story is well plotted and mostly fast paced, and the puzzles and escape room vibe really speaks to my soul. The wait for book two is going to be excruciating, especially after the mind-boggling ending that left me saying “NOOOO IT CAN’T END LIKE THAT!”
*Thank you to Disney-Hyperion and Netgalley for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.*