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chelsea2020's review against another edition
4.0
I've been waiting quite a while to start this book and series, though for now it will just be this first addition to the Seraph Black series. I wasn't expecting quite this story though. Seraph was stronger than she was often depicted, and I'm not sure how she could allow so many guys to dictate her actions and life so thoroughly, being the survivor that she is. But I guess that might be my answer: she'll do anything to survive.
There were some slow parts in this book, and beyond the mega stalking of Seraph, there wasn't a whole lot of action in this book. Mainly drama: guys drama, girl drama, angsting, etc. I would have preferred more action. But for the most part it was highly captivating.
I still have MANY questions about MANY things, and I hated how in-the-dark Seraph was, and by extension, myself. Whatever Seraph's pairs weren't telling HER, they weren't telling ME, and I am not a fan of confusion and ambivalence. I expect more answers in the next book about bonds, Atmas, our stalker, Weston, Levs, and everything else mentioned in this book.
There were some slow parts in this book, and beyond the mega stalking of Seraph, there wasn't a whole lot of action in this book. Mainly drama: guys drama, girl drama, angsting, etc. I would have preferred more action. But for the most part it was highly captivating.
I still have MANY questions about MANY things, and I hated how in-the-dark Seraph was, and by extension, myself. Whatever Seraph's pairs weren't telling HER, they weren't telling ME, and I am not a fan of confusion and ambivalence. I expect more answers in the next book about bonds, Atmas, our stalker, Weston, Levs, and everything else mentioned in this book.
n0wimn0thing's review
adventurous
dark
mysterious
medium-paced
4.5
Strong start to this series. Excited to continue reading
boluvsmikayla's review
3.0
This book was pretty good, good enough that it made me want to read more of the series. I think the dynamic between Seraph and her brother and Seraph and the four boys was a little confusing. I think although a good concept, the idea kind of got lost in a plot of confusion.
misthavn's review against another edition
lighthearted
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.25
crobbo_x's review against another edition
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.0
ridreads's review
4.0
I really enjoyed this book, but there’s a lot of missing information and not a lot of backstory/set up. It maybe is intentional so the reader finds everything out as Seraph finds out. I do think though that it’s a little unrealistic that she just sits back and kind of lets the guys boss her around. She’s been standing up against her abuser/father using her powers, so it seems like she should know she’s powerful. Plus she knows she’s the center of these bonds - hello!? She’s the most important one! But I am looking forward to the next books in the series and can’t wait to see how things unfold. The last chapter had me feeling creepy and icky from The Messenger’s POV so hopefully their (as I was writing this I maybe have had an epiphany of who it is hmm
saphibella's review
4.0
I must say a long way through this book I was quite annoyed that the tension buildup was based on the cliché “we can’t tell the main character what is going on, because it would hurt her”, which in my opinion is very much a convoluted way of keeping the reader clueless to what is going on and keep the tension.
Also this lead to me wondering quite a long way through, why does this book have such a high rating?
I was just waiting for the part where she is then hurt because she did not have the knowledge that was kept from her. But fortunately that did not happen, else it is likely my eReader would have ended up thrown against a wall.
The cliché of keeping knowledge from the protagonist is still there, but at least it actually has some basis of reason (that will be revealed partly). The reason is not as otherwise usually is the case just an emotional cockup where the person keeping the knowledge to themselves, is coping with their own crisis in a bad manner.
Otherwise the whole world is intriguing, and the book has a great pace with no boring parts so I enjoyed it very much, but it does not in my opinion deserve 5 stars since it used a quite well known trope/cliché which should be left out. Tension should be kept in some other manner.
Also this lead to me wondering quite a long way through, why does this book have such a high rating?
I was just waiting for the part where she is then hurt because she did not have the knowledge that was kept from her. But fortunately that did not happen, else it is likely my eReader would have ended up thrown against a wall.
The cliché of keeping knowledge from the protagonist is still there, but at least it actually has some basis of reason (that will be revealed partly). The reason is not as otherwise usually is the case just an emotional cockup where the person keeping the knowledge to themselves, is coping with their own crisis in a bad manner.
Otherwise the whole world is intriguing, and the book has a great pace with no boring parts so I enjoyed it very much, but it does not in my opinion deserve 5 stars since it used a quite well known trope/cliché which should be left out. Tension should be kept in some other manner.
talya_'s review against another edition
5.0
After taking an immense (and unexpected) liking to Hereditary, I knew that I'd have to read anything and everything written by Jane Washington. So when I saw she had a new book, and when I saw it was free on Amazon only for a few days, I didn't waste any time. I'm still kicking myself for not getting The Soulstoy Inheritance while it was free and I wasn't planning on making that mistake again.
I'm not even the least bit ashamed to say I loved this book. I had no idea what it was about because I didn't read the blurb, I just jumped into it and didn't stop reading until the very last page. I don't really know where to proceed with this review, so I'll just start naming things I liked.
~ The writing. I almost sobbed when I read the first page because I've been looking for a well-written book for days, and finally, I've found one.
~ The characters. Now can I just say, I love books that have a bunch of overprotective hot guys, especially when there's an actual sense of friendship there, not over the top romance. These relationships always seem to fill me amusement. Which brings me to my next point.
~ The romance. Now I was confused about all the relationships at first, and I'm not even fully clear about it now, whether the guys actually like Seraph or if it's just the bond that makes them so protective? I have no idea. But even so, their relationship was built off of friendship first. There was no horrid insta-love, or even insta-attraction or any of that since we don't really get a sense of Seraph's romantic inclinations until well into the book. But I liked that. I also really like Silas. A lot. I've taken such a liking to him, that it's probably unhealthy and I'm probably going to go through Silas withdrawal, but I'd say it's worth it. I'll just reread the book if need be.
I like the other characters too-- Cabe and Noah (Noah especially) and even Poison although we didn't see much of her. Not sure how I feel about Miro.
What I didn't like (because I wouldn't be me if there wasn't something that bugged me):
~ Seraph doesn't ask enough questions. She's painted as a shy loner, who purposely tries to be invisible, so I would think that means she's weary of random people she doesn't know, or at least has trust issues...right? Nope. She didn't really question why Cabe and Noah took a sudden liking to her, why they were so protective, or why they were always hanging around her. When she did ask, they were all "Just trust us" and she's like, okay, even though I've known you for two days. It just didn't sit well with me. How do you know they aren't serial rapists or murders? And while I'm glad she's not your typical stubborn-as-hell female lead, she could've questioned things a little bit more. She didn't even see all that concerned with learning about who she was.
~ She seemed perfectly okay with leaving her brother at home with an abusive alcoholic father. I get that her brother has a lock on his door, but a lock is not some ultimate form of protection. I'm sure if her father really wanted to get through, he would. But she would be off with the guys and he would be something of an afterthought.
~ It's one of those books where the main character is incredibly hot and 50% of the guys she sees are attracted to her, or are always talking about her hotness. It wasn't overdone, but one of those things that irks me because I've seen it so many times before.
That all being said, I really wanna read the next book. There's a hell of a lot that's unanswered and a hell of a lot of loose ends. Which makes me all the more excited.
Now this book wasn't perfect-- the plot seemed to take a backseat to Seraph's relationships with her bondmates, quite a few things were confusing and some things weren't explained thoroughly, and there's also the fact that we literally have no idea what the hell is going on 80% of the time-- but honestly, the enjoyment level of this book completely cancels all of that out. Maybe I enjoyed it so much because everything else I've been picking up has been utter crap, or maybe this book is just that good. All I know is I liked it, and I would really appreciate the next book so I can read about Silas again.
I'm not even the least bit ashamed to say I loved this book. I had no idea what it was about because I didn't read the blurb, I just jumped into it and didn't stop reading until the very last page. I don't really know where to proceed with this review, so I'll just start naming things I liked.
~ The writing. I almost sobbed when I read the first page because I've been looking for a well-written book for days, and finally, I've found one.
~ The characters. Now can I just say, I love books that have a bunch of overprotective hot guys, especially when there's an actual sense of friendship there, not over the top romance. These relationships always seem to fill me amusement. Which brings me to my next point.
~ The romance. Now I was confused about all the relationships at first, and I'm not even fully clear about it now, whether the guys actually like Seraph or if it's just the bond that makes them so protective? I have no idea. But even so, their relationship was built off of friendship first. There was no horrid insta-love, or even insta-attraction or any of that since we don't really get a sense of Seraph's romantic inclinations until well into the book. But I liked that. I also really like Silas. A lot. I've taken such a liking to him, that it's probably unhealthy and I'm probably going to go through Silas withdrawal, but I'd say it's worth it. I'll just reread the book if need be.
I like the other characters too-- Cabe and Noah (Noah especially) and even Poison although we didn't see much of her. Not sure how I feel about Miro.
Spoiler
Student-teacher relationships always make me feel weird, and even though he's Silas's twin, the age difference seems creepier with him. I don't even know if he really likes Seraph, (I hope not) and I don't think she likes him like that, but like I said, not really clear on that.What I didn't like (because I wouldn't be me if there wasn't something that bugged me):
~ Seraph doesn't ask enough questions. She's painted as a shy loner, who purposely tries to be invisible, so I would think that means she's weary of random people she doesn't know, or at least has trust issues...right? Nope. She didn't really question why Cabe and Noah took a sudden liking to her, why they were so protective, or why they were always hanging around her. When she did ask, they were all "Just trust us" and she's like, okay, even though I've known you for two days. It just didn't sit well with me. How do you know they aren't serial rapists or murders? And while I'm glad she's not your typical stubborn-as-hell female lead, she could've questioned things a little bit more. She didn't even see all that concerned with learning about who she was.
~ She seemed perfectly okay with leaving her brother at home with an abusive alcoholic father. I get that her brother has a lock on his door, but a lock is not some ultimate form of protection. I'm sure if her father really wanted to get through, he would. But she would be off with the guys and he would be something of an afterthought.
~ It's one of those books where the main character is incredibly hot and 50% of the guys she sees are attracted to her, or are always talking about her hotness. It wasn't overdone, but one of those things that irks me because I've seen it so many times before.
That all being said, I really wanna read the next book. There's a hell of a lot that's unanswered and a hell of a lot of loose ends. Which makes me all the more excited.
Now this book wasn't perfect-- the plot seemed to take a backseat to Seraph's relationships with her bondmates, quite a few things were confusing and some things weren't explained thoroughly, and there's also the fact that we literally have no idea what the hell is going on 80% of the time-- but honestly, the enjoyment level of this book completely cancels all of that out. Maybe I enjoyed it so much because everything else I've been picking up has been utter crap, or maybe this book is just that good. All I know is I liked it, and I would really appreciate the next book so I can read about Silas again.
jensnow's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
2.75