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notenoughpancakes's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.5
hiveretcafe's review against another edition
4.0
4.5 stars
This review was originally posted on my blog, Hiver et Cafe
I received an e-ARC of this book from the publisher via NetGalley. This does not affect my opinion whatsoever. This review is my honest opinion and I was not compensated in any way for this review.
First of all, I'd like to say, "WHOA." I didn't expect the lore of the planet, Kemya and Earth to turn out like that. I think that is a really creative and original idea that Megan Crewe has done with this book and the back story to the whole debacle in this book. Of course you'll have to read it to find out what I mean. ;)
Skylar is a really fantastic character. She's obviously smart from the beginning as she talks about school and how hard she works at it. She's also smart in how she deals with Win too. She's wary and it makes me so happy. She doesn't just run off with him to save the world at his first mention that it needs to be saved. She is wary of his intentions and of his statements. Not only that, Sky also calls Win out on his bullshit. The book is told in Skylar's point of view and it makes Skylar such a vivid and real character to me. I could totally imagine her as one of my friends. I could relate to her in pretending that everything is fine and normal. She's strong too. Even though she's afraid, she soldiers on and remembers the bigger picture: saving the world. She's a Gryffindor for sure.
Win is really manipulative and sketchy in the beginning. I like that Skylar didn't fully trust him. I suppose in some sense that she's right not to trust him. He tells her some of the truth, but not the whole truth. Just enough to get her to go with him on the journey. You can obviously tell that he's the romantic interest, there wasn't much romance going on and I liked that. It was very much about the mission that they were on and what they were going to do about it. I don't have much to say about Win, since I paid more attention to Skylar and her awesomeness. (sorrynotsorry)
There's a lot of time traveling done in this book and I really enjoyed the part where Skylar was struggling between choosing the greater good or something for herself. It was real and it is something that I think everyone would probably struggle with in Skylar's position. Sometimes characters are so damn righteous it annoys me and it's so unreal. I don't think anyone could be completely righteous when they are in a situation in which they could have a chance to change something and have to make the choice of choosing the one or the many.
I really enjoyed this book and it's so vividly real even with the sci-fi aspects. This book is fabulous and Megan Crewe really did a great job with this one.
This review was originally posted on my blog, Hiver et Cafe
I received an e-ARC of this book from the publisher via NetGalley. This does not affect my opinion whatsoever. This review is my honest opinion and I was not compensated in any way for this review.
First of all, I'd like to say, "WHOA." I didn't expect the lore of the planet, Kemya and Earth to turn out like that. I think that is a really creative and original idea that Megan Crewe has done with this book and the back story to the whole debacle in this book. Of course you'll have to read it to find out what I mean. ;)
Skylar is a really fantastic character. She's obviously smart from the beginning as she talks about school and how hard she works at it. She's also smart in how she deals with Win too. She's wary and it makes me so happy. She doesn't just run off with him to save the world at his first mention that it needs to be saved. She is wary of his intentions and of his statements. Not only that, Sky also calls Win out on his bullshit. The book is told in Skylar's point of view and it makes Skylar such a vivid and real character to me. I could totally imagine her as one of my friends. I could relate to her in pretending that everything is fine and normal. She's strong too. Even though she's afraid, she soldiers on and remembers the bigger picture: saving the world. She's a Gryffindor for sure.
Win is really manipulative and sketchy in the beginning. I like that Skylar didn't fully trust him. I suppose in some sense that she's right not to trust him. He tells her some of the truth, but not the whole truth. Just enough to get her to go with him on the journey. You can obviously tell that he's the romantic interest, there wasn't much romance going on and I liked that. It was very much about the mission that they were on and what they were going to do about it. I don't have much to say about Win, since I paid more attention to Skylar and her awesomeness. (sorrynotsorry)
There's a lot of time traveling done in this book and I really enjoyed the part where Skylar was struggling between choosing the greater good or something for herself. It was real and it is something that I think everyone would probably struggle with in Skylar's position. Sometimes characters are so damn righteous it annoys me and it's so unreal. I don't think anyone could be completely righteous when they are in a situation in which they could have a chance to change something and have to make the choice of choosing the one or the many.
I really enjoyed this book and it's so vividly real even with the sci-fi aspects. This book is fabulous and Megan Crewe really did a great job with this one.
beastreader's review against another edition
1.0
Another book that I was looking forward to reading. I did see a quick glimmer of hope with this book. Yet I can't remember what it was now. I barely got into this book before I put it down. The characters are uninteresting and the story is boring as well. I am sure it might get better but I had no reason to stick it out to see if this is true. Again I already stated the obvious reasons why I did not like this book. Which I will say it again for this type of story to work it has to have action and inviting characters all at the same time of being believable or it does not work.
amethystbookwyrm's review against another edition
3.0
This and my other reviews can be found at Amethyst Bookwyrm
Thanks to Netgalley and Amazon Children’s Publishing for giving me this book to review.
17 year old Skylar has always felt sensations that something is wrong with the world and no one else notices. She manages to hide it from those she loves but she thinks she is crazy until she meets Win, and she discovers the truth, that for thousands of years earth has been an experiment of alien scientists who manipulate history. Win belongs to a rebel faction who seek to stop the experiments and he needs Sky’s help as she has the ability to detect the shifts in history. With Sky and Win travelling back in time to collect a weapon from Win’s leader, every change in the past can affect Sky’s life and the travelling in time is unravelling the fabric of reality.
Earth & Sky is a YA sci-fi novel which reminded me a bit of the film The Adjustment Bureau, which is full of action, time travel and is fast paced. However, I felt the world building was not the best, for example, the reason why the Kemyans are still experimenting was not the best explained.
I liked Skylar as she struggled for a long time with knowing she is not like everyone else and she was nice, but I did struggle a bit to connect with her. I really struggled to get on with Win, cannot put my finger in why because he was meant to be a nice and charming guy. There is potential for romance in the next book and I like that is was not a big part of the plot in this book.
Earth & Sky book has an interesting concept and would recommend to fans of YA sci-fi and time travel.
Thanks to Netgalley and Amazon Children’s Publishing for giving me this book to review.
17 year old Skylar has always felt sensations that something is wrong with the world and no one else notices. She manages to hide it from those she loves but she thinks she is crazy until she meets Win, and she discovers the truth, that for thousands of years earth has been an experiment of alien scientists who manipulate history. Win belongs to a rebel faction who seek to stop the experiments and he needs Sky’s help as she has the ability to detect the shifts in history. With Sky and Win travelling back in time to collect a weapon from Win’s leader, every change in the past can affect Sky’s life and the travelling in time is unravelling the fabric of reality.
Earth & Sky is a YA sci-fi novel which reminded me a bit of the film The Adjustment Bureau, which is full of action, time travel and is fast paced. However, I felt the world building was not the best, for example, the reason why the Kemyans are still experimenting was not the best explained.
I liked Skylar as she struggled for a long time with knowing she is not like everyone else and she was nice, but I did struggle a bit to connect with her. I really struggled to get on with Win, cannot put my finger in why because he was meant to be a nice and charming guy. There is potential for romance in the next book and I like that is was not a big part of the plot in this book.
Earth & Sky book has an interesting concept and would recommend to fans of YA sci-fi and time travel.
cimorene1558's review against another edition
3.0
Quite good and some nice time-travelling stuff, but not really my kind of book. Too much teen angst, even if it mostly isn't romantic/sexual teen angst. And the ending is a little rushed and doesn't seem to quite fit with what has been said and done in the rest of the book. But it is a real ending, and that makes me happy.
sleepygirlreads_'s review
3.0
Originally posted on Brit's Book Nook
Thank you NetGalley and the publisher for the copy in exchange for my honest review.
I noticed this book a lot when I used to work at the bookstore. I was always kind of wanted to read but never did. When I saw it on NetGalley before I went to Hawaii, I thought "why not" thinking I would have more time to read… haha. I enjoyed this book, but to be completely honest, I could have not read this book and never really cared.
I really like the idea of this book. Time travel? Aliens? Rebels? Advance tech? Awesome!! And while it was good, and it was enjoyable, it wasn’t awesome or mind blowing.
We didn’t get a whole lot of interaction with characters besides Win and Skylar. It’s understandable, since when your traveling through time, building friendships is not something one should do. And according to this book, just talking to people could be bad. But now that I think about it, Win wasn’t very exciting either (besides the fact that he had tech to travel through time). To be honest, Skylar isn’t very exciting either. Her “character flaw” isn’t even really a flaw since it helped Win.
The plot was alright. I think too much time was spent on Skylar’s brother, especially when it was pointless. And I don’t really understand the point of turning this book into a series. It wrapped up enough at the end, that instead of the last chapter, write an epilogue, and BAM! Done.
All in all it was an alright read. I don’t think I would recommend it since there are better things out there. But I’m not going to tell you to not read it either since it wasn’t a terrible read. Basically, if this book interests you read it! If not, don’t.
Thank you NetGalley and the publisher for the copy in exchange for my honest review.
I noticed this book a lot when I used to work at the bookstore. I was always kind of wanted to read but never did. When I saw it on NetGalley before I went to Hawaii, I thought "why not" thinking I would have more time to read… haha. I enjoyed this book, but to be completely honest, I could have not read this book and never really cared.
I really like the idea of this book. Time travel? Aliens? Rebels? Advance tech? Awesome!! And while it was good, and it was enjoyable, it wasn’t awesome or mind blowing.
We didn’t get a whole lot of interaction with characters besides Win and Skylar. It’s understandable, since when your traveling through time, building friendships is not something one should do. And according to this book, just talking to people could be bad. But now that I think about it, Win wasn’t very exciting either (besides the fact that he had tech to travel through time). To be honest, Skylar isn’t very exciting either. Her “character flaw” isn’t even really a flaw since it helped Win.
The plot was alright. I think too much time was spent on Skylar’s brother, especially when it was pointless. And I don’t really understand the point of turning this book into a series. It wrapped up enough at the end, that instead of the last chapter, write an epilogue, and BAM! Done.
All in all it was an alright read. I don’t think I would recommend it since there are better things out there. But I’m not going to tell you to not read it either since it wasn’t a terrible read. Basically, if this book interests you read it! If not, don’t.
kaitrosereads's review against another edition
4.0
Earth & Sky is a member of a genre that I don’t often read: science fiction. I’ve never really been interested in things to do with aliens, other worlds, and time travelling but Megan Crewe did a wonderful job with Earth & Sky. I was intrigued from the start and couldn’t stop reading once I started.
One of the draws of Earth & Sky is that it’s not super scientific or futuristic. It’s set in a world like ours full of people like us. Skylar in particular is very normal, just with a special ability. She suffers from terrible panic attacks. For most of her life she’s tried to hide them from people and learned how to deal with them on her own. However, Win tells her that they aren’t typical panic attacks. They are triggered by something truly wrong in the world, something that only a few people can actually sense, Sky being one of them. As for Win, he may be an alien but that’s not to say he’s not just like a regular guy. He just happens to have some really big jobs on his plate, such as finding a weapon to destroy a satellite. No big deal.
This is not the first book I’ve read by Megan Crewe and it will definitely not be my last. Earth & Sky reaffirmed my love of her writing style. It’s simple and easy to read making her books even more fast-paced than they already are. Her writing style also helps keep the story a little more simple since there is a lot going on. It would be easy to make Earth & Sky a very hard to follow story but that was not the case.
The romance in Earth & Sky was a bit lackluster. It was hard to tell if there was something blooming between Win and Sky. I don’t know about you guys but I’m a huge fan of romance and I actually like books less when there isn’t some steaminess. At first I thought there might be some romance between Sky and one of her classmates but that didn’t seem to go anywhere and things could maybe go somewhere between Win and Sky in future books but there wasn’t much action this time around. I definitely don’t think that’s a huge drawback but for me it did take away some enjoyment.
Overall, Earth & Sky is a unique science fiction story that can appeal to all readers, even ones like me who aren’t the biggest fans of sci fi. I recommend giving this series a shot and I definitely look forward to seeing where things go in future installments.
One of the draws of Earth & Sky is that it’s not super scientific or futuristic. It’s set in a world like ours full of people like us. Skylar in particular is very normal, just with a special ability. She suffers from terrible panic attacks. For most of her life she’s tried to hide them from people and learned how to deal with them on her own. However, Win tells her that they aren’t typical panic attacks. They are triggered by something truly wrong in the world, something that only a few people can actually sense, Sky being one of them. As for Win, he may be an alien but that’s not to say he’s not just like a regular guy. He just happens to have some really big jobs on his plate, such as finding a weapon to destroy a satellite. No big deal.
This is not the first book I’ve read by Megan Crewe and it will definitely not be my last. Earth & Sky reaffirmed my love of her writing style. It’s simple and easy to read making her books even more fast-paced than they already are. Her writing style also helps keep the story a little more simple since there is a lot going on. It would be easy to make Earth & Sky a very hard to follow story but that was not the case.
The romance in Earth & Sky was a bit lackluster. It was hard to tell if there was something blooming between Win and Sky. I don’t know about you guys but I’m a huge fan of romance and I actually like books less when there isn’t some steaminess. At first I thought there might be some romance between Sky and one of her classmates but that didn’t seem to go anywhere and things could maybe go somewhere between Win and Sky in future books but there wasn’t much action this time around. I definitely don’t think that’s a huge drawback but for me it did take away some enjoyment.
Overall, Earth & Sky is a unique science fiction story that can appeal to all readers, even ones like me who aren’t the biggest fans of sci fi. I recommend giving this series a shot and I definitely look forward to seeing where things go in future installments.
sleepygirlreads_'s review against another edition
3.0
Originally posted on Brit's Book Nook
Thank you NetGalley and the publisher for the copy in exchange for my honest review.
I noticed this book a lot when I used to work at the bookstore. I was always kind of wanted to read but never did. When I saw it on NetGalley before I went to Hawaii, I thought "why not" thinking I would have more time to read… haha. I enjoyed this book, but to be completely honest, I could have not read this book and never really cared.
I really like the idea of this book. Time travel? Aliens? Rebels? Advance tech? Awesome!! And while it was good, and it was enjoyable, it wasn’t awesome or mind blowing.
We didn’t get a whole lot of interaction with characters besides Win and Skylar. It’s understandable, since when your traveling through time, building friendships is not something one should do. And according to this book, just talking to people could be bad. But now that I think about it, Win wasn’t very exciting either (besides the fact that he had tech to travel through time). To be honest, Skylar isn’t very exciting either. Her “character flaw” isn’t even really a flaw since it helped Win.
The plot was alright. I think too much time was spent on Skylar’s brother, especially when it was pointless. And I don’t really understand the point of turning this book into a series. It wrapped up enough at the end, that instead of the last chapter, write an epilogue, and BAM! Done.
All in all it was an alright read. I don’t think I would recommend it since there are better things out there. But I’m not going to tell you to not read it either since it wasn’t a terrible read. Basically, if this book interests you read it! If not, don’t.
Thank you NetGalley and the publisher for the copy in exchange for my honest review.
I noticed this book a lot when I used to work at the bookstore. I was always kind of wanted to read but never did. When I saw it on NetGalley before I went to Hawaii, I thought "why not" thinking I would have more time to read… haha. I enjoyed this book, but to be completely honest, I could have not read this book and never really cared.
I really like the idea of this book. Time travel? Aliens? Rebels? Advance tech? Awesome!! And while it was good, and it was enjoyable, it wasn’t awesome or mind blowing.
We didn’t get a whole lot of interaction with characters besides Win and Skylar. It’s understandable, since when your traveling through time, building friendships is not something one should do. And according to this book, just talking to people could be bad. But now that I think about it, Win wasn’t very exciting either (besides the fact that he had tech to travel through time). To be honest, Skylar isn’t very exciting either. Her “character flaw” isn’t even really a flaw since it helped Win.
The plot was alright. I think too much time was spent on Skylar’s brother, especially when it was pointless. And I don’t really understand the point of turning this book into a series. It wrapped up enough at the end, that instead of the last chapter, write an epilogue, and BAM! Done.
All in all it was an alright read. I don’t think I would recommend it since there are better things out there. But I’m not going to tell you to not read it either since it wasn’t a terrible read. Basically, if this book interests you read it! If not, don’t.
forsakenfates's review against another edition
3.0
3.5 Stars
“There's a perfect dependability to math. No matter how many times you perform the same operations, the answer's always the same. As the factors expand out in their unshakeable pattern, my heartbeat steadies, the chill ebbs, and the wrong feeling fades away."
I loved the premise of this book. You have the planet Kemya, where it citizens have basically turned Earth into an experiment. Travelers and Enforcers from Kemya alter the course of history, and they have been doing it for thousands of years. I loved that you had aliens involved in human history and basically controlling its course, but then you have the added ability of time travel.
The main character in this book, Skylar, is has anxiety and is obsessed with the number 3. She is consumed with this idea of wrongness and things not being right in the world. A lot of her mannerisms were annoying and at times she failed to realize the true significance of her actions in the past and how much one little change could effect the entire future. While Skylar was helpful to Win in terms of finding the weapon, she was not a very strong character. I wish she could have been written as a stronger female character. This is not to say she was weak, but there were many times where her characterization irked me.
As for the other main character, we have Win. Win is an alien rebel searching for a weapon to destroy the experiment on Earth. I did not have any major issues with him as a character. I also appreciated that the romance was not obnoxious in this book. There is definitely a connection between Skylar and Win, but this book focused more on their mission and their friendship rather than romantic feelings for each other. I'm sure their relationship will be explored in subsequent books though.
The main reason I’m rating this book the way I am is the writing. The writing was simple, easy to follow and enjoyable. But it fell flat for me, there was nothing spectacular about it and there was nothing that kept me on the edge of my seat waiting to see what would happen. While I did appreciate the simplicity of the writing in certain aspects of the book, there were other times when the writing did not fit my vision of the story. For the premise of this book, there was a large lack of true action. Yes, Skylar and Win were on the run from Enforcers and travel both across the world and time, but I did not have a big sense of adventure or action during their travels and “battles.”
Overall, this was an interesting start to the trilogy. I really like this premise, especially with the time travel. I’m also invested in this book enough that I do want to pick up the sequel and see what happens next in this world. However, I was not blow away by this book.
*I received a copy of this book from the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review*
“There's a perfect dependability to math. No matter how many times you perform the same operations, the answer's always the same. As the factors expand out in their unshakeable pattern, my heartbeat steadies, the chill ebbs, and the wrong feeling fades away."
I loved the premise of this book. You have the planet Kemya, where it citizens have basically turned Earth into an experiment. Travelers and Enforcers from Kemya alter the course of history, and they have been doing it for thousands of years. I loved that you had aliens involved in human history and basically controlling its course, but then you have the added ability of time travel.
The main character in this book, Skylar, is has anxiety and is obsessed with the number 3. She is consumed with this idea of wrongness and things not being right in the world. A lot of her mannerisms were annoying and at times she failed to realize the true significance of her actions in the past and how much one little change could effect the entire future. While Skylar was helpful to Win in terms of finding the weapon, she was not a very strong character. I wish she could have been written as a stronger female character. This is not to say she was weak, but there were many times where her characterization irked me.
As for the other main character, we have Win. Win is an alien rebel searching for a weapon to destroy the experiment on Earth. I did not have any major issues with him as a character. I also appreciated that the romance was not obnoxious in this book. There is definitely a connection between Skylar and Win, but this book focused more on their mission and their friendship rather than romantic feelings for each other. I'm sure their relationship will be explored in subsequent books though.
The main reason I’m rating this book the way I am is the writing. The writing was simple, easy to follow and enjoyable. But it fell flat for me, there was nothing spectacular about it and there was nothing that kept me on the edge of my seat waiting to see what would happen. While I did appreciate the simplicity of the writing in certain aspects of the book, there were other times when the writing did not fit my vision of the story. For the premise of this book, there was a large lack of true action. Yes, Skylar and Win were on the run from Enforcers and travel both across the world and time, but I did not have a big sense of adventure or action during their travels and “battles.”
Overall, this was an interesting start to the trilogy. I really like this premise, especially with the time travel. I’m also invested in this book enough that I do want to pick up the sequel and see what happens next in this world. However, I was not blow away by this book.
*I received a copy of this book from the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review*
booksandladders's review against another edition
3.0
Disclaimer: I received a free copy of this book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
This review was originally posted on my blog Books and Ladders
I was initially excited about this book because aliens!!! but the aliens weren't that interesting and didn't actually add much to the plot, in my opinion. I did, however, really like the look into how Skylar felt about not really fitting in anymore after time travelling. But the time travelling. Sometimes it seemed like it made sense but other times it did not. Maybe that was just me but whatever. I didn't think the plot was all that fantastic, but it has the potential to grow so I'm going to let that one slide for now.
I did like that there was no "in your face" romance in this novel. There is the hint at romance and the ability for a romance to be written in, but it will feel more natural because the characters are friends now and it will evolve naturally.
I did find some of it quite boring. And I felt like some of it was out of sequence in a sense for me. Especially when Skylar asks for a personal favour in the middle of their overall task. It seems as though she should have asked for her personal favour closer to the beginning rather than closer to the end. And I also didn't like the alien plot twist becaue it made the story into something I didn't enjoy.
I liked Skylar. I liked that she was so traumatized from her brother's disappearance that it triggered everything that happened to her. I liked that she was OCD and had to keep herself from panicking because I could definitely relate to that. I think she was well developed, as was Win, but with that came a lack of development for the secondary characters. Hopefully they are fleshed out more in the rest of the series. Also, I guess I was anticipating Win being a secret antagonist. I would have liked that actually.
I'm not sure how I feel about the "villains". Maybe because they weren't really in the novel that I didn't get connected to them. I am sure we will hear about their side of the story more in the next novel (I mean, we have to right? How can we take the good guys word for it??).
Overall: 3/5 stars. There was too much that was explained either by saying "oh this is alien tech that's why it works". However, I liked the idea of looking at Sky's feelings of how she was changed after time travelling but no one else was.
This review was originally posted on my blog Books and Ladders
I was initially excited about this book because aliens!!! but the aliens weren't that interesting and didn't actually add much to the plot, in my opinion. I did, however, really like the look into how Skylar felt about not really fitting in anymore after time travelling. But the time travelling. Sometimes it seemed like it made sense but other times it did not. Maybe that was just me but whatever. I didn't think the plot was all that fantastic, but it has the potential to grow so I'm going to let that one slide for now.
I did like that there was no "in your face" romance in this novel. There is the hint at romance and the ability for a romance to be written in, but it will feel more natural because the characters are friends now and it will evolve naturally.
I did find some of it quite boring. And I felt like some of it was out of sequence in a sense for me. Especially when Skylar asks for a personal favour in the middle of their overall task. It seems as though she should have asked for her personal favour closer to the beginning rather than closer to the end. And I also didn't like the alien plot twist becaue it made the story into something I didn't enjoy.
I liked Skylar. I liked that she was so traumatized from her brother's disappearance that it triggered everything that happened to her. I liked that she was OCD and had to keep herself from panicking because I could definitely relate to that. I think she was well developed, as was Win, but with that came a lack of development for the secondary characters. Hopefully they are fleshed out more in the rest of the series. Also, I guess I was anticipating Win being a secret antagonist. I would have liked that actually.
I'm not sure how I feel about the "villains". Maybe because they weren't really in the novel that I didn't get connected to them. I am sure we will hear about their side of the story more in the next novel (I mean, we have to right? How can we take the good guys word for it??).
Overall: 3/5 stars. There was too much that was explained either by saying "oh this is alien tech that's why it works". However, I liked the idea of looking at Sky's feelings of how she was changed after time travelling but no one else was.