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pauh94's review against another edition
2.0
Iris was a pathetic, whiny, egocentric little-minded girl who thought she knew it all.
I hated her and the only reason this book has two stars is because about 75% into the book, it started to get better, NOT Iris, she sucked all the way through, but the plot started to make sense so it was good.
But again, if I hadn't been so bored and out of books to read, I would have ditched this one for sure.
I hated her and the only reason this book has two stars is because about 75% into the book, it started to get better, NOT Iris, she sucked all the way through, but the plot started to make sense so it was good.
But again, if I hadn't been so bored and out of books to read, I would have ditched this one for sure.
taylesium's review against another edition
3.0
I devoured this book pretty quickly, and enjoyed the experience, but right now I'm not sure whether I'll reread it or go looking for the next book. Basically, I found it to be a good story, with an interesting premise, lots of action, and some character development, but it had two critical problems my perspective.
The first problem was that I didn't really like any of the characters that saw much development. The main character seemed to alternate between being cock-sure and being an emotional basket-case. Maybe this was intended to be a believable portrayal of a teenager in crisis, but she would have been more sympathetic (and still believable) if she'd demonstrated redeeming traits throughout. Other characters were similarly difficult to sympathize with, and I think I'm left with Alpha as my dark horse favourite. Seems like it might be difficult to work him into future books so I wouldn't hold my breath waiting for him to show up, but with a time-travel story you never know....
My second problem was with how the time-travelling was handled. The problem of paradoxes was basically ignored, the effects of changing their own pasts were kept very vague and inconsistent, and everything was handled as simply as possible. Compared to the Chrono Guard in Jasper Fforde's Thursday Next books, for example, the way the Annum Guard was handled just seemed a little too simplistic.
Overall, I wasn't blown away by this book, but I didn't hate it either. Whether or not I try to read any more might depend on what people have to say about how the author further develops the characters and the time-travelling premise.
The first problem was that I didn't really like any of the characters that saw much development. The main character seemed to alternate between being cock-sure and being an emotional basket-case. Maybe this was intended to be a believable portrayal of a teenager in crisis, but she would have been more sympathetic (and still believable) if she'd demonstrated redeeming traits throughout. Other characters were similarly difficult to sympathize with, and I think I'm left with Alpha as my dark horse favourite. Seems like it might be difficult to work him into future books so I wouldn't hold my breath waiting for him to show up, but with a time-travel story you never know....
My second problem was with how the time-travelling was handled. The problem of paradoxes was basically ignored, the effects of changing their own pasts were kept very vague and inconsistent, and everything was handled as simply as possible. Compared to the Chrono Guard in Jasper Fforde's Thursday Next books, for example, the way the Annum Guard was handled just seemed a little too simplistic.
Overall, I wasn't blown away by this book, but I didn't hate it either. Whether or not I try to read any more might depend on what people have to say about how the author further develops the characters and the time-travelling premise.
lilyleia78's review against another edition
3.0
A pretty good book, lots of action and fast paced in the last third. The first half could be frustrating with little or no explanation for certain actions. The romance aspect was hard to get into as well. The boyfriend is barely in the book so it's hard to care about whether or not Amanda/Iris ever sees him again.
Overall, I'm glad I read it and interested in the next in the series but I'm not counting down the days to the next release.
Overall, I'm glad I read it and interested in the next in the series but I'm not counting down the days to the next release.
jgallagher1983's review against another edition
3.0
I rounded 2.5 stars up for this one. It took me way too long to read and was a bit disjointed. The premise was great - like a book version of Warehouse 13. But there was too much potential focus on the historical aspect, and then too much actual focus on the interpersonal drama. The entire idea of this book got lost in sabotage and backstabbing.
v_nerdbooks's review against another edition
5.0
Book: The Eighth Guardian
Genre: YA
Type: Audiobook.
Book rating: ♡♡♡♡♡♡
Narration rating: ♡♡♡♡♡♡
Review
Well this one is going straight onto my favourites shelf !!
I may gush a couple of times during this review, I do apologise. I also had this as a buddy read so I have to thank Kristin for listening to my rambles haha!
I wasn't really looking forward to this book i have to say, it got chosen also for my Dusty bookshelf so I thought I would get it over and done with, what a brilliant mistake to make!
Amanda is a top Junior student at Peel Academy, it's basically a school for kids that eventually end up in organisations like the CIA or the FBI, that is what they train for. They train for things like hostage situations, guns to the head, hand to hand combat.......you know, normal stuff like that!
At the end of every term they have a "testing" this is to prove how good you are, and for the CIA etc. to choose new recruits.
Amanda completes her challenges but messes one of them up, and also as she is a junior she wouldn't get picked anyway........
After the testing everyone sits in the hall to have the graduation candidates read out by the head, and to receive their envelope with their new career in it (a la Harry Potter)
Unfortunately Amanda has a very funny feeling that her name is going to be read out, her boyfriend Abe tells her not to be so silly.........can you guess what happens?? Yep she gets picked.
Only Amanda gets picked not for the CIA but the Annum Guards, an unknown department run by the government, that deals in time travel!
Now at this point if I was reading this review I would say "right, that's me off then" I don't do time travel stuff, it's just too mehh for me, but I was enjoying the book so I kept with it.
Amanda aka Iris is bound by secrets and lies and taught how to go back in time to "enhance, not alter history"
I loved all of the characters, especially Iris and Yellow, the narration was brilliant and the book was actually very funny as well.
So there you have it, a badass, kickass, time travelling cracker of a read, I loved it and can't wait till the next one in the series is out.
6 ☆
Genre: YA
Type: Audiobook.
Book rating: ♡♡♡♡♡♡
Narration rating: ♡♡♡♡♡♡
Review
Well this one is going straight onto my favourites shelf !!
I may gush a couple of times during this review, I do apologise. I also had this as a buddy read so I have to thank Kristin for listening to my rambles haha!
I wasn't really looking forward to this book i have to say, it got chosen also for my Dusty bookshelf so I thought I would get it over and done with, what a brilliant mistake to make!
Amanda is a top Junior student at Peel Academy, it's basically a school for kids that eventually end up in organisations like the CIA or the FBI, that is what they train for. They train for things like hostage situations, guns to the head, hand to hand combat.......you know, normal stuff like that!
At the end of every term they have a "testing" this is to prove how good you are, and for the CIA etc. to choose new recruits.
Amanda completes her challenges but messes one of them up, and also as she is a junior she wouldn't get picked anyway........
After the testing everyone sits in the hall to have the graduation candidates read out by the head, and to receive their envelope with their new career in it (a la Harry Potter)
Unfortunately Amanda has a very funny feeling that her name is going to be read out, her boyfriend Abe tells her not to be so silly.........can you guess what happens?? Yep she gets picked.
Only Amanda gets picked not for the CIA but the Annum Guards, an unknown department run by the government, that deals in time travel!
Now at this point if I was reading this review I would say "right, that's me off then" I don't do time travel stuff, it's just too mehh for me, but I was enjoying the book so I kept with it.
Amanda aka Iris is bound by secrets and lies and taught how to go back in time to "enhance, not alter history"
I loved all of the characters, especially Iris and Yellow, the narration was brilliant and the book was actually very funny as well.
So there you have it, a badass, kickass, time travelling cracker of a read, I loved it and can't wait till the next one in the series is out.
6 ☆
vailynst's review against another edition
3.0
Notes:
Fun book for kids. I would recommend the book over the audio. Narration made the MC sound more whiny than she may have been written.
Fun book for kids. I would recommend the book over the audio. Narration made the MC sound more whiny than she may have been written.
jaimearkin's review against another edition
5.0
This book rests on my 'favorites of the year so far' list in case you missed our top ten tuesday! I'd been dying to get my hands on this, and then I won a copy from the author. When it arrived, I immediately put everything else to the side. This book has a little bit of everything for everyone! Twists and turns that will keep you guessing, mystery and intrigue to keep you turning pages and wonderful characters you'll find yourself cheering for! Plus a bit of romance. To say I'm excited for book 2 would be an understatement. I'm hoping we get to learn a bit more about the other members of the guard going forward, as we only learn a bit about them here, but honestly that would be my only complaint... I wanted more!
I have a recent fascination with time travel books - I've read some really amazing ones, and I really loved the idea that McCardle writes here. The bits and pieces of history that she weaves into the story really worked for me and I found it incredibly interesting. It's always intriguing to me to think about how we could change whole parts of our history and think about how that might affect the world we live in today. And that, at the bare bones, is what this first book delves in to. Amanda (Iris) is chosen to be part of the very secret Annum Guard. The Guard goes back in time to tweak history as necessary but there are rules and it's very hard for Iris to adhere to some of these rules.
Ultimately there are some things that Iris has to learn along the way about herself and her past and her family and that is expertly woven into the story.
If you're a fan of historical stories and time travel and just wonderful books in general, you need to get this one immediately! I loved it!
I have a recent fascination with time travel books - I've read some really amazing ones, and I really loved the idea that McCardle writes here. The bits and pieces of history that she weaves into the story really worked for me and I found it incredibly interesting. It's always intriguing to me to think about how we could change whole parts of our history and think about how that might affect the world we live in today. And that, at the bare bones, is what this first book delves in to. Amanda (Iris) is chosen to be part of the very secret Annum Guard. The Guard goes back in time to tweak history as necessary but there are rules and it's very hard for Iris to adhere to some of these rules.
Ultimately there are some things that Iris has to learn along the way about herself and her past and her family and that is expertly woven into the story.
If you're a fan of historical stories and time travel and just wonderful books in general, you need to get this one immediately! I loved it!
v_nerdbooks's review against another edition
5.0
Book: The Eighth Guardian
Genre: YA
Type: Audiobook.
Book rating: ♡♡♡♡♡♡
Narration rating: ♡♡♡♡♡♡
Review
Well this one is going straight onto my favourites shelf !!
I may gush a couple of times during this review, I do apologise. I also had this as a buddy read so I have to thank Kristin for listening to my rambles haha!
I wasn't really looking forward to this book i have to say, it got chosen also for my Dusty bookshelf so I thought I would get it over and done with, what a brilliant mistake to make!
Amanda is a top Junior student at Peel Academy, it's basically a school for kids that eventually end up in organisations like the CIA or the FBI, that is what they train for. They train for things like hostage situations, guns to the head, hand to hand combat.......you know, normal stuff like that!
At the end of every term they have a "testing" this is to prove how good you are, and for the CIA etc. to choose new recruits.
Amanda completes her challenges but messes one of them up, and also as she is a junior she wouldn't get picked anyway........
After the testing everyone sits in the hall to have the graduation candidates read out by the head, and to receive their envelope with their new career in it (a la Harry Potter)
Unfortunately Amanda has a very funny feeling that her name is going to be read out, her boyfriend Abe tells her not to be so silly.........can you guess what happens?? Yep she gets picked.
Only Amanda gets picked not for the CIA but the Annum Guards, an unknown department run by the government, that deals in time travel!
Now at this point if I was reading this review I would say "right, that's me off then" I don't do time travel stuff, it's just too mehh for me, but I was enjoying the book so I kept with it.
Amanda aka Iris is bound by secrets and lies and taught how to go back in time to "enhance, not alter history"
I loved all of the characters, especially Iris and Yellow, the narration was brilliant and the book was actually very funny as well.
So there you have it, a badass, kickass, time travelling cracker of a read, I loved it and can't wait till the next one in the series is out.
6 ☆
Genre: YA
Type: Audiobook.
Book rating: ♡♡♡♡♡♡
Narration rating: ♡♡♡♡♡♡
Review
Well this one is going straight onto my favourites shelf !!
I may gush a couple of times during this review, I do apologise. I also had this as a buddy read so I have to thank Kristin for listening to my rambles haha!
I wasn't really looking forward to this book i have to say, it got chosen also for my Dusty bookshelf so I thought I would get it over and done with, what a brilliant mistake to make!
Amanda is a top Junior student at Peel Academy, it's basically a school for kids that eventually end up in organisations like the CIA or the FBI, that is what they train for. They train for things like hostage situations, guns to the head, hand to hand combat.......you know, normal stuff like that!
At the end of every term they have a "testing" this is to prove how good you are, and for the CIA etc. to choose new recruits.
Amanda completes her challenges but messes one of them up, and also as she is a junior she wouldn't get picked anyway........
After the testing everyone sits in the hall to have the graduation candidates read out by the head, and to receive their envelope with their new career in it (a la Harry Potter)
Unfortunately Amanda has a very funny feeling that her name is going to be read out, her boyfriend Abe tells her not to be so silly.........can you guess what happens?? Yep she gets picked.
Only Amanda gets picked not for the CIA but the Annum Guards, an unknown department run by the government, that deals in time travel!
Now at this point if I was reading this review I would say "right, that's me off then" I don't do time travel stuff, it's just too mehh for me, but I was enjoying the book so I kept with it.
Amanda aka Iris is bound by secrets and lies and taught how to go back in time to "enhance, not alter history"
I loved all of the characters, especially Iris and Yellow, the narration was brilliant and the book was actually very funny as well.
So there you have it, a badass, kickass, time travelling cracker of a read, I loved it and can't wait till the next one in the series is out.
6 ☆
threadpanda's review against another edition
4.0
Really fun YA time-travel mystery! Well researched and very engaging.
downthebookhole's review against another edition
4.0
I think this book does not receive enough attention, it is severely underrated. I was hesitant to pick it up although I thought the synopsis sounded interesting because it is not talked about much and I saw a few reviews of people not happy with the book and not to add the fact that I have never read a time travel book.There were some slight issues I had with this book, but for the most part it was intriguing, action packed, fast paced and filled with fantastic shocks and twists!
Although I listen to this on audiobook, I could not put it down. It captivated me right away causing me to stay up for hours at a time listening instead of sleeping. The historical elements woven into the story were so well done paired with the time traveling and missions of Annum Guard really makes you think "What if?" It made me think of when people ask "if you could redo it or go back and chance the outcome, would you?". It is so crazy how every fabric of our world weaves to together and how one small change can cause a chain reaction. The pacing of this book was fantastic and the book is layered with huge unexpected twists that keep you on edge wondering where McCardle is going to take the story. For the most part the world was greatly developed and all the components of the time travel were well thought out and the system was unique, but there were times I was a little confused because some small things did not stay consistent or match up.
The Annum Guard was an interesting organization. The way the whole system works, the outcomes, the awesome watches and everything else was just fantastic. Although there is a lot of the time in the book that Amanda/Iris spends alone and not much time with the other characters, they were all so well developed. McCardle did a phenomenal job with creating and developing complex and dynamic characters that fit into her story line and worked well for what she was trying to achieve (at least what I felt like she was trying to achieve.) I do admit there were times that I was annoyed and frustrated with Amanda/Iris. She was whiney and acted without thinking. Some of that I understand from the situations she was put in and there was some character growth seen with her as well, but she just was not the best protagonist (in my opinion). She was clever, intelligent and pulled off some kickass moves, but I enjoyed some of the other characters more and wish that she wasn't so selfish.
Overall I thought this book was super great and needs more attention. If you have any interest in time travel or history this is a book for you. It was packed full of twists that kept the book gripping and leaving you with no idea what the outcome was going to be. It was sprinkled a little with romance, sassy and fierce characters, action packed scenes and leaves you wishing that you were able to project as well! It was brilliantly done, completely surprised me and I am so happy I picked it up!
Although I listen to this on audiobook, I could not put it down. It captivated me right away causing me to stay up for hours at a time listening instead of sleeping. The historical elements woven into the story were so well done paired with the time traveling and missions of Annum Guard really makes you think "What if?" It made me think of when people ask "if you could redo it or go back and chance the outcome, would you?". It is so crazy how every fabric of our world weaves to together and how one small change can cause a chain reaction. The pacing of this book was fantastic and the book is layered with huge unexpected twists that keep you on edge wondering where McCardle is going to take the story. For the most part the world was greatly developed and all the components of the time travel were well thought out and the system was unique, but there were times I was a little confused because some small things did not stay consistent or match up.
The Annum Guard was an interesting organization. The way the whole system works, the outcomes, the awesome watches and everything else was just fantastic. Although there is a lot of the time in the book that Amanda/Iris spends alone and not much time with the other characters, they were all so well developed. McCardle did a phenomenal job with creating and developing complex and dynamic characters that fit into her story line and worked well for what she was trying to achieve (at least what I felt like she was trying to achieve.) I do admit there were times that I was annoyed and frustrated with Amanda/Iris. She was whiney and acted without thinking. Some of that I understand from the situations she was put in and there was some character growth seen with her as well, but she just was not the best protagonist (in my opinion). She was clever, intelligent and pulled off some kickass moves, but I enjoyed some of the other characters more and wish that she wasn't so selfish.
Overall I thought this book was super great and needs more attention. If you have any interest in time travel or history this is a book for you. It was packed full of twists that kept the book gripping and leaving you with no idea what the outcome was going to be. It was sprinkled a little with romance, sassy and fierce characters, action packed scenes and leaves you wishing that you were able to project as well! It was brilliantly done, completely surprised me and I am so happy I picked it up!
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