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2.9 AVERAGE
2.9 AVERAGE
Did not finish - read 35%
Honestly, this book was laughably bad. I did briefly consider continuing on for some lols and a potential ranty review, but I decided it was not worth it.
By now you've probably seen about 10 million of your friends giving up on this one - and they are right to. There are few books that I will say are qualitatively bad but... yeah. This review copy started with a letter from the editor, loaded with praise about how this book is epic and intense and beautifully written... Promising way too much - which you definitely realize when it goes on about how awesome the love triangle is - like that's a good thing that most readers want more of in YA. Sadly, it all went downhill from there.
The writing in this one is all telling ("She did this, because she felt this, and he responded like so,") which is not aided by multiple third person perspectives. It all just creates so much distance between the reader and the characters, meaning I give no shits about the drama they're heading into. Their personalities are nonexistent.
The love triangle drama starts basically in the first chapter, and though I know love triangles can be done well, it got off to the worst start here. The MC is already in a relationship with one guy, John, who bores me. And the other angle is her cousin (later clarified to be her third cousin, but still), who also bores me. But the MC is speshul so yeah, everyone's in love with her I guess.
But what bothers me more than anything is the setting/worldbuilding. It's supposed to be both fantasy and sci-fi but also set in our world. It starts off in Scotland (which one is only able to tell by an inconsistent use of "cannae"), in what I suppose is modern times (though it feels more medieval than anything), and then moves to a near-futuristic Hong Kong. I'm not saying a book can't be both fantasy and sci-fi (see: The Bone Season) and in fact, I'm usually a fan of creative settings like that (my favorite video game franchise is Final Fantasy) - but to set it in our world as well? That takes a lot of effort, development, and skilled writing, and Seeker did not deliver. This book is everything and nothing. It's a gigantic mess.
Anyway. I have small hope that this gets any better from here on, so I'm out.
Honestly, this book was laughably bad. I did briefly consider continuing on for some lols and a potential ranty review, but I decided it was not worth it.
By now you've probably seen about 10 million of your friends giving up on this one - and they are right to. There are few books that I will say are qualitatively bad but... yeah. This review copy started with a letter from the editor, loaded with praise about how this book is epic and intense and beautifully written... Promising way too much - which you definitely realize when it goes on about how awesome the love triangle is - like that's a good thing that most readers want more of in YA. Sadly, it all went downhill from there.
The writing in this one is all telling ("She did this, because she felt this, and he responded like so,") which is not aided by multiple third person perspectives. It all just creates so much distance between the reader and the characters, meaning I give no shits about the drama they're heading into. Their personalities are nonexistent.
The love triangle drama starts basically in the first chapter, and though I know love triangles can be done well, it got off to the worst start here. The MC is already in a relationship with one guy, John, who bores me. And the other angle is her cousin (later clarified to be her third cousin, but still), who also bores me. But the MC is speshul so yeah, everyone's in love with her I guess.
But what bothers me more than anything is the setting/worldbuilding. It's supposed to be both fantasy and sci-fi but also set in our world. It starts off in Scotland (which one is only able to tell by an inconsistent use of "cannae"), in what I suppose is modern times (though it feels more medieval than anything), and then moves to a near-futuristic Hong Kong. I'm not saying a book can't be both fantasy and sci-fi (see: The Bone Season) and in fact, I'm usually a fan of creative settings like that (my favorite video game franchise is Final Fantasy) - but to set it in our world as well? That takes a lot of effort, development, and skilled writing, and Seeker did not deliver. This book is everything and nothing. It's a gigantic mess.
Anyway. I have small hope that this gets any better from here on, so I'm out.
I really enjoyed the writing from a technical perspective, but the plotting and character work were all over the place. After 300 pages, I still don't fully understand what a Seeker is and what the point of them in story is and I don't really want to slog through two more books in the off chance I might find out. Again, I liked Dayton's writing voice so I wouldn't immediately say no to reading some of her other works, but the Seeker trilogy and it's characters are done for me.
More properly, this was 3.5 stars, but I round up. Not a bad attempt. Felt a little on the older side of young adult. I liked that bad things legit happened. The characters messed up and made bad choices. There aren't any easy solutions, and things are complicated. The world-building probably could have been presented more smoothly, as it was pretty confusing at times. The characters tried to do right, but often did wrong. I did feel like the romance was kind of unnecessary. Still, a quite decent first book in a series.
Overall: 2.5 - 3, very middle of the road for me. Received as an ARC from NetGalley.
While I finished the book, it was difficult for me to get through - which really surprised me, considering that the description of the book sounded so enticing! The story went up and down... at times, I couldn't put it down and at other moments, I found myself considering not even finishing (which is strange for me!).
I enjoyed it - and would've purchased or at least borrowed had I not received an ARC copy - but I'm not sure that I would purchase for my bookshelf to read again. I was hoping for more, especially given the description that it would be a series similar to The Hunger Games.
While I finished the book, it was difficult for me to get through - which really surprised me, considering that the description of the book sounded so enticing! The story went up and down... at times, I couldn't put it down and at other moments, I found myself considering not even finishing (which is strange for me!).
I enjoyed it - and would've purchased or at least borrowed had I not received an ARC copy - but I'm not sure that I would purchase for my bookshelf to read again. I was hoping for more, especially given the description that it would be a series similar to The Hunger Games.
Seeker by Arwen Elys Dayton is the first book in a planned young adult fantasy series. It centers on a clash of clans and travels between medieval-ish Scotland, a modern-ish Hong Kong, and a futuristic London. The book leaves a lot unexplained, creating an outline and leaving a reader's imagination to fill in details. The book moves quickly and is action filled, making it a fun read.
Read my complete review at: http://www.memoriesfrombooks.com/2015/02/seeker.html
Reviewed based on a publisher’s galley received through NetGalley
Read my complete review at: http://www.memoriesfrombooks.com/2015/02/seeker.html
Reviewed based on a publisher’s galley received through NetGalley
i didnt really like it. it felt rushed and after page 120 nothing made sense.
I just couldn't get into this story at all. I tried, but I didn't connect with the characters, the writing was odd and choppy, and the story started off with an air of mystery that grated in how often it was repeated and how vague it was.
Unfortunately, I DNF'ed this one....I just couldn't get into it. When I find my mind wandering while reading and I have no idea what happened, it is never a good thing. From what I did read (about 40%), I can see where some people would enjoy the title; but I couldn't get past all the things that were missing! There was little to no world-building in this book. All I know was that we were in the UK somewhere, didn't know if it was modern day or not, was no description of their location, etc. Also, there was more than one huge, very important part of the storyline missing. 1)What the heck is a Seeker and what do they do? 2)What the heck happened when they went on their first "mission"? We read about Quin taking her oath and "traveling" to her first mission and then in the next chapter, she wakes up after the mission is over and we have NO IDEA what she just did. Ummmm....hello?! What are we supposed to do with that?
Needless to say, I tried to read past that point and I did....but unsuccessfully and I just couldn't keep being confused, so I quit...I gave up. I'm sorry :(
I still did give it 2 stars, though, because I think it could have been a great concept.
Needless to say, I tried to read past that point and I did....but unsuccessfully and I just couldn't keep being confused, so I quit...I gave up. I'm sorry :(
I still did give it 2 stars, though, because I think it could have been a great concept.
The last third of this book was decent, but I just was completely uninterested up until that point and nearly gave up on it. I didn't feel connected enough to any of the three protagonists to really care what became of them--the jumps in time were interesting, but a more chronological approach might have built some of the characters' motivations better and therefore might have made me more invested in the book