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ameliaclark's review against another edition
2.0
I would rate this book more of a 2.5! I thought the story was just kinda boring for about half the book. I actually started getting interesting though in the end. I didn't pile the characters much in the beginning, but I learned to like the two main ones. My favorite character was actually Maud the Dread and I thought their story was something o really enjoyed reading.
sofia19_reading's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
meliagelinas's review against another edition
5.0
This book felt like it took forever to end, yet was finished too soon. I also found that it didn't have as much of a forward moving plot like I'm used to other books having, yet it flowed so well that I hardly noticed how much I had learned about this world until I took a minute to think back.
Also, for this type of book, where it is told in multiple different perspectives, I usually find that there is at least one perspective that, whenever it comes, I think, "no not this one..." However for Seeker, I came to love each one and was never disappointed when a new one started.
I anxiously await the next book, and I can't wait to see what will come next!!
Also, for this type of book, where it is told in multiple different perspectives, I usually find that there is at least one perspective that, whenever it comes, I think, "no not this one..." However for Seeker, I came to love each one and was never disappointed when a new one started.
I anxiously await the next book, and I can't wait to see what will come next!!
eyreguide's review against another edition
3.0
This book seemed like a promising exploration of an interesting new fantasy world - with the idea of a mysterious 'seeker' and what that means. But I was sadly disappointed that this novel focused much more on the character drama and a hunt for the power of the seeker, than to really flesh out what everything means. I would have ideally loved this book if it had balanced those two aspects well, but I didn't really get a strong sense of the world, and only kept reading because I did feel interested in what would happen to the characters.
John, Quin and Shinobu make up the main character cast - if that makes you think there would be a love triangle - then you are right. Although there's really not much of a push and pull between the three since Quin sees Shinobu like the cousin he is (although he's a third cousin kinda?) I don't know that part was a bit confusing for me and I didn't like that aspect- I feel like the story could have easily just made Shinobu a close family friend and functioned the same without the rationalizations that he's related, but far enough removed to be okay to date. And John was an intriguingly flawed character at first, but I quickly became very frustrated with his many excuses and rationalizations. The story is also told through each of their POV's, with each chapter one of the character's POV. I'm not really a fan of multiple POV stories, but this book didn't make me dislike it as much as I normally would.
The story moves around a bit in time too - there are flashbacks in the middle, after a major event has occurred, which was an interesting way to tell the story. And a bit frustrating too, since I really wanted to know what happened next after the major event. If the purpose was to build suspense, I think I just felt more annoyed than anything, unfortunately. I was still invested enough in the story to want to know where it was going, and how the main conflict would be resolved. And the glimpse of Hong Kong was interesting to me as well - it was very vividly described, and I found it fascinating to see this darker side to a foreign city. I don't think that was enough to make me love this book though. It felt very lackluster overall, although the idea of the 'seeker' is promising, and I hope that the next book in the series will expound a bit more on that.
(I received this book from the publisher or author for a fair and honest review. I was not compensated for this review.)
John, Quin and Shinobu make up the main character cast - if that makes you think there would be a love triangle - then you are right. Although there's really not much of a push and pull between the three since Quin sees Shinobu like the cousin he is (although he's a third cousin kinda?) I don't know that part was a bit confusing for me and I didn't like that aspect- I feel like the story could have easily just made Shinobu a close family friend and functioned the same without the rationalizations that he's related, but far enough removed to be okay to date. And John was an intriguingly flawed character at first, but I quickly became very frustrated with his many excuses and rationalizations. The story is also told through each of their POV's, with each chapter one of the character's POV. I'm not really a fan of multiple POV stories, but this book didn't make me dislike it as much as I normally would.
The story moves around a bit in time too - there are flashbacks in the middle, after a major event has occurred, which was an interesting way to tell the story. And a bit frustrating too, since I really wanted to know what happened next after the major event. If the purpose was to build suspense, I think I just felt more annoyed than anything, unfortunately. I was still invested enough in the story to want to know where it was going, and how the main conflict would be resolved. And the glimpse of Hong Kong was interesting to me as well - it was very vividly described, and I found it fascinating to see this darker side to a foreign city. I don't think that was enough to make me love this book though. It felt very lackluster overall, although the idea of the 'seeker' is promising, and I hope that the next book in the series will expound a bit more on that.
(I received this book from the publisher or author for a fair and honest review. I was not compensated for this review.)
theowlerybooks's review against another edition
1.0
First I need to say that I DNF'd (did not finish) this book. I read till page 125 and had to put it down!
Synopsis: Quin Kincaid has been put through years of brutal training for what she thinks is the noble purpose of becoming a revered ‘Seeker’.
Only when it’s too late does she discover she will be using her new-found knowledge and training to become an assassin. Quin's new role will take her around the globe, from a remote estate in Scotland to a bustling, futuristic Hong Kong where the past she thought she had escaped will finally catch up with her.
What I did like: Te plot sounded intriguing and the fact that on the back of my ARC copy it said that it was going to be made in to movie soon! Here are the latest detail on that!
What I didn't like:
The writing style was just plain off especially in the first couple of chapters. Speaking of chapters they are written in third person omniscient but the focus is on a specific character, which you would think would make it easier to stay on track with what was going on but it didn't. The dialogue between characters and inner dialogue just didn't flow and did not seem natural at all. Most of the characters in the book are close family members but they speak to each other like strangers. All of these negative things about the writing style and dialogue is very apparent in the first 5-10 chapters of the book and just made it to where I could not get into the storyline or attached to the characters. I wanted to like this book really bad, but I just couldn't. I think the movie is going to be much much better!! I gave it that 1.5 star only because I think the plot was intriguing jut not intriguing enough for me to keep reading.
Would I recommend it?
Sure, to people who can get past the writing style and anyone who likes a book with science fiction and fantasy mixed together! I think this is one of those books that people are either going to hate or they are going to absolutely love it!
Synopsis: Quin Kincaid has been put through years of brutal training for what she thinks is the noble purpose of becoming a revered ‘Seeker’.
Only when it’s too late does she discover she will be using her new-found knowledge and training to become an assassin. Quin's new role will take her around the globe, from a remote estate in Scotland to a bustling, futuristic Hong Kong where the past she thought she had escaped will finally catch up with her.
What I did like: Te plot sounded intriguing and the fact that on the back of my ARC copy it said that it was going to be made in to movie soon! Here are the latest detail on that!
What I didn't like:
The writing style was just plain off especially in the first couple of chapters. Speaking of chapters they are written in third person omniscient but the focus is on a specific character, which you would think would make it easier to stay on track with what was going on but it didn't. The dialogue between characters and inner dialogue just didn't flow and did not seem natural at all. Most of the characters in the book are close family members but they speak to each other like strangers. All of these negative things about the writing style and dialogue is very apparent in the first 5-10 chapters of the book and just made it to where I could not get into the storyline or attached to the characters. I wanted to like this book really bad, but I just couldn't. I think the movie is going to be much much better!! I gave it that 1.5 star only because I think the plot was intriguing jut not intriguing enough for me to keep reading.
Would I recommend it?
Sure, to people who can get past the writing style and anyone who likes a book with science fiction and fantasy mixed together! I think this is one of those books that people are either going to hate or they are going to absolutely love it!
imabbyjay's review against another edition
4.0
4 stars. This was more interesting than I thought it would be! Fantasy novels are pretty similar to each other - obviously, since they're the same genre - but this story felt very fresh to me. I really enjoyed it! It was darker than I expected it to be. Not super dark, but there wasn't much comic relief so it definitely read as a more serious book. It wasn't hard to read though! There was still some action and adrenaline-pumping scenes. My only complaints are how the world wasn't fully explained. I went into this expecting it to take place in a typical fantasy time period, you know when people wear tunics and stuff, and I was a bit surprised when TVs and steel doors were mentioned. Aircars and airlifts were never described in detail, so I also had a hard time picturing those. My final complaint would have to be the love triangle. It isn't that much of a love triangle compared to other YA books, but still enough to bother me. When will authors get the memo? Still, this was a solid YA fantasy book and I'll definitely read the sequel when it comes out!
yvkhan's review against another edition
1.0
There are some vague(?) plot spoilers in this review but I don’t think they’re very significant, so I’m not gonna edit it.
Essentially, the first few chapters keep building up to the same thing. The idea that “Seekers” aren’t what they seem.
The start of the book was rather dull. Love triangle, weirdly medieval system if cars do really appear later on in the book, and pretty generic characters as a whole.
But the mystery still showed promise. And so I stayed.
I saw the scene I’d been waiting for approach, slowly but steadily, the promise of a revelation, of finally knowing what the hell was happening, what the hell Seekers truly were. And so I waited and waited, rapping my fingers impatiently against the side of the book, holding out until the initiation scene.
“Finally,” I said to myself as I turned the page.
But there was nothing.
God, there was nothing.
I literally flipped back and forth multiple times, to make sure I wasn’t just imagining it, to make sure that there was true justification for my feelings of dissatisfaction.
I understand withholding information from your reader. But you can’t withhold emotion. Show me how Quin feels. Show me how the events of that day keep flashing through her mind, again and again. Her world has just fallen to pieces. Every single freaking thing she’s believed in has just been questioned. Show me how she feels! Don’t just tell me she’s been damned or whatever. Let her be in shock. Let her laugh hysterically and then collapse to the ground in grief. Let her do something.
I’m gonna assume based on context that they mind controlled her. In that case, what does it feel like to have your mind violated? What does it feel like to have those you’ve always trusted suddenly turn on you? You need to tell this to us, or we simply can’t sympathise with Quin. In fact, the lack of information whatsoever just makes us feel cheated.
Again, Quin’s vision of her own life has just shattered. This might be the most emotional she’s ever been. It might be the most emotional she’ll ever be.
Let us be there. Let us be there to see her at her lowest. If we aren’t allowed to empathise with her at her greatest moment of need, how can we hope to empathise or grow to like her at all?
I wasn’t able to continue reading after this.
Essentially, the first few chapters keep building up to the same thing. The idea that “Seekers” aren’t what they seem.
The start of the book was rather dull. Love triangle, weirdly medieval system if cars do really appear later on in the book, and pretty generic characters as a whole.
But the mystery still showed promise. And so I stayed.
I saw the scene I’d been waiting for approach, slowly but steadily, the promise of a revelation, of finally knowing what the hell was happening, what the hell Seekers truly were. And so I waited and waited, rapping my fingers impatiently against the side of the book, holding out until the initiation scene.
“Finally,” I said to myself as I turned the page.
But there was nothing.
God, there was nothing.
I literally flipped back and forth multiple times, to make sure I wasn’t just imagining it, to make sure that there was true justification for my feelings of dissatisfaction.
I understand withholding information from your reader. But you can’t withhold emotion. Show me how Quin feels. Show me how the events of that day keep flashing through her mind, again and again. Her world has just fallen to pieces. Every single freaking thing she’s believed in has just been questioned. Show me how she feels! Don’t just tell me she’s been damned or whatever. Let her be in shock. Let her laugh hysterically and then collapse to the ground in grief. Let her do something.
I’m gonna assume based on context that they mind controlled her. In that case, what does it feel like to have your mind violated? What does it feel like to have those you’ve always trusted suddenly turn on you? You need to tell this to us, or we simply can’t sympathise with Quin. In fact, the lack of information whatsoever just makes us feel cheated.
Again, Quin’s vision of her own life has just shattered. This might be the most emotional she’s ever been. It might be the most emotional she’ll ever be.
Let us be there. Let us be there to see her at her lowest. If we aren’t allowed to empathise with her at her greatest moment of need, how can we hope to empathise or grow to like her at all?
I wasn’t able to continue reading after this.
beastreader's review against another edition
1.0
I was looking forward to reading this book because it was promoted as being like Hunger Games. Which is a really big thing. I saw some promise to this book but it seemed liked it needed to be developed more. The author did not do any justice by not explaining what a "seeker" is or what type of world the story took place in. So these details did not help in that I was trying to wrap my brain around the concept of this book. Then there is the matter of the characters. I don't know if the author wanted me to hate the characters or like them. Because I felt more like hate or indifference to them. I got to page 140 or chapter 20 and gave up. I was bored with the book. It seems I was not the only reader to feel this way either. There are many.
ladygaga's review against another edition
1.0
Oh man, where do I even start?
I think this is possibly one of the worst books I have ever read. Let's take this one at a time:
Worldbuilding - A poorly drawn map with little dots and labels isn't going to cut it if you do not take any extra time to explain the world. Characters were using modes of transportation or going places that were either never explained or explained after they had been used/gone to that location several times. Nothing was descriptive, and the world was completely unimaginative.
Characters - It has been a while since I have read a book where I do not fall in love or feel any sort of possessive feelings about any of the characters in a novel, but this is 0ne of the first times I have strongly disliked every single character despite the author's attempt to make them appeal to the readers. All of them had very little personality, and what personality that they did show throughout the novel was odd and poorly developed. Shinobu has this weird fascination with his cousin that he refuses to drop even though he recognizes that it is incest, Quin loses all of her memories with her only explanation being "the past is the past so I am just going to completely forget anyone and everything that I have done in the last decade of my life," and John is literally just a manipulative piece of crap that likes to peek under Quin's clothes when she is not all with it. Seriously, what a piece of garbage. Ew. Also, half of the titles were never explained or were glossed over quickly, and that is pretty important for a fantasy novel since things like "Dreads" are not common titles in real life.
Dialogue - I think I laughed every time someone spoke in the novel. The grammar in Seeker made every line of dialogue seem out of place and did not align with what little personality the characters had. Half of it added nothing to the development of the plot or characters, and it distracted more than anything else.
If you pick up this book and you do not like the beginning of it, do NOT try to push through like I did. You will be wasting your time; there are so many other interesting novels with better characters and worlds to read about. There is so much more I could write about this book, but I have already wasted enough of my time fixated on how awful it is. Trust me--it doesn't get better.
I think this is possibly one of the worst books I have ever read. Let's take this one at a time:
Worldbuilding - A poorly drawn map with little dots and labels isn't going to cut it if you do not take any extra time to explain the world. Characters were using modes of transportation or going places that were either never explained or explained after they had been used/gone to that location several times. Nothing was descriptive, and the world was completely unimaginative.
Characters - It has been a while since I have read a book where I do not fall in love or feel any sort of possessive feelings about any of the characters in a novel, but this is 0ne of the first times I have strongly disliked every single character despite the author's attempt to make them appeal to the readers. All of them had very little personality, and what personality that they did show throughout the novel was odd and poorly developed. Shinobu has this weird fascination with his cousin that he refuses to drop even though he recognizes that it is incest, Quin loses all of her memories with her only explanation being "the past is the past so I am just going to completely forget anyone and everything that I have done in the last decade of my life," and John is literally just a manipulative piece of crap that likes to peek under Quin's clothes when she is not all with it. Seriously, what a piece of garbage. Ew. Also, half of the titles were never explained or were glossed over quickly, and that is pretty important for a fantasy novel since things like "Dreads" are not common titles in real life.
Dialogue - I think I laughed every time someone spoke in the novel. The grammar in Seeker made every line of dialogue seem out of place and did not align with what little personality the characters had. Half of it added nothing to the development of the plot or characters, and it distracted more than anything else.
If you pick up this book and you do not like the beginning of it, do NOT try to push through like I did. You will be wasting your time; there are so many other interesting novels with better characters and worlds to read about. There is so much more I could write about this book, but I have already wasted enough of my time fixated on how awful it is. Trust me--it doesn't get better.
highladyofbookdom's review against another edition
4.0
I am surprised how well this book is and also it is not YA. It is quite graphic and has some very adult content. I found myself invested quickly and trying to put all the pieces together. A new light came every time you turned the page. I am excited to read the second one of the series.