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3.83 AVERAGE
3.83 AVERAGE
adventurous
challenging
dark
hopeful
tense
fast-paced
This is definitely a darker path than Roberts normally writes, but man, was it amazing! I laughed, I felt pain, fear, sorrow... I can't wait to read the next one!
Quite a departure for Nora Roberts! I really enjoyed it, though. Looking forward to my next Audible credit so I can continue the story.
The book can be quite intense sometimes, so I wouldn't recommend for a younger audience due to violence, killing, and written details that can put you on edge. Think of the movies similar to "The Purge" which is what this really made me think of, except instead of a single day, the world's chaos is caused by a blood sacrifice that break the seal to keep magic at bay. With the seal broken, it spreads through the land killing over 2.5 billion people on the planet (nevermind the ones who die from all the murders and etc). Those who live either have magical abilities (witch, faerie, elf, seer, demons, etc which are all known as the Uncanny) or are immune to The Doom (the name given by laymen to talk about the sickness that really decimated the population).
Essentially you have a chaotic dystopian world filled with magical beings of all sorts, Purists (those who are against the Uncanny and think they should be killed), and the immune (humans who didn't die from The Doom) which showcases the bad side of human nature (which is probably accurate if a sickness like that happened).
The reason the book got two stars was the fact that, while an interesting idea, I found the pacing to be a little odd and chaotic. You can be following one group of characters in one POV and then you can quickly switch to the other, but not all were good or natural breaking points for that shift. It also got two stars because I felt like there were no limits or boundaries. I felt like there was no shortage of different magical beings that could show up and there didn't seem to be rhyme or reason. This is book one, and they are still trying to figure out the world, so I'm hoping this gets built on for the next books in the series - but it wasn't built in this particular book which bothered me.
I will say... that while I didn't really enjoy the beginning of the book, I did like the book better about 200 pages to the end. The pacing was better, it was interesting, and it was more my taste. This helped it land solidly at 2 stars over 1.5 stars.
Wouldn't really recommend and I personally have no plans to read the rest of the series.
Essentially you have a chaotic dystopian world filled with magical beings of all sorts, Purists (those who are against the Uncanny and think they should be killed), and the immune (humans who didn't die from The Doom) which showcases the bad side of human nature (which is probably accurate if a sickness like that happened).
The reason the book got two stars was the fact that, while an interesting idea, I found the pacing to be a little odd and chaotic. You can be following one group of characters in one POV and then you can quickly switch to the other, but not all were good or natural breaking points for that shift. It also got two stars because I felt like there were no limits or boundaries. I felt like there was no shortage of different magical beings that could show up and there didn't seem to be rhyme or reason. This is book one, and they are still trying to figure out the world, so I'm hoping this gets built on for the next books in the series - but it wasn't built in this particular book which bothered me.
I will say... that while I didn't really enjoy the beginning of the book, I did like the book better about 200 pages to the end. The pacing was better, it was interesting, and it was more my taste. This helped it land solidly at 2 stars over 1.5 stars.
Wouldn't really recommend and I personally have no plans to read the rest of the series.
3.7
I didn't super care about what happened to the characters, but the story was really good.
I didn't super care about what happened to the characters, but the story was really good.
adventurous
dark
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
*Possible spoilers* The beginning of the book was fast paced and I couldn’t stop listening! As the book went on it became more and more fantastical (something I wasn’t expecting). I almost quit listening to it on Audible because it was kind of campy, but kept going because my boyfriend enjoyed it. Ended up being a really good story and now interested in reading the sequel!
I have been a Nora Roberts fan for a long time now, and I must say that Year One is turning out to be a disappointment. And it is not because this is different than her usual fare, or that it lacks the romance she is known for; it is because the writing feels as though it is trying hard to be something it is not. Early on, Year One felt very reminiscent of The Stand, by Stephen King, but it falls quite short of that standard. I know she's capable, but this series just isn't working for me.