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3.83 AVERAGE
3.83 AVERAGE
AMAZING!! You can’t go wrong with Nora Roberts but this one was just WOW. I’m not big on fantasy books but this one is incredible. On to the second book!
adventurous
dark
emotional
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
Very good read. Although I have to say that at the end of book one it really feels like Nora Roberts version of The Stand. However if you like Nora Roberts and you liked The Stand, which is a yes from me on both counts, you will enjoy the book! I’m not saying it’s exactly the same but there’s a lot of similarities.
What started out strongly was ultimately a disappointing read overall. This is my first Nora Roberts book, and while I can tell I love her writing, I feel there were a few things that needed some development here.
For starters, there's basically 0 world-building. During a plague that wipes out ⅓ of the world's population, some people come to discover they have magical powers. How does this work, you ask? Well, I couldn't tell you, because it isn't explained. It's just there.
Secondly, there wasn't much character and relationship development and so parts that should have packed an emotional punch to the gut just didn't because I wasn't emotionally invested in the story. Also, considering Roberts is a romance writer, I was surprised at how little I felt for the romances throughout. Especially the romance at the end. That was so rushed and poorly developed that I just don't feel anything for the characters.
Furthermore, I need to know the antagonist's motivations for the way they act. I don't accept that humans are evil just because. I want to know WHY a character turned to the dark once they gained powers, not just that they did and that they're trying to kill everyone. I can't help but laugh at how ridiculous the antagonist's sound every time they're on the page, so I can never take the action scenes seriously.
I'm interested enough to continue the series, but this one ended up being a bit meh.
For starters, there's basically 0 world-building. During a plague that wipes out ⅓ of the world's population, some people come to discover they have magical powers. How does this work, you ask? Well, I couldn't tell you, because it isn't explained. It's just there.
Secondly, there wasn't much character and relationship development and so parts that should have packed an emotional punch to the gut just didn't because I wasn't emotionally invested in the story. Also, considering Roberts is a romance writer, I was surprised at how little I felt for the romances throughout. Especially the romance at the end. That was so rushed and poorly developed that I just don't feel anything for the characters.
Furthermore, I need to know the antagonist's motivations for the way they act. I don't accept that humans are evil just because. I want to know WHY a character turned to the dark once they gained powers, not just that they did and that they're trying to kill everyone. I can't help but laugh at how ridiculous the antagonist's sound every time they're on the page, so I can never take the action scenes seriously.
I'm interested enough to continue the series, but this one ended up being a bit meh.
Am I the only one who had no idea Nora Roberts wrote books like this? Judging by her extensive bibliography, I'm guessing I am. When I hear "Nora Roberts," what comes to mind are lightweight romance novels or the murder mysteries she writes as JD Robb. Not a novel centered on a dark dystopia where technology falls and magic(k) rises.
Year One starts out with a fairly typical dystopian event: a virus known as the Doom wipes out the majority of the world's population. But, as evidenced by the novel's opening, this virus has roots that are magical, not medical. Some survivors — known as the Uncanny —uncover latent magic within them as technology and the modern world falls, and society is populated with witches, fairies, elves, and shapeshifters, as well as humans.
I was hooked from page one, where we witness the virus's Ground Zero, something not often seen in dystopian novels. Typically, readers are thrown in medias res to the aftermath of a horror like the Doom. Year One is unique in that readers are shown the entire arc: the beginning of the pestilence; the decimation; and the rebuilding. Being the first in a new series, Year One is obviously not a standalone story, although, with a little retooling, it easily could be. I, for one, am glad it's not. This is definitely a story I want more of.
Read the rest of this and other reviews on The Bookwyrm Abides.
Year One starts out with a fairly typical dystopian event: a virus known as the Doom wipes out the majority of the world's population. But, as evidenced by the novel's opening, this virus has roots that are magical, not medical. Some survivors — known as the Uncanny —uncover latent magic within them as technology and the modern world falls, and society is populated with witches, fairies, elves, and shapeshifters, as well as humans.
I was hooked from page one, where we witness the virus's Ground Zero, something not often seen in dystopian novels. Typically, readers are thrown in medias res to the aftermath of a horror like the Doom. Year One is unique in that readers are shown the entire arc: the beginning of the pestilence; the decimation; and the rebuilding. Being the first in a new series, Year One is obviously not a standalone story, although, with a little retooling, it easily could be. I, for one, am glad it's not. This is definitely a story I want more of.
Read the rest of this and other reviews on The Bookwyrm Abides.
I haven’t read a Nora Roberts book in ages, and now I remember why I love them so.
Year One is a dystopian novel combined with classic Nora Roberts magick and romance in a beautiful, scary, heartwarming novel that I literally couldn’t put down. I would have read it all in one day if I hadn’t started at 4pm.
Year One is a dystopian novel combined with classic Nora Roberts magick and romance in a beautiful, scary, heartwarming novel that I literally couldn’t put down. I would have read it all in one day if I hadn’t started at 4pm.
The beginning of this book was super hard to read, in a post-pandemic world. So I was kind of glad it moved on from that quickly. I knew coming in there would be magic and I really loved it. I can see why those who didn’t know that, or had only read Nora’s romance books, wouldn’t like this one as much. But I am very excited to get to the next book in the series.
Really 2.5 stars. I’d have given 3 if it didn’t end off on a cliffhanger... I hate when I don’t realize there will be a sequel to a book