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amethystbookwyrm's review
3.0
Thanks to Theresa Kay for giving me this book to review.
30 years ago billions died as civilisation collapsed, 20 years later aliens, the E’rikon, arrived but since then have kept to themselves. A year ago Jax was attacked and killed two men, since then she has not liked being touched and relies on her twin brother Jace. When her brother is taken by the aliens, Jax will do anything to get him back and makes a deal with teenage E’rikon, Lir, with green hair and scales on his back. With Lir’s motive unknown they set off to the alien city and start to form a connection but their rescue mission may cause a chain of events with could change not just human and E’rikon society but earth.
Broken Skies is an enjoyable sci-fi/dystopia with suspense, romance and some action. I found the story very similar to other YA sci-fi and dystopian novels which did make it a bit forgettable, but, while it is a bit predictable, some of the twists I did not see coming.
I like Jax as she will not pretend to be someone she isn’t, she is emotionally damaged but not broken and fiercely loyal to her brother. Lir is a bit of a mystery in this book as I was never 100% sure if he could be trusted but he was sweet, intelligent and protective of Jax. I would have liked to get to know Jace better as he is a big influence in this book but he is not much in it.
This book has a massive cliff-hanger ending and I am looking forward to reading the next book Fractured Suns. I would recommend Broken Skies to fans of Under the Never Sky by Veronica Rossi and Partials by Dan Wells.
This and my other reviews can be found at Amethyst Bookwyrm
30 years ago billions died as civilisation collapsed, 20 years later aliens, the E’rikon, arrived but since then have kept to themselves. A year ago Jax was attacked and killed two men, since then she has not liked being touched and relies on her twin brother Jace. When her brother is taken by the aliens, Jax will do anything to get him back and makes a deal with teenage E’rikon, Lir, with green hair and scales on his back. With Lir’s motive unknown they set off to the alien city and start to form a connection but their rescue mission may cause a chain of events with could change not just human and E’rikon society but earth.
Broken Skies is an enjoyable sci-fi/dystopia with suspense, romance and some action. I found the story very similar to other YA sci-fi and dystopian novels which did make it a bit forgettable, but, while it is a bit predictable, some of the twists I did not see coming.
I like Jax as she will not pretend to be someone she isn’t, she is emotionally damaged but not broken and fiercely loyal to her brother. Lir is a bit of a mystery in this book as I was never 100% sure if he could be trusted but he was sweet, intelligent and protective of Jax. I would have liked to get to know Jace better as he is a big influence in this book but he is not much in it.
This book has a massive cliff-hanger ending and I am looking forward to reading the next book Fractured Suns. I would recommend Broken Skies to fans of Under the Never Sky by Veronica Rossi and Partials by Dan Wells.
This and my other reviews can be found at Amethyst Bookwyrm
leahka89's review
5.0
If you are an alien lover or just a fan of scifi in general, this is definitely a book you want to pick up. It reminded me a lot of Lux, The 5th Wave, and Alienated, which btw all happen to be my favorite alien books.
Read the full review and more below at Southern Bred, Southern Read:
http://southernbredsouthernread.blogspot.com/2015/01/broken-skies-by-theresa-kay.html
http://southernbredsouthernread.blogspot.com/2015/01/broken-skies-by-theresa-kay.html
http://southernbredsouthernread.blogspot.com/2015/01/broken-skies-by-theresa-kay.html
Read the full review and more below at Southern Bred, Southern Read:
http://southernbredsouthernread.blogspot.com/2015/01/broken-skies-by-theresa-kay.html
http://southernbredsouthernread.blogspot.com/2015/01/broken-skies-by-theresa-kay.html
http://southernbredsouthernread.blogspot.com/2015/01/broken-skies-by-theresa-kay.html
stephajo's review
4.0
For the first few chapters of this book I kept getting tripped up by Lir's speech (Mr. Scaly alien dude) so I couldn't really get into the flow of the story but at about 12 AM I finally got used to it, from there it was sooo much smoother. I still find the concept of colorful, scaly alien a tad odd but that really has nothing to do with the plot, which I really, throughly enjoyed. It helps that I was literally craving a SciFi alien filled book, so of course I loved this.
thebooktrollop's review
5.0
Excuse me while I jump around in complete GLEE from having to write this review and relive this fabulous book all over again...
I don't even know where to begin this review. I feel like I unearthed a treasure and I'm not sure if I want to talk about it because I want to be selfish and just keep everything inside and relive it in my own head....
But that kind of defeats the purpose of why I am here...
Pimping books is what I do so I guess I will talk...
This book was so unique, but also had a vibe that was a mix between The Hunger Games trilogy and The Lux series by Jennifer Armentrout. No, there weren't many similarities between this book and the other two series (meaning you didn't feel as if you were rereading the other series all over again) but the vibe was definitely strong.
I was so smitten while reading, I didn't want to put it down. It was like this puzzle I wanted to figure out, but at the same time, I wanted to keep reading so I was happy to let everything unfold how the author wanted it to.
It is not everyday that an author can get me to read an alien romance and have me loving every minute of it. The only exception ever being JLA and now, Theresa Kay. When she first wrote me about this book, I was skeptical because I didn't think anyone could even hold a flame to my Daemon and Lux series. I loved that series so hard but I am happy to say, this book is, so far, on equal footing with The Lux series.
Yes, shocking, I know. But I have a feeling this series is going to blow the hell up once everyone starts reading it and loving it as much as I do.
This author makes you believe in the impossible, takes you to another world that you can vividly picture, due to the descriptions she gives, but gives you just enough to let your own imagination take over. There is always a fine balance between too many descriptions and not enough and this author balances it well.
The emotions that are portrayed are FELT. You FEEL them as if they were happening to you. I was laughing, annoyed, aggravated, sick, and yes, even a little butterfly action happening too. It was all there, all the emotions that make you fall in love with a story was all right there and it was magical. Like a little unicorn jumping over rainbows but way more badass!
Oh yes, the badassery is there, in spades. I thought I wouldn't like Jax at first because she seemed kind of dramatic but as I continued, I learned more about her and her brokeness, and I realized how awesome she really was. Plus, Kay, all but killed her in this book and she kept coming back for more.
Oh and the alien, I guess we should talk about the green/gold haired alien boy but I am not going to because I think you need to experience him for yourself....
Does that make me evil?...
Maybe...
Figure out your own opinion about him and whether or not you would want to have his little alien babies...
All in all, if you want to experience a new book, fall in love with a unique story, and be taken on an incredible journey with Jax then, GO GET THIS BOOK AND READ IT, RIGHT FREAKING NOW!!!!!!!!
This book got me out of my book funk and I was so enamored with the story that I felt a little stabby because the next book was not out yet!!
Oh, and it does not end in a cliff hanger but you will be salivating for more!!
I give this book a 5 "Please stop torturing Jax" Stars!!
I don't even know where to begin this review. I feel like I unearthed a treasure and I'm not sure if I want to talk about it because I want to be selfish and just keep everything inside and relive it in my own head....
But that kind of defeats the purpose of why I am here...
Pimping books is what I do so I guess I will talk...
This book was so unique, but also had a vibe that was a mix between The Hunger Games trilogy and The Lux series by Jennifer Armentrout. No, there weren't many similarities between this book and the other two series (meaning you didn't feel as if you were rereading the other series all over again) but the vibe was definitely strong.
I was so smitten while reading, I didn't want to put it down. It was like this puzzle I wanted to figure out, but at the same time, I wanted to keep reading so I was happy to let everything unfold how the author wanted it to.
It is not everyday that an author can get me to read an alien romance and have me loving every minute of it. The only exception ever being JLA and now, Theresa Kay. When she first wrote me about this book, I was skeptical because I didn't think anyone could even hold a flame to my Daemon and Lux series. I loved that series so hard but I am happy to say, this book is, so far, on equal footing with The Lux series.
Yes, shocking, I know. But I have a feeling this series is going to blow the hell up once everyone starts reading it and loving it as much as I do.
This author makes you believe in the impossible, takes you to another world that you can vividly picture, due to the descriptions she gives, but gives you just enough to let your own imagination take over. There is always a fine balance between too many descriptions and not enough and this author balances it well.
The emotions that are portrayed are FELT. You FEEL them as if they were happening to you. I was laughing, annoyed, aggravated, sick, and yes, even a little butterfly action happening too. It was all there, all the emotions that make you fall in love with a story was all right there and it was magical. Like a little unicorn jumping over rainbows but way more badass!
Oh yes, the badassery is there, in spades. I thought I wouldn't like Jax at first because she seemed kind of dramatic but as I continued, I learned more about her and her brokeness, and I realized how awesome she really was. Plus, Kay, all but killed her in this book and she kept coming back for more.
Oh and the alien, I guess we should talk about the green/gold haired alien boy but I am not going to because I think you need to experience him for yourself....
Does that make me evil?...
Maybe...
Figure out your own opinion about him and whether or not you would want to have his little alien babies...
All in all, if you want to experience a new book, fall in love with a unique story, and be taken on an incredible journey with Jax then, GO GET THIS BOOK AND READ IT, RIGHT FREAKING NOW!!!!!!!!
This book got me out of my book funk and I was so enamored with the story that I felt a little stabby because the next book was not out yet!!
Oh, and it does not end in a cliff hanger but you will be salivating for more!!
I give this book a 5 "Please stop torturing Jax" Stars!!
par52's review
3.0
Okay so I've had time to think about this one.
3 cause I'm feeling generous I guess.
I have a lot of conflicting feeling about this book. Half of the things were good and half were just so bad.
Let's start with the good!
First the plot and concept of this book:
The book is about this girl named Jax that request the help of an alien named Lir when his brother is taken to the alien city that is currently on earth.
It's a post-apocalyptic enviorement which if done well I very much like. Hereit is done very good! The eviorement, setting, society, alien powers, etc are very much believable and very well developed.
Characters (some of them anyways)
The characters that felt real in this book were so very few. Lir was one of them. Actually all of the aliens seem very much like actual people. I did believe their motives and actions.
Some of the humans like Flint(friend of the main character) and Jace (main character's brother) felt like actual people in this very unfortunate situation. I believed their worries and sometimes tantrums.
Now were I do think this book fails is in the aspect of a credible story by a credible and real main character.
And while i do love my main charaters flawed this just felt overly dramatic and unnecessary.
Jax our main character has some sort ofanxiety disorder, when she has phisycal contact with people she tend to get anxious and sometimes has panic attacks. At the start of the book this intriguied me because I've never encounter a main character with this mental illness. And her panic attacks and anxiety at the start of the book seemed reasonable and truly sad but as the book went on the "panic attacks" if you can classify them as such were just predictableand downright laughable. That sounds cruel but as someone that has suffred from anxiety in the past this is kind of insulting. Her freak outs were too many too soon.
Her character just became the person who gets hurt and scared every 20 pages or so.
She wasn't a strong female lead.
Other characters like Lir's parents felt fabricated and added to the story for I don't even know what reason to be honest. It was necesarry to meet Lir's parents but damn! The mom was SUCH A FLAT CHARACTER. Anything that she said was said by mom's in every single book in YA fiction. The dad was there to just idk forcibly cause angst between Lir and Jax I guess? idek
The bad guy was the typical bad guy. No reason behind his bad guy actions. I mean you kind of know why they want Jax but why does the main guy want to use her? What is your reason alien ? What? Why?
Also the dialogue. While I know that cheesy dialogue from time to time is necesarry here it didn't work. Conversations felt force. Primarily between Lir and Jax.
Some lines were out right laughable and stupid. I read some to my sister and she asked if I was reading bad fanfiction.
Oh well
I will stop with the rant.
I will give it 3 stars cause I laughed so much at the bad parts that it made it less painful to get through.
Maybe if the second book gets good review I'll give it a shot to see if there is any improvement but rn I don't plan to continue with this series.
THank you to Netgalley for the Free Digital Copy!
3 cause I'm feeling generous I guess.
I have a lot of conflicting feeling about this book. Half of the things were good and half were just so bad.
Let's start with the good!
First the plot and concept of this book:
The book is about this girl named Jax that request the help of an alien named Lir when his brother is taken to the alien city that is currently on earth.
It's a post-apocalyptic enviorement which if done well I very much like. Hereit is done very good! The eviorement, setting, society, alien powers, etc are very much believable and very well developed.
Characters (some of them anyways)
The characters that felt real in this book were so very few. Lir was one of them. Actually all of the aliens seem very much like actual people. I did believe their motives and actions.
Some of the humans like Flint(friend of the main character) and Jace (main character's brother) felt like actual people in this very unfortunate situation. I believed their worries and sometimes tantrums.
Now were I do think this book fails is in the aspect of a credible story by a credible and real main character.
And while i do love my main charaters flawed this just felt overly dramatic and unnecessary.
Jax our main character has some sort ofanxiety disorder, when she has phisycal contact with people she tend to get anxious and sometimes has panic attacks. At the start of the book this intriguied me because I've never encounter a main character with this mental illness. And her panic attacks and anxiety at the start of the book seemed reasonable and truly sad but as the book went on the "panic attacks" if you can classify them as such were just predictableand downright laughable. That sounds cruel but as someone that has suffred from anxiety in the past this is kind of insulting. Her freak outs were too many too soon.
Her character just became the person who gets hurt and scared every 20 pages or so.
She wasn't a strong female lead.
Other characters like Lir's parents felt fabricated and added to the story for I don't even know what reason to be honest. It was necesarry to meet Lir's parents but damn! The mom was SUCH A FLAT CHARACTER. Anything that she said was said by mom's in every single book in YA fiction. The dad was there to just idk forcibly cause angst between Lir and Jax I guess? idek
The bad guy was the typical bad guy. No reason behind his bad guy actions. I mean you kind of know why they want Jax but why does the main guy want to use her? What is your reason alien ? What? Why?
Also the dialogue. While I know that cheesy dialogue from time to time is necesarry here it didn't work. Conversations felt force. Primarily between Lir and Jax.
Some lines were out right laughable and stupid. I read some to my sister and she asked if I was reading bad fanfiction.
Oh well
I will stop with the rant.
I will give it 3 stars cause I laughed so much at the bad parts that it made it less painful to get through.
Maybe if the second book gets good review I'll give it a shot to see if there is any improvement but rn I don't plan to continue with this series.
THank you to Netgalley for the Free Digital Copy!
tales_of_a_bookbug's review
5.0
I would like to thank the author Theresa Kay for providing me with a free copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.You know what I love the most??When new authors surprise me by writing such beautiful books.In the past year, Ive read quite a few alien-invasion themed books like Gravity,Alienated,etc.But Broken Skies was the best!!
The story revolves around our protagonist Jasmine or Jax as she likes to be called.The story is set in a futuristic world where an event called Collapse wiped out almost ninety percent of the population.There are only a few survivors left and those who remain live in human settlements.The aliens known as the E'rikon had arrived around ten years ago before the Collapse and now live in cities of their own.No one knows why they have come to the earth and what they are doing.They look almost similar to humans except for a few differences in hair colour and appearance.
Jax hates being cooped up in the Bridgelake settlement and doesn't go by the rules usually expected to be followed by the girls there.One day when she goes out to find Jace,her brother while he has gone hunting she witnesses him being captured by the E'rikon.Unable to know where to turn for help to rescue her brother she accepts the assistance from the E'rikon,Lir who was left behind, in exchange for helping him reach his city.And this is how the story starts.
I absolutely loved Jax.She is one of the strongest heroines Ive ever met and the best thing is that she has flaws.A certain event in her past has wounded her very deeply which causes her to be a lone wolf at most times.Her relationship with her brother is so sweet!!The fact they go to great lengths to protect each other is very endearing.
And my next favourite character-Lir.God!!He is so amazing and closed-off at the same time.The way his relationship with Jax starts off as a wary friendship and blooms into such a sweet romance is so beautiful to read!!Even the secondary characters were fleshed out very well.Emily is such a good friend to Jax and it is so surprising to see that she is not the submissive, goody two shoes that Jax thought she was.Flint,Peter,Stella and all the other characters are a great addition.
The twists in the book were very good and Jax grows up so much in this novel.Though I was disappointed in Lir for what he did in the end I hope he has a good reason for it.If he doesn't apologise and grovel to Jax in the next book I am going to kill him!!I loved the way the book ends and I cant wait to get my hands on Fractured Suns.And this is one of my favourite lines from the book as it shows how strong Jax has become-
“Peter pulls me into a tight hug. I don’t flinch. I don’t count my breaths. And my pulse stays steady. It wasn’t just Lir’s influence then. I really am learning to overcome my fear on my own.”
P.S. Love the cover!!It exactly looks like the image of Jax in my head..
The story revolves around our protagonist Jasmine or Jax as she likes to be called.The story is set in a futuristic world where an event called Collapse wiped out almost ninety percent of the population.There are only a few survivors left and those who remain live in human settlements.The aliens known as the E'rikon had arrived around ten years ago before the Collapse and now live in cities of their own.No one knows why they have come to the earth and what they are doing.They look almost similar to humans except for a few differences in hair colour and appearance.
Jax hates being cooped up in the Bridgelake settlement and doesn't go by the rules usually expected to be followed by the girls there.One day when she goes out to find Jace,her brother while he has gone hunting she witnesses him being captured by the E'rikon.Unable to know where to turn for help to rescue her brother she accepts the assistance from the E'rikon,Lir who was left behind, in exchange for helping him reach his city.And this is how the story starts.
I absolutely loved Jax.She is one of the strongest heroines Ive ever met and the best thing is that she has flaws.A certain event in her past has wounded her very deeply which causes her to be a lone wolf at most times.Her relationship with her brother is so sweet!!The fact they go to great lengths to protect each other is very endearing.
And my next favourite character-Lir.God!!He is so amazing and closed-off at the same time.The way his relationship with Jax starts off as a wary friendship and blooms into such a sweet romance is so beautiful to read!!Even the secondary characters were fleshed out very well.Emily is such a good friend to Jax and it is so surprising to see that she is not the submissive, goody two shoes that Jax thought she was.Flint,Peter,Stella and all the other characters are a great addition.
The twists in the book were very good and Jax grows up so much in this novel.Though I was disappointed in Lir for what he did in the end I hope he has a good reason for it.If he doesn't apologise and grovel to Jax in the next book I am going to kill him!!I loved the way the book ends and I cant wait to get my hands on Fractured Suns.And this is one of my favourite lines from the book as it shows how strong Jax has become-
“Peter pulls me into a tight hug. I don’t flinch. I don’t count my breaths. And my pulse stays steady. It wasn’t just Lir’s influence then. I really am learning to overcome my fear on my own.”
P.S. Love the cover!!It exactly looks like the image of Jax in my head..
tales_of_a_bookbug's review against another edition
5.0
I would like to thank the author Theresa Kay for providing me with a free copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.You know what I love the most??When new authors surprise me by writing such beautiful books.In the past year, Ive read quite a few alien-invasion themed books like Gravity,Alienated,etc.But Broken Skies was the best!!
The story revolves around our protagonist Jasmine or Jax as she likes to be called.The story is set in a futuristic world where an event called Collapse wiped out almost ninety percent of the population.There are only a few survivors left and those who remain live in human settlements.The aliens known as the E'rikon had arrived around ten years ago before the Collapse and now live in cities of their own.No one knows why they have come to the earth and what they are doing.They look almost similar to humans except for a few differences in hair colour and appearance.
Jax hates being cooped up in the Bridgelake settlement and doesn't go by the rules usually expected to be followed by the girls there.One day when she goes out to find Jace,her brother while he has gone hunting she witnesses him being captured by the E'rikon.Unable to know where to turn for help to rescue her brother she accepts the assistance from the E'rikon,Lir who was left behind, in exchange for helping him reach his city.And this is how the story starts.
I absolutely loved Jax.She is one of the strongest heroines Ive ever met and the best thing is that she has flaws.A certain event in her past has wounded her very deeply which causes her to be a lone wolf at most times.Her relationship with her brother is so sweet!!The fact they go to great lengths to protect each other is very endearing.
And my next favourite character-Lir.God!!He is so amazing and closed-off at the same time.The way his relationship with Jax starts off as a wary friendship and blooms into such a sweet romance is so beautiful to read!!Even the secondary characters were fleshed out very well.Emily is such a good friend to Jax and it is so surprising to see that she is not the submissive, goody two shoes that Jax thought she was.Flint,Peter,Stella and all the other characters are a great addition.
The twists in the book were very good and Jax grows up so much in this novel.Though I was disappointed in Lir for what he did in the end I hope he has a good reason for it.If he doesn't apologise and grovel to Jax in the next book I am going to kill him!!I loved the way the book ends and I cant wait to get my hands on Fractured Suns.And this is one of my favourite lines from the book as it shows how strong Jax has become-
“Peter pulls me into a tight hug. I don’t flinch. I don’t count my breaths. And my pulse stays steady. It wasn’t just Lir’s influence then. I really am learning to overcome my fear on my own.”
P.S. Love the cover!!It exactly looks like the image of Jax in my head..
The story revolves around our protagonist Jasmine or Jax as she likes to be called.The story is set in a futuristic world where an event called Collapse wiped out almost ninety percent of the population.There are only a few survivors left and those who remain live in human settlements.The aliens known as the E'rikon had arrived around ten years ago before the Collapse and now live in cities of their own.No one knows why they have come to the earth and what they are doing.They look almost similar to humans except for a few differences in hair colour and appearance.
Jax hates being cooped up in the Bridgelake settlement and doesn't go by the rules usually expected to be followed by the girls there.One day when she goes out to find Jace,her brother while he has gone hunting she witnesses him being captured by the E'rikon.Unable to know where to turn for help to rescue her brother she accepts the assistance from the E'rikon,Lir who was left behind, in exchange for helping him reach his city.And this is how the story starts.
I absolutely loved Jax.She is one of the strongest heroines Ive ever met and the best thing is that she has flaws.A certain event in her past has wounded her very deeply which causes her to be a lone wolf at most times.Her relationship with her brother is so sweet!!The fact they go to great lengths to protect each other is very endearing.
And my next favourite character-Lir.God!!He is so amazing and closed-off at the same time.The way his relationship with Jax starts off as a wary friendship and blooms into such a sweet romance is so beautiful to read!!Even the secondary characters were fleshed out very well.Emily is such a good friend to Jax and it is so surprising to see that she is not the submissive, goody two shoes that Jax thought she was.Flint,Peter,Stella and all the other characters are a great addition.
The twists in the book were very good and Jax grows up so much in this novel.Though I was disappointed in Lir for what he did in the end I hope he has a good reason for it.If he doesn't apologise and grovel to Jax in the next book I am going to kill him!!I loved the way the book ends and I cant wait to get my hands on Fractured Suns.And this is one of my favourite lines from the book as it shows how strong Jax has become-
“Peter pulls me into a tight hug. I don’t flinch. I don’t count my breaths. And my pulse stays steady. It wasn’t just Lir’s influence then. I really am learning to overcome my fear on my own.”
P.S. Love the cover!!It exactly looks like the image of Jax in my head..
lcmarie19's review against another edition
5.0
**This book was sent to me by the publisher in exchange for an honest review**
RATING: 4.5 STARS
This story was a tale of awesome. It was a mix between paranormal, sci-fi, dystopian, romance and fantasy all in one. It's really hard for me to classify and I don't think I want to. It was just a REALLY well-written, well-delivered book. I've never heard of Theresa Kay before, but I know who she is now. And I will be reading more of her books.
BROKEN SKIES follows Jax Mitchell and her journey to save her twin brother, Jace, from the aliens that kidnapped him. But through that journey, she discovers that there is more to these aliens and that not everything she's been told about them is exactly true.
I just had a blast with this book. Kay has a fantastic way with world building and character development. This book has such strong aspects of both. The world and the characters worked so well together and carried equal weight throughout the story. I never felt that one overpowered the other. The balance was perfect.
I loved the dystopian spin that Kay put on this story as well. Yes, there were aliens, but she also gave the human world its own subplot in that it was dystopian in nature, thus giving it its own set of problem. SO depending on what setting you were in (alien world vs. human world), the genre almost switched. It was SO clever and so well done!
The new terminology in the book was interesting and different enough for me to really fall in love with it. The aliens were different yet familiar. It was just the perfect amount of intrigue.
These characters were so well written -- from Flint to Jace to Jax to Lir -- I just kept loving every character that came across the page. Whether I was supposed to like the character or hate them, the emotions that you get from just encountering them, regardless of how brief, it definitely left a mark. Each character has a role and it was definitely utilized. The growth of Jax was probably my favorite part of the book. She started off as this traumatized and scared teenager, who had to step up to the plate when she was needed. Her progression was phenomenal.
I really liked her relationship/friendship with Lir, who is another fantastic character with an air of mystery that eventually lent itself to the unsolved ending.
Jax made the book for me, but so did these other characters and just the whole dual worlds throughout this book. Jax just went through so much, but utilized it in a way that showed you how strong she was. Of course, she's a teenager girl and that will be very apparent in some parts of the book, but it's very easy top appreciate the type of character she is. And I love what Kay did with her. And with the others.
I highly recommend this book. But beware --- don't think you're going to be full resolution in book one. I knew that probably about halfway through the book and I knew how it would end probably around the final third of the book. But... it worked for me. Surprisingly. I can't wait for the next book!
RATING: 4.5 STARS
This story was a tale of awesome. It was a mix between paranormal, sci-fi, dystopian, romance and fantasy all in one. It's really hard for me to classify and I don't think I want to. It was just a REALLY well-written, well-delivered book. I've never heard of Theresa Kay before, but I know who she is now. And I will be reading more of her books.
BROKEN SKIES follows Jax Mitchell and her journey to save her twin brother, Jace, from the aliens that kidnapped him. But through that journey, she discovers that there is more to these aliens and that not everything she's been told about them is exactly true.
I just had a blast with this book. Kay has a fantastic way with world building and character development. This book has such strong aspects of both. The world and the characters worked so well together and carried equal weight throughout the story. I never felt that one overpowered the other. The balance was perfect.
I loved the dystopian spin that Kay put on this story as well. Yes, there were aliens, but she also gave the human world its own subplot in that it was dystopian in nature, thus giving it its own set of problem. SO depending on what setting you were in (alien world vs. human world), the genre almost switched. It was SO clever and so well done!
The new terminology in the book was interesting and different enough for me to really fall in love with it. The aliens were different yet familiar. It was just the perfect amount of intrigue.
These characters were so well written -- from Flint to Jace to Jax to Lir -- I just kept loving every character that came across the page. Whether I was supposed to like the character or hate them, the emotions that you get from just encountering them, regardless of how brief, it definitely left a mark. Each character has a role and it was definitely utilized. The growth of Jax was probably my favorite part of the book. She started off as this traumatized and scared teenager, who had to step up to the plate when she was needed. Her progression was phenomenal.
I really liked her relationship/friendship with Lir, who is another fantastic character with an air of mystery that eventually lent itself to the unsolved ending.
Jax made the book for me, but so did these other characters and just the whole dual worlds throughout this book. Jax just went through so much, but utilized it in a way that showed you how strong she was. Of course, she's a teenager girl and that will be very apparent in some parts of the book, but it's very easy top appreciate the type of character she is. And I love what Kay did with her. And with the others.
I highly recommend this book. But beware --- don't think you're going to be full resolution in book one. I knew that probably about halfway through the book and I knew how it would end probably around the final third of the book. But... it worked for me. Surprisingly. I can't wait for the next book!
sisareads2476's review
3.0
The insta-love ruined it for me. I would've like it if the aliens would have the power to turned me back into my 16 year old self where I can easily relate and swoon together with the female lead (and believe me, she did a loooot of swooning, don't let me start on how many times she kept on holding her breath when he was near). And the special snowflakes trope was starting to bore me, as it was a typical setting for a fantasy novel since. Maybe, it's me being old and all that but I was not in the mood at the moment for girls easily falling head over heels in love in just a matter of an hour or less after meeting someone, no matter how gorgeous and different they might be.
mlboyd20's review
4.0
4.5/5 stars
I would like to thank the author for providing me with a complimentary copy of her book in exchange for an honest review.
Dystopia...aliens...what about those two does this girl not love? Put them together and BAM, you have me trailing after you like a rabbit to a carrot! Set in our world, not that far in to our future, there is society completely upheaval by the Collapse, which brought on the near death of civilization through use of biological weapons. Than aliens came, but they weren't interested in humans and didn't find it necessary to help them in any way, so there was a distinct segregation of the two. Humans, in outposts trying to live life as normal as they could and the aliens, in their own city, domed off from the rest of the world.
From the start, I liked Jax. Stubborn, strong and a little off center from everyone else. A natural curiosity for things that could get herself into trouble, and a brother, Jace, who would do whatever possible to keep her out, or get her out, of trouble. Funny thing is, it ends up being her that goes to get him out of trouble. I could so see Jax doing this too, even with the little you know about her to start with, she's a girl who has gumption and will anything for her brother. She wonders if it's a twin thing, I think it's just because he's all she has left and she knows he'd do the same thing for her.
Lir, the alien boy, comes across a bit conceited when he and Jax first officially meet, but as their travels go on, you get to see the change in both of them. This alien boy is hot, I mean, the way the author described him, she has me smoldering for him. This is what I picture him looking like, but you have to add touches of gold and green to him, along with some curls:
Not too buff, but not skinny or lanky either. Just right. Through the story, you sense there is more to him than he's letting on, and I was not disappointed.
The story flowed pretty quickly. I started getting tired of the travels, attacks and such, but right about at that time, the author brought on the next phase of the story. The alien life style, government, and the prejudices of the aliens towards humans. The author also adds quite a few more layers to the story. The action starts really picking up at this point, but at times there was so much going on that I started having to reread to make sure I wasn't missing anything and to keep things straight. This is the first book in a series and I am happy to say that the author did not leave off with a huge cliffhanger but giving me the curiosity of wondering what happens next. I look forward to reading the next book, "Fractured Suns."
This is a clean read that will have any dystopian/scifi reader intrigued and satisfied. Bravo Ms Kay, Bravo!
I would like to thank the author for providing me with a complimentary copy of her book in exchange for an honest review.
Dystopia...aliens...what about those two does this girl not love? Put them together and BAM, you have me trailing after you like a rabbit to a carrot! Set in our world, not that far in to our future, there is society completely upheaval by the Collapse, which brought on the near death of civilization through use of biological weapons. Than aliens came, but they weren't interested in humans and didn't find it necessary to help them in any way, so there was a distinct segregation of the two. Humans, in outposts trying to live life as normal as they could and the aliens, in their own city, domed off from the rest of the world.
From the start, I liked Jax. Stubborn, strong and a little off center from everyone else. A natural curiosity for things that could get herself into trouble, and a brother, Jace, who would do whatever possible to keep her out, or get her out, of trouble. Funny thing is, it ends up being her that goes to get him out of trouble. I could so see Jax doing this too, even with the little you know about her to start with, she's a girl who has gumption and will anything for her brother. She wonders if it's a twin thing, I think it's just because he's all she has left and she knows he'd do the same thing for her.
Lir, the alien boy, comes across a bit conceited when he and Jax first officially meet, but as their travels go on, you get to see the change in both of them. This alien boy is hot, I mean, the way the author described him, she has me smoldering for him. This is what I picture him looking like, but you have to add touches of gold and green to him, along with some curls:
Not too buff, but not skinny or lanky either. Just right. Through the story, you sense there is more to him than he's letting on, and I was not disappointed.
The story flowed pretty quickly. I started getting tired of the travels, attacks and such, but right about at that time, the author brought on the next phase of the story. The alien life style, government, and the prejudices of the aliens towards humans. The author also adds quite a few more layers to the story. The action starts really picking up at this point, but at times there was so much going on that I started having to reread to make sure I wasn't missing anything and to keep things straight. This is the first book in a series and I am happy to say that the author did not leave off with a huge cliffhanger but giving me the curiosity of wondering what happens next. I look forward to reading the next book, "Fractured Suns."
This is a clean read that will have any dystopian/scifi reader intrigued and satisfied. Bravo Ms Kay, Bravo!