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3.42 AVERAGE
3.42 AVERAGE
This story suffers from a few weaknesses that I've noticed in some other 21st century YA fiction: 1) all the main characters are amazingly gorgeous, males with bulging muscles and simmering eyes and females who are too thin to be healthy; 2) excessive drama; and 3) a world where all the adults are screwed up and the teenagers are the only ones who can save the day. These are the greatest weaknesses I saw.
Otherwise, I enjoyed this novel more than I expected, considering these weaknesses. The action was well paced, and I did care about the characters and how their lives turned out. I found the premise intriguing and would like to continue the series at some point to find out what Ten and her friends all do by the end.
Otherwise, I enjoyed this novel more than I expected, considering these weaknesses. The action was well paced, and I did care about the characters and how their lives turned out. I found the premise intriguing and would like to continue the series at some point to find out what Ten and her friends all do by the end.
I loved this book so much!! I love the writing of it because it's in Ten's mind. When she babbles, has deep thoughts, remembers things; I love how it is written. Her obsession with numbers appeals to my OCD! I love it. And Killian...oh Killian how I adore you! I want to smack him sometimes but I think that is part of his appeal. And Archer *swoon* he's the guy that everyone loves unconditionally despite his righteous and know-it-all ways sometimes. And the way Many Ends is described. Holy sh**! Talk about scary and how I now imagine parts of our own Hell could be. This book is seriously a breath of fresh air. I am about to start Lifeblood and cannot wait for the next one to come out!
I think this had some type of multimedia element, and it just wasn’t the vibe I was feeling at the time. It just felt like something I was going to come to really dislike if I kept reading.
This book isn't written for me. The story and struggle thus far are intriguing and there's brewing conflict for the lead character but the subject just doesn't draw me like I thought it might.
A quite unique story, not one I've read before so that was quite refreshing. I was worried that it was going to give me some existential dread being that it deals with death, but I was relieved it didn't.
I really enjoyed the pacing of this book it seemed to never dull even when the characters had slowed down or were simply talking to one and other. I'm a complete sucker for good world building and I was interested with the concept of the two realms. And of course always love a good character development arc and love a good light vs darkness storyline.
If I was to fault it, it would be that there way too much romance for my liking however I believe it was not unreasonable for it to be there. I also was impressed at how the character dealt with the amount of trauma and grief she went through.
I really enjoyed the pacing of this book it seemed to never dull even when the characters had slowed down or were simply talking to one and other. I'm a complete sucker for good world building and I was interested with the concept of the two realms. And of course always love a good character development arc and love a good light vs darkness storyline.
If I was to fault it, it would be that there way too much romance for my liking however I believe it was not unreasonable for it to be there. I also was impressed at how the character dealt with the amount of trauma and grief she went through.
I did not enjoy this book, and this review is absolutely chock full of spoilers, so if you don't want major plot points spoiled, look away!
SPOILERS FROM HERE ON IN!
For the first quarter of Firstlife I was digging the plot, Ten's character and both the boys. It was brutal but wonderful and I was so so excited to see where it went. Truly, I thought I was in for a 4 star, maybe 5 star book. I was disappointed.
The second quarter lost some of it's mojo as I saw Showalter trying to persuade us the douche-bag, bad boy Killion was the love interest we should root for. Nonetheless I thought it would get better as the story progressed, and his character would deepen. From here I was leaning more toward a 3 star rating, but hoping for a 4 later on. I was disappointed.
The third quarter sucked baaaals and I was hedging on a 1-2 star rating. Ten just can't make up her freaking mind, she constantly says she can look out for herself (then literally dies), and it's instalove with Killion. At this point I just started skim reading and hoping to finish it quickly. Once again, suuuper disappointed.
The final quarter did pick up a little, hence the 2 star rating instead of a 1, but it still didn't do it for me. At long last we got some proper action, she went into Many Ends, found Myriad's secrets and we got our final show down. Compared to the third quarter, this is almost glowing praise - but wait for it - THEN ARCHER DIES!!!! The one redeeming quality this book had going for it was killed off in order to make the romance I HATED have an easier path. Like, seriously? SERIOUSLY??!! And then TEN dies, and it's just a whole freaking load of 'what the hell was the point of this'? So. It sucked.
Now, those were just my overall thoughts, but the romantic leads need a rant of their own.
Killion had zero (ha, zero!) character and was only there to be the bad-boy love interest. He was shallow, used sex as a tool, had no morals and didn't really care about much. The only positives we really see is that he has to show ten 'more of himself' to get/sign her, not just his usual seductive charm. And yet all we get is that he isn't truly bad and has a good side, he doesn't really truly hate Archer, and he has abandonment issues. Oh and the brutish she's-mine-f*ck-off-I-will-protect/pee on-her. Oh. My. Freaking. God. And we're supposed to LIKE him??!!
Archer was wonderful. He still wasn't amazingly developed, but he genuinely cared about Ten, had a freaking amazing sense of humour, was courageous, caring, had good morals and believed in what he fought for. See the difference yet? Sure at first I couldn't quite decide who I like best, but while Archer got deeper Killion got douchier and MY choice at least was simple.
Soooo I disliked this book. I do think it will appeal to certain readers, particularly fans of the bad boy trope, but it was sooo not for me and there is no way I could recommend it. Really, I'm only giving it 2 stars because it kept me interested enough to finish it.
SPOILERS FROM HERE ON IN!
For the first quarter of Firstlife I was digging the plot, Ten's character and both the boys. It was brutal but wonderful and I was so so excited to see where it went. Truly, I thought I was in for a 4 star, maybe 5 star book. I was disappointed.
The second quarter lost some of it's mojo as I saw Showalter trying to persuade us the douche-bag, bad boy Killion was the love interest we should root for. Nonetheless I thought it would get better as the story progressed, and his character would deepen. From here I was leaning more toward a 3 star rating, but hoping for a 4 later on. I was disappointed.
The third quarter sucked baaaals and I was hedging on a 1-2 star rating. Ten just can't make up her freaking mind, she constantly says she can look out for herself (then literally dies), and it's instalove with Killion. At this point I just started skim reading and hoping to finish it quickly. Once again, suuuper disappointed.
The final quarter did pick up a little, hence the 2 star rating instead of a 1, but it still didn't do it for me. At long last we got some proper action, she went into Many Ends, found Myriad's secrets and we got our final show down. Compared to the third quarter, this is almost glowing praise - but wait for it - THEN ARCHER DIES!!!! The one redeeming quality this book had going for it was killed off in order to make the romance I HATED have an easier path. Like, seriously? SERIOUSLY??!! And then TEN dies, and it's just a whole freaking load of 'what the hell was the point of this'? So. It sucked.
Now, those were just my overall thoughts, but the romantic leads need a rant of their own.
Killion had zero (ha, zero!) character and was only there to be the bad-boy love interest. He was shallow, used sex as a tool, had no morals and didn't really care about much. The only positives we really see is that he has to show ten 'more of himself' to get/sign her, not just his usual seductive charm. And yet all we get is that he isn't truly bad and has a good side, he doesn't really truly hate Archer, and he has abandonment issues. Oh and the brutish she's-mine-f*ck-off-I-will-protect/pee on-her. Oh. My. Freaking. God. And we're supposed to LIKE him??!!
Archer was wonderful. He still wasn't amazingly developed, but he genuinely cared about Ten, had a freaking amazing sense of humour, was courageous, caring, had good morals and believed in what he fought for. See the difference yet? Sure at first I couldn't quite decide who I like best, but while Archer got deeper Killion got douchier and MY choice at least was simple.
Soooo I disliked this book. I do think it will appeal to certain readers, particularly fans of the bad boy trope, but it was sooo not for me and there is no way I could recommend it. Really, I'm only giving it 2 stars because it kept me interested enough to finish it.
Such a good book! Filled with such intensity and I was torn the entire book! I really felt like I was in her shoes. I cannot wait to read the next book!
I received an ARC from NetGalley in exchnage for an honest review. Review can be found on *Milky Way of Books*
I think this is the first time I have rated a book by Gena Showalter under 4 stars. Don't get me wrong; the idea behind the novel was great. There is afterlife and there are two realms which fight each other, not only to claim the souls of those who live here on Earth but also to get more soldiers.
All begins with Tenley who is a prisoner inside a reforming Asylum since her parents want her to sign with Myriad, one of the two afterlife realms. Ten is an Unsigned, meaning she hasn't decided in which realm she wants to go after she dies.
When both Troika and Myriad send their own spies/super soldiers, in order to claim her soul, an all scale war will break with the future of the realms hanging on Ten's shoulders.
Although the premise of the book was great and Gena portayed a realm of forgiveness and love (Troika) and a realm consisted mostly of wealth and greed (Myriad), I couldn't help but notice how undeveloped the characters were. Ten in the whole book was undecided and only towards the end because of the circumstances, she made her decision. She is a strong heroine but in some parts her actions led to horrible outcomes. On the other hand, I really liked Killian and Archer. They both wanted Ten for themselves and despite my fear for a love triangle, it didn't happen!
The ending was a cliffhanger, which I hope to resolve on the next book. Overall it was a good book, but I wanted more world building and character development.
I think this is the first time I have rated a book by Gena Showalter under 4 stars. Don't get me wrong; the idea behind the novel was great. There is afterlife and there are two realms which fight each other, not only to claim the souls of those who live here on Earth but also to get more soldiers.
All begins with Tenley who is a prisoner inside a reforming Asylum since her parents want her to sign with Myriad, one of the two afterlife realms. Ten is an Unsigned, meaning she hasn't decided in which realm she wants to go after she dies.
When both Troika and Myriad send their own spies/super soldiers, in order to claim her soul, an all scale war will break with the future of the realms hanging on Ten's shoulders.
Although the premise of the book was great and Gena portayed a realm of forgiveness and love (Troika) and a realm consisted mostly of wealth and greed (Myriad), I couldn't help but notice how undeveloped the characters were. Ten in the whole book was undecided and only towards the end because of the circumstances, she made her decision. She is a strong heroine but in some parts her actions led to horrible outcomes. On the other hand, I really liked Killian and Archer. They both wanted Ten for themselves and despite my fear for a love triangle, it didn't happen!
The ending was a cliffhanger, which I hope to resolve on the next book. Overall it was a good book, but I wanted more world building and character development.
adventurous
emotional
inspiring
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Just wow. I have no words. I'm so glad this is a trilogy so I still have two books to read from this world because I got so emotionally attached to this book. Let's hope the rest of the trilogy is just as perfect.
I must say first at the beginning I thought like, okay well this book is pretty predictable but I guess I was proved wrong because there were absolutely a lot of twists I didn't see coming at all. And all the characters were just perfect, I mean Archer and Killian, can it get more perfect than that? And even though Ten might have been that typical protagonist girl, I really liked how she refused to make choices based of others opinion and stood up for herself.
I must say first at the beginning I thought like, okay well this book is pretty predictable but I guess I was proved wrong because there were absolutely a lot of twists I didn't see coming at all. And all the characters were just perfect, I mean Archer and Killian, can it get more perfect than that? And even though Ten might have been that typical protagonist girl, I really liked how she refused to make choices based of others opinion and stood up for herself.
adventurous
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes