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4.04 AVERAGE
4.04 AVERAGE
I could read Kathy Reich's all day. I love this new YA series. It's so engrossing.
Loved this. So funny and the plot and adventure were fantastic. I was slightly upset Tory took so many unnecessary risks with her powers. It was still great
I was absolutely thrilled that I bought the first two books in this series together, because I NEEDED to continue this series. The first book, Virals, was an absolute hit for me and Seizure continued the insanity!
This time around Tory, Ben, Shelton, Hi and Cooper are off on another adventure.... except... get this... PIRATES. The loss of LIRI absolutely sucked because the loss of potential science plots devastated me. So I was reading it, hoping that somehow these authors had some cool science-y plot to follow and NOPE! But they got the next best thing - pirates and treasure!
LIRI is going to be shut down, so the Virals need to acquire some funds to try to help their parents keep their jobs. Otherwise, all of them will be moved around the continents and might never see each other again. This is a big problem since they are Virals with their crazy powers. In walks a famous myth about a female pirate and her treasure. And, of course, she buried it near the home of our lead characters! Our Virals decide to go on a treasure hunt, and get in LOTS of trouble along the way. And I mean A LOT.
I loved the sense of adventure in this book! I was hooked to every word and it was really difficult to put the book down. There's a good mix of 75% action and 25% goofy, high school drama. Tori takes on Madison in this book and the drama is hilarious. I've never considered these books to be "serious" or "realistic" books (come on... Tori's eyes turn yellow and she has magical powers), so I absolutely loved the angst that was added in this book. Also, cue in potential love triangle? Or square... Either way, I see one coming. It's a YA book, you KNOW the romance is gonna be thrown in there eventually.
So, what are my cons?
1. Kit seems mighty dumb in this book. Did he really not notice Tori sneaking away so much? I know he works a lot and is busy... but dude. Kit is related to Tempe and he's this dumb?
2. The bad guys were predictable and also dumb. I'm honestly not sure how Kathy could change this (I don't have any constructive criticism about this, to be honest) but I have to say it. It was one of my cons.
But along with the cons, I have some mighty pros:
1. This series isn't focused on romance like most YAs. There is a pinch (and I mean a PINCH, like a pinch of salt. Very little) but the story mostly focuses on friendship and adventure. That makes this book way more fun when you're not worried about who's gonna kiss who.
2. Riddles, myths and legends make everything more interesting. Some of the riddles are easy to solve, but some of them were a little more difficult.
3. This book has comedy in it! There's some seriously funny quotes lined in this book that made the action and adventure just feel more fun. I'm tired of mopey YA books, we need more positivity in this world!
4. This book is super knowledgeable. Various animals species, the Gaelic language and more science-y info is shared with the reader. Kathy Reich's books are always smart! It's just another reason to love this series.
Overall, this book was AWESOME! It was a fun read for me and I really want to continue this series. It's closer to PG-13 mainly because of the language (a couple swears) but the fun could easily be read by middle grade.
Five out of five stars!!
This time around Tory, Ben, Shelton, Hi and Cooper are off on another adventure.... except... get this... PIRATES. The loss of LIRI absolutely sucked because the loss of potential science plots devastated me. So I was reading it, hoping that somehow these authors had some cool science-y plot to follow and NOPE! But they got the next best thing - pirates and treasure!
LIRI is going to be shut down, so the Virals need to acquire some funds to try to help their parents keep their jobs. Otherwise, all of them will be moved around the continents and might never see each other again. This is a big problem since they are Virals with their crazy powers. In walks a famous myth about a female pirate and her treasure. And, of course, she buried it near the home of our lead characters! Our Virals decide to go on a treasure hunt, and get in LOTS of trouble along the way. And I mean A LOT.
I loved the sense of adventure in this book! I was hooked to every word and it was really difficult to put the book down. There's a good mix of 75% action and 25% goofy, high school drama. Tori takes on Madison in this book and the drama is hilarious. I've never considered these books to be "serious" or "realistic" books (come on... Tori's eyes turn yellow and she has magical powers), so I absolutely loved the angst that was added in this book. Also, cue in potential love triangle? Or square... Either way, I see one coming. It's a YA book, you KNOW the romance is gonna be thrown in there eventually.
So, what are my cons?
1. Kit seems mighty dumb in this book. Did he really not notice Tori sneaking away so much? I know he works a lot and is busy... but dude. Kit is related to Tempe and he's this dumb?
2. The bad guys were predictable and also dumb. I'm honestly not sure how Kathy could change this (I don't have any constructive criticism about this, to be honest) but I have to say it. It was one of my cons.
But along with the cons, I have some mighty pros:
1. This series isn't focused on romance like most YAs. There is a pinch (and I mean a PINCH, like a pinch of salt. Very little) but the story mostly focuses on friendship and adventure. That makes this book way more fun when you're not worried about who's gonna kiss who.
2. Riddles, myths and legends make everything more interesting. Some of the riddles are easy to solve, but some of them were a little more difficult.
3. This book has comedy in it! There's some seriously funny quotes lined in this book that made the action and adventure just feel more fun. I'm tired of mopey YA books, we need more positivity in this world!
4. This book is super knowledgeable. Various animals species, the Gaelic language and more science-y info is shared with the reader. Kathy Reich's books are always smart! It's just another reason to love this series.
Overall, this book was AWESOME! It was a fun read for me and I really want to continue this series. It's closer to PG-13 mainly because of the language (a couple swears) but the fun could easily be read by middle grade.
Five out of five stars!!
2.5 ⭐️. Story is fast-paced, adventurous, exciting. But for a mystery/thriller novel, it virtually had no twists and was extremely predictable. Also, the main character is annoying. And I don’t have enough fingers and toes to count how many fat-jokes were made about a particular character. The author’s fatphobic and racist comments were difficult to ignore and really dampened the experience.
I didn't enjoy this nearly as much as Virals. Perhaps because they steal an historic map from a museum, carry it around in a ziploc bag, and then WRITE ON THE BACK OF IT. My inner museum curator is crying in the corner.
Plus, the whole "Let's save our parents' jobs by finding lost pirate treasure" seemed more like a plot that a bunch of ten year olds would come up with, not a bunch of sixteen year olds. Also, I'm pretty sure the parents involved have no idea what grounding their kids actually means. "YOU'RE GROUNDED! But sure, go on a ghost tour of downtown Charleston with your friends. Just be home by 10pm." Whut.
Despite that, it was an action packed and really fast read. And it gets a bonus star for the inclusion of pirates.
Plus, the whole "Let's save our parents' jobs by finding lost pirate treasure" seemed more like a plot that a bunch of ten year olds would come up with, not a bunch of sixteen year olds. Also, I'm pretty sure the parents involved have no idea what grounding their kids actually means. "YOU'RE GROUNDED! But sure, go on a ghost tour of downtown Charleston with your friends. Just be home by 10pm." Whut.
Despite that, it was an action packed and really fast read. And it gets a bonus star for the inclusion of pirates.
Also reviewed on the blog: http://gloriousbooks.blogspot.com/2012/01/review-seizure.html
I was so excited when this came up as an option for a book tour. I loved the first book in the series so I had quite big expectations when it came to this one. I sure wasn't disappointed!
One thing I loved about the last book was the quirky protagonists. The Viral gang is so funny at times and so cool at others! I still love how different they all are and yet they make the most perfect team.
One thing I would love to read more of now is some kind of development with their personal lives. I feel like a little is missing with their lives other than the special powers that they have. I would love something to happen in the next book where it was more to do with their human side and less to do with the other.
Anyway aside from that little rant. I loved the action filled plot too. When you hear a book is based on finding pirate treasure it sounds almost too cheesy but Kathy Reichs really made it work. It was so fast paced I finished the book in no time. Admittedly it was a tiny bit predictable at times but it didn't take anything away from the enjoyment of reading it.
I really recommend this series to anyone it's such good fun. Great characters, exciting plot and loads of suspense - what more could you ask for?
I was so excited when this came up as an option for a book tour. I loved the first book in the series so I had quite big expectations when it came to this one. I sure wasn't disappointed!
One thing I loved about the last book was the quirky protagonists. The Viral gang is so funny at times and so cool at others! I still love how different they all are and yet they make the most perfect team.
One thing I would love to read more of now is some kind of development with their personal lives. I feel like a little is missing with their lives other than the special powers that they have. I would love something to happen in the next book where it was more to do with their human side and less to do with the other.
Anyway aside from that little rant. I loved the action filled plot too. When you hear a book is based on finding pirate treasure it sounds almost too cheesy but Kathy Reichs really made it work. It was so fast paced I finished the book in no time. Admittedly it was a tiny bit predictable at times but it didn't take anything away from the enjoyment of reading it.
I really recommend this series to anyone it's such good fun. Great characters, exciting plot and loads of suspense - what more could you ask for?
This review and more can be found on The Sirenic Codex.
Virals was a really fun sci-fi novel and so I was super excited for Seizure. Seizure wasn't what I expected at all. The story became more like National Treasure than a sci-fi book, and frankly I enjoyed it.
Seizure is an action packed, thrilling read that is not very realistic at all. To save Loggerhead island and to keep the Virals together, a great deal of money is needed. When Tory and the rest of the Virals hear of the lost fortune of female pirate Anne Bonny, they decide that the treasure is the solution to all their problems. They can't be separated; they're still learning about their new abilities and it's a secret they can't share with anyone.
Doesn't that sound fun? It was. There were many action scenes, many mysteries, and even a few deaths. The book itself was complete with its own story line that wrapped up quite nicely. Seizure is a book very easy to get into because the plot is fast-paced and constantly moving. It doesn't demand too much from the reader and it's frankly, pure entertainment. I could imagine everything happening like a movie in my head.
That being said, there were a few issues. This book needs to be looked at as something fun and exciting. It will probably disappoint you if you go into it with a critical eye.
The first issue is a pretty common one when it comes to treasure hunting books. Anne Bonny's treasure is one that has drawn many people over the years, so how does a group of kids find it? I understand they had special senses so that obviously helped. But in terms of solving the clues and riddles... it was a little bit stretched. See, at some points Tory would stop everyone because she had an idea coming. Something would just click for her and she would guess something correctly and they would move on to the next stage of the hunt. Except some of the connections she made came a little bit out of nowhere and as a reader, I was a little blown away at how they found the treasure. It obviously wasn't easy but the Virals made an awful lot of correct guesses. However, you can't complain about this too much because that's the story and it's a lot of fun.
The other thing that threw me off a little was the ease with which Tory and the group could sneak out of their homes. They were grounded for most of the time but that never stopped them from leaving to attend numerous late night excursions. They weren't caught once until near the end and that's completely ridiculous. I could understand maybe if Tory's dad is a little lax in security but the parents of all the other kids too? If it was that easy to get out of the house at night, well then I'd be... um, I'd rather not write anything too incriminating on the internet. It just shocked me, especially because they're fourteen years old. They even stole a car a few times and got away with that too. We'll ignore all the other crimes for now because I don't want to spoil the fun.
Remember, this is fun. I know I'm being negative and complaining a little too much, but this book is a lot of fun. The characters are all genuinely likable with their own personalities. They feel like a real group of friends and I enjoyed reading about their interactions and how they could push each other's buttons. Hi in particular was one of my favourites. He's constantly joking and I loved it. Tory had the ability to convince all the guys to do whatever she wanted them to do (and this includes some crazy stuff I would never, ever, agree to) and it was funny seeing the group respond when Tory had some crazy idea they knew wouldn't end well. She was their fearless leader.
There wasn't too much real depth in terms of personality. Seizure wasn't character driven, it was definitely plot driven, and that worked for it. The book was pretty long but it was a lot of fun to read, so a great way to spend a few hours as long as you don't need anything too deep. If you're looking for fun, Seizure is the book for you. I liked it a lot.
Virals was a really fun sci-fi novel and so I was super excited for Seizure. Seizure wasn't what I expected at all. The story became more like National Treasure than a sci-fi book, and frankly I enjoyed it.
Seizure is an action packed, thrilling read that is not very realistic at all. To save Loggerhead island and to keep the Virals together, a great deal of money is needed. When Tory and the rest of the Virals hear of the lost fortune of female pirate Anne Bonny, they decide that the treasure is the solution to all their problems. They can't be separated; they're still learning about their new abilities and it's a secret they can't share with anyone.
Doesn't that sound fun? It was. There were many action scenes, many mysteries, and even a few deaths. The book itself was complete with its own story line that wrapped up quite nicely. Seizure is a book very easy to get into because the plot is fast-paced and constantly moving. It doesn't demand too much from the reader and it's frankly, pure entertainment. I could imagine everything happening like a movie in my head.
That being said, there were a few issues. This book needs to be looked at as something fun and exciting. It will probably disappoint you if you go into it with a critical eye.
The first issue is a pretty common one when it comes to treasure hunting books. Anne Bonny's treasure is one that has drawn many people over the years, so how does a group of kids find it? I understand they had special senses so that obviously helped. But in terms of solving the clues and riddles... it was a little bit stretched. See, at some points Tory would stop everyone because she had an idea coming. Something would just click for her and she would guess something correctly and they would move on to the next stage of the hunt. Except some of the connections she made came a little bit out of nowhere and as a reader, I was a little blown away at how they found the treasure. It obviously wasn't easy but the Virals made an awful lot of correct guesses. However, you can't complain about this too much because that's the story and it's a lot of fun.
The other thing that threw me off a little was the ease with which Tory and the group could sneak out of their homes. They were grounded for most of the time but that never stopped them from leaving to attend numerous late night excursions. They weren't caught once until near the end and that's completely ridiculous. I could understand maybe if Tory's dad is a little lax in security but the parents of all the other kids too? If it was that easy to get out of the house at night, well then I'd be... um, I'd rather not write anything too incriminating on the internet. It just shocked me, especially because they're fourteen years old. They even stole a car a few times and got away with that too. We'll ignore all the other crimes for now because I don't want to spoil the fun.
Remember, this is fun. I know I'm being negative and complaining a little too much, but this book is a lot of fun. The characters are all genuinely likable with their own personalities. They feel like a real group of friends and I enjoyed reading about their interactions and how they could push each other's buttons. Hi in particular was one of my favourites. He's constantly joking and I loved it. Tory had the ability to convince all the guys to do whatever she wanted them to do (and this includes some crazy stuff I would never, ever, agree to) and it was funny seeing the group respond when Tory had some crazy idea they knew wouldn't end well. She was their fearless leader.
There wasn't too much real depth in terms of personality. Seizure wasn't character driven, it was definitely plot driven, and that worked for it. The book was pretty long but it was a lot of fun to read, so a great way to spend a few hours as long as you don't need anything too deep. If you're looking for fun, Seizure is the book for you. I liked it a lot.
adventurous
mysterious
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
I really enjoyed this book a lot more than the first one. There was more action, a lot of times that kept me guessing who the bad guys are and there was times that I couldn’t stop reading chapter after chapter.
This is a really good read! And who doesn’t love a good treasure hunt! 😍 I love the gang, the pack & Tory’s family!
I can’t wait to see what Code is about and hopefully it is a gripping as this book! x
This is a really good read! And who doesn’t love a good treasure hunt! 😍 I love the gang, the pack & Tory’s family!
I can’t wait to see what Code is about and hopefully it is a gripping as this book! x
Man, this book was so great! Loved the mystery, solving the clues, and dodging the traps! So great to read!
*First read October 27th, 2012*
Fantastic book, loved all the clues and the mystery, and the suggestion that Tory might possibly, maybe, could be the descendant of Anne Bonny! And I can't wait for the 3rd book!
*First read October 27th, 2012*
Fantastic book, loved all the clues and the mystery, and the suggestion that Tory might possibly, maybe, could be the descendant of Anne Bonny! And I can't wait for the 3rd book!