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izzys_internet_bookshelf's review
4.0
4/5
I really enjoyed reading this book! I can’t wait for the sequel there are so many questions that need to be answered
I really enjoyed reading this book! I can’t wait for the sequel there are so many questions that need to be answered
allisonwonderlandreads's review against another edition
adventurous
tense
fast-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? It's complicated
3.0
The Sevenfold Hunters takes readers on a wild ride alongside a team of trainee alien hunters fractured by a death in their midst. The Sevenfold were the most elite team at Carlisle Academy, stacked with legacies whose parents once fought for and now hold prestigious positions on Carlisle's board. The exception is the team's leader, Abyan. Orphaned by the very aliens the school teaches them to fight, it's a personal battle for her. When Sevenfold member Jared dies at the hands of the Nosaru (the aliens) off mission, the team is crushed. And they're not the only ones. He was with his girlfriend, Artemis, rock climbing, when the attack happened, and her world is rocked by the revelation of Jared's secret life and the way he was taken from her. She can't help but feel that the school's response indicates something more sinister is going on. It motivates her to seek entry to the elite academy, not as an aspiring Nosaru hunter, but to find out what Carlisle is hiding about the day Jared died. In a twist, the school assigns Artemis to Jared's old squad, an action that stirs up a lot of animosity towards the new girl. Not only does the new recruit threaten the team's standing in the school's rankings, but she also has the gall to take the space left by their friend, the one they're still mourning. We get the story through two POVs as Abyan and Artemis try to put together all the strange things happening at Carlisle, initially as separate investigators, but eventually as collaborators.
The strongest aspect of this book for me is the Sevenfold team. There's a lot of representation, starting with the fact that there are only two "token straights," a ratio I can get behind. Artemis is bi, and it's always worth noting for me that one of the members is ace. Abyan stands out as my favorite character. She's British Somali, and her lack of upper-crust background is just another way she stands out at Carlisle. Language code-switching is one of the ways she ultimately ends up bonding with Artemis. Abyan is also hijabi, and we see some of the little and big ways her faith has impacted her time at school. For one, she's had to fight to prevent her squad from being assigned missions that would require her to miss prayer. We also see the heart-warming respect she receives from her friends regarding personal boundaries. Her best friend on the team is Hank, and they have a heart eyes will they/won't they vibe. They always have each other's backs, even against the rest of the squad. Their flirtatious banter is top-notch, and I was rooting for them to take the plunge. But while they share intense moments and some adorable friendly hugs to ground each other, Hank respects that Abyan wouldn't be comfortable with further physical intimacy. My final comment re:Team Abyan is that there's some powerful depression representation through her character, showing how she copes (or can't) with the bad days and where they come from. I found it relatable and meaningful, an aspect of her reality woven through the rest, just like mental illness is in real life.
The weaker element of the book for me was the world-building and background components. In terms of relationships, Abyan and Hank have a deep feeling of history between them even if it doesn't play out on the page. But not all the friendships on the team have the same nuanced quality. In some ways, I think that's natural. In other ways, the famed synchronicity of the team feels unsupported even before you get into the specific fractures affecting them this year. For world-building, it feels a bit like a standard alien and evil corporation plot, which isn't necessarily bad but doesn't inspire my enthusiasm. It also leaves room for some plot holes or at least thin explanation since it's relying on common tropes.
In the end, characters and their relationships are more important to me than world-building, and I think these characters have a lot to say. With that in mind, I would pick up a future book about them should it exist to see how things evolve for them. Thanks to Page Street for my copy to read and review!
The strongest aspect of this book for me is the Sevenfold team. There's a lot of representation, starting with the fact that there are only two "token straights," a ratio I can get behind. Artemis is bi, and it's always worth noting for me that one of the members is ace. Abyan stands out as my favorite character. She's British Somali, and her lack of upper-crust background is just another way she stands out at Carlisle. Language code-switching is one of the ways she ultimately ends up bonding with Artemis. Abyan is also hijabi, and we see some of the little and big ways her faith has impacted her time at school. For one, she's had to fight to prevent her squad from being assigned missions that would require her to miss prayer. We also see the heart-warming respect she receives from her friends regarding personal boundaries. Her best friend on the team is Hank, and they have a heart eyes will they/won't they vibe. They always have each other's backs, even against the rest of the squad. Their flirtatious banter is top-notch, and I was rooting for them to take the plunge. But while they share intense moments and some adorable friendly hugs to ground each other, Hank respects that Abyan wouldn't be comfortable with further physical intimacy. My final comment re:Team Abyan is that there's some powerful depression representation through her character, showing how she copes (or can't) with the bad days and where they come from. I found it relatable and meaningful, an aspect of her reality woven through the rest, just like mental illness is in real life.
The weaker element of the book for me was the world-building and background components. In terms of relationships, Abyan and Hank have a deep feeling of history between them even if it doesn't play out on the page. But not all the friendships on the team have the same nuanced quality. In some ways, I think that's natural. In other ways, the famed synchronicity of the team feels unsupported even before you get into the specific fractures affecting them this year. For world-building, it feels a bit like a standard alien and evil corporation plot, which isn't necessarily bad but doesn't inspire my enthusiasm. It also leaves room for some plot holes or at least thin explanation since it's relying on common tropes.
In the end, characters and their relationships are more important to me than world-building, and I think these characters have a lot to say. With that in mind, I would pick up a future book about them should it exist to see how things evolve for them. Thanks to Page Street for my copy to read and review!
justinbaumann71's review
3.0
Thank you to the Penguin Random House audio app for access to this story.
I initially really liked this story. One it has a simple but effective premise that drops you fairly quick into the action along with a decently enjoyable cast of characters and two POVs that we swap between that of a lolely recruit who is figuring out her place at Carisle with Artimes and the more experienced upperclassman with Abyan.
However, the story struggles in overexplaining its lore up front and maybe this is more of a marketing issue but its not clear if this is a series or not. I read it thinking it was a standalone so I expected a clear and concise well paced story and the front half was very slow in building what is a decent mystery and motivating factors, but the back half doesn't really speed up to make the stakes feel dire leading to a floppy ending that could set up another book since not everything was well answered by the end.
This leads to a story that the more I sit on it feels lackluster. Additionally, the large cast of characters means that since I am an avid reader the characters felt more like archetypes more than they felt unique. You have rich boy, noble boy, tough but fair girl, hard ass girl, tech/hacker boy, and plucky MC who is fish out of water in this big bad world. It just leaves you wanting bc the ideas are solid without the best execution.
Overall I went back and forth on this one but ulitimately felt that i needed to down rate it to a 3 due to a ton of tiny cuts breaking down a good start.
I initially really liked this story. One it has a simple but effective premise that drops you fairly quick into the action along with a decently enjoyable cast of characters and two POVs that we swap between that of a lolely recruit who is figuring out her place at Carisle with Artimes and the more experienced upperclassman with Abyan.
However, the story struggles in overexplaining its lore up front and maybe this is more of a marketing issue but its not clear if this is a series or not. I read it thinking it was a standalone so I expected a clear and concise well paced story and the front half was very slow in building what is a decent mystery and motivating factors, but the back half doesn't really speed up to make the stakes feel dire leading to a floppy ending that could set up another book since not everything was well answered by the end.
This leads to a story that the more I sit on it feels lackluster. Additionally, the large cast of characters means that since I am an avid reader the characters felt more like archetypes more than they felt unique. You have rich boy, noble boy, tough but fair girl, hard ass girl, tech/hacker boy, and plucky MC who is fish out of water in this big bad world. It just leaves you wanting bc the ideas are solid without the best execution.
Overall I went back and forth on this one but ulitimately felt that i needed to down rate it to a 3 due to a ton of tiny cuts breaking down a good start.
auddiev_quinn2's review
I am a newish reader and it was just a bit to much for me it a a great premis I am going to come back to it in a few months but for now it is just a bit to much
beardedbarista's review
2.0
Thanks to PRHAudio for this complimentary audiobook. Couldn't get into it. When I did sort of get into it... I got out of it. Maybe I just missed something. I don't give bad reviews often.
Someone help me out?
Someone help me out?
daja's review
adventurous
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.25
I haven't read a YA sci-fi in a long time so I wanted to pick this up. The Sevenfold-Hunters is a plot-driven novel following two characters attending Carlisle academy. While Artemis, the new student, is training and trying to keep up with her squad, Abyan is trying to figure out the mystery surrounding the nosaru.
There were a lot of interesting elements about this book. I really loved the casual diversity in the story. There was a hijabi character, a lot of LGBT+ characters, racial and ethnic diversity, mental health rep and probably even more than that. To me, it didn't feel like it was overdone, either. Sometimes novels with so much diversity can feel like it's just for points but I'm glad this one didn't. I also enjoyed that Artemis' chapters didn't focus on her training. I do not like training scenes in novels in most novels and so I was happy that it wasn't a focus. Even by the end of the few scenes, she wasn't all magically skilled. It felt so realistic!
Like I said before, there were a lot of interesting elements but I think that was also a problem. When the book started, I thought that it was going to be focused on the mystery of Aretemis' boyfriend. The quickly takes a backseat to the mystery of the Nosaru. Even the mystery of the Nosaru takes a backseat to the mystery of the medical studies. With all of these things happening, I don't think any of it was really fleshed out. Some of it probably should have been in the next book but seeing as how I don't really see anything about a sequel, I can understand why it felt like a lot of stuff was squeezed into this one.
Overall, this was a decent story. I wish it had a little more time to develop the plot points and the characters, but it was still a good read.
There were a lot of interesting elements about this book. I really loved the casual diversity in the story. There was a hijabi character, a lot of LGBT+ characters, racial and ethnic diversity, mental health rep and probably even more than that. To me, it didn't feel like it was overdone, either. Sometimes novels with so much diversity can feel like it's just for points but I'm glad this one didn't. I also enjoyed that Artemis' chapters didn't focus on her training. I do not like training scenes in novels in most novels and so I was happy that it wasn't a focus. Even by the end of the few scenes, she wasn't all magically skilled. It felt so realistic!
Like I said before, there were a lot of interesting elements but I think that was also a problem. When the book started, I thought that it was going to be focused on the mystery of Aretemis' boyfriend. The quickly takes a backseat to the mystery of the Nosaru. Even the mystery of the Nosaru takes a backseat to the mystery of the medical studies. With all of these things happening, I don't think any of it was really fleshed out. Some of it probably should have been in the next book but seeing as how I don't really see anything about a sequel, I can understand why it felt like a lot of stuff was squeezed into this one.
Overall, this was a decent story. I wish it had a little more time to develop the plot points and the characters, but it was still a good read.
booktribe's review
adventurous
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
cboddie's review against another edition
adventurous
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
3.0
7th & up
tootiredforthis's review
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
3.25
cowmingo's review
3.0
I'm so grateful to Pride Book Tours and Page Street Publishing for a gifted copy of The Sevenfold Hunters by Rose Egal! When I saw hijabi alien hunter and set at a school and LGBTQ rep, I said where do I sign up? I'm a sucker for a book set in a school where not everything is as it seems and this book definitely delivered. Abyan, Artemis and the rest of the squad kept me guessing for a lot of the book. I loved the found family aspect of the story as well as the mystery surrounding the school and Abyan and company in particular. I had a fun time reading the book which is always a plus. Hate a cliffhanger ending but I'll definitely be continuing on with book two when it comes out.
The Sevenfold Hunters is out now wherever you buy books!
The Sevenfold Hunters is out now wherever you buy books!