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routergirl's review against another edition
4.0
This is a seriously solid book. A good book, an entertaining read, and it reminded me at times of Stephen King in his prime. The characters were engaging, the plot was gripping, and I thoroughly enjoyed it. But! If I saw this book cover in a store I would pass by it and assume it was a churned out nothing-book. I'm glad I looked past the cover. Recommend.
thereadrose's review
3.0
Actual rating: 3.5-3.75
During the first quarter of this book, I almost didn't finish the book, but, that was for reasons regarding my personal preference. The first quarter was very slow paced and I think it would be great if you like the vibes of Stranger Things and/or Stephen King’s writing. I however, don’t like either of those things.
I kept reading because I didn’t want to give up on a book that a friend of mine is so fond of. Now, do I regret my continued reading? Actually, no. I ended up enjoying the second half a lot more than the first quarter. I found the last half of the book to be faced paced, and adventurous, and I liked the romantic tension in the book. By the end of the book, I felt fond of the characters and I liked the way that the story wrapped up, minus one detail.
There’s just a part of me, that couldn’t give this book four stars, because I almost DNF’d it.
I have been so excited to read books by J.D. Barker and that hasn’t changed! I’m hoping to start his 4MK series soon!
During the first quarter of this book, I almost didn't finish the book, but, that was for reasons regarding my personal preference. The first quarter was very slow paced and I think it would be great if you like the vibes of Stranger Things and/or Stephen King’s writing. I however, don’t like either of those things.
I kept reading because I didn’t want to give up on a book that a friend of mine is so fond of. Now, do I regret my continued reading? Actually, no. I ended up enjoying the second half a lot more than the first quarter. I found the last half of the book to be faced paced, and adventurous, and I liked the romantic tension in the book. By the end of the book, I felt fond of the characters and I liked the way that the story wrapped up, minus one detail.
There’s just a part of me, that couldn’t give this book four stars, because I almost DNF’d it.
I have been so excited to read books by J.D. Barker and that hasn’t changed! I’m hoping to start his 4MK series soon!
angschw's review against another edition
5.0
This book!!!!!! If Stephen King and Justin Cronin had a love child this would be it.
On August 8th eight-year-old Jack Thatch meets Stella while he is visiting his deceased parents grave. Upon this meeting Jack becomes enamored with Stella and thinks about this strange girl every day thereafter with a hope to see her again. One full year later Jack once again encounters Stella in the graveyard.
Meanwhile “Subject D” is being held in a lab where his power is being studied and he is not permitted to speak to anyone…………
This is a hard book to review as I do not want to give away any of the details since they are all so essential to the story. I don't remember the last time I have flown through an almost 800-page book. This book was suspenseful and yet was packed with so much love. I did not want to put this one down and I feel a strong book hangover now. J.D. Barker, you are brilliant!!!!
This book was released on Tuesday, March 30th.
Big thank you to NetGalley and Hampton Creek Press for allowing me to read an advanced copy of this book!
On August 8th eight-year-old Jack Thatch meets Stella while he is visiting his deceased parents grave. Upon this meeting Jack becomes enamored with Stella and thinks about this strange girl every day thereafter with a hope to see her again. One full year later Jack once again encounters Stella in the graveyard.
Meanwhile “Subject D” is being held in a lab where his power is being studied and he is not permitted to speak to anyone…………
This is a hard book to review as I do not want to give away any of the details since they are all so essential to the story. I don't remember the last time I have flown through an almost 800-page book. This book was suspenseful and yet was packed with so much love. I did not want to put this one down and I feel a strong book hangover now. J.D. Barker, you are brilliant!!!!
This book was released on Tuesday, March 30th.
Big thank you to NetGalley and Hampton Creek Press for allowing me to read an advanced copy of this book!
fanniberger's review against another edition
3.0
A harom es a negy csillag kozott gondolkodom, mert osszessegeben nagyon sok minden tetszett ebben a regenyben, tok jol lehetett vele haladni, sodort elore a sztori es nehany elem nagyon jol ki volt benne talalva - viszont all in all a sztori nekem nagyon klises volt, egyszerre adott x men es twilight vibe-okat, egy-ket tortenetszal beemeleset nem feltetlenul ereztem jogosnak, es en a nagyon beigert korai stephen king vibe-ot sem ereztem annyira (mondjuk ez valamilyen szinten lehet a forditas fuggvenye is). Igazabol ami miatt aztan nem lett szamomra negy csillag a sztori, hogy osszessegeben semmi meglepo nem tortent - annyira tul lett huzva a sztori es annyi minden mar nagyon koran sejtetve volt, hogy mire a nagy finaleban felfedesre kerult, mar abszolut nem lepodtem meg. Annak viszont orulok, hogy konyvklub kereteben vegulis elolvastam ezt a konyvet, mert elotte nem hallottam meg Barkerrol, nem ebben a vilagban mozgok, es a magyar borito alapjan tuti soha nem vettem volna le magamtol a polcrol. Also legalabb meg egy Big Bookot kivegeztem iden, that is a win.
meggymae's review against another edition
2.0
There was just a little bit too much going on for me and it got very confusing!
penwen97's review
3.0
Looks like I'm an outlier again. I wanted to love this book so much, and I did for a good chunk of it. Unfortunately, I lost interest somewhere around the time Jack left college. There's a lot of things that went wrong for me in this novel. For one thing, it's not horror. It's a sci-fi action thriller. There is so much action. So very many gunfights and explosions amongst a sci-fi plot. For another, the insta-love. He meets Stella for a couple minutes when he's eight years old and that's that. She is now the obsession of his life and he's in love with her. Even though she's rude and cryptic every time he talks to her. The worst problems though were the plot holes and the complete obtuseness of the main characters. And why all the white? Who is behind Charter and how do they have so much money and power? So much is unexplained even with all these pages. J.D. Barker is a good wordsmith and he had an interesting idea, but for me the execution wasn't there.
Spoiler
So Stella and David have abilities and Jack should have one too since his parents also had the shots. Yet despite him being unable to be injured or killed throughout the book, he never seems to grasp the fact that he has an invincibility (or something close to it) ability. He always seems to think he just got lucky and never pays attention to it. How obtuse is this guy? He never once thinks about it or attempts to cut or otherwise injure himself to see if it can be done. He just completely ignores it! So, Stella can't touch anyone without killing them, but Jack is invincible and do they ever even one time think maybe she wouldn't be able to hurt him? Nope! Not these geniuses! I can understand being too scared to try it out, because if you're wrong he'll die, but to not even consider it? That's painfully dense. Plus, his abilities don't even make sense. He can drink arsenic and be given all kinds of strong drugs and none of it has any effect, but he can drink alcohol and get drunk and hungover? Because reasons? I know they said the shot had a side effect of making them alcohol dependent, but I don't see how he's all good with arsenic but alcohol is just too much.mariekealkema's review against another edition
mysterious
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.0
starrwad's review
5.0
This is a hard one to review. It's definitely in a different vein than Barker's other books I've read, and it puts me in mind of the Stephen King books that I like--Elevation for one; a little Stand By Me (the movie); and Stranger Things (maybe?). Another reviewer said it's a slow burn, and I think that's true. There's something subtle to it, understated, something I can't really explain. There's no doubt about it, JD Barker is quickly becoming one of my favorite authors.
I was happy to see that the audiobook is on Scribd, so I listened to it there. The audiobook narrators did a superb job. The ebook is free on Kindle Unlimited too.
A big thanks to the author, publisher, and NetGalley for a copy of the ARC. All opinions are mine.
I was happy to see that the audiobook is on Scribd, so I listened to it there. The audiobook narrators did a superb job. The ebook is free on Kindle Unlimited too.
A big thanks to the author, publisher, and NetGalley for a copy of the ARC. All opinions are mine.
xfairywingreads's review against another edition
5.0
Dit boek had me meteen al bij de eerste bladzijdes, hoe verder ik las hoe meer ik antwoorden wou!