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hiddeninthesketchbook's review against another edition
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.75
kat_smith24's review
4.0
**I received this Advance Reader Copy for free in exchange for an honest review.**
Despite the problematic abuse, I liked this book. The mythology of the spacecraft felt authentic, and the inner lives of the characters seemed genuine. It had sufficient fighting and tension for my tastes, and very little love story. I'm hoping for a sequel!
Despite the problematic abuse, I liked this book. The mythology of the spacecraft felt authentic, and the inner lives of the characters seemed genuine. It had sufficient fighting and tension for my tastes, and very little love story. I'm hoping for a sequel!
briarsreviews's review
2.0
Wonderblood by Julia Whicker is beautifully written, but the story feels very confusing to me.
Honestly, I tried to love this book. I was blown away with Julia's writing style and was absolutely memorized. While I read the first couple of chapters, my mind was utterly blown. I was so pumped to continue reading, but the story and plot line got confusing and messy.
This book was an interesting dystopian, paranormal, fantasy twist. The carnival and the dystopian future vibes were really cool and amazing ideas. There was also ridiculous amounts of gore, with people being chopped away due to war and brutality. With all that in mind, I didn't really see where the plot or character development was. It more felt like a gore fest through the eyes of a marvelous writer. It was just kind of weird for me.
It felt like the vibe was Games of Thrones meets The Walking Dead but throw in lots of carnivals and I Am Legend.
In summary, I was definitely not the audience for this book. It just didn't work for me.
I do recommend this book if you love books like Games of Thrones - for the brutality and backstory/lore - or if you love unique and incredible stylized writing.
Two out of Five Stars.
I received this book for free through Goodreads First Reads.
Honestly, I tried to love this book. I was blown away with Julia's writing style and was absolutely memorized. While I read the first couple of chapters, my mind was utterly blown. I was so pumped to continue reading, but the story and plot line got confusing and messy.
This book was an interesting dystopian, paranormal, fantasy twist. The carnival and the dystopian future vibes were really cool and amazing ideas. There was also ridiculous amounts of gore, with people being chopped away due to war and brutality. With all that in mind, I didn't really see where the plot or character development was. It more felt like a gore fest through the eyes of a marvelous writer. It was just kind of weird for me.
It felt like the vibe was Games of Thrones meets The Walking Dead but throw in lots of carnivals and I Am Legend.
In summary, I was definitely not the audience for this book. It just didn't work for me.
I do recommend this book if you love books like Games of Thrones - for the brutality and backstory/lore - or if you love unique and incredible stylized writing.
Two out of Five Stars.
I received this book for free through Goodreads First Reads.
michaeldrakich's review
4.0
I received this book in a Goodreads Giveaway.
This book was a bit of a rollercoaster in the reading. I was not exactly wowed in the first few chapters as there were too many unanswered questions in regards to the dystopian world in which the author had created. There were also a number of logistical things and inconsistencies that challenged the believability of this world. I prefer a certain amount of real science in my science fiction.
I made a decision early in to ignore these issues and instead relax and enjoy the reading because one thing was for certain, the author is an absolutely excellent wordsmith. The prose flowed so well I contemplated how most readers would not worry over the small details that perplexed me and I decided to join them.
Once I had shed my inhibitions about details and science, I became enrapt in the story. This dystopian world is very dark and very unique. I can't imagine how any fan of the sub-genre dystopian could not find this entertaining.
As I rolled along my opinion of the value of the book kept growing with each chapter. The artwork interspersed throughout the work gave it a bit of a graphic novel feel. You could feel the level of tension rising as you neared the end, and my opinion had risen to near five star rating, but then, boom, it ended in a whimper.
I cannot fathom why the story leaves so many sub-plots unfinished with the exception that the author intends to follow up with a sequel. There is nowhere that indicates this book is part one of a series. As my copy indicates it is not the final product, but a pre-release version, if it is indeed the intent of the author to write a continuation, then I would implore her to identify the book as "Part 1". Without such identification she will alienate readers.
In a final analysis, because of the ending, my opinion dropped below a 4, but I think it is still better than a 3.5, so a 4 star rating is what it is. If it was identified as a Part 1, I probably would have given it 4.5.
This book was a bit of a rollercoaster in the reading. I was not exactly wowed in the first few chapters as there were too many unanswered questions in regards to the dystopian world in which the author had created. There were also a number of logistical things and inconsistencies that challenged the believability of this world. I prefer a certain amount of real science in my science fiction.
I made a decision early in to ignore these issues and instead relax and enjoy the reading because one thing was for certain, the author is an absolutely excellent wordsmith. The prose flowed so well I contemplated how most readers would not worry over the small details that perplexed me and I decided to join them.
Once I had shed my inhibitions about details and science, I became enrapt in the story. This dystopian world is very dark and very unique. I can't imagine how any fan of the sub-genre dystopian could not find this entertaining.
As I rolled along my opinion of the value of the book kept growing with each chapter. The artwork interspersed throughout the work gave it a bit of a graphic novel feel. You could feel the level of tension rising as you neared the end, and my opinion had risen to near five star rating, but then, boom, it ended in a whimper.
I cannot fathom why the story leaves so many sub-plots unfinished with the exception that the author intends to follow up with a sequel. There is nowhere that indicates this book is part one of a series. As my copy indicates it is not the final product, but a pre-release version, if it is indeed the intent of the author to write a continuation, then I would implore her to identify the book as "Part 1". Without such identification she will alienate readers.
In a final analysis, because of the ending, my opinion dropped below a 4, but I think it is still better than a 3.5, so a 4 star rating is what it is. If it was identified as a Part 1, I probably would have given it 4.5.
whiteraven191's review
2.0
DNF at 57%
This is a very strange book. The author clearly put a lot of effort into describing the weird space-shuttle-worshipping society that has sprang up after a Mad Cow disease epidemic has destroyed America. Unfortunately, instead of being drawn into this world, I felt very removed from it as I was reading. I just couldn't get invested at all. This isn't a very long book, but it took me two weeks to get half-way through it (~160 pages). In comparison, it took me the same amount of time to read An Ember in the Ashes (~450 pages). I tried, but this book just wasn't for me. I did like the illustrations a lot, though. Those were cool.
This is a very strange book. The author clearly put a lot of effort into describing the weird space-shuttle-worshipping society that has sprang up after a Mad Cow disease epidemic has destroyed America. Unfortunately, instead of being drawn into this world, I felt very removed from it as I was reading. I just couldn't get invested at all. This isn't a very long book, but it took me two weeks to get half-way through it (~160 pages). In comparison, it took me the same amount of time to read An Ember in the Ashes (~450 pages). I tried, but this book just wasn't for me. I did like the illustrations a lot, though. Those were cool.
katymm's review
3.0
Unfortunately this wasn’t great. The worldbuilding was full of holes and never full fleshed out, and the flat characters never developed. For a “plot” dystopian novel, everything lacked a sense of urgency. The prose was nice though, but I wish this novel had less exposition and more development.
candority's review
3.0
Wonderblood takes place 500 years in the future, in a post-apocalyptic landscape ravaged by a disease called “Bent Head” and filled with carnivals, space shuttles, bloodletting, magic and more. It was very different from what I normally read, and while I enjoyed it, there was also room for improvement. The writing was beautiful, but the story itself fell a bit flat. There was little to no character development, the majority of the characters were unlikable, and I kept confusing John and Marvel’s parts. Additionally, I kept waiting for two of the characters to meet, but that never happened. I think I was expecting something more… whether that was more action or more explanation. As a reader, I felt like I was thrust into this world without really understanding what the world was. I think flushing that out a bit more would have been helpful. I also thought the ending could have been a bit more conclusive, but it seems as though Whicker has set the stage for a sequel.
Overall, I think Wonderblood had a unique and interesting premise. While there were flaws, it was a fairly quick read, and I think fans of dystopian novels will enjoy it.
Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for providing me with a copy of Wonderblood in exchange for an honest review.
Overall, I think Wonderblood had a unique and interesting premise. While there were flaws, it was a fairly quick read, and I think fans of dystopian novels will enjoy it.
Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for providing me with a copy of Wonderblood in exchange for an honest review.
catcouch's review
adventurous
dark
medium-paced
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Violence
Moderate: Adult/minor relationship, Child abuse, Incest, and Rape
seriouslybookedup's review
3.0
I mentioned in my last wrap-up how my appetite for weird books continues to grow. This book taught me that maybe there is such a thing as too weird.
“Wonderblood” started off strong – set 500 years into the future when most of the world’s population has been wiped out by a strange Mad Cow-type of disease. Cult-like religious sects practice astrology and other superstitious divinations. Oh and beheadings. Lots and lots of beheadings. This is a bloody, strange little book set in Cape Canaveral, FL (what?). I really wanted to like this and for the first 60% or so of this book, I did. But I think the author ran out of steam and couldn’t fully realize where she wanted her characters to go and why. The story felt like I was constantly climbing uphill without ever cresting it.
There’s a lot to discuss about this book (i.e. parallels to modern religion, destiny, violence) and there’s a lot of niggling details that poke holes in the story (i.e. What happened to 21st century tech and literature? What happened to the world outside of the U.S.?). Julia Whicker’s prose is excellent and her writing makes this totally worth reading (if you can stomach the weirdness and the violence) but the ending was pointlessly ambiguous and disappointing.
“Wonderblood” started off strong – set 500 years into the future when most of the world’s population has been wiped out by a strange Mad Cow-type of disease. Cult-like religious sects practice astrology and other superstitious divinations. Oh and beheadings. Lots and lots of beheadings. This is a bloody, strange little book set in Cape Canaveral, FL (what?). I really wanted to like this and for the first 60% or so of this book, I did. But I think the author ran out of steam and couldn’t fully realize where she wanted her characters to go and why. The story felt like I was constantly climbing uphill without ever cresting it.
There’s a lot to discuss about this book (i.e. parallels to modern religion, destiny, violence) and there’s a lot of niggling details that poke holes in the story (i.e. What happened to 21st century tech and literature? What happened to the world outside of the U.S.?). Julia Whicker’s prose is excellent and her writing makes this totally worth reading (if you can stomach the weirdness and the violence) but the ending was pointlessly ambiguous and disappointing.