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blooms_in_books 's review for:
The Cage
by Megan Shepherd
This could possibly become a 3.5 star if I think on it a little longer. The premise of this book is really intriguing and kept my interest piqued throughout with all the different ways the storyline could have went, but something felt... I don't know, off? Unresolved? Or completely missing throughout, maybe? I'll definitely be looking into further installments, but as of this moment, they aren't on my "I need it in my hands rtfn" short list.
Edited for full review on 09/30/2015.
My original review of this title can be found here on The Book Hookup.
**SPECIAL NOTE:** An e-ARC of this title was provided by the publisher via Edelweiss in exchange for an honest review. However, that did not influence this review in any way. All thoughts, quotes, and opinions will be of this version and not of the published edition.
♥ Quick Thoughts and Rating: 3-3.5 stars! Much like the summary that initially drew me in, the storyline continued to hold my attention simply because of the fact that the author could have carried it in so many directions and I was curious about the path she'd eventually choose. Yes, this book was entertaining, but it wasn't without its flaws. Possibly the biggest of those issues, in my opinion, was too many POVs and the fact that they shifted too frequently. I feel this could have directly affected my ability to form a connection with the characters, and we all know I need an attachment to the characters to fully enjoy/appreciate the book.
My interest is definitely piqued about where the author plans to take the trilogy arc after such a twisty ending, but the second installment won't be one that I'm desperate to get my hands on.
♥ The Lowdown: Seriously, to put anything more here than what was in the Goodreads summary above would be obnoxiously self-indulgent, time-sucking, and redundant. It's a really good summary if you don't want to go into this blind.
♥ Review: So, I've had this author's former series on my bookshelves and on my TBR for quite some time, but haven't had the time to dive in. However, when I saw that she was starting a new series, I decided to jump on the bandwagon with friends that had sang her praises previously. It didn't hurt that the premise definitely grabbed my attention. A rag-tag team of young strangers, thrown together and not on Earth. Say whaaaaa? So, I was all in. Sign me up and give me the goods.
First, I want to talk about the characters since they are usually the biggest driving force behind my liking or disliking a book. I was excited to meet Cora and this band of strangers that would become her secondary cast; however, I was (not so) pleasantly surprised to learn that we'd be getting narratives from their perspective as well. Generally, I find that the more POV's I have to keep up with, the more likely it is that I'll dislike a story. I'm not sure exactly why, but for whatever reason, I'm never really able to form the necessary connection between so many POV shifts. That proved to be accurate in this novel as well. While I found all the characters somewhere between enjoyable to meh, I never really got a true sense of who they were. Their perspectives were so scattered and their backstories were so particularly sparse, that I just couldn't get a handle on them. And because of the missing connection, I found myself less and less interested in who was gravitating to who, how they were handling this crazy new environment, and the almost insta-love(ish) relationships that were sprouting out all over the place. I also think it should be noted that I felt like the "affection" between Cassian and Cora came way out of left field. I don't know, perhaps this will be developed better in later installments. I also think had this been limited to Cora or maybe Cora and Lucky or Cora and Cassian, I not only would've enjoyed the book more, but I also believe it would have felt more fluid.
Another thing worth noting was the pacing felt off to me. While it typically had smooth transitions, I found the beginning was very one-note and slow, while the end seemed to be too rushed. I don't know, perhaps that was intentional and meant to leave us with a bit of a spinning head. The ending though cleverly twisty, was a bit of a cliffhanger and definitely left you with with the feeling that it wouldn't necessarily be a good stand-alone-within-a-series type book.
As I stated previously in this section and earlier under quick thoughts, I was initially drawn in by the plot of this book. A zoo for humans, located on another planet? Very interesting. Once I got into the story, there were a few passages/situations that made me a little curious as to why the author chose to write this book. Was she at a zoo and thought, "Lightbulb! What if it was the opposite and humans were caged?" and it spiraled from there or if it was something else entirely. The reason I'm addressing this is because there are several points throughout the book where characters reference being "treated like animals" and "kept like animals in a zoo" and human goods were being sold in the alien black market like animal oddities/body parts are being exploited on Earth in our own black market. It never came across as preachy or anything like that, but I just wondered if the author had an alternative motive for publishing this novel other than it simply being an interesting plot.
I know it seems like I probably did more bashing than praise about this book, but it wasn't bad at all. Like I stated previously, I was entertained, I just wished I had loved it more and after weeks having gone by after reading it before writing this review, it seems like the worst elements of the book stuck in my brain more than the better ones. While I'm curious about where we'll go from here, I doubt that I'll be grabbyhanding for a copy of the next book.
♥ Rec It? I think... yes, though I'll add a disclaimer and say it probably won't work for everyone, so maybe borrow it from a friend or the library or find it on sale. It had things that worked well for it, mainly the originality of the premise, but other aspects were a little underwhelming in their execution. Basically, I wanted more from it and I hope it delivers in the next installment.
♥ A very special thanks to Balzer + Bray and Edelweiss for providing me with an advanced copy of this title in exchange for my honest review.
Edited for full review on 09/30/2015.
My original review of this title can be found here on The Book Hookup.
**SPECIAL NOTE:** An e-ARC of this title was provided by the publisher via Edelweiss in exchange for an honest review. However, that did not influence this review in any way. All thoughts, quotes, and opinions will be of this version and not of the published edition.
♥ Quick Thoughts and Rating: 3-3.5 stars! Much like the summary that initially drew me in, the storyline continued to hold my attention simply because of the fact that the author could have carried it in so many directions and I was curious about the path she'd eventually choose. Yes, this book was entertaining, but it wasn't without its flaws. Possibly the biggest of those issues, in my opinion, was too many POVs and the fact that they shifted too frequently. I feel this could have directly affected my ability to form a connection with the characters, and we all know I need an attachment to the characters to fully enjoy/appreciate the book.
My interest is definitely piqued about where the author plans to take the trilogy arc after such a twisty ending, but the second installment won't be one that I'm desperate to get my hands on.
♥ The Lowdown: Seriously, to put anything more here than what was in the Goodreads summary above would be obnoxiously self-indulgent, time-sucking, and redundant. It's a really good summary if you don't want to go into this blind.
♥ Review: So, I've had this author's former series on my bookshelves and on my TBR for quite some time, but haven't had the time to dive in. However, when I saw that she was starting a new series, I decided to jump on the bandwagon with friends that had sang her praises previously. It didn't hurt that the premise definitely grabbed my attention. A rag-tag team of young strangers, thrown together and not on Earth. Say whaaaaa? So, I was all in. Sign me up and give me the goods.
First, I want to talk about the characters since they are usually the biggest driving force behind my liking or disliking a book. I was excited to meet Cora and this band of strangers that would become her secondary cast; however, I was (not so) pleasantly surprised to learn that we'd be getting narratives from their perspective as well. Generally, I find that the more POV's I have to keep up with, the more likely it is that I'll dislike a story. I'm not sure exactly why, but for whatever reason, I'm never really able to form the necessary connection between so many POV shifts. That proved to be accurate in this novel as well. While I found all the characters somewhere between enjoyable to meh, I never really got a true sense of who they were. Their perspectives were so scattered and their backstories were so particularly sparse, that I just couldn't get a handle on them. And because of the missing connection, I found myself less and less interested in who was gravitating to who, how they were handling this crazy new environment, and the almost insta-love(ish) relationships that were sprouting out all over the place. I also think it should be noted that I felt like the "affection" between Cassian and Cora came way out of left field. I don't know, perhaps this will be developed better in later installments. I also think had this been limited to Cora or maybe Cora and Lucky or Cora and Cassian, I not only would've enjoyed the book more, but I also believe it would have felt more fluid.
Another thing worth noting was the pacing felt off to me. While it typically had smooth transitions, I found the beginning was very one-note and slow, while the end seemed to be too rushed. I don't know, perhaps that was intentional and meant to leave us with a bit of a spinning head. The ending though cleverly twisty, was a bit of a cliffhanger and definitely left you with with the feeling that it wouldn't necessarily be a good stand-alone-within-a-series type book.
As I stated previously in this section and earlier under quick thoughts, I was initially drawn in by the plot of this book. A zoo for humans, located on another planet? Very interesting. Once I got into the story, there were a few passages/situations that made me a little curious as to why the author chose to write this book. Was she at a zoo and thought, "Lightbulb! What if it was the opposite and humans were caged?" and it spiraled from there or if it was something else entirely. The reason I'm addressing this is because there are several points throughout the book where characters reference being "treated like animals" and "kept like animals in a zoo" and human goods were being sold in the alien black market like animal oddities/body parts are being exploited on Earth in our own black market. It never came across as preachy or anything like that, but I just wondered if the author had an alternative motive for publishing this novel other than it simply being an interesting plot.
I know it seems like I probably did more bashing than praise about this book, but it wasn't bad at all. Like I stated previously, I was entertained, I just wished I had loved it more and after weeks having gone by after reading it before writing this review, it seems like the worst elements of the book stuck in my brain more than the better ones. While I'm curious about where we'll go from here, I doubt that I'll be grabbyhanding for a copy of the next book.
♥ Rec It? I think... yes, though I'll add a disclaimer and say it probably won't work for everyone, so maybe borrow it from a friend or the library or find it on sale. It had things that worked well for it, mainly the originality of the premise, but other aspects were a little underwhelming in their execution. Basically, I wanted more from it and I hope it delivers in the next installment.
♥ A very special thanks to Balzer + Bray and Edelweiss for providing me with an advanced copy of this title in exchange for my honest review.