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A review by thewordslinger
Unleashing Fire by Julie Hall
adventurous
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
2.5
2.5 rounded up.
Well. This story has a conclusion.
That's it. That's the whole review. Thank you for coming.
<img src="https://media.tenor.com/eST85j4vzp4AAAAC/i-dont-know-what-to-say-no-words.gif"/>
I sort of felt it in the second book--that feeling of <i>almost</i>. As in, this was <i>almost</i> a fully formed and executed idea for a story. I was okay with what we were given in book 1--which was somewhat juvenile, surface level characterization, a decent beginning with lots of world building, and a plot that had some nuance and many directions to go.
Book two didn't further any of that, however. The characters stagnated, the relationships went nowhere and didn't feel authentic at all, the twists weren't... well they just weren't. The evil bad guys weren't as evil as I would have liked, and the ending...I wouldn't say it fell flat, but it didn't shock me either.
Now to this book. It's basically book 2 with different words.
The relationship (what relationship?) between Steel and Emberly is probably the most underwhelming, forced, and inauthentic romantic subplot I've ever read. The whole soul-bond thing was stupid. Served no purpose other than as a source of jokes at the MC's expense and to give Emberly and Steel some semblance of chemistry. Which didn't work.
And the lovey stuff that develops between Sable and Deacon, Ash and Grayson (both of which could have been started 2 books ago and made to feel authentic, but wasn't) and Shira and Sterling? Half-baked, insta-lovey, bland. It all felt like some weird afterthought...what was the point?
The whole possession thing might have been interesting, if the <i>bad guys</i> were interesting. Instead, it just read like a convenient way to take Emberly out of any and all action for half the book.
Eden was mostly pointless. Unless the point was to be racist and sexist and abusive.
There is no adult in this book who acts like an adult. And some of these assholes are millions of years old. They treat these TEENAGERS like peers. Gossiping, trusting them with dangerous situations, bowing to their wills... There are no adults in this series. All of these kids aren't even out of school yet, and by the end of the series, none of them have plans to return to the school. Why? Some still have 3 years of education to complete?
I hate books where magical/supernatural stuff destroys real-world cities because they never cease to underestimate the chaos and destruction humanity can rain down upon itself. ESPECIALLY when it's scared and doesn't understand what's going on. These creatures destroy Buckingham Palace. There's news that they also 'hit New York'. If you don't think Nukes would be flying by now you've got another thing coming. Especially if America was attacked. NYC's already had a massive attack on it. You think another attack wouldn't generate some radical response? Yeah, right.
Hall doesn't even let us see a news report on what humanity is thinking. We get like 1 sentence where the Elders admit they're working with the humans--basically using missiles to take out the hotel where the orbs are. But we don't see the humans speak or act or agree to any of that at all. Hall treats humans like animals--inconsequential. Except this is Battlefield Earth. And humans happen to reign supreme. The Forsaken aren't fully able to form in the real world for most of the book--appearing as shadow blobs that just blow shit up randomly. You can't make me believe world leaders won't be trying to pin the destruction on their political enemies.
The ending (after the battle) was hella underwhelming. I'm with Emberly on being dubious about getting married. 17 is VERY young. And I don't really believe in the relationship enough to not feel icky about it.
So yeah. The story did come to a conclusion. That's about all I can give you here. The words stopped at an appropriate place. Congratulations.
Well. This story has a conclusion.
That's it. That's the whole review. Thank you for coming.
<img src="https://media.tenor.com/eST85j4vzp4AAAAC/i-dont-know-what-to-say-no-words.gif"/>
I sort of felt it in the second book--that feeling of <i>almost</i>. As in, this was <i>almost</i> a fully formed and executed idea for a story. I was okay with what we were given in book 1--which was somewhat juvenile, surface level characterization, a decent beginning with lots of world building, and a plot that had some nuance and many directions to go.
Book two didn't further any of that, however. The characters stagnated, the relationships went nowhere and didn't feel authentic at all, the twists weren't... well they just weren't. The evil bad guys weren't as evil as I would have liked, and the ending...I wouldn't say it fell flat, but it didn't shock me either.
Now to this book. It's basically book 2 with different words.
The relationship (what relationship?) between Steel and Emberly is probably the most underwhelming, forced, and inauthentic romantic subplot I've ever read. The whole soul-bond thing was stupid. Served no purpose other than as a source of jokes at the MC's expense and to give Emberly and Steel some semblance of chemistry. Which didn't work.
And the lovey stuff that develops between Sable and Deacon, Ash and Grayson (both of which could have been started 2 books ago and made to feel authentic, but wasn't) and Shira and Sterling? Half-baked, insta-lovey, bland. It all felt like some weird afterthought...what was the point?
The whole possession thing might have been interesting, if the <i>bad guys</i> were interesting. Instead, it just read like a convenient way to take Emberly out of any and all action for half the book.
Eden was mostly pointless. Unless the point was to be racist and sexist and abusive.
There is no adult in this book who acts like an adult. And some of these assholes are millions of years old. They treat these TEENAGERS like peers. Gossiping, trusting them with dangerous situations, bowing to their wills... There are no adults in this series. All of these kids aren't even out of school yet, and by the end of the series, none of them have plans to return to the school. Why? Some still have 3 years of education to complete?
I hate books where magical/supernatural stuff destroys real-world cities because they never cease to underestimate the chaos and destruction humanity can rain down upon itself. ESPECIALLY when it's scared and doesn't understand what's going on. These creatures destroy Buckingham Palace. There's news that they also 'hit New York'. If you don't think Nukes would be flying by now you've got another thing coming. Especially if America was attacked. NYC's already had a massive attack on it. You think another attack wouldn't generate some radical response? Yeah, right.
Hall doesn't even let us see a news report on what humanity is thinking. We get like 1 sentence where the Elders admit they're working with the humans--basically using missiles to take out the hotel where the orbs are. But we don't see the humans speak or act or agree to any of that at all. Hall treats humans like animals--inconsequential. Except this is Battlefield Earth. And humans happen to reign supreme. The Forsaken aren't fully able to form in the real world for most of the book--appearing as shadow blobs that just blow shit up randomly. You can't make me believe world leaders won't be trying to pin the destruction on their political enemies.
The ending (after the battle) was hella underwhelming. I'm with Emberly on being dubious about getting married. 17 is VERY young. And I don't really believe in the relationship enough to not feel icky about it.
So yeah. The story did come to a conclusion. That's about all I can give you here. The words stopped at an appropriate place. Congratulations.