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A review by pio_near
Travelers by Brett Riley
3.0
In its sophomore story, the Freaks series continues to be... pretty good.
As we have developed characters in the first book (Freaks), the action starts basically right away here, with yet another extradimentional threat that our broken hero must fend off... all while keeping a low profile and evading the authorities.
What I like: There were some really good moments of teamwork in this one that shows our non-conformity friends are learning to work together, putting aside feelings. I feel like this is a key component that can't be overlooked, but often is just assumed. Also, I feel like the villain really amped up in this one, with some great factual Lore backing the story up.... chefs kiss.
What I didn't like: Dialogue still felt stilted and one-dimensional, not really giving any character depth or showing growth. I'm still in awe of the lack of parental oversight being brought up, with MANY loose threads being left all over, which taxed even MY suspension of belief. With cleaner writing, or maybe more invested editing this could be a quick fix... low hanging fruit. Finally, I feel like this grapped with some complex issues.... but kinda didnt...? Like, it just throws them at the reader, saying "This Is A Thing"... but its not reflected in the rest of the story or actual character growth. Instead of deeply meaningful windows into a characters motives, it felt a little hot-buttoney, which put me off.
Overall, a good ending with a solid hook at the end that will probably have me coming back.
My thanks to NetGalley for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.
As we have developed characters in the first book (Freaks), the action starts basically right away here, with yet another extradimentional threat that our broken hero must fend off... all while keeping a low profile and evading the authorities.
What I like: There were some really good moments of teamwork in this one that shows our non-conformity friends are learning to work together, putting aside feelings. I feel like this is a key component that can't be overlooked, but often is just assumed. Also, I feel like the villain really amped up in this one, with some great factual Lore backing the story up.... chefs kiss.
What I didn't like: Dialogue still felt stilted and one-dimensional, not really giving any character depth or showing growth. I'm still in awe of the lack of parental oversight being brought up, with MANY loose threads being left all over, which taxed even MY suspension of belief. With cleaner writing, or maybe more invested editing this could be a quick fix... low hanging fruit. Finally, I feel like this grapped with some complex issues.... but kinda didnt...? Like, it just throws them at the reader, saying "This Is A Thing"... but its not reflected in the rest of the story or actual character growth. Instead of deeply meaningful windows into a characters motives, it felt a little hot-buttoney, which put me off.
Overall, a good ending with a solid hook at the end that will probably have me coming back.
My thanks to NetGalley for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.