Martha

Some scenes may not be appropriate for all readers.

Contains some scenes not appropriate for all readers.

Contains some scenes not appropriate for all readers.

I liked the first part, but then it went rapidly downhill.

Contains some scenes not appropriate for all readers.

Finally, a Cartland heroine who has some gumption, but she still can't speak in one breath longer than half the book! And what is wrong with having a hero who HASN'T slept with all ladies he's met?

Some scenes are not appropriate for all readers.

I don't usually care for books with cliffhangers, but Sarah does it so well... Actually, she does quite a few things so well. It's rather unfair, though delightful to read.

It's too bad that I can't keep reading this funny, entertaining author, and by that I mean, she keeps putting inappropriate and totally unneeded scenes in her books.

Do you suppose that teenagers could reduce some of the nasty sorts of drama in their lives if they, oh, I don't know... didn't drink, lie, or have sex?

2 1/2 stars. Inappropriate scenes lost it half a star.

Also (spoiler), if new Arrivals are fueled by the death of an old one, how did the original ones arrive?

I received this through Goodreads First Reads. The opinions are my own and I am uncompensated for them.

First the cons:
It needs serious editing for comma usage and sentence structure.
The integration between different aspects (science vs religion, past vs present, etc) is choppy and artificial.
The almost-ending is very poorly explained. I know it's still supposed to be a mystery, but really it's just confusing.
The very end is quite abrupt and doesn't tie up the story even enough for the first book in a series. Even another chapter or a few more pages would have helped, depending what was on those pages...

Pros:
The concept is interesting, and the plot is reasonably believable.
The characters are a bit flat but have definite potential.
The author managed a fairly good balance between “explain future science” and “who knows/cares how it works, just tell the story.”
I do want to know what happens next... hint, hint.

Some content is not appropriate for all audiences.

I was given this book through a Goodreads give-away, but the review is all my opinion, for which I have not been compensated.

I wanted to like this book. The writing is good (although simple). The story is easy to follow. The concept is interesting. The main characters are understandable & likeable. Alas, I didn't make it much past page 100, because I couldn't tolerate the violence and ick-factor. I was hoping the story would have concentrated more on recovery, and perhaps it did later on, but one-third through the book, the story was getting more gross, not less. I did skip to the end (not something I normally do), and it seemed at least a bit better then. It did end kind of abruptly (perhaps it wouldn't have seemed so if I had read the entire book).

So, if you have a weak stomach, I suggest you not bother with this book. If you like reality-type horror and very gritty survival stories, though, you might give it a try.

Now THIS is a proper YA romance! It has no insta-love (they don't even meet for several months), no sex (they do kiss a bit), no protestations of eternal love or marriage proposals (they'd like to keep dating to see where things go), no soulmates (they feel “comfortable” because of their prior email correspondence), and they still act like teenagers instead of wanna-be adults.

1 1/2 stars. Didn't finish because it passed my ick factor (and didn't even interest me enough to try to overcome it). I even read the ending & still didn't care.

More action, more surprises, more Adam, more Warner, more friends, more enemies.... Alas, not all is more in a good way for Juliette, but such is life sometimes. For a while, I was worried about where this book was going to go, but I think it pulled itself together by the end. I'm now looking forward to the sequel, especially since there are several cliffhangers I'd like to see resolved. I still really like Kenji (but not FOR Juliette), and I was happy to see Juliette finally making more friends.

One more point–3 stars from me is not at all a bad rating. It really does mean I like the book. If I could give half stars, this one would get 3 1/2.

I received an ARC of this book, but the review is my own opinion, freely given under no obligation.

A much better series-ending than book 3!

I laughed so hard my stomach hurt & my children demanded to know just what was so funny. And this despite quite a lot of not-funny in the book...

Upon rereading, I have to say, I had forgotten just how laugh-out-loud funny this is, between the scary parts and the sad parts. When I grow up, can I be Sarah Rees Brennan?

Now that I have teenagers, these are all too funny for words...

1 1/2 stars.

Some content is not appropriate for all readers.

3 1/2 stars.

Some content is not appropriate for all readers. I had to skip several pages, for one reason or another.

I almost gave up on this book several times, but each time it just managed to save itself. I liked the supporting characters better than Suzume, especially Otieno, who doesn't know how to give up.