I've tried to read this book three times. I started fresh each time and tried to get a running start. I only got a handful of pages further each time I've tried to read this book three times. I started fresh each time and tried to get a running start. I only got a handful of pages further each time before something about the main character made me set the book down before I threw it across the room. No, really. I had the urge to throw it against a wall. It actually made me angry.
Why? I guess it all comes from me having children. That kid is just not right. Even at two my kids would have known to follow an adult rather than a dog. Want food?...'Mom' was a person who fed me...so I'm going to find another 'mom-like' being to feed me. Simple two year old logic. And yet this four year old decides to ignore the people he sees and go live with a dog? he breaks every rule his mom set for him, but chooses 'Don't talk to strangers' to follow.
I guess it comes down to this...when the kid is supposed to be smart, he's slow witted. When he's supposed to be ignorant he somehow has insight beyond his years. He's just not realistic and so I was yanked out of the story before I even got into it.
Also, I kept trying to get a grip on what had caused the people to leave, but the point-of-view was no help at all. We just don't know. Perhaps there is some event in the history of Moscow that is so well-known that most readers just tie this event to the events in the book, but I am not at all familiar with the history of the USSR. Perhaps it's explained later int eh book, but I just can't bring myself to read anymore. ...more
I picked this up as a FirstRead, and was under the impression that it was a graphic novel. It was not, there were black and white drawings thrown in tI picked this up as a FirstRead, and was under the impression that it was a graphic novel. It was not, there were black and white drawings thrown in throughout the book, but it was a novel with some illustrations - not a graphic novel.
It takes place in a futuristic New York with a lot of technology embedded into humans, much of it illegally. There is also a 'race' of people created in laboratories. The Pleasure Model is allowed extremely limited intelligence, but more than normal sex appeal and physical attributes. One of these is some of the evidence found at a crime scene.
A human dominatrix with personality modifications was also a witness, but she has fled the scene and doesn't really get involved until late in the book.
Plot - Interesting, but it could have been equally successful without the sexual aspects.
Setting - The best part of this novel. There was great descriptions of the city, the history and the tech/mech aspects.
Characters - Thin. Sometimes they were a bit silly, even. I liked Julia, the dominatrix side of the human woman. I thought a lot more could have been done with Rook. He seemed a really caring sort of guy, but he was in a world in which he seemed just ridiculously 'nice' compared to the overwhelmingly evil masses.
Pros: Fast read, entertaining, I do think the art adds to the story, but it was a turn-off for me as much of it was cheesecake and I'm a heterosexual female. I'm not the target audience.
Cons: I understand it wasn't meant to be high literature, but some of the writing was just...too simple. If the audience is young boys, then the writing is okay, but the subject matter is too mature. IF the audience is mature, then the writing is too juvenile...
Overall: I'm not the target audience, but I was able to get through the book without throwing it across the room. I almost didn't make it past the first scene with Plesur, but I liked the opening scene well enough to give it a chance. I will not be reading the second book in the series; although, The ending of this book makes it clear that Plesur has a very interesting future ahead of her......more
I would give this book 4 and a half stars if it were possible.
I really enjoyed the story, the characters and the setting. The writing was wonderful. I would give this book 4 and a half stars if it were possible.
I really enjoyed the story, the characters and the setting. The writing was wonderful. I could tell that the author had thought about each word as he set it down. There were allusions to the sea and piracy throughout the book, even when he was describing something completely unrelated to either. The book was expertly blended into one whole unit, each line building on the story as a whole, making the book cohesive in storyline and imagery.
The characterization was the best part of the book. I loved each character, I wanted the best possible things for them. I mourned when they mourned and I laughed when they laughed. With one exception: Peter. He seemed too good to be true. (See the bottom of the review for an in depth look at why I felt this way if you're willing to read spoilers.) The crew of pirates was great fun to experience, and I reviled the villains. Wonderful characters make for a wonderful book and they are able to hid a few simple flaws.
The setting was gritty and real, the war was distant at first then got closer and closer - much as we experience in real life. The pace of events felt just right, although we don't really get to the blurb on the back cover until page 100 or so.
That's a pet peeve of mine - blurbs that tell you about the end of the story. This book was indeed about a female pirate, but she doesn't even leave home until almost a third of the book has passed. I spent all that time trying to figure out how she got to sea instead of concentrating on exactly what was happening in the words I was reading. Not that I missed anything, just that my attention was drawn to the pages further on rather than being completely immersed in what I was reading. The same is true of Peter. Was he waiting or not? It was a question raised in the blurb, but the book didn't support the anxiety. We hear about Peter now and then, but he is rarely her overriding concern.
So, other than one weak relationship (which the plot unfortunately seems to hinge upon) I loved this book.
Now, a note about how I feel about the world outside the book: I picked this up as an adventure story. I am not specifically into pirates, the revolutionary war, or any one element of this book. I enjoy good books with good writing. I'll read any genre except erotica, any theme, any subject...but I expect to know a bit about what I'm reading before I open the cover. I get annoyed by books that sell themselves as 'womens fiction' and turn out to be erotica. I am frustrated by books that are marketed to young adults then turn out to be little more than ads for clothing and makeup or have explicit scenes of drug use and sex. If a book is adult, then tell me. If a book is erotica, then tell me. That way I can avoid reading what I have no interest reading.
This book is Christian Fiction, yet nowhere on the cover, in the blurb, in the reviews it chose did it even allude to this fact. The text wasn't preachy, the message was subtle, but it was there and I felt as though I had been tricked. I am a Christian and I have a faith that seems similar to that in the book. It wasn't that I disagreed with the author or the message. I would probably have read the book anyway, especially after having read the beauty that was the prologue. I just felt that the Christian message was a cheap ploy to convert me - never mind that I'm already a believer. I kept being dragged out of the story. That is the worst thing I can say about a book, and yet it's true of this one over and over again. I was unable to remain in the setting because I was forced to think about religion and how other readers might feel if they were unaware of the Christian message when they too picked up this wonderfully written book.
SPOILER WARNING: The relationship between Fin and Peter was touched upon in the beginning, then expanded a bit later, but never really built into anything strong enough to build the novel around. And yet that's exactly what the author was trying to do. The 'love' that they had for each other seemed vague and tenuous. I had the feeling that their friendship at the orphanage was strong, but that their love was an illusion. Peter wanted to protect Fin and Fin had no idea what love was. When Peter moved out his promises seemed weak. One kiss. No words of devotion. No professions of undying love. It seemed that he was doing what he was expected to do, not doing what his heart truly believed.
There were two moments I really disliked in this book. One - Fin learns about her fame in the paper and the sailors talk about how the British will harm anyone who they need to to get to her and yet she leaves with the Rattlesnake and doesn't look back. If she loved him she would need to find a way to protect him. This was the moment that I knew their love was an illusion. She doesn't know what love is. Two - She writes letters to him, but we never hear what is in them. As a reader I felt like I'd been shouldered out of the story. I might have been convinced that she was really in love if she had been allowed to speak her heart at some point. Instead I get the feeling that she scribbled a couple quick lines of no importance and then went on about her life. Her relationship to Peter seemed distant, false and thin.
I have not read any other books in this series. I don't know the background of Cole, Pike or their relationship, but that didn't make this book any leI have not read any other books in this series. I don't know the background of Cole, Pike or their relationship, but that didn't make this book any less enjoyable. I loved the characters and the plot and if I hadn't been told it was a series I wouldn't have known.
Pike is a rough ex-military man who seems shut off and aloof. He's a cold, silent killer who doesn't need many words to get things done. I love this sort of characters, in books, because you get to see the person from inside. You feel what he feels, even though those around him just see the mercenary. When he learns of his friends death he has emotions, he just doesn't show them. You can't get that across in a movie. When the plot progresses and people question the morals of his friends, he had doubts, but he doesn't allow anyone to see them. By the end of the book I was completely buying his feelings, his emotions, even though no one else (except perhaps Cole) knew what was happening behind the sunglasses.
The plot had twists, betrayals, surprises and an eminently satisfying ending. I enjoyed the roller coaster ride and at only one point did I arrive at the twist before the story laid it out for me. I find that I've read so much that I often see where the plot is heading before the end of the book. That was not the case here. I was surprised by the ending, then the twist, then the final ending...it was very satisfying!
I would give it a 4.5 stars if given the choice, based on overall literary value, but rounded up because it was so gripping and I was hooked the whole way through....more
**spoiler alert** Okay, what can I say about this book...well, honestly, I hated it. What to know why? Read on.
I tried to start it several times becau**spoiler alert** Okay, what can I say about this book...well, honestly, I hated it. What to know why? Read on.
I tried to start it several times because I won it in on the giveaway page and knew a review was expected. Each time I started reading it I got a little way in and was turned off by the language and the erotic nature of the book. I picked it up because I'd been on an urban-fantasy kick and thought it sounded interesting. Well, I love Harry Dresden and despise Sookie Stackhouse. Phoenix sounded like Dresden from the jacket, but turned out to be even worse than Sookie once I started reading.
First the language. The main character is in her twenties, an ex-cop, and a hard-luck case from the streets. She's rough and tough and not the brightest bulb in the bunch - unless she needs to know something - like the years of the crusades - yeah, then she just plucks them out of the sky. And, you know when people add a questioning 'much' to the end of a sentence to make it mean something. You know like "Overindulge, much?" or "Paranoid, much?". Yeah. I hate that. She thinks like that. The writing is simple and the dialogue is stilted, but the worst part is that the thought process of the protagonist is so flighty. She reads like a prom queen with a minimal IQ. Wasn't I just told that she's supposed to be street-wise and tough? Unrealistic, much? Arg!
It felt to me like the author thought to herself, "What sells: Sex!" Then thought - "Now, if some's good then more's better. Hmmm, how can I get as much sex in a book as possible?"
Well her answer was two-fold. First - she created a magical power that allows characters to gain more magical powers from others by having sex with them. It's not gender specific. Anyone can sleep with anyone...whatever. Second, Handeland decides to have the main character get raped, twice. But after the initial rapes she decided it was all okay and then had sex with these two different man again - of her own free will. Right...
Oh, and each session of sex wasn't just - sex. It was mind-blowing, exceptional, never-ending multiple-orgasmic for all involved every time. Right...
True love - um, yeah that was mentioned somewhere, but no one ever said that they loved each other...although maybe they did in the past. And they might again in the future - if they didn't hate each other so much.
I didn't see an 'erotica' tag on this book when I requested it - the supernatural aspects were played up, the romance was talked about, but really, this book is about several sex scenes tied together with a simple plot that's been done before.
I know, you're asking who am I to give such a review? What credentials do I have? Am I a published author? No, I'm not...but having read this trash I feel better about my chances should I send my as-yet-unwritten manuscripts out. All I need is a thin plot and some mad crazy sex...
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