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popthebutterfly 's review for:
Branded
by Joseph T. Humphrey
adventurous
emotional
inspiring
mysterious
fast-paced
Disclaimer: I received this e-arc from the publisher. Thanks! All opinions are my own.
Book: Branded
Author: Joseph T. Humphrey
Book Series: Standalone
Rating: 2/5
Diversity: MC in Foster Care and Orphaned
Recommended For...: young adult readers, urban fantasy, fantasy, monsters
Publication Date: November 16, 2021
Genre: YA Urban Fantasy
Recommended Age: 14+ (bullying, abelism on mental health, drugs mentioned, violence, gore slight, parent death)
Explanation of CWs: There is bullying shown in this book. There are some comments made about mental health that are abelist. Drugs are mentioned. There is violence, including gun violence, and slight gore. There is also parent death mentioned and shown.
Publisher: Intrepid Pen Publishing LLC
Pages: 494
Synopsis: Henry Murphy’s parents never told him he was from another realm. They couldn’t, because they have become as unaware as Henry. Everything was forgotten—memories siphoned away by the dark force that stalked them. For the last seventeen years, Henry has been living a lie.
All those years of hiding have been compromised. Henry’s parents fled as refugees after stealing the location of the furnace—a source of power that would have allowed the Nekura uncontested rule over all life. But with their memories silenced, the Nekura have closed in on them unnoticed.
The first warning was the screaming girl. After she broke into Henry’s high school classroom and screamed for him to run, she was hauled away and disappeared. The only friend Henry finds to help him is Charley, a strong-willed orphan girl with a fractured past.
Henry is thrust into a reality he never knew existed and must fight against sinister creatures he cannot touch for reasons he doesn’t understand. What he doesn’t know can still hurt him, and it is hunting him down. Their only hope is the Light—a legendary force that bestows intangible power for those connected to it. Henry must uncover the shrouded memory of his family’s past and race to find the furnace before the Nekura tear his family apart and destroy both worlds in the process. Henry will learn the heartache of the forgotten, the joy of the reclaimed, strength beyond himself, and the unbreakable ties that bind family together.
Review: I thought this was an ok book. The book did good with multiple POVs and the character development was well done. The book had an intriguing plot that kept me going throughout the book and I felt that the book had a decent story.
However, the book feels a bit underdeveloped. I think there’s some good stuff in the book, but the book is fast paced and confusing. The pacing doesn’t help the reader get used to the elements in the book and the writing doesn’t develop the world building or the magic system beyond a couple of plot points. I got severely lost in the book and it felt like nothing was well explained.
Verdict: It was ok.
Book: Branded
Author: Joseph T. Humphrey
Book Series: Standalone
Rating: 2/5
Diversity: MC in Foster Care and Orphaned
Recommended For...: young adult readers, urban fantasy, fantasy, monsters
Publication Date: November 16, 2021
Genre: YA Urban Fantasy
Recommended Age: 14+ (bullying, abelism on mental health, drugs mentioned, violence, gore slight, parent death)
Explanation of CWs: There is bullying shown in this book. There are some comments made about mental health that are abelist. Drugs are mentioned. There is violence, including gun violence, and slight gore. There is also parent death mentioned and shown.
Publisher: Intrepid Pen Publishing LLC
Pages: 494
Synopsis: Henry Murphy’s parents never told him he was from another realm. They couldn’t, because they have become as unaware as Henry. Everything was forgotten—memories siphoned away by the dark force that stalked them. For the last seventeen years, Henry has been living a lie.
All those years of hiding have been compromised. Henry’s parents fled as refugees after stealing the location of the furnace—a source of power that would have allowed the Nekura uncontested rule over all life. But with their memories silenced, the Nekura have closed in on them unnoticed.
The first warning was the screaming girl. After she broke into Henry’s high school classroom and screamed for him to run, she was hauled away and disappeared. The only friend Henry finds to help him is Charley, a strong-willed orphan girl with a fractured past.
Henry is thrust into a reality he never knew existed and must fight against sinister creatures he cannot touch for reasons he doesn’t understand. What he doesn’t know can still hurt him, and it is hunting him down. Their only hope is the Light—a legendary force that bestows intangible power for those connected to it. Henry must uncover the shrouded memory of his family’s past and race to find the furnace before the Nekura tear his family apart and destroy both worlds in the process. Henry will learn the heartache of the forgotten, the joy of the reclaimed, strength beyond himself, and the unbreakable ties that bind family together.
Review: I thought this was an ok book. The book did good with multiple POVs and the character development was well done. The book had an intriguing plot that kept me going throughout the book and I felt that the book had a decent story.
However, the book feels a bit underdeveloped. I think there’s some good stuff in the book, but the book is fast paced and confusing. The pacing doesn’t help the reader get used to the elements in the book and the writing doesn’t develop the world building or the magic system beyond a couple of plot points. I got severely lost in the book and it felt like nothing was well explained.
Verdict: It was ok.