Book 2.

This is another book with alternating characters and storylines - not my favorite plot device, until the two threads merge.

The book starts shortly after the second one - this series is definitely one in which you need to read all of the books, or you'll really be lost. The beginning starts with a great scene that sets the tone for the rest of the book.

There's an underlining theme of brainwashing and cults, something I have a hard time stomaching. The book is written better than the first one, I think, but I had a hard time with the themes in this book.

I am more and more getting into dystopian novels so I was thrilled to join in this tour. I love books that are in series, too so I was doubly excited.

That being said, I was very confused reading the first half of the book. It goes back and forth between two characters, the past and the present, and I wasn't picking up on that at all. I was also disappointed that the editing wasn't better, something that really bugs me. I'm by no means a writer and by no means do I know or follow all the grammatical rules out there, but I kept seeing little things pop up that slowed down the story line for me because I was distracted by the errors.

Another thing that kept bugging me was Riley kept acting way too mature for her 16 year old age, from the very beginning. Her friend tells her that her sister was murdered, and she thanks him, telling him how hard that must have been for him to tell her the truth. Come on, seriously? Your sister was just killed and you are telling your friend how hard it must be for HIM? Do you know any adults that would have the presence of mind to say such a thing in that situation, let alone a teenager?

All in all though, the story is a good one, has lots of twists and turns to keep things interesting, but the story is really only good the last 1/3.

--

I got this book & the rest of the books in the series as part of the Perimeter blog tour in exchange for my honest reviews.

I've been really big into dystopian/end of the world type of books & movies lately, so I was thrilled to grab this book on amazon, which I read in one afternoon.

There's some minor & major plot holes (for example, killing a large, 300 pound animal by jumping out of a tree, and mentioning technology that the characters would have absolutely no idea about), but all in all, the book is a good read. There's no new concepts here, but if you are looking for a quick, sci-fi romp, this will fit the bill.

The biggest drawback is the book doesn't end, so much as just ... well, stops. I understand it's part of a series, but it seems like more and more indie authors are creating series because the book just got too long, instead of a well written story that has a beginning, middle, climax, and ending (like Harry Potter, where every book has a conclusion, yet leaves you desperately wanting more).

I picked this book up for free on amazon.

I'm a huge fan of 'end of the world' type of movies, love dystopia, yet I don't really read 'end of the world' books. So I was thrilled to snag this book for free from amazon and began reading it immediately.

It's a fast, quick read - fairly short - and took me about 90 minutes to read.

There's some grammatical errors and the book is in need of a better editor. Large portions of the book just seemed written by an amateur, and the premise is lacking. The author, West, does a lot of "telling" in the book instead of "showing", and leaves a lot open to the imagination instead of really setting the scene for us.

There's a fair mix of genres in the book - end of the world, zombies, meteors, bad guys, action, etc. There's not really any new ideas or themes, but all in all, it's not a bad read (especially for free).

I won't be buying the rest of the series, but would probably read the next one if I could pick it up for free again.

I picked this book up for free on amazon, thinking it was a canning book (there is a one sentence description on how to can the recipes).

There's a long rant on why you should make homemade condiments, which is the bulk of the book. None of the recipes tell you exactly how much the recipe is going to make, and they are all extremely basic recipes. I'm not much of a cook, but I know how to make basic salad dressing, tartar sauce, etc.

It's very general, very brief, not a lot of recipes, but at least it's to the point.

Another book I picked up for free on amazon.

I use my slow cooker a lot - I'm a big fan - I own 4 different sized crock pots, I love them so much! So perhaps I'm not the best audience for a book like this, but for free, I couldn't resist.

Once again, this book is extremely short, and as the title (repeat yourself, much) says, it's only 52 recipes. There is absolutely no rhyme or reason or organization to the book - there's a chicken recipe, followed by a beef recipe, followed by a soup recipe, followed by a chicken recipe. Not one of the recipes was anything new to me or even a slight variation of recipes I already faithfully make, and most of them seemed identical to recipes you can freely get online.

This book is about Jake, a 9 year old boy who wants a Nintendo. I was a kid (though a girl) in the 80s and couldn't resist reading this book for the memories. There's a lot - and I mean a LOT - of pop culture references in the book (and not all of them were accurate, at least I didn't feel like they were really 80s pop culture references), from Cabbage Patch kids to He-Man, and it's a fun romp through memory lane.

That being said - I had to rate the book 3 stars because I didn't feel like there was any plot at all. Yes, certain things happen in Jake's quest to own a Nintendo, and the book certainly has a lot of funny moments (and a part where I bawled my eyes out hysterically, which may add to my 3-star feelings for this book) but I just felt like every scene was strung together mostly to lead the reader through memory lane and to the end of the book, more so then to actually tell a story of one young boy.

In other words, the book was fun to read, without any meat on the bones.

First of all, this book is a novella or a longer short story, and not a full novel. The author is Romanian, and you can tell that the grammar isn't from a native speaker. It's definitely not a big thing, but definitely something to be aware of.

The series is supposed to be a space opera, but other than the fact that it takes place on a giant, floating cruise ship in outer space, it's not very space opera-y. If the author didn't continually remind you that you were on a spaceship, you'd have no idea that the book took place in outer space because at no point does the plot really tie into space (other than the main character trying to leave the ship).

There is absolutely no back story whatsoever other than a line here and there, which opens up plot holes. Being the first in a series, I'm sure some of the holes are deliberately left open to be filled in the rest of the trilogy, but it just left me very confused, frustrated, and annoyed. I felt like I had NO idea what was going on in the book, and felt like Nia was just randomly wandering around the ship with no purpose, and other characters did things for no reason or explanation - it felt like it was just filler to make a short story longer.

(slight spoiler) Nia was also repeatedly abused physically, and just shrugged this off like no big deal - this tells a lot about the world she is living in, yes, but I just couldn't stomach the casual disregard for human life.

I think there is a lot of potential in the book and in the series - but there is just too much missing. Perhaps if the first couple of books were combined and rewritten it would be better, but it just wasn't my cup of tea.

-
I received a free copy of the book from the author in order to read and review and was not paid for my review

It took me a while to get into this book - though I had been warned that that would be the case. I did enjoy the book enough that I'll definitely listen to the others in the series.