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The River Exiles: Book One: Columbia

David White

DID NOT FINISH: 20%

Disclaimer: I bought this ebook. Support your local indie authors!

Book: Columbia

Author: David White

Book Series: The River Exiles Book 1

Rating: 2/5

Recommended For...: MG readers, dystopian lovers, sci-fi lovers

Publication Date: October 25, 2020

Genre: MG Sci-Fi

Recommended Age: can’t recommend, DNFed

Publisher: Indie Published

Pages: 250

Synopsis: In a world devastated by drought and disease, and ruled over by a brutal regime, children over 12 are forced to leave their homes to go and discover new lands.
When Megan and Jacob Hadaway make the long journey to Columbia, they find their new life is filled with untold dangers - and mysteries. Why is the population so old? What has happened to the other children who have been exiled? And how can they escape from the guards who watch their every move?
As they begin to unravel the terrible secret that underpins their society, they realise what they need to do in order to bring down a ruthless system.

Review: Had to DNF this read at 23%. The book just wasn’t interesting to me and wasn’t picking up my interest. I do like the concept and I would love to get into it, but I just can’t at this time.

Verdict: DNF but sounds good!

Corrupted: The Truth Shall Be the Nail in Your Coffin

Jared Dixon

DID NOT FINISH: 20%

Disclaimer: I received this ebook from the author. Thanks! All opinions are my own.

Book: Corrupted: The Truth Shall Be The Nail In Your Coffin

Author: Jared Dixon

Book Series: Corrupted Book 1

Rating: 2/5

Publication Date: October 15, 2019

Genre: Fiction

Recommended Age: can’t recommend, DNFed

Publisher: Full Circle Press

Pages: 277

Synopsis: Jeremiah (Jerry) Nelson was happy, living the life of a struggling writer in New York City and proudly owning his identity as a gay man. However, his past catches up with him once he is forced to return home to his dysfunctional family, a history that involves a tragic loss, his bulimia, and his indelible stint in conversion therapy.

Harriet Nelson never recovered from the loss of her daughter five years ago, passively watching as her marriage disintegrated before her eyes. When her oldest son, Jerry, comes home from New York, Harriet slowly finds the fortitude to be happy, no matter the cost.

Carl's identity as a preacher's kid has never allowed him the space to own his identity as a gay young man. On the cusp of entering college, he dangerously ventures into the “forbidden” world of same-sex relationships just as his father has a revelation to preach a message of conversion to heterosexuality.

Through the help of his friends Carl and Mel and his younger brother, Leo, Jerry finds the courage to channel his painful past into exposing the dangerous, duplicitous world of conversion therapy as a field reporter for an online magazine, Rainbow Warriors. As Jerry digs into a world he vowed to never return to, a world Carl’s father is convinced holds the key to salvation for homosexuals, he discovers a shocking criminal connection that threatens not only his own life but the lives of some of his closest friends as well.

Corrupted: The Truth Shall Be The Nail In Your Coffin’s exploration of conversion therapy, Christianity, grief and loss, eating disorders, infidelity, racial identity, and other social issues will challenge readers to not only examine their own views on these pivotal topics but also engage in difficult conversations that have the potential to spark positive social change.

Review: I had to DNF this book about 20% in. The book isn’t for me and while the book sounds really interesting, it just wasn’t something I could get into. However, I do recommend this book. It does sound pretty good.

Verdict: DNF but it sounds good.

The Devouring Gray

C.L. Herman

DID NOT FINISH

Disclaimer: I received this book from Netgalley and Titan Books. Thanks! All opinions are my own.

Book Series: First in the Devouring Grey Series

Rating: 2/5

Publication Date: April 2, 2019

Genre: YA Fantasy

Recommended Age: 15+ (violence, magic, darkness)

Publisher: Titan Books

Pages: 368

Amazon Link

Synopsis: On the edge of town a beast haunts the woods, trapped in the Gray, its bonds loosening…

Uprooted from the city, Violet Saunders doesn’t have much hope of fitting in at her new school in Four Paths, a town almost buried in the woodlands of rural New York. The fact that she’s descended from one of the town’s founders doesn’t help much, either—her new neighbours treat her with distant respect, and something very like fear. When she meets Justin, May, Isaac, and Harper, all children of founder families, and sees the otherworldly destruction they can wreak, she starts to wonder if the townsfolk are right to be afraid.

When bodies start to appear in the woods, the locals become downright hostile. Can the teenagers solve the mystery of Four Paths, and their own part in it, before another calamity strikes?

Review: Okay, so I’m probably going to get hate for this but I didn’t enjoy the book as much as everyone else is. I did like the premise, it’s dark and mysterious like my soul. I also liked the writing, I thought it was perfect and the author has a talent for dark writing. I felt like this book could have been great and is a great book for many people that are not me lol.

However, I just didn’t mesh well with this book. The constant POV switches mid chapters and even otherwise made this book confusing for me. There were breaks and stuff, but on the kindle it just looked like regular paragraph breaks. The magic isn’t explained in this book. We’re thrown into this world with little explanation. I’m really picky on how I like this done in books, so this is a hard criteria for any book to feel. The book had very little world building, in terms of location, and too much in terms of history… like A LOT, and I feel like I have to read the synopsis of this book to understand the book, which shouldn’t be the case for any book in my opinion. It feels like you need to notetake while reading this book. The pacing was also really slow and there were underdeveloped characters all throughout this book.

Verdict: If you can get into this book you’ll love it.