This book was a dnf for me. I tried. I really did. I got more than half way but things were so disjointed and random and I couldn't understand why peoThis book was a dnf for me. I tried. I really did. I got more than half way but things were so disjointed and random and I couldn't understand why people were doing what they were doing half the time, not to mention the contradictory emotional cues in the text that popped up so often, and it made me feel like I was on a roller coaster.
I hate roller coasters.
The writing was often rambling and occasionally preachy. And although the author has an explanatory introduction where she discusses whether or not senior citizens really behave like this (and apparently you'd be surprised, plus deliberate choices by the author to write the characters in an over the top way), I just found the MC and her best friend becoming unlikeable, not to mention some of the other seniors in the town. I don't want to invest in a character who I don't really like and I have so many other books on my phone waiting to be read that I decided not to keep forcing myself with this one and just move on to something else....more
The annoying thing is, this was engagingly written in a lot of respects. I liked the MC; I liked the plot at the beginning of the book. Oh, sure, therThe annoying thing is, this was engagingly written in a lot of respects. I liked the MC; I liked the plot at the beginning of the book. Oh, sure, there were a few errors here and there, but I was able to skip over those. But the lady doth protest too much and then I read what was beginning to happen on the ship and just couldn't. No! That was not what I wanted to be reading and it was not what I expected from that character. Not my thing....more
I thought the premise of this book seemed good. But I only got part way through the book when I got sick and tired of having the same information drumI thought the premise of this book seemed good. But I only got part way through the book when I got sick and tired of having the same information drummed into me and it was all telling, not showing. By then, I'd had enough. I also didn't feel that I wanted to take the journey the characters looked they were probably going to take. Nope....more
Oh, dear. This book had a great cover, so I wanted to like it. Ugh. It had no way of adjusting it so I could read it on my mobile, which is annoying bOh, dear. This book had a great cover, so I wanted to like it. Ugh. It had no way of adjusting it so I could read it on my mobile, which is annoying but I eventually had a chance to try it on my laptop. Um, yeah. Full of errors. I don't care how good the story might be, you don't publish it full of errors. I got a couple of pages into the second chapter and decided not to torture myself any more....more
From my personal notes: OK, so I have a history with this series. I attempted to read the first book once upon a time. I can't remember if it was in a From my personal notes: OK, so I have a history with this series. I attempted to read the first book once upon a time. I can't remember if it was in a collection or as a single title. Anyway, I didn't really like the writing style or the way the MC 'thought'. I didn't read past the first chapter. Then I came upon it at some other time, probably in a collection. This time I persevered and made it through the first book. It got more interesting as it went along. So when I noticed that I had the first four books of the series in a book bundle on my phone, I thought I'd give it another go. Read through the first book to refresh my memory. Read through the second book. Groaned a fair bit. Tried to read the third book and I just can't put up with this any more. No, no, no. The MC is headstrong and stupid and I just don't like her. And all the talk about power... It gets way too much. I'm not going to force myself to suffer through the rest of it. ...more
From my personal notes: Oh, my. So I'd just read Southern Spirits by the same author and as I was scrolling looking for another book to read, I found tFrom my personal notes: Oh, my. So I'd just read Southern Spirits by the same author and as I was scrolling looking for another book to read, I found this one by the author I'd just enjoyed. Yay, I thought. When you consider how hard it is for me to actually find things by the same author on my phone with the way it organizes things, unless I'm specifically looking for that author, well, it seemed like it was serendipity. And maybe in some ways, it was. If I hadn't read Southern Spirits first but come across this one first, I might not have wanted to read Southern Spirits or given it a fair reading. Because this had one of the most chaotic and difficult to follow openings I've ever come across, with characters I immediately disliked. Deleted as a DNF. I was maybe 6 pages in? Yeah.
I was really excited by the cover of this book. And the premise. But this book was a DNF for me. I found the main character so presumptuous and insuffI was really excited by the cover of this book. And the premise. But this book was a DNF for me. I found the main character so presumptuous and insufferable that I decided not to suffer him any further and stopped reading. I realise that's a shame and the book scores highly and other people seem to like it. But I have so many books on my phone to read and only so much emotional energy to expend. My prerogative, I guess....more
I did not finish this book. I deleted it pretty much just after the groom's family had left from visiting and accusing our MC and her sister was tryinI did not finish this book. I deleted it pretty much just after the groom's family had left from visiting and accusing our MC and her sister was trying to encourage her to move back to wherever she was from. Chapter 2? Chapter 3? I don't know. It just totally rubbed me up the wrong way....more
Some parts of this book were easy to read. That was a plus.
There were some editing issues. There was a whole lot of unbelievability surrounding *sigh*
Some parts of this book were easy to read. That was a plus.
There were some editing issues. There was a whole lot of unbelievability surrounding a lot of the story. There were some VERY choppy sections that felt incredibly rushed and disjointed. I got about half way through and then called it quits. I noticed myself getting irritated and decided to just cut my losses.
I did not finish this book. The opening wasn't terrible. I was being carried along, I guess, with the events of the story. At one point we got a huge I did not finish this book. The opening wasn't terrible. I was being carried along, I guess, with the events of the story. At one point we got a huge amount of description of the environment and what our MC sees (probably chapter three or four or both), which I recognised as an attempt at world-building. There was too much of it for me as I don't visualise well, but Tolkien has the same problem and I just skim read when I need to. But we got to chapter five, and a bit of pseudo-science tripped me up. Sometimes I can suspend my disbelief and go with the flow and sometimes I can't. This was one of those times when I was yanked right out of the story and I decided to call it quits. Oh well....more
I got barely into the first chapter and I was already done with this book. I just couldn't read it.
Something 'shocking' happens, we barely find our fI got barely into the first chapter and I was already done with this book. I just couldn't read it.
Something 'shocking' happens, we barely find our feet with the characters and there was all this attitude and unpleasantness and at the same time events happening that you don't understand, and I get that it might have been an attempt to both show and tell but it didn't work for me. Too much angry posturing from everyone and it is not written smoothly. I don't like the characters. Interesting idea plus trying too hard plus poor writing means I cut my losses and ran early....more
I would say I read about 75% of this book, based on the progress bar on my phone, before I stopped. It had been going OK. I'd been kinda enjoying it. I would say I read about 75% of this book, based on the progress bar on my phone, before I stopped. It had been going OK. I'd been kinda enjoying it. You know, the characters are 15 yrs old, which immediately tends to bring with it a type of baggage that I've lived through and don't particularly want to revisit now that I'm older, but whatever. I liked the sci-fi/Martian angle. It was interesting to read about a race of what were essentially humans and that whole backstory (although the 'why' of why the first group of humans was abducted in the first place hadn't been satisfactorily addressed by the time I stopped reading). I was trying to look past the cliches. Every story is going to have at least one, right? In this kind of story, there are a bunch of them that I expect to show up. And they did. But I was OK with that. But I had to stop reading at around the point where the MC and her love interest were beginning to make dumb decisions and dumb plans. "I don't want to be apart from you because of both legitimate and selfish reasons but we can't be together because of potential threat plus maybe unexplained fate/destiny stuff but we've found out some stuff about the threat and it's bigger than just us and our connection but we won't tell any of the adults who might actually know more of the bigger picture because I'm afraid that they'll insist I disappear and I don't want to/can't do that so we'll begin to make plans to investigate on our own..." Yeah, I didn't want any part of that. I cannot stand when characters do this. Begin to do stuff that you and they both know is a really bad idea, but they do it anyway. Sometimes a character will be between a rock and a hard place and there will be no good choices and no viable options except degrees of bad. I did not feel that was the case here and so I got irritated with the characters and my interest in the story was killed. Which was a shame....more
I don't have a whole heap to say about this book as I did not finish it. I wasn't very many chapters in when I realised that the MC's obsession with mI don't have a whole heap to say about this book as I did not finish it. I wasn't very many chapters in when I realised that the MC's obsession with men in uniform left me absolutely cold and I wasn't going to enjoy all of her self-talk, so I cut my losses and moved on. For those of you wondering why I even began the book in the first place, I have to mention that it was the first book in a three-book anthology entitled 'Billionaire Hearts' and I just kind of plow through those things, knowing that I might like some of the stories and not like others. This one I didn't like because it didn't suit my personal tastes....more
DNF. In fact, barely even started. It might have been the fact that it was so different from the book I read just before it but I think it was more thDNF. In fact, barely even started. It might have been the fact that it was so different from the book I read just before it but I think it was more the writing. It was all telling and very little showing. The premise was interesting but the execution was lacking....more
I did not finish this book. I can't really remember the writing, I just remember I was too scared to continue the journey after a certain point. I chiI did not finish this book. I can't really remember the writing, I just remember I was too scared to continue the journey after a certain point. I chickened out!...more
I was really disappointed with this book. So disappointed, I couldn't finish it. The women in the group are supposed to be Christians who get togetherI was really disappointed with this book. So disappointed, I couldn't finish it. The women in the group are supposed to be Christians who get together to pray, but I was dismayed to read how unpleasant and catty some of them were. Don't get me wrong, I know that Christians aren't perfect. I don't expect them to be. And I know there are Christians out there very much like them. But that's not a thing that makes me happy, and I just didn't want to read about these women who I don't think I would want to know in real life. All I can hope is that some character development happened over the course of the book and at least somebody had their eyes, mind and heart opened by God and they changed their ways....more
The beginning of this was OK. But then some truly eye-rolling stuff happened and I couldn't finish it.The beginning of this was OK. But then some truly eye-rolling stuff happened and I couldn't finish it....more
I couldn't make it past the second page. Something put me off completely and I could go no further. I couldn't make it past the second page. Something put me off completely and I could go no further. ...more
I read this ages ago, and couldn't remember much about it. I went and looked up which books were in it, and some of them I remembered and some of themI read this ages ago, and couldn't remember much about it. I went and looked up which books were in it, and some of them I remembered and some of them I have no recollection of so I can only assume I didn't finish it? EDIT: I tried looking for this last night when I was writing the review and couldn't find it and assumed I'd deleted it. I just found it. I'll try and read the other books in this collection and give an updated review and rating....more