But I liked Alex and I did find the mage rebellion idea interesting and as the book progressed I no longer felt like DNFing it and wanted to see what happens. It is very much character based in the beginning, focusing on Kat and Alex becoming friends on their road trip and Alex being protective of her when they meet Casper and his people. Kat starts to rely on him as the story develops. We then follow Kat as she struggles to work with Casper to remove the necklace which does not want to come off, and Casper gets more and more frustrated with her.
This part of the book does get a little repetitive. Casper has an idea for how to remove the necklace, he tries, it fails, he blames Kat for not trying. This happens quite a few times and I can imagine readers getting a little frustrated with it, as I did. However I did like the latter part of the book when Kat starts finding out the truth about her situation. I admit that my first impression of Kat is that she is a rude and obnoxious creature. She mistakes Alex for a delivery driver, refuses to open the door, then opens it and grabs the package, slamming the door in his face without a single thank you.
When he tries to explain why he is there she ignores him but when the necklace does funny things, she calls him demanding answers and calls him a stalker. I did come close to DNF but Kat does change her attitude and I ended up liking her as the book progressed. Alex is a good solid character who I liked from the start and I enjoyed him being a panther shifter.
He was the best character in the book. It's not the greatest urban fantasy that I've ever read but I found it to be a decent enough first read in a series. It is slow and a little repetitive but it had an interesting plot that has potential and I did want to find out what happened. The characters also evolved and got better as the book went on.
So that can't really be bad. I'm not sure yet if I will continue with the series-maybe I will if I see book two at a decent price. Apr 20, Daniel Mitton rated it really liked it. I enjoyed the premise of this book. Kat is a college student nearing graduation who has no idea what she wants to do next. What she does have a passion for is on line games. She has been playing one game in particular and is quite good at it. But when a strange young man shows up at the door with package for her, which turns out to be a magical talisman from her dead birth mother, things go off track quickly.
I I enjoyed the premise of this book. I enjoyed this new work from Ms. The book, as always from this author, is superbly edited and reads well. I know I'm looking forward to the next one! Apr 16, Bookmafia rated it liked it Shelves: New Adult, Fantasy Age: Also based off complexity of the writing. Yes, I would recommend to the mid teen to older teen crowd. Series, this is book one in the Elustria Chronicles.
I really, really wanted to love this book. Between the cover, the premise and the awesome reference to online gaming which I am a HUGE fan of WoW so, yeah, don't judge me I felt like this book was going to be a match made in heaven. While I did enjoy the book overall, there are several things that I feel really hold it back from its full potential.
The authenticity of the gaming references that the author uses is refreshing and you can tell she was inspired by her own love of MMO's massive multiplayer online games. As someone who is used to completely inaccurate portrayal of gaming in movies and TV shows, it is nice to read common lingo that is actually used correctly.
I also enjoyed the ideas behind the story, including that a girl who has lost pretty much everything, now gets a second chance at another life outside of her own lonely existence. Now to the hard part, the critical portion of the review. The heroine in this book didn't make me feel anything. Everything felt sort of blaze. Some random dude shows up at her house, cool.
She finds out her parents weren't her parents, whatever. The events in the story that should have been trigger moments didn't really inspire any emotional response out of me. The shifter that introduces her to this new world full of magic and tells her she is actually heir to immense power..
He shows up, acts weird and protective but doesn't give off the Alpha vibes necessary for the reader to feel like he's a true force to be reckoned with. He lacks depth and inspiration.
The relationship between them didn't inspire any feels either, there was dialogue that suggested a emotional exchange between them but it didn't translate. The plot is interesting but I pretty much knew what was going to happen almost immediately. There was a real lack of rich detail in when describing the magical aspect of the story line. I didn't feel immersed in her world, it felt very 2D. There is this whole other world, Elustria, that the majority of the characters are from but it isn't really described much past the idea it is magical. The book was short, which partially explains the lack of detail but doesn't compensate fully for it.
Don't get me wrong, this story is entertaining but it just doesn't reach out and grab you. I feel like this story would appeal more to the younger end of the teen spectrum because it isn't very deep and the writing is simple to read. Those that are used to more bountiful detail and compelling character interaction might be disappointed. It is available on Kindle Unlimited, which is great if you have a subscription.
I received a free copy of this book from the author in exchange for a honest review. Apr 09, Tanya rated it really liked it. What a great start to a new series! I fully enjoyed Magic Born- Caethes Faron does an amazing job with world-building and the main character was believable and a great unlikely heroine. The first third of the book went a little slow, but that's good because there was a lot of information thrown my way.
Kat is by herself in the world, her adopted parents passed away 6 months earlier and she is stuck going to a college when she doesn't even know what she wants to do in life. The only thing she look What a great start to a new series! The only thing she looks forward to is her online fantasy game, where she kicks butt. Then, of course, a stranger knocks on her door and changes her life completely.
Things that she thought were fantasy are actually reality, and Kat finds out that she can kick serious butt in real life. I enjoyed following Kat through this transition. I l love that she grows during this time and isn't so much of a baby although rightfully so after she gains the confidence she badly needs. To me, the worst part of the book was the love interest: I think I would have liked it if he was more of an older-brother protective guy. Maybe his character isn't as fleshed out as he should be, but I wasn't cheering for them to get together or anything. And yes, she seems a little needy, but Kat literally has nobody that she can count on.
And that's another reason why I would want them to be more friends than, ahem, friendly. Anyways, I hope that the rest of the characters are a bit more fleshed out as the series goes on, there are a couple I want to love- and they may not be who you think. I like the setup for future frenemies, and the fact that many people have hidden agendas makes this an interesting road young Kat finds herself on.
When a Child is Born (The Chronicles of St Mary Book 1) eBook: Jodi Taylor: I enjoyed this little story, one of the better ones in the short story collection. Sorcerous Rivalry (The Mage-Born Chronicles, #1) Rate this book .. In the beginning I was a little bit confused by our main character, but things were cleared.
I am very excited to read the next book in this series c'mon, c'mon! Faron's other books to fill the time. I was given an ARC of the book in exchange for my honest opinion. Apr 11, Jenny rated it liked it Shelves: I received an advance copy from the Author in exchange for an honest review. The first thing I noticed in this book is how much I actually love the cover. There is no denying that I actually loved the first few chapters of this book, but as the story continues, I just found it hard for me to grasp everything about the Mage world that surrounds Kat's heritage.
There are some twist and turns that turns out to be simple and unsurprising. And the fact that neither the story nor the writing picked u I received an advance copy from the Author in exchange for an honest review. And the fact that neither the story nor the writing picked up, although my interest on what awaits Kat helped.
Frankly, I actually find it difficult for me to love Kat's character. She has this tendency to run away from what she actually is. Specially that the story at the few chapters focuses on how she wanted to get rid of her talisman.
But I was a little bit relieved that she was able to find it to herself to accept what she trully is. Alex, I particulary admire his eagerness to protect and bring Kat to Elustria. I was really into shape-shifter thing and him being a Panther makes me love this side of the story. I actually find it hard to explain but, I felt confused. There are vague description about the world of Elustria.
The only thing I know is-- this is where everything magic belongs to. I also find it a little bit slow due to the chapters that basically introduces Kat to magic and on how to hone her skills. With no concrete knowledge on what was really going on aside from her, having the powers of her biological mother in a form of a talisman that was left for her, I believe I was caught in the dark of what really is the story behind her mothers death.
After all that I said, I still find it enjoyable.
I still consider reading the sequel given a chance. Jul 20, T. Barton rated it really liked it. Books about magic have always drawn me in and when I found this book I liked the blurb so decided to give it a try. The plot is very different from other books in the genre that I've read which is always a plus. Kat is the main character of this tale. She is basically a college kid who spends an inordinate amount of time immersed in the gaming world, one game in particular who's players can spend days or weeks trying to complete the level challenges.
While a multiplayer game one of the great appea Books about magic have always drawn me in and when I found this book I liked the blurb so decided to give it a try. While a multiplayer game one of the great appeals is the ability for players to complete individual challenges for higher rankings and other benefits. It is here that Kat excels and ultimately plays a part in preparing her for what is to come. When an unexpected visitor comes with news that Kat struggles to comprehend along with a gift that she refuses, she is unaware that her life as she knows it is over.
Less than 24 hours later she becomes all too aware of that fact and now she is partnered with the unexpected visitor trying desperately to understand why she is being hunted while at the same time trying to figure out how to get back to the life that she loved, boring as it was.
Enter a rich, eccentric, tech giant and things get even more surreal for Kat. All these players and the information is hard to come by for Kat, which she is not the kind of girl that like to be kept in the dark. This is a character-driven saga where each book will build on the events of the previous with the tale continuing with each successive book.
I generally stay way from books like that but we'll see how fast things move and what the new book adds to the characters. Jan 07, Jan Niblock rated it it was amazing. I picked this book up and had no idea what to expect from it. But the minute I started to read it, I was immersed. I could not wait to see what was going to happen to Kat.
Here is a college student who is a gamer and now is part of the game. Some of the questions I had going through my mind were; how is she going to react? Then there is Alex, the shifter, who is only a delivery person. What is really his role? Will he just do his duty and leave? Will he form a bond with Kat? A I picked this book up and had no idea what to expect from it. Again, all good questions that I needed to know the answers to and what kept me reading.
Then on top of it all, you have this other world and other players that are part of the big picture. Who is good and who is evil? Who is telling the truth and who is lying? At times, you think you know who the good ones are and then a little while later, you are not so sure. The author did an awesome job of keeping the reader wondering.
I will not give out any spoilers. But if you want to read a very good story that will keep you guessing and changing your opinion, this is the book for you. Jun 08, Wanderlust added it Shelves: Not my jam I'm afraid. I found it; boring, slow paced, the character's flatter than pancakes and there wasn't very good world building in my opinion. Feb 12, Concetta Phillipps rated it really liked it. This was a fun one. Definitely want to come back to this series. Jun 07, Meg rated it it was ok. I finished this book in one sitting. About halfway through I started losing steam, but I was determined to finish it because 1.
I'm really hoping to reach my reading goal this year and 2. Heck, the reason I gave it two stars instead of one is because it's short. Here are things that I liked -it's short. Involved a video game???? Ok now I'm going to list the things I didn't like. There's barely a first act. I k I finished this book in one sitting. I know that's more of a movie term, but I still think they're important to novels, especially young adult novels like this one. It's important to establish what the characters were like before their adventure, so we can see how they grow and change.
We hardly know anything about Kat at the beginning other than the fact that she plays video games and is in college and her parents are dead.
Literally in the first chapter the second act comes knocking on her door. We barely know what Kat thinks of her parents other than the fact that they're dead and she's a little sad I guess she doesn't seem very sad and they wanted a good life for her. We barely know anything about her thoughts on her birthmother, other than the fact that she doesn't know her and literally tells is she feels abandoned by her which I'll get to in a minute.
This books tells you everything and shows you barely anything. Like I said, we know Kat feels abandoned by her mother, but that's because she told us. Imagine if we were given flashbacks to her childhood, where she learned she was adopted, or maybe where she began asking about her "real" mother? Not only that, but the book will say things like "he looked at him like he didn't trust him" or something, which is this book's sad attempt at foreshadowing, but also, it's literally telling us when it could be showing us.
How about "he looked at him, and his eyes flared. He backed away a bit, moving a bit in front of me, and somewhat obstructing my view of him. There's an 11th hour twist. Kinda spoiler-y, but I won't get into detail. I think this is really dumb, like the book is only pages, you couldn't let it have a satisfying ending?
I'm starting to think that this author had a weak idea and wanted to sell books more than tell a good story. And yes I've checked there's 3 more books after this one, which can all be yours now for The world is bland and forgettable. Nothing sets it apart from any other literary magical world out there. I'm already forgetting everything about it as I type this.
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The main character acts like a sheltered child despite being a 28 year old man. The main character is also a coward and idiot. There is a difference between being a good, moral, and compassionate person and being weak. The main character is simply weak. He is weak willed and weak minded. For whatever reason, he is upset about killing people in self defense. Keep in kind, these people are invading a city and slaughtering its residents.
I don't recommend this book to anyone who doesn't enjoy pathetic protagonist. One person found this helpful. Wonder why so many fantasy writers have their protagonists get filled with remorse and grief to where they are nauseous and ill because they had to kill someone.
Oh, and the "victim" just wiped out a village and is inherently evil. Part of the fun of fantasy is to be able to dispense with some of the deep moral issues faced in the real world. I get nauseous with the fantasy hero that perseverates over this. One person found this helpful 2 people found this helpful. It is perfect in its own right. The depth of the characters and the twisting and swaying of their world follow each other until you are sure it could be no other way.
As the hero says, " it makes sense. I choose to be completely enthralled.