Started Strong, Last Part Fizzled
928259
The realm of the paranormal is like caffeine to me. As the world of good vampire stories dries up, it's time to find another slice of this genre to get into. Not a fan of werewolves, or angel bad boys, and being severely allergic to zombie stories, I decided to give this book a try (Because the book cover is great). Three-fourths of this book is good, the last one-fourth, basically repetitive. The main female, Eve Bradley, hooks up with Cain O'Conner at a facility that torments paranormals in the name of science research. Eve goes in to get a story and when Cain sees her, it's lust at first sight (how often has that happened in these books?) Cynthia Eden teases the reader with what Cain is relentlessly, revealing only that the man burns up, dies and is reborn. If you've read Harry Potter, you know that is the pattern of a Phoenix. Ms. Eden then teases one with what Eve is all about. As the story progresses, the pair try to find the crazy Richard Wyatt, who orchestrated the experiments and fall into one trap after another and another and another. One wonders when the "intuitive" bulb will light concerning traps because they are, obviously, gravitating toward time without learning to avoid them. The character Eve is portrayed as a strong willed, bossy individual. I found her to be obnoxious with a moral compass that focused on not killing anyone, or thing, which included Richard Wyatt who was chopping up paranormals while experimenting on them. And yes, they were awake and screaming for this ritual. Cain came across as the brooding, hulkish type who was good in bed (yes, there was a lot of banging going on), he always vowed to keep Eve safe and yet continually left her believing she would be okay -- the down side is Richard Wyatt now wanted Eve, not Cain so leaving her behind didn't make sense. He is supposedly the upper echelon of paranormals yet all he does is gets killed and rises up from the ashes with next to no memory of the past life, except for Eve, who he says "smells like candy". Ugh. But, in fairness, the first part of the book was a page turner. Towards the end, I found myself worn out by one too many "let's do this even through we know it's a trap" scenarios, sex scenes that were like mortal combat versus "awe, they made love", and Cain saying "I'll save you Eve" only to have his butt incinerated by bullets and a cave in while Eve is either caught by her aggressors or, doing the noble thing, she gets in a bigger mess with Cain at her side. Where I didn't care much for this formula storyline, others might like it so I won't totally say avoid this book.
3749677
This book starts out strong and I loved the first half. It had me feeling all kinds of ways: pissed one minute, devastated the next, teary, hopeful the list goes on. But somewhere about halfway the story loses steam and slips into overly sappy territory. It read like a screenplay for a Hallmark movie. I actually like some Hallmark movies, especially if Im in a sentimental mood.

Fishers Light does have a compelling story and interesting characters so while I didn't love it, I can say that I liked it.  (3.5 stars)
4567212
Story definitely captivated me in the first few chapters. Characters are good, plot is good, writing is good sometimes & ok sometimes. But it was like it lost steam towards the middle there, the magic just kind of fizzled out for me. Narration became inconsistent, so I had a jarring experience. To illustrate: most chapters are written in 1st-person, but then some chapters are written in 3rd-person (sort of?),  but you don't actually know whose perspective is being presented then. My brain couldn't get into the places/events she describes, I don't know why. Lacking a sense of atmosphere? Towards the end, after the climax of the story, there was a long, drawn-out resolution that wasn't very satisfying. After the motorcycle incident in the beginning, everything became so predictable and kind of haphazard. To recap: Great Beginning > Okay Middle > Unsatisfying Ending. I would attribute this to lack of atmosphere, some jarring narration, predictability, and just losing steam there in the end, when the magic and promise of something great just disappeared.
4594441
The timeline approached started out ok, but got slightly tedious towards the end
1871345
The first half of this book was pretty good, but then it fizzled out.  I kind of felt evil when I kept skipping the parts when Jesus talked.  They tended to overkill ideas.  For example, when everyone hears Jesus say their name at the same time.  I got the idea the first time.  The second time wasn't too bad, but when they repeated the idea over and over, it got boring.  All in all, though, it was an ending.
8195
This book started out very strongly. I was immediately captivated by the different characters and their stories, as depicted amidst the backdrop of their three-story home. Towards the end, however, once the "villain" was introduced and the author shifted the importance of character growth to that of creating suspense and furthering the plot, my interest plummeted. What could've been a beautiful story of different people coming together and finding common ground in the day-to-day, instead turned into a too-typical plot about one character trying to impress a girl, save the day, and come out as the underdog on top...flying cross-country to find a long-lost person in true Hollywood fashion, for crying out loud. Ultimately, the ending felt cheap and left a sour taste in my mouth.

I can't quite recommend this book, but on the other hand, I can't not recommend it either. I just want any future readers to be warned that the heartfelt, character-driven beginning does not quite carry through to the end. That being said, there are certainly redeemable, even poignant, parts toward the end that are well worth sticking through to the end, as long as one isn't too disappointed by the sell-out plot devices clumsily employed in the final stretch.
4494912
The last 10% of this book was great, but up until that point it kind of dragged.
4777213
The first 3/4's of the book were very well done and then, instead of a tight wrap-up, the scene expanded and events, including reluctance to view evidence in a timely manner, became too far-fetched. Also, the ending was somewhat anti-climactic.
2888276
This one was a mixed bag. It started strong. I loved the first person POV and the first half of the book when the main character was placed in service. I enjoyed reading about the plagues and thought that part was well done. As the book progressed into the escape from Egypt, I lost interest, and found myself speed reading the last 25% in order to finish and start something new.
4394183
I started this book with great excitement and high hopes. The premise sounded fascinating and it's the first book I've read by Ted Dekker (co-written with Erin Healy).

It started out great. The prologue grabbed me and I couldn't stop turning the pages. I read the first half in one day. Almost in one sitting. Twists, turns, high stakes, and a maze of clues all made for an exhilarating read. But, once Shauna starts figuring out who she can and cannot trust, it started to lose me. More than once, she puts herself in situations that make no sense. Her father, Landon McAllister, seems a bit gullible for a presidential candidate. And the final confrontation felt somewhat anticlimactic, with Shauna not taking a big enough role.

Having said all that, I still enjoyed the book and would rate it at 4 out of 5 stars. I just wish the end had lived up to the promise of the beginning.
2512967
I thoroughly enjoyed this book...until after the half-way point. And when it especially got near the end, it feels like the author gave up and just rushed so much at you just to get it done. After so much death and atrocities in this volume, I was surprised that it kind of ended happily.

There isn't much else I can say. I'm pretty disappointed because it started so good. It was so real, it brought light to the horrible world slaves had to endure, so it doesn't do it justice if it cannot stay strong throughout all its pages.
272387
I loved the first half of the book. It seemed to get off track a bit in the second half.
1112885
In the beginning, I was hooked. Character development was great pace and the flow of the story was intriguing. Unfortunately that pace ground to a dead halt at the end of the book. It felt like the author had said all he could and just decided to end it.
2760665
I actually loved the beginning of the book. I felt a strong build toward the center of the story, and enjoyed the different tales as they webbed together. As the author mentioned in the endnotes, it was nice to read something supernatural that didn't involve werewolves or vampires.  However, the ending of the book, while leading into the second unwritten book, didn't leave me wanting more. The last chapters were a jumble of thoughts, and it almost felt like as a reader I was pushed to finish before an invisible timeline ran out, which is maybe the battle the author was going through when finishing the book.
3991561
This book started out amazing! I loved the first 3/4 of it. Strong plot, interesting characters, enough twists and turns to keep you on your feet. However, around the last fourth of the book it became just out-right weird. The sex scenes were more in detail, there was some explicit gore and just some parts that I didn't think should have been added in. However, I did enjoy the book for the most part and would recommend it, as long as the reader goes in a little more prepared than I was.
487062
The first 1/3 or so of the book was really good, but it felt like the author stopped there and either finished it years later or the rest was written by someone else as the rest of the book wasn't nearly as compelling as the beginning.
3168178
The book started strong, then around 40-50% it really began to drag for some reason. I seemed to be spending weeks on that range of the book and I almost gave up. Then it picked up again and I was happy then the ending dragged out like an extended version of the ending of Titanic. Should've stopped sooner. The Death-as-Narrator bothered me at first but after a while, I didn't even notice Mr Death. Matter of fact, during the draggy parts, Mr Death became my friend.

The writing style was pretentious and pleasant at the same time so I can't fault the book for that.

In the end, the story of The Chosen One Saving the World from Hate With Words seemed almost like literary nerd porn.