Interesting but flawed first book
931367
The good: The writing is quite good.  The voice is interesting.  There is a ton of detail about life in upscale Chicago, and I assume it's all correct.  The characters are interesting, although only the narrator is really well drawn.  I assume that the details about marathoning are also correct.

The bad: There are basically two elements to the plot: a romance, and a scam. They are both quite weak.  The romance has no tension, just two people who like each other.  No "boy meets girl, boy loses girl" or "boy meets girl, sparks fly."  Way too flat.

And the financial scam that drives everything just doen't make sense.  WAY too many loose ends.  Just as an example, there is a file that contains crucial evidence.  People die because of it.  At a useful juncture, the main character simply receives it in the mail.  What's the fun in that?

Nevertheless, an enjoyable read because the voice is really quite strong.  But if Nystuen had written another, I don't think I'd choose to read it.  I also didn't like the ending at all.
1117638
Picked this up as a free book since it seemed interesting.  I found most of the book quite a good read.  The ending left me a bit cold.  The pacing that I actually enjoyed through most of the book seemed rushed and fragmented toward the end, I attribute part of that as wanting to leave loose ends for a sequel, however, I'm not certain it was done with as fine a hand as it could have been.  I was also a bit disappointed in the editing.  There were several typos that should have been caught prior to publication and names of things (Bright Eye/Bright Star) that seemed to change back and forth as the book progressed, almost as if the author couldn't remember or make up his mind.

On the up side, I very much enjoyed the characters, the settings, and the basic premise.  I think there were a lot of very strong elements presented in the book, particularly in the development of the principal characters and the outline of the story.  I was quite riveted to the story for most of the book and will definitely explore picking up the sequels as time permits (since it looks like there are a couple).
1452901
This is a first book.  It has a lot of problems that many of the other reviewers addressed.  However, I liked it, and read it to the end. Mostly because I thought the story was fun and suspenseful.  Mark needs to tighten up his writing, and to limit his story lines.  Much of the background material probably should have been in a "real " first novel .That said, I will read nr two because I think Mr Nolan's writing has a lot of promise. I enjoyed the humor, but I think being a friend of the President in the first book was a lot too much
3103135
This work and the first work are strong entertaining books with an interesting premise that is well executed by the author. The stereotypical fantasy tropes are present and increase the quality of the work and do simply understanding the characters do  the reader. There are several editing errors and words do need to be replaced. Most are along the lines of head a noise instead of heard a noise. There are not enough errors to damage the book but they are noticeable. The adult subject matter is left vague which I appreciate as many works with similar polygamist fantasy are too graphic and that can damage the book. Here the vagueness enables the reader to skim past an  return to the plot.
3410283
While I enjoyed reading this book, I feel it suffered from several deep flaws. The author apparently loves India and is fascinated by it, but seems to have conducted research by following her nose rather than vigorous investigation. Her introduction implies that the bulk of the book is based on conversations with one or two people whom her friends told her were knowledgable. Unfortunately, the statements she makes about Vastu guidelines and even Ayurvedic medicine guidelines (which she spends a chapter on) are inconsistent with other books on the subject, and I can only conclude that this is due to her ad-hoc investigative work. A comment she made about Western science might work for illustrative purposes here: at one point she states that "all scientists accept that the world is made of five basic substances--earth, air, fire, water, and spirit." Clearly her 'insight' into Western science is flawed, as scientists disavowed that notion long ago, and my impression from comparing this book to more authoritative sources on Vastu, Ayurveda, and Yoga, is that her research into those subjects is just as "off." (Vastu and Ayurveda propose that earth, air, fire, water and spirit are key substances, but that's certainly not the position of Western studies.)

Despite those flaws, it was an enjoyable read and I found myself looking forward to the final chapter titled "Appeasing the Gods - Appeasing Your Soul" which she said would give us tips for restoring balance, even when you've committed a cardinal Vastu sin, such as having a kitchen in the southwest corner of your house. Unfortunately, this chapter consisted of two parts. The first, which said to simply "choose an appropriate color" to remedy the problem, listed the colors of the rainbow without indicating which to use when, other than a "choose what feels good to you" approach (in which case the book is completely irrelevant--if that's what you're going to do anyway, there's no point in reading the book). The rest of the chapter was acceptable from certain points of view--she talks about the Indian gods and how to make an offering to them in order to balance the energies--and while that is appropriate for certain people, I personally do not want to make offerings to a god who committed incest with his daughter (according to the author). While I understand some people's inclination to do so, he is not part of my personal spirituality, and I feel that her book presented no other options than to make offerings to placate these gods who are not mine, or simply "pick a nice color that makes you feel good."

If you're planning to build a new house, this book is probably as helpful for you as most others (unless you're bothered by the fact that most experts in other books disagree with her), and if you're into the Hindu religion, I think it could be quite helpful for you. But if you're looking for a way to bring peace into your not-ready-for-a-complete-remodel house without worshipping Hindu gods, I'd recommend you look elsewhere.
4003508
Interesting start to a series with potential
583859
I started out enjoying the book. The author does a good job of developing the characters and an interesting plot line. However, later, he demonizes creation theory, Christians, and the political right. The author demonstrates an academic arrogance that causes him to glorify faculty and denigrate anyone he considers unenlightened. This doesn't strengthen the book any and is, if anything, simply distracting. Overall it's an interesting concept, and if you can get past his political/academic biases, is a fun read.
781368
Ill have to admit to being a bit disappointed with this first book in Ms. Davis Black Eagle Ops series. Ive enjoyed her paranormal series and could hardly wait for her venture into a new direction, but unfortunately this story was a little frustrating at times.

Some of the characters dialogue was inconsistent in the first few chapters. For example, JJ, a secondary character, lets loose with every swear word imaginable (chapter 5), then in the next breath has a seemingly split personality as he speaks in a narrative voice. On top of that, he never considers apologizing to his grandmother figure for cursing in front of her. The dialogue eventually improves as the story goes on. Since I had an advanced reading copy, I can only hope these issues were fixed prior to publication date.

One other irritation - the pet names between the main characters Kelcee and Dustin got old quick for me. There were secondary characters who had pet names for each other and that was cute and quirky, but to add something similar for the main characters was just too much.

Heres the skinny:
What I liked:
- The premise of a wounded warrior coming to a place of healing and helping someone else heal in the process.
- The introduction of the mysterious healing waters
- The rapport between characters
- Nice steam
- The book finally built up momentum in the last half

What I didn't care for:
- Inconsistent dialogue at times
- Slow story in the beginning
- Too much blood and gore for my taste in the final action scene
- Too much gratuitous cursing
- Pet names got old after a while
- Introduced a female antagonist in the first part of the book but never developed her character and dropped her mid-stream with no resolution to the initial conflict

That said, since Ive always enjoyed Vonnie Davis writing, I will definitely be reading her next book in this series and look forward to seeing her talents develop.

I received my advanced reading copy from the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
1481240
The concept of this story is brilliant. The first sentence introduces a mystery that drives you to turn pages all story long. The events and backstory--on a macro level--are awesome. One of the most creative concepts I've read and I read a lot.

But the execution of these concepts was sloppy. Characters suddenly swing into rages, standing and yelling at each other. The health and fitness aspects weren't believable (some people run distances too easily and later in the story are winded by less, healing happens too quickly. The social dynamics aren't nuanced--they're pretty stereotyped. And for a long while I wasn't sure I liked the main character.

So it's worth reading, but you'll have to be patient with immature writing. I'm hoping the author got better in the next books.
2542525
Seraphim has an original premise and a lot of interesting ideas.  It started out well, and I really wanted to like it, but the more I read the more it began to feel like a chore.  The book keeps introducing new concepts and strange powers/events, all of which are interesting, but keeps most of them very shallow.  What really kept me reading was a desire to understand these elements, but by the end of the book hardly any are explained or expanded.  The explanations that do exist are mostly in the form of last-minute info dumps.  I was also disappointed in some of the characters' reactions to the events-in particular the parents' calm acceptance of what happened to Amy early on (I won't go into detail to avoid a spoiler).  Overall, I think the author has an incredible imagination and great concepts, but needs to narrow his focus and cover a few ideas in greater depth.
556958
Great start--a page turner--then ridiculous complications.
1989925
As a fairly recent transplant to the Rockies, I appreciated Box's descriptions of the spectacular country in which his protagonist, Joe Pickett, works as a game warden. Box also portrayed well the conflicts between varying interests in such places: locals concerned about making a living and feeding their families, locals and others intensely concerned about preservation of the local wildlife, those who see opportunity in untapped resources, federal vs. local control, etc.

But, the book has some problems. [Spoilers follow] Maybe if Box (or the publisher?) hadn't chosen to use a graphic at the beginning of each chapter reproducing a portion of the Endangered Species Act, it would have taken a bit longer to figure out just what was going on here. Maybe if Box hadn't chosen to make both of the likely suspects look and act suspicious from the get-go, it might have taken a bit longer to finger them. After figuring out the important points, the reader is left with the decision to either finish the book out of stubbornness, or to quit right there and move on to something else. I finished it, but I read two other books before I did. Other reviews mentioned editing and continuity errors which I noticed also and found annoying.

That said, because this is a first novel, and a first of his for me, I'll probably try Box again sometime.
3250038
Interesting story but the book is not written well.
4311368
I received a copy of this novel in exchange for an honest review.
Sadies War is an interesting beginning to a promising series.  Im a huge fan of the whole mutant experience.  The idea of an outcast making her way in a harsh society combined with Sadies emotional baggage makes for a unique coming-of-age novel.  When Sadie is abandoned by her mother Downtown, she has little to no experience with the real world. In her struggle to understand this alien world around her, the reader experiences the same confusion and fear.  Her blindness increases her bewilderment and adds an extra layer to her dire situation.  Her story was both touching and shocking, and when she finally allows Fester to break through her mistrust, the love blooming between them creates an entirely new story.
I did have some issues with the pacing, however.  The story was slow to develop with little action for long sections and a great deal of rehashing the same or similar thoughts.  Sadies brainwashing (from her parents) is obviously a huge issue, and I realize Sadie cant flip a feeling switch and turn it off, but she teeters with her trust issues so much that I found myself skimming large paragraphs restating the same thing to the point of tediousness.  The novel lagged because of this.  Another problem is the gutter dialect.  Michaels dialogue was so convoluted that even reading it aloud proved ineffectual at times.  It seemed like overkill.  The reader can understand his lack of education as well as the effect of the setting without so much dialect.  It slowed down the reading and frustrated me completely.
However, the story is unique in a saturated market, and overall, it was good.
3.5 Stars
137660
A fun and interesting book. The story line is intriguing. However the editing could use a lot of help.  The second half of the book has more errors than the first half and for a bit there was at least one error per page.  It is distracting.
1758468
The story is interesting: but there are some serious flaws in the writing. I see that this book is professionally edited, however, I am not sure that is true.

Pros:
1. Interesting and kept me wanting to know what would happen
Cons:
1. Flow is off - I had trouble understanding at first what was going on in terms of character internal dialog. You read multiple perspectives with no transition.
2. The main character knew more than what the narration was telling. It just felt wrong in the way the MC suggested he knew nothing, and yet was working towards some agenda. This may have worked out better if the author would have stuck with one point of view, rather than having to switch perspectives in the middle of a paragraph to tell the reader how said character felt about the MC.

All in all I could not finish this book. I grew frustrated with how the story was written. The transitions were jarring to say the least and took away from what could have been a good story. Checking spelling and grammatical errors is not professional editing. I would get someone who can help with story flow and voice transition and this book would be much better.
1707146
I will say this:  it is a good start.  I understand this is the author's first published work.  The story was interesting.  That said, where it bogged down was in the telling.  Instead of letting the descriptions of place and person let the reader "see" the dialogue, the author fills compelled to dropping consonants, contracting words, to let us "hear" what is being said.  So much so that everyone speaks in a sort of sloppy slang.  Mistaken words (i.e., their for there) abound, as does an over-use (mis-use?) of dashes.  Also of italicized words, which are found throughtout the book in places that leave the reader to ponder why the author chose to highlight a particular word or phrase. Finally, a dearth of necessary commas, those small little pieces of punctuation that help us follow, digest, understand. After awhile, it becomes very frustrating reading all the run-on clauses.

Also, there is a scene in which the main character, a park ranger named Cole, is met in his office by the attractive, hard as nails reporter, formerly from a tough beat in Washington, D.C.  Earlier, they shared a moment's pause in sexual union.  Now, however, she is scared and puts her hand in his, leans her head on his masculine shoulder, seeks, it seems, his manly protection...Not!  Sorry, that whole set-up did not ring true.

Lastly, there is the denouement, when Cole finally figures out who really is doing the killing.  Unfortunately, we are as surprised as he, since there is no prior introduction of the killers until just before the book ends.  A little bit of foreshadowing would have gone a long way to assist the reader in swallowing the end.

I applaud Mr. Thackston for his effort.

I only wish he had let someone read and clean up his manuscript before having it published.  Editing surely would have helped.