Good read but no resemblance to synopsis
346523
A book I enjoyed reading but was surprised by the blurb on the jacket & your synopsis which have no relation to the content. The story concerns Adam Sinclair and his 'team' rather than a prequel concerning his mother !
4793880
My main issue with this book is that none of the main characters are from Howls Moving Castle. It's sort of like a happen stance epilogue to Howls by way of another story. It is interesting and fantastical. It was a good read in its own right- but it would be a better read if it was not associated with Howls Moving Castle- as that brings expectations that this book does not live up to.
4718313
Engaging story and well written, but what happened at the end??  The conclusion was much too rushed.  The title is a bit misleading because the book isn't that much about pastel orphans - would have liked to see more about the little sister's story rather than the brother and the Resistance.  Still, it's a good tale.
3248290
I decided to read this book because it seemed interesting by the plot synopsis. It had a good story line, however, I didn't much care for the very detailed sections on the couples intimacy moments. It made the book much worse and could have done without that. If that would have been left out then it would have made it a much better story.
271089
It seems like the whole premise of the book is that Cleo's story is told through Willow and in doing so it changes Willows life.  The crazy thing is that if you don't read the summary on Amazon you have no idea that is what is happening.  Maybe a part of the book - like the preface - is not included in the kindle version?

Without that component the story is ok, told kind of simplistically.
1408784
I was a little iffy on whether or not I would enjoy this book purely based on the synopsis. Books with multiple character perspectives are rarely done well; I tend to get jolted whenever the point-of-view switches. However, Janine Southard does a great job differentiating all of the characters and making clear what is going on in the story. The plot was engaging and the story left me wanting more. Overall, I really enjoyed this book and am searching the internet for where I can buy the next book in the saga.
3194804
If you believe in coincidence, you'll like this book. While I enjoyed the story, I think it needed more explanation going deeper into the totalitarian government that took control of the USA, starting (frighteningly enough) in 2016. We must have elected Donald Trump as the "President For Life".
The plot was intriguing but not backed with enough information explaining this Nazi-like regime. As for coincidences...there were one after the other, moving the storyline inexorably to a rather predictable conclusion.
463385
As I read the opening pages (or whatever the term is on a Kindle:)) I had a hard time following the summary in the introduction that was giving the background of the events that had happened in the previous books - I wish I had taken a look at the last volume before reading this one to remind myself of the specifics.  It would also have been helpful to have a good mind for tactical logistics - I had a had time following some of the story since that is a challenge for me.
Overall I enjoyed it, although it felt as if some of the writing was more filler than actual story, if that makes sense - those parts were exciting and well written, but perhaps I felt the story could have moved on a little faster than it did. There was a character named Tenzing mentioned a few times - I could not for the life of me recall that name, but it appeared in conversations with Tharkay - perhaps that was a typo that was missed in editing???
Overall I would say some of the story was exciting and some of it was maddening.  I'm glad I read it, but was a little bit disappointed with it in comparison with the others.
2485748
A concise synopsis but certainly not comprehensive. Author states that these NWO monsters are just as moral as anyone else and that Lucifer is sort of OK.  Couldn't disagree more.  The rest was good----well written and easy to follow.  However, I am still looking for a book that I can use to introduce the NWO to others that have not yet awakened.  I was hoping that this would be it.
4938760
The official plot summary describes the confusion of the characters at the start of the book, but fails to mention that the reader is even more confused. The characters at least know where they are and have an inkling regarding their professions but the reader is totally in the dark for a long enough time to become frustrated.
However, things do clear up! The book is very well written although the development of character friendships tends to be a bit jerky and sudden even though emotion-based, particularly as regards secondary characters.
Although any summary of the plot would be a spoiler, I suspect that the biblical creation myth played a major role in defining the plot line.
All in all, the book is worth the read!
565470
I've always wanted to read some sort of detailed story about the first two Bugger Invasions. I've now read both Earth Unaware and Earth Afire. The vast majority of the characters won't mean anything to people who read the original Ender books because there are almost no ancestors of Dink, Bean, Ender, Graff etc. (or if there are, it's not mentioned). There's only one character whose name you'll recognize. It's not a big deal but I thought people might want to know. The plot of both books is pretty good. They're basically like any other Sci-Fi space war books as far as that is concerned. The writing is pretty good. Just keep in mind that the chapters are written like the Game of Thrones books where each chapter describes what happens to one character over a period of time.

The reason I gave 3 stars instead of 4 or 5 is that there are several key concepts in Ender's Game that get completely changed for these books. I'm not going to mention what they are so I don't spoil anything. However, there are several events, items, etc. that are described in some detail and that come about in a specific chronological order in Ender's Game that're pretty much the opposite in these books. I have a big problem with that.

Overall, both books are good enough to be worth reading. I just had issues with certain parts that I didn't think should be changed so completely.
4176164
I liked the book and from reading the synopsis i thought it was going to be great...but it dragged a little. The author does too much thinking out loud and not enough showing it. She basically explains her thought process through out the whole book. Very little dialogue, which disappoints me.
120469
The blurb does a good synopsis of the book. Sex scenes were sexy but nothing extreme. Would have liked to have a dual POV.

I'm a fan of Winter Renshaw and her books.

Being born and raised in DC I was a little insulted in the description of DC women - but not really.

One editing issue with saying the corporate condo was in Columbia Heights and then it was actually in Capitol Hill (which makes more sense).

Nice little twist with the meeting in the bar scene.

Liked the Pretty Woman theme and the political aspects.
4769147
Nothing about this book at first glance gives a reader any indication of what the book is actually about. The blurb is spare to the point that it is a disservice to the contents of this interesting and detailed novel. "Post-war" means post-EMP war, taking place in 2019. Sister's "bitter heart" is a long-ago heartbreak, but she is far from being a bitter woman, and is actually highly emotional, caring and affectionate. The "mad man determined to see her dead" is a sideline to the second-chance love story that unfolds between Sissy and Levi. The mad man drives a certain portion of the plot, but the real story is the tale of survival in rural New Mexico on an isolated tenant farm. The title and cover are also a disservice to the story. "Sacred Mountain" leads one to believe this story is Christian fiction set in the Old West. The image on the cover does nothing to dispel that notion. In reality, this is a near-future survival story, intermixed with a violent sub-plot, which centers around a descriptively sensual romance.

A tight-knit farming community is struggling to survive without a lot of 21st century necessities and doing quite well. Society is not so downtrodden that lawlessness is rampant, but it is more like feudal or western locales where it was necessary for people to band together and be careful. Paige Robbins goes into a lot of detail about how the community lives, so people who enjoy "prepper" stories will find this book interesting. Sometimes the level of detail was such that it detracted from moving the plot along, and this is why I rated it three stars. I liked the book and will read more by Paige Robbins, but there could be some tweaking to flow, plot devices and characterization in the future.

The main story about Sissy and Levi is wrapped up at the end, but other elements of the plot are left loose to take the story to another romantic pairing in the next book. I will pick up the next installment, so I hope this review doesn't seem too lukewarm.
4319128
This book shocked me, partly because I have never read Miller's work and partly because of the lack of a summary on the book.  Personally, I dislike buying a book without reading a synopsis on the back cover or inside flaps.  I had expected this to be a romance novel with some mystery and intrigue contained.  I was somewhat intrigued by the drama found near the center of the book with the murder of the main character's friend.  I liked, but felt disconnected from the main character, Jo.  Jo was at times a very likely female and at other times did not seem a part of the female gender at all.  The fact that she doesn't particularly care about her appearance or how other people perceive her is one example to her "unfemale like" qualities.  Another example is how she is disconnected from her children.  The portion of the book where Jo lives in the house with four other single people was perhaps the most interesting part of the book.  It also leads up to the climax which is when her friend and roommate is brutally murdered.  Daniel, Jo's second husband, is an interesting character that you grow to love.  Not only for his timely entrance into Jo's life, but for his forgiving, kind, and compassionate nature.  (I loved it when he threw the tomato, showing raw emotion.)  Eli is a former house member that comes back into Jo's life with much surprise.  There is almost the idea of infidelity, but much graver things happen instead.  This is a good book for those in the middle of their lives, perhaps contemplating their former, younger, selves and thinking about their future, older, selves.  Myself, in my mid twenties, did not enjoy it as much as I might twenty years from now.
4891711
From the synopsis, I expected a progression from Keepers of the Cave (KOTC) type of story and that part held true. It is exciting and gripping as Gerri is a great writer. However, I wanted and expected more from Gerri as the story line around the two protagonists do not have the sexual buildup nor romance like KOTC. I guess realistically, that makes sense due to the situations they are in.

I do have to comment on the editing as this seems to be a frequent oversight in many lesbian books i.e. past tense of drag is dragged and not 'drug'.
2132303
Identical to manga, just a little more detailed. (not really a con, the book came first off course).
The plot is very interesting but is full of gaps and lack of logic, just to keep readers intrigued.
I'd recommend for any sci-fi enthusiat, but its not a prime of literature.