It had the possibility to be very good, but just fell flat for me
594867
Unfortunately, I wasn't a fan of this book. It had the possibility to be very good, but just fell flat for me. The characters met and are reunited after a couple of months and then everything happens too quickly for me. The book was over at 50%, with another of the author's books right afterward.
4467610
Really not sure why this book got such great reviews. It did have some really good potential but, it fell short many times. In some places I felt like I was reading something a teenager would right. There was no real character development. Which is sad because the story had a good concept, as did the characters. In reality it just fell flat.  The female character knows she's talking to a king, and that there are no women in this society, but she  says things like "yeah, whatever" ... their  conversations almost starts to sound like to adults speaking but, then its back to sounding like adolescents.  And come on a society with no females and the men are all virgins, that  none of them have become lovers with other men.
It could have been a very good book.  Sadly it just was not.
4817154
This book had a lot of potential. The idea with the photo is intriguing, and Rowan's whole situation sounded interesting to read about. The plot is what kept me turning the pages - I loved the plot twists and the many ideas - but I had quite a few problems with the rest of Broken Soup.

I think my main problem was that the message got lost in the many aspects of the plot. I don't mean that a book shouldn't have many storylines, but they should support each other to make a whole and create a message to convey to the reader. The different storylines in Broken Soup - Jack's death, Rowan's morhter's depression, her friendship with Bee, her romance with Harper, her role as the responsible one in the family - all seemed to be conveying different messages that had nothing to do with each other. Maybe that would have worked if the book were longer and the storylines were elaborated on more, but like this it just left me confused about what Jenny Valentine wanted to say with this book.

The writing isn't great, but not terrible, either. There was nothing all that noteworthy about it. At parts it sounds like the author wants to sounds poetic and deep, but that didn't fit to the rest of the style and Rowan's voice and seemed contrived.

The characters are okay. Rowan's character is pretty good, and I liked reading how the situation in her family affected her. For some reason, though, I never really connected with her, and for me, if I can't relate to the main character, that takes a lot from a novel. Some of the secondary characters are better: I loved Harper - how he helps Rowan is really cute. Jack is a good character, too; easy to imagine. Bee's characterization is lacking, though. Rowan always tells us she's so special, etc. but the reader is never really shown what's so great about her. She seemed pretty average to me. The parents didn't really seem like characters, more like plot devices, but I guess I can't really criticize that - they're never around, and that was the point of that storyline.

I don't usually comment on the cover of a book if I don't like it, but on this one I have to. Not only is it ugly (in my opinion), it also doesn't fit the story whatsoever. It looks like something someone doodled during class without a care in the world, which is the opposite of Rowan's situation. It doesn't show the reader anything about the seriousness of this book.

All in all, this book was pretty disappointing. There were a lot of good ideas in there, but the execution is clumsy. The writing and the characters are only okay, and Broken Soup fails to convey a message with too - it seemed like the author wanted to pull the novel in too many directions without elaborating on the different storylines. Most of the other reviews I've read for this one, though, are positive, so maybe you'd enjoy it more than I did.
2649663
There were so many features in this book for me to love: the cover, world travel, setting, etc. Yet, for some reason, most of this novel just fell flat. While Shinn's premise was really interesting and creative, the pacing of the novel was just not fast enough for me. I kept waiting for something exciting to occur which would fully grab my interest, but it never happened. In addition, the novel was pretty straight forward. I had hoped that there would be some great twist, but sadly, that did not happen.

Despite a few flaws, I really enjoyed this novel. The characters were unique, and I love the idea of world travel. I am not sure if this novel will have a sequel, but I really hope it does. There are many questions that went unanswered and with an open ending, I would really like to learn more.
4862132
If there's one thing I can say about The Promise of Amazing, it is that it truly lives up to its name. The book definitely contains the promise of an amazing story, but sadly fell short of what I was expecting. Even though I kind of liked Wren and Grayson, and even thought their story was pretty darn cute at times, there was just something about this novel that didn't work for me. (Sidenote: it kind of reminded me of this particular book, though I might have enjoyed this one a smidgen more.)

As mentioned, the characters in this book were kind of likeable. Wren Caswell is a girl looking to find her own place, which is something teens and adults alike will be able to relate to. As someone who enjoys watching people discover the truth about themselves, it was no surprise I liked seeing Wren figure things out, though a lot of those realizations came a bit too conveniently. Plus, I adored her friends - Jazz and Mads - who were the best! Grayson Barrett, on the other hand, almost felt stereotypical: the bad boy who finds something someone that inspires him to be better. This is not to say I didn't like him, because I did - especially when I witnessed how he was around his family. His friends, unlike Wren's, are pretty much jerks.

The story is told from alternate points of view, which gives readers a sense of knowing everything that's happening for Wren, Gray and Wren + Gray together. Their individual stories were pretty compelling, which sort of made up for how quickly these two fell for each other. It's not quite clear whether it's simply a case of insta-lust, serendipity or love at first sight, but the romance certainly happens fast. The book had an odd combination of authenticity in some parts and dramatics in others, particularly towards the ending, which kind of left me feeling confused and a teensy bit irritated.

The story might have had a bit of a heavy hand on the dramatics and sweeping statements; it also somehow managed to be tongue-in-cheek and sweet in a few rare moments. Even though it didn't particularly wow me, The Promise of Amazing was okay.
713116
I really, really wanted to like -- no, to LOVE -- this story. Maybe too much, and that contributed to my overall disappointment in the read. It wasn't an awful book -- the writing was good, the characters well-drawn, the setting interesting and believable, the world-building worked for me. I enjoyed the idea of biocyph and how the teks worked, and the relationship that built between the characters were very well-done, but... I think that my expectations for the story were too high. Partially because I'd heard that the story was so good, but partially because of Creasy's development itself. There's a lot of time and effort put into the secrets of Scarabaeus and I'm not going to include spoilers, but suffice it to say that I found the ultimate unraveling of the secrets to be something of a frizzle rather than a bang. Certainly, the story twisted nicely with the revelations, and everything fit as it continued, but I'd expected something more than what everything turned out to be, and that left me feeling let down. Also, the book really does end on a cliffhanger of sorts -- the big questions of the book are answered, but there's a lot left that has to be explored. I do have the second book, Children of Scarabaeus, and I will probably read it, but I won't go into it expecting anything dazzling or brilliant, maybe just a decent space-set story.
3055376
This was a very odd book. I thought it had potential, but I was wrong. This is only because it just went down a path that did not appeal to me. It was well written, but the story was out there and just a little off putting to me. Still, you might like it and think that it is great. You'll have to decide for yourself.
3148639
But I just couldn't.

The premise of the story was good, the characters had great chemistry, but there were many things I found lacking in this book.

First of all, the ending.  Well, more like the non-ending.  It really didn't do it for me.  I felt the author just ended it in a rush without more explanation and more of a conclusion.  Maybe I missed something and this book is part of a series, but I don't remember reading that; if it isn't, the ending was not good.

Although Dylan is a great character and described as hot, it was like the author wrote two characters.  At first when he is with Bailey, he is so caring for her and you can tell that he truly loves her, but at one point, he just becomes an a-hole who yells and says hurtful things to her, and she just takes it.  Maybe I am just one of those women, but I kept waiting for her to smack him upside the head and tell him to f off!!  I know Bailey's character is young, but for someone who faces down her entire graduating class AND her overbearing parents, she all of a sudden becomes a wimp when he starts treating her badly.

Even if I could get past these things, I couldn't get past the editing, or lack thereof.  So many misspelled words, incomplete sentences, and wrong word usage.  It was hard to get past it.  I am not one of those grammar people who will trash a book for one or two mistakes, but this one was awful.

If you are looking for a good version of this book, read The Edge of Never.  Similar premise, better writing.
1985956
This book was free to me through the Amazon First program.  The plot was a fine idea, and had a great deal of promise.  Ultimately, some rough secondary character development held the story back.  There were points where characters were too easily moved from one point of view to another, or were underdeveloped, and it detracted from the believability.  I also strongly suspect that some of the things they thought and said would never have had the impact they did at that point in history, no matter the passion behind the words.

One gets the feeling this was meant to be a "strong female characters" book.  On the one hand, I enjoy seeing women take a lead role in books.  On the other, some of it just did not mesh well with how the book described women as being treated then.  One moment the barriers are all there, the next they vanish after a speech?  She also rather undersold men in the process.  This creates the additional problem of making the women seem less than they could have been, since they seem to utterly miss so much fickleness when they are otherwise canny.

That being said, the heroine was likable and the villain both dislikable and not too stupid, so I appreciated that.  I enjoyed the few medical parts, and some of the religious content, which was not clumsily ostentatious as with other books that involve faith.  The descriptiveness of scenery could have been better, but the author conveyed emotion we'll both through words and character action.  In sum, not bad, and enjoyable enough.
3044541
This wasn't my favorite Devon Hartford book. It has tons of potential, I really like the premise. I really liked the characters at first, they just didn't seem to fully developed, which is usually this author's strength. I really liked Daphne's social awkwardness, her shyness, and her expectation of being ignored in the midst of people she saw as more beautiful, somehow more entitled to attention and affection, was very relatable and I think, very typical of women who do not meet the American society's ideals of beauty, especially those who carry a few too many pounds. I loved that despite that, she kept her determination to "take back her beauty. I loved that Apollo found her curves sexy, and was more interested in helping her to be healthy than thin. However, from there the story kind of centered more on exercise and how Daphne got fit than on her character. That she went from retiring dental office Secretary to a physical trainer in a year seemed a little... implausible? The sex scenes were awesome, but I wish the part where she lost her virginity had gone a little different. Daphne and Apollo seemed to have the kind of easy relationship where they talked a lot, and shared yimportant things with each other, so why would that not have come up in the natural course of things? I would have liked it better had her loss of virginity been a planned out thing between them. It would have been a lot sweeter, and more in keeping with their personalities, in my opinion. I loved that Apollo immediately wanted babies with Daphne, but as focused as they were on that, I would think that tying her to him legally would have been more of a push. He brought it up right away, but then didn't do anything about it for a long time. That seemed odd to me. The story just seemed a little rushed and underdeveloped. It wasn't bad, it just wasn't as good as it could have been. If this book is ever revised I will be at the head of the line to reread it.
3365426
Overall - 3

Plot/Storyline - 3
Unfortunately, I could review this book in one word - fine. There was nothing truly wrong with it, but it never really got me interested. The plot had potential I didn't feel it quite lived up to. I read the ending twice, hoping against hope that maybe I had missed something that would make me care, but no such luck. I felt it had a few small unanswered questions (part of why I read it twice), but probably nothing that would frustrate anyone who enjoyed it. I was just bored enough to nitpick by that point. Honestly, I'm sad at this book because I really thought I'd enjoy it based on the description, and there were a few good moments that gave me a glimpse of what it could have been - but wasn't. I hope the author finds that special something in their next book because I'd like to see that potential fulfilled.

Character development - 3
The characters were developed, but I never really cared much about them. They were basically likable and believable but I felt about them the way I might about co-workers in a large company - I'm sure they
are all nice, but I don't feel I really got to know them, nor did I want to make the effort.  The only relationship I had any hope for felt like a sneeze that never happened - it built until it fizzled and simply left my nose itching.

Writing Style - 3 3/4
Again, everything was fine. The book was easy to read, just not exciting. Dialogue worked and descriptions were well done. There were even some lines I truly enjoyed and laughed at but somehow that made the rest of it even more frustrating because it left me wanting something and not finding it.

Formatting - 1 
This was the only thing that I found completely irritating and I hope they fix in future editions. A sentence would be going along just fine then it would look like someone hit the enter key and
  it would continue, indented, on the next line. It really brought me out of the book and drove me a bit crazy.
4865800
3-3.5 Stars

Mini Review:

I had really high hopes for this book... I mean a hot tattoo artist who's a virgin? Bring it on! But I ended up disappointed, and while the book wasn't bad, it ended up being just ok for me.

My Expectations:

1. Steamy scenes that would make me add the book to my I Need A Fan tag
What I got: A few hot scenes that were too short and left me thinking "that's it?"

2. Lots of fun and witty dialogue
What I got: Dialogue that fell flat and didn't make me laugh. I found myself almost skipping over lines because it didn't hold my attention enough at times.

3. Characters I would fall in love with
What I got: Characters that I felt for, but didn't connect with, and were easily forgettable.

Don't get me wrong, this wasn't a bad book and it had no major flaws. But I felt like a lot of it fell flat and didn't live up to it's potential.
4702163
I think the premise was a good one, but it wasn't executed very well.
2434698
I really liked the premise of "Vampire High", so I probably went in with my expectations a bit too high.

It's not a bad book by any means - absolutely not. I enjoyed it quite a bit. It had its fun moments as well as a number of more poignant scenes. Cody is a likeable young protagonist, not perfect but as perfect as a 15-year-old boy can be; he stands up for his friends, he doesn't want to get good grades he hasn't earned, he's helpful and as un-prejudiced as people come. The supporting cast, while somewhat lacking in characterisation, were interesting enough as well. The writing was engaging.

So why the three stars? I've tried to figure it out but I can't quite put my finger on what bothered me. I think the plot ultimately just fell a bit flat for me. There were hurdles to overcome for the heroes, but they were all overcome a little too easily. The resolution felt too simple, too neat. Yes, I know, there were mentions that not everyone was happy with the new way of things, but... I suppose that ultimately I just wasn't convinced by how Cody's few simple acts changed the whole status quo between the jenti and the townsfolk.
2804781
I'd give this book 2.5 stars because I'm torn between "didn't like it" and "it was okay." The concept was good and could have taken us in intriguing directions, but it just fell flat. The author uses 3 viewpoints to tell the story, but there isn't much to the storyline beyond this one plot device. This novel desperately needed MORE... more character development, more subplots, more action, etc. The writing style was readable enough, but the story itself was just lacking for me.
2217065
I lIked the pacing and the story, though the ending fell flat and was for me more of an "Oh no, really?"
4039537
My review of this book will be mixed.  I really wanted to give it 2.5 stars because I am divided on this 50/50.  I thought it had great potential, and if it were presented as a first draft I would give it 5 stars as a starting draft.

First of all, if you are going to start the beginnings of a love interest, then you should finish it.  He started to show the main character's feelings for this girl-cop, and then it was dropped - not good to do.

The characters, all of them, were never really fully developed so the book appears flat and pulpy, like a cheap novel with cheap writing.  The main character was only about 6% developed, and his sidekick was about 8% developed.  And what happened to the story about the sidekick's niece?  It was like sub-plots were started, then dropped.  The antagonist wasn't fully developed either.  If anything, I think this book should have been longer to give more development to the characters, or at least cut out all the static description and use the space for character development.

And that's another thing - a good writer doesn't statically describe things (allot of that in this novel).

However, it was an interesting idea, which is why I did like it as little or as much as I did and it had great potential.  I just think he should have taken more time re-writing it.

Still, it did hold my interest, even though I couldn't fully enjoy the story because of the flat characters.

The ending was pretty bad for an ending.  Again, more time should have been spent on the ending.  It looked like he just wanted to get it over with, which really robs the reader of any kind of satisfying resolution or climax.

But I would still recommend this book because of the interesting plot idea.