First time reader, but I liked it
596474
This book is the first I have read by this author and I suspect I may have missed out on several previous books covering DI Helen Grace who in this book finds herself imprisoned, awaiting a (re-)trial. Then a series of gruesome, careful murders start happening and while Grace is trying to solve the murders while trying to save her own life which is constantly being threatened as a former police officer behind bars.
Overall, I enjoyed the book, although not entirely blown away by the story, I will, however, certainly check out other books by the author as it may bring some context to this book.
4647026
First, let me say that I didn't pick this book myself, it was in my suggestion list by Amazon based upon my past reading history. However, once I read the synopsis of the book and that it was the first of this author's work, I thought I should at least give it a try. I was not disappointed. Although keeping up with the back and forth between characters in the beginning was a little annoying, I quickly became engrossed enough in the story to push through.  I'm looking forward to the next book in the series. I already have it flagged on my Kindle.
3681584
It was really nice to be caught up in a story enough that I found myself wanting to get back to my book. In that sense, I enjoyed this book. There is just something fascinating about the idea of choosing a husband or wife under such circumstances, and I couldn't help being swept along by the story, despite the fact that I kept having the eerie feeling that Chris Harrison was about to walk into the room...

The characters were pretty good, and for the most part I felt able to connect with them. There were moments where the dialogue wasn't all it could have been, and some elements were pretty predictable, but none of those things were enough to ruin my enjoyment of the book.

Probably the weakest aspect of the book for me was the fact that nothing outside of the romance really happens - other than the rebel attacks, but those didn't feel very weighty. It really would have been nice if someone had actually been in danger at some point, or if we'd at least seen something a little more threatening. Nevertheless, watching America and Maxom was interesting enough to keep me reading, and I really appreciated the pace of the book.

I do wish I had a little more idea what the over-arcing conflict of the series is going to be (other than I'm guessing it has to do with the rebels). There are some sketchy spots in the overly-simplified explanations of the world as it is in the story, and it would have been nice to have things explained in a little more detail - such as how the castes came to be in the first place. I kind of have an idea, but why did people accept it? That whole aspect of the story was underdeveloped, and I felt like it could have carried a lot more weight.

Not life-changing, but fun to read and a solid page-turner. Overall, I'm giving this book 3.5 stars because it held my interest and I'm actually looking forward to the sequel.
880114
I didn't care for this at first but as I read I began to really enjoy it.
550660
The reviews on this weren't stellar, so I almost didn't read it, but I'm glad I did. I thought Mead's idea here was very original and interesting. I particularly liked the idea that religious extremists destroyed society, so now religion is banned -- except that the gods won't exactly go away. I like that all of the characters weren't immediately accepting of the supernatural elements of their society, and I appreciated Tessa's contributions. I can see her becoming a key player in later books.

I also liked the idea of the ravens and their occasional observations about Justin and what was happening around him.

I'm not sure why genetic engineering was so bad, honestly, and I wish that had been made more clear, but otherwise, I thought the mystery of the killings was interesting and not too predictable, for the most part.

I'd recommend giving this book a try. I've only read one of Richelle Mead's other books, but most of the negative reviews seem to say this is unlike her other writing. I'm not sure why that's a reason to give a lower rating, but I enjoyed this book. It was a little more descriptive than most YA books, but I think it worked and made sense in the way the story unfolded. Definitely worth a try if you enjoy YA dystopian/fantasy.
1866951
Not my normal type of book but I got within the first couple chapters
4720407
Not bad.

Unlike some of the complaints I've heard, I actually very much appreciated the personalities and dynamics of each character and feel like they didn't do too bad of a job reflecting the different elements each personality was supposed to represent.

Clementine was a decent heroine with a confusing past (if you can even call it a past) and an unsure future. Her mother is gone, her home is gone, nearly ten years of her life are gone and now she's come back to a brand new world and a brand new body to discover that, other than her two childhood friends, no one seems to remember that she ever existed. Her world is unsure, strange, and a bit on the creepy side. A crazy man lives across the street, there's a "too magical for its own good" hollow just a few pastures away, and people seem to be pleased with themselves for hating her.

Some great inclusion (without being over the top) of "witchy" elements such as the 5 pointed star, what each point represents, and then the tarot deck. A bit of a grittier and less fantastical depiction of magic, or the "craft" as its called, without getting too outrageous.

A great depiction of how blind and ignorant hate can get people carried away to doing awful things.

Was hoping for something a bit more robust, and was interested in learning more about each of the "humors", how they effected their people, and what each individual was actually capable of all around, but it didn't expound on that. The author didn't go into much detail about the connection between Clementine and Fisher, either, though they dreamed about each other from a young age and for years.

The romance between Clementine and Fisher actually seemed rather realistic considering their circumstances, individual personalities, and their connection to separate "humors". Their "spiritual" connection was never fully explained, though, and Fisher's behavior towards Clementine in the presence of others was quite teenagery in the beginning, though he seems to make up for it later. Again, would have liked a little more explanation about what in the world was going on with these two in particular.

Basically I would be expecting a second book, but I'm pretty sure this is a Stand-Alone, so I'm a bit disappointed not to get to learn more.

However, the book wasn't anywhere near horrible and I do quite enjoy Brenna Yovanoff's style. If there ever was a second book in this series, I would read it. I do also plan on reading her other works.

Certainly worth the read.
1771316
I'm not an avid reader, but I found getting through this book was quite fun.
2867233
I couldn't get into the book when I first began it. I found other things to do instead of reading which, knowing me, is almost unheard of. But I persevered.

And I'm glad I did. Despite some spelling and grammatical gaffes, and the predictable antagonist, I enjoyed the read.  I felt, though that Alex fell too easily for Mallory given his past. At the same time,I didn't feel like I really knew Alex.  I didn't buy the almost too convenient reasons for why he was suddenly changing.  It just felt a bit contrived.

Mallory, on the other hand, was very well-developed.  Between her past and her job, I had a good feel for her. I liked how she operated and felt as if the author had fleshed her out more than Alex.

I'm going to try her second book of the series. If the same feelings appear, it'll probably be my last book of hers.  I'm crossing my fingers; it's hard to find an author who can mix romance and mystery well.  Ms. Anderson isn't too bad.
315238
I saw no reviews on this book, yet the description seemed interesting to me.  I got the book when it was free.  I have to say, I enjoyed it a lot, although at times, I wasn't sure what the author was thinking.  Perhaps some of his characters were imagining at times, but when reality hit, their thoughts became more clear and natural for the event occurring.  The people of Hammerton are a good lot, and very likeable.  The first chapter was a bit hard on me to get into, probably due to another recent book I had finished. The book took right off after that.  The old newspaper clipping chapter sort of threw me for a loop, had me looking to see if another book was being advertised in the middle of this story, but it finally did tie in.  If you don't like the "F" bomb, it's there in a few chapters, but appropriate for the characters who use it the most.  It is not said throughout the whole book. I liked this book and will probably try another of this author's other books.  Nice work, nice imagination.
1072814
Dude Review: I mainly read historical westerns and just started dabbling with the new age books, and can't say I'm regretting it! This was my first book by the author so I didn't know what to expect, and it didn't let down too much. I usually round up my ratings, I'd realistically give this a solid 3.75 overall mainly due to the storyline that is a little to simple and straightforward, you can figure it out from a country mile, and it made me skip pages on end that I'd rather not be doing. Secondly, I was thinking the story would end after his bandages came off or something, but the epilogue took a little longer to reach. (Hey just me) But I rounded up mainly due to the love scenes, woot woot - so steamy my kindle had smoke comin out! (yeah I don't read erotic so this was my first dab with it and it gave me some thoughts!) Ok anyways, it's a decent quick read, and I learned something new in the process too, good doses of emotion sprinkled here and there that was also very appreciated. Give it a try, I'll definitely be reading another one by the author.
4344938
I read the reviews on this and debated for about 10 seconds on downloading it to my Kindle.  The reviews that said that your first introduction to Pax blows were right.  Right away you don't really like him, but I found myself rooting for him.

I liked this book, but didn't love it.  Ive been on a romance kick and this was my last one before I delve back into the paranormal fiction I adore.  After reading a few H-O-Double T, hot books, this one was a little tamer (by comparison).

I think the best part of the book was figuring out the secret that Pax had blocked, which was handed out in small, low calorie spoonfuls through the book  just enough to keep me guessing and reading, but not enough that Id figure it out.

The book ended on a happy note, but I didn't feel the need to read it again, nor was I interested in following the story a little more into the future.  The ending was satisfying.  Not my favorite, but still a good read.

~ Kimberly, Blogger @ Keep the Tail Wagging
1409781
This is not a genre I usually read, but I saw this on sale on Audible and took a chance and it was money well spent!  I enjoyed the story and the mythology the book sets up.  The humor was trying a little too hard in places and felt forced, but I'm hoping this is something that is smoothed out in subsequent books.  I enjoyed it enough to try the next book in the series.  It's a fun story, fun characters, and a nice, easy read.
4386249
I got this as my Kindle First read last month ... and surprise, surprise! I quite liked it. I should elaborate--I usually find the KF reads to be okay, maybe somewhat innocuous. that is, not really great books, but not bad. This one I thoroughly enjoyed. I might still stop short of calling it a "great" book, but it was definitely a pleasure to read and I consistently looked forward to reading more of it in between stints. The "whodunnit" part isn't wholly surprising, but that didn't take away from my enjoyment. If you have it as an option for KF, go for it. If you have to pay, I'd still say give it a chance if you like period pieces.
4240784
A good read, actually better than I thought it would be from the start.
4493576
I decided to read this on a whim and it was pretty good. I will try more from this author.
1864271
This isn't the sort of story I usually read, but I ended up enjoying it a lot.  The narrator was likable and had a great 'voice.'  Even when he made poor decisions, I found myself rooting for him, and I enjoyed his growth through the story.

Most interesting for me was seeing romance from a man's point of view.  That made it worth reading even though this wasn't my usual sort of story.  Now that I've finished it, I find myself wondering what happens to the people in the story.  They feel real to me.

Another thing, I liked how there was one or two brief mentions of racism, in a very low-key way, that just let me have a glimpse of what the main character's life is like.  He doesn't let it get him down, it doesn't affect his self-esteem (he's a very strong man that way), but it lets me, an outsider, see his world in some small way.  I appreciate that a lot.

I think I might check out more work by this author; he's really good.