Review: Bridgeworld by Travis McBee

William Haynes was the type of guy that every boy wanted to be. He was an honor roll student and captain of his middle school football team. He was dating the most popular girl in the school and had dozens of friends. Yes, life was perfect for Will...that is until a strange man shows up and forces his parents to reveal a secret they have kept hidden since he was born. He is told that he has been given a scholarship to a prestigious private school that his parents attended, a private school that happens to be in space. Will must choose between a life many would die for and a life none could imagine. A life where he is no longer perfect, where he must make new friends, and where he must survive a school rivalry like no other.

from amazon

I write honest reviews. I have never read a book that I didn't particularly like, and then write a beyond amazingly book review. Saying that, I'm not trying to say that I didn't like the novel, but what I'm saying is that I couldn't finish it. The novel had a loose frame, and didn't have a clear problem, and I was waiting every next chapter for that big ba-boom to hit me, but it never came. It could be the next chapter, but I don't want to waste anymore time on a book that I don't see any clear problem the character has to overcome.

Travis McBee has to have a list of similes and metaphors in a huge journal, because when I read this novel, it sounded like my English teacher went high on them. I love how he described a scenery, and time and time again, I felt like he could be writing a better story. I hate saying that, but the idea of the boy goes to an alien school isn't original or interesting enough, for me. Maybe you'll like it, but I personally don't. Also, I have to mention that I skimmed over many parts of the novel, and still didn't miss a beat. There's a part of me that feels let down by that fact.

I don't read many male protagonist books, because I usually don't connect with them, and how Will is described really erks me. Will actually reminds me of a couple of guys I know into one, and it isn't a nice experience. His attitude to things are so carefree at times, it doubles my frustration that there isn't a real problem in the book. Nothing is challenging him.

Blog Tour: Determinant by A.M. Hargrove Review + Giveaway

A couple of weeks ago I read the first novel of The Guardians of Vesturon series. Survival was okay, the characters really stood out to me, but I didn't love the whole idea of the Guardians. Determinant is the third installment of the series, and I'd still say the same thing if I was telling someone about this series. I love all the detail and the weirdness of all the characters, but the whole E.T. like people just didn't make sense, for me anyways.

The beginning of the novel, like the first novel in the series starts out in a world where we see everything the main character has ever experiences and continues on to their college life. Then something drastic occurs, which turns the whole miserable story into a charming one, in my opinion.

I admire A.M. Hargrove for her creativity and gumption to have something in a novel  that is a pressing topic, which most would like to get rid of but don't want to talk about. If that made sense. I love how A.M. Hargrove makes her characters realistic and their own, one of a kind. The way she moves a story along really is something that I wish I could do. Then there are times when I'd think I should be crying, when I'm not in reality. It's just the reader in my head is bawling her eyes out and giving my heart out to these characters, especially January. Ugh! I can't start to believe how A.M. Hargrove wrote such a broken main character without breaking down from all of her hardships. I also love how she pushes the boundaries of the "aliens" in this novel. It's quite interesting how this is the third installment of a series, but can be read independently.

Review: Survival by A.M. Hargrove

 

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As you may know from the list of book reviews I have done that I love young adult/paranormal romance novels. This is exactly what I thought I wanted to get myself into after I finished Nevermore by Kelly Creagh because I just love the genre. I didn't know though that I'd come out in a faze and wondering is this really the future of young adult novels. I'm ashamed to say that I could not finish this book because it was just too unreal to me. It was like watching ice melt, you knew exactly what was going to happen.

A.M. Hargrove, I loved the effort in creating the Vesturon aliens and the background knowledge of everything. I love how the author didn't really shy away from issues that are in their world true to ours in a way and how she took the novel step by step at a time. Most of the time I was confused by the pacing of the book and how things went. I love the first part of the book, Maddie's story. Then later the novel fell short on the big things that I wanted to happen or thought I wanted to. The author's writing was very strange to me. The dialogue felt very stiff, I didn't flow like a normal conversation and maybe it's just because aliens were speaking English and that was intentional? I don't know. I do love how she incorporated the slang and differences from the humans and the Vesturon. I was very interested in their species and felt like she could have added more, though I love all the tech stuff the author added.