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blissfulsprite's review
2.0
Cheesy. Extremely cheesy. But was an easy ready and wasn't a horrible storyline. I was insistent I finish it
cjmichel's review
4.0
I received "The Gathering Dark" by Christine Johnson through the Goodreads Giveaway contests. The ARC I received featured a plain blue cover with the title and author's name and 498 pages in length, not the final cover with the girl on the front and 512 pages long. "The Gathering Dark" was so good that I want to get the final version just to see what I missed in the extra 14 pages.
The story of Keira, a girl who knows what she wants and wants nothing to get in the way of her reaching her goals, finds her world twisted by "hallucinations" that she cannot understand. There is a door hovering in the street, shadows across the new boy's skin, a living tree in her living room just to mention the beginning. Keira is plunged into an unbelievable world, another existance, that she never knew about, only to find out that she is the key to its' survival. "The Gathering Dark" is full of suspense, action, fantasy and a little romance as well. The twists and turns keep the reader glued to the turn of the page. The well written characters entreat the reader to sympathize with their plight, to join in their journey and ride the emotional roller coaster of ups and downs in this wonderful coming of age tale.
The reason I noted this story as only 4 stars instead of 5 is due to the sporadic use of foul language, a pet peeve of mine. The language was unnecessary and a distraction to the overall entertainment value of the fantastic tale.
The story of Keira, a girl who knows what she wants and wants nothing to get in the way of her reaching her goals, finds her world twisted by "hallucinations" that she cannot understand. There is a door hovering in the street, shadows across the new boy's skin, a living tree in her living room just to mention the beginning. Keira is plunged into an unbelievable world, another existance, that she never knew about, only to find out that she is the key to its' survival. "The Gathering Dark" is full of suspense, action, fantasy and a little romance as well. The twists and turns keep the reader glued to the turn of the page. The well written characters entreat the reader to sympathize with their plight, to join in their journey and ride the emotional roller coaster of ups and downs in this wonderful coming of age tale.
The reason I noted this story as only 4 stars instead of 5 is due to the sporadic use of foul language, a pet peeve of mine. The language was unnecessary and a distraction to the overall entertainment value of the fantastic tale.
ghazalshaykh's review against another edition
2.0
.
Instant love.
Urgh, seriously? Electric connection? That seems like a love at first sight illusion. Not an illusion but a cliché (for me, at least). The connection felt forced, simple is that. Their first meeting was followed by ten chapters of their dates together. YEAH 10 chapters!! Their very dating stuff bored me utterly and I was almost going to give up when a voice in my head desired to know the end and what world this book might reveal. So I kept forcing myself until some action crept in with Kiera and a darkside tree and the whole introduction to the Darkside started and became interesting along the way.
Walker. Why boys are so perfect in books?
Or is it me imagining them so perfect? Like there was no countable flaw in him, so perfect - such a marty stu! Yeah, he was tempting but not as much realistic.
And the saying good-bye idea was totally a crap, it was obviously forced like... no, she had to say good bye and say those stuff, there could've been another, better way towards the trigger button (home and piano)
Despite it all, I liked MCs' love chemistry growing along the way, suffering through difficulties together. Those were better than mere dates they had before, and I also admire Keira's character for her stubbornness, determination and passion for Music in a beautiful way, which made her strong and at the same time had admirable feelings for Walker which made them seem like partners in crime through the end, the way walker admired her those elements was mesmerizing.
Overall, the book was slow paced esp when it dragged with their dates in the start. So, I'd rate it 3/5, specifically for Keira and the struggling chapters in the end, despite the happy ending though.
Instant love.
Urgh, seriously? Electric connection? That seems like a love at first sight illusion. Not an illusion but a cliché (for me, at least). The connection felt forced, simple is that. Their first meeting was followed by ten chapters of their dates together. YEAH 10 chapters!! Their very dating stuff bored me utterly and I was almost going to give up when a voice in my head desired to know the end and what world this book might reveal. So I kept forcing myself until some action crept in with Kiera and a darkside tree and the whole introduction to the Darkside started and became interesting along the way.
Walker. Why boys are so perfect in books?
Or is it me imagining them so perfect? Like there was no countable flaw in him, so perfect - such a marty stu! Yeah, he was tempting but not as much realistic.
And the saying good-bye idea was totally a crap, it was obviously forced like... no, she had to say good bye and say those stuff, there could've been another, better way towards the trigger button (home and piano)
Despite it all, I liked MCs' love chemistry growing along the way, suffering through difficulties together. Those were better than mere dates they had before, and I also admire Keira's character for her stubbornness, determination and passion for Music in a beautiful way, which made her strong and at the same time had admirable feelings for Walker which made them seem like partners in crime through the end, the way walker admired her those elements was mesmerizing.
Overall, the book was slow paced esp when it dragged with their dates in the start. So, I'd rate it 3/5, specifically for Keira and the struggling chapters in the end, despite the happy ending though.
mikbond's review
4.0
4.5 out of 5 stars
A gifted pianist discovers that she and the mysterious boy she's falling for aren't quite what they seem. In a race of love against fear, Keira must somehow save her their lives without losing herself.
The beginning of this book is long. There is a lot of building up toward the pivotal moment. I love how strong Keira is, even though she's facing so many stressful things at once. She keeps her head up and does what is right for her and the people around her.
The author tries to make Walker mysterious and shady, but only really succeeds at the mysterious part. He doesn't really give off a creepy or shady vibe. He's a lot better of a person and a lot less selfish than most of the boys and love interests in recent books I've read, so that's refreshing.
I'd really like to read another book about Keira and Walker.
***SPOILERS***
I was disappointed by the lack of emotion that Keira showed Pike at the end. I realize that she felt somewhat betrayed by him, but she loved him so much as her uncle, and she should have been more excited about the fact that he was her father. She was pretty nonchalant about the fact that he was sentenced to life in prison.
Also, the ending realization about the piano and the kiss was almost too cheesy. Like it's really sweet and all, but for his kiss to contribute the same amount as her music is just sad. Kisses just don't fix a rip in reality...
***End spoilers***
I definitely recommend this book to anyone who likes darker fantasy and some romance!
A gifted pianist discovers that she and the mysterious boy she's falling for aren't quite what they seem. In a race of love against fear, Keira must somehow save her their lives without losing herself.
The beginning of this book is long. There is a lot of building up toward the pivotal moment. I love how strong Keira is, even though she's facing so many stressful things at once. She keeps her head up and does what is right for her and the people around her.
The author tries to make Walker mysterious and shady, but only really succeeds at the mysterious part. He doesn't really give off a creepy or shady vibe. He's a lot better of a person and a lot less selfish than most of the boys and love interests in recent books I've read, so that's refreshing.
I'd really like to read another book about Keira and Walker.
***SPOILERS***
I was disappointed by the lack of emotion that Keira showed Pike at the end. I realize that she felt somewhat betrayed by him, but she loved him so much as her uncle, and she should have been more excited about the fact that he was her father. She was pretty nonchalant about the fact that he was sentenced to life in prison.
Also, the ending realization about the piano and the kiss was almost too cheesy. Like it's really sweet and all, but for his kiss to contribute the same amount as her music is just sad. Kisses just don't fix a rip in reality...
***End spoilers***
I definitely recommend this book to anyone who likes darker fantasy and some romance!
twinkle's review
3.0
The Gathering Dark employs a lot of cliches tropes that are just tiresome at this point. The biggest stand-out is insta-love, but I can't hold that particular one against the book too much. The summary literally says that everything changes when she meets Walker, with whom she shares an "electric connection."
Apart from that, the characters aren't terrible and the world had potential, although it wasn't nearly as fleshed out as I would have liked it to be. The plot, apart from establishing the insta-love, doesn't completely kick into gear until about a third of the way in.
If you liked the official summary for the book (and enjoyed books that are similar to this), then you'll like The Gathering Dark. If not, then I don't think this book will surprise you.
Apart from that, the characters aren't terrible and the world had potential, although it wasn't nearly as fleshed out as I would have liked it to be. The plot, apart from establishing the insta-love, doesn't completely kick into gear until about a third of the way in.
If you liked the official summary for the book (and enjoyed books that are similar to this), then you'll like The Gathering Dark. If not, then I don't think this book will surprise you.
emilymoll96's review
5.0
This book was amazing! I wasn't expecting much, but it really surprised me. Each plot twist was exactly that-- a twist. I didn't see any of them coming! This is a for sure MUST READ for all science fiction fans.
misswinchester84's review against another edition
3.0
The summery on the jacet makes it sound like a different book. The people who do that did a horrible job. The beginning is slow. The nocel didn't need to be.so long perhaps the beginning shorter. The a story seemed go go at a snails pace.
The physical writing was good I liked the use of.hsr words yet i felt like "I can't wait for this book to end" I pulled though to give this book a chance.
The love story was the good part of this novel. The love between Keira and Walker was timeless and perhaps a little deeper of what the two endured .
I'm just happy I finished the book.
The physical writing was good I liked the use of.hsr words yet i felt like "I can't wait for this book to end" I pulled though to give this book a chance.
The love story was the good part of this novel. The love between Keira and Walker was timeless and perhaps a little deeper of what the two endured .
I'm just happy I finished the book.
hmalmal's review against another edition
2.0
Oh boy.
I'm not really sure how to rate this one, so I'll go through the main points.
1) Length. The Gathering Dark is a pretty long book and it felt like a long book. But not only that, the author took forever to set the book up. I was more than half way through with the book, before I got any kind of clue as to why so many weird things were happening.
2) Love/Romance. It was iffy. In the beginning, the main character's love interest is kind of a stalker. And he ALWAYS talks about how pretty Keira is, or how amazing she is, or just how she can do no wrong. Which is kind of unrealistic.
3) The plot/ Storyline. Very interesting topic. Definitely isn't a book out there with a similar storyline.
4) The Characters. The main character is obsessed with piano for reasons that are kind of explained later, but it's kind of annoying/weird how often she says she needs to practice. Keira's dad is almost never present.
5) Details (the good and the bad). Even though this was a long-ish book, I was pleasantly surprised to not have to read about every outfit the main character put on. But, I wish there had been a tad more detail on Darkside.
I'm not really sure how to rate this one, so I'll go through the main points.
1) Length. The Gathering Dark is a pretty long book and it felt like a long book. But not only that, the author took forever to set the book up. I was more than half way through with the book, before I got any kind of clue as to why so many weird things were happening.
2) Love/Romance. It was iffy. In the beginning, the main character's love interest is kind of a stalker. And he ALWAYS talks about how pretty Keira is, or how amazing she is, or just how she can do no wrong. Which is kind of unrealistic.
3) The plot/ Storyline. Very interesting topic. Definitely isn't a book out there with a similar storyline.
4) The Characters. The main character is obsessed with piano for reasons that are kind of explained later, but it's kind of annoying/weird how often she says she needs to practice. Keira's dad is almost never present.
5) Details (the good and the bad). Even though this was a long-ish book, I was pleasantly surprised to not have to read about every outfit the main character put on. But, I wish there had been a tad more detail on Darkside.
shaedegray's review against another edition
2.0
yeah idk maybe i've just grown out of ya or something?? couldn't vibe with this at all even though i picked it up specifically because i was in a nostalgic mood for some circa-2010-ish ya.
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