Scan barcode
aashkevr's review
2.0
So, I have a serious thing for Sin-Eaters and Sin-Eater mythology. I've read quite a few books that have to do with it. So when I got the opportunity to read and review this book, I was like hell, yes! Not many people are really into Sin Eaters. I was pretty excited to see what the author was going to do with the concept.
The beginning was great, I thought. The background information on Sin-Eaters given a personal twist, the snippets of the past through Lili's eyes - all good. I liked the little interactions, the story of how she had come to exist as she was now. The description of the pulsing sins and the teasing pieces of the ritual were also good. And in general, her early interactions I felt were believable.
As the text went on, I had a harder time holding on to who I felt Lili was. Her reactions and suspicions were something I watched like a bug in a jar rather than felt. She stopped making sense to me. But I was still interested. I just kind-of wished the drama would recede a little so that more of the world and mechanics could resurface. The suspense was killing me. I wanted to connect to the character again, to be inside the story.
The pacing of the end felt very off, and some of the events and motivations never quite fit. The lead-up sort of promised something really epic, but the final showdown didn't quite deliver. A lot of questions were left unanswered (perhaps in nod to a sequel) and the epilogue was very mellow and unapologetic. No answers here it said.
Ultimately the pacing was a problem for me. The story was good, but I don't think it quite met the potential of its roots. When I first started reading I was really expecting something wonderful. What I got was an enjoyable story with action and romance and heartbreak, but the deeper sort of spiritual questions that had opened with the novel faded in the face of drama and love.
Ain't it always the way?
But it was a good quick tale of supernatural abilities, suspense, action and, you know, action. *winky face*
The beginning was great, I thought. The background information on Sin-Eaters given a personal twist, the snippets of the past through Lili's eyes - all good. I liked the little interactions, the story of how she had come to exist as she was now. The description of the pulsing sins and the teasing pieces of the ritual were also good. And in general, her early interactions I felt were believable.
As the text went on, I had a harder time holding on to who I felt Lili was. Her reactions and suspicions were something I watched like a bug in a jar rather than felt. She stopped making sense to me. But I was still interested. I just kind-of wished the drama would recede a little so that more of the world and mechanics could resurface. The suspense was killing me. I wanted to connect to the character again, to be inside the story.
The pacing of the end felt very off, and some of the events and motivations never quite fit. The lead-up sort of promised something really epic, but the final showdown didn't quite deliver. A lot of questions were left unanswered (perhaps in nod to a sequel) and the epilogue was very mellow and unapologetic. No answers here it said.
Ultimately the pacing was a problem for me. The story was good, but I don't think it quite met the potential of its roots. When I first started reading I was really expecting something wonderful. What I got was an enjoyable story with action and romance and heartbreak, but the deeper sort of spiritual questions that had opened with the novel faded in the face of drama and love.
Ain't it always the way?
But it was a good quick tale of supernatural abilities, suspense, action and, you know, action. *winky face*
cinta's review
5.0
I was recommended to read this book some time ago, and it had been in my Kindle for a couple of months. I decided to make it jump up in my TBR list and it seems it is one of the best things I could do. It is an amazing story that kept me reading for hours without ever thinking of putting it down.
Liliana is a sin collector. She can feel other people's sins and help them to go to the next life without the heavy burden of their sins. When she starts finding clues that lead her to think that maybe someone is tracking Collectors down, she feels she must be in danger. Follow Liliana in an incredible journey in which she will discover new things, new secrets, and new people. What if you find another Collector? What if those Collectors you meet hide things? Can you trust everybody who try to help you? Read this amazing story and find out the answers.
The pace of the story is very fast, keeping the reader reading non-stop, not letting the reader's mind wander over unnecessary or too long descriptions. A wonderfully crafted story, with well-defined characters and a good plot. It reminded me of a movie I saw many years ago, in which I was changing my mind constantly about who was the evil character. In this story you cannot be sure of anything till you reach the end, so the suspense is very well achieved. Unexpected twists and secrets unveiling before your eyes, this story won't disappoint you.
I will definitely read more of this author. Well done!
Liliana is a sin collector. She can feel other people's sins and help them to go to the next life without the heavy burden of their sins. When she starts finding clues that lead her to think that maybe someone is tracking Collectors down, she feels she must be in danger. Follow Liliana in an incredible journey in which she will discover new things, new secrets, and new people. What if you find another Collector? What if those Collectors you meet hide things? Can you trust everybody who try to help you? Read this amazing story and find out the answers.
The pace of the story is very fast, keeping the reader reading non-stop, not letting the reader's mind wander over unnecessary or too long descriptions. A wonderfully crafted story, with well-defined characters and a good plot. It reminded me of a movie I saw many years ago, in which I was changing my mind constantly about who was the evil character. In this story you cannot be sure of anything till you reach the end, so the suspense is very well achieved. Unexpected twists and secrets unveiling before your eyes, this story won't disappoint you.
I will definitely read more of this author. Well done!
jackyinthebox's review
2.0
Lots of pacing issues in this book, no real character development and way too many unanswered questions that force you to read the next book in the series. Fine for a quick read to keep me occupied at work, but other than that I was not too impressed.
shelovestoread81's review
4.0
I got this for a prime book and it was a good read. It was fast and easy to read. I liked the characters and the plot. I hope to read more by this author.
brancrisp's review
4.0
Wonderful characters, quotable dialogue and a terrific sense of humor. This was a refreshing change from the usual paranormal fiction I read. Well done, Jess! Where's part 2?!?!?!
miztrebor's review
5.0
I don't normally mention this in a review, but I can't help stating this fact: I really love this cover. As you can see it's fairly simple in the sense that it's only various shades of grey and black. I think this is what draws me to the image every time I see it. The way the black corners fade from the grey is beautiful. When I stare long enough at it, the cover looks to be in motion. But I'm not one to judge a book by its cover. I gave it the rating I did for a reason. The reason was what is held between the covers.
What I really enjoyed from this book was the mythology behind the sin collectors, or Sin-eaters as they are also known. The concept that there are immortals roaming earth whose purpose is to remove the sins from a soul before it leaves a dying body was interesting. I was torn between finding this to be a good thing and that this could be too easy of a way out for heavy sinners. Lily mentions that she has performed the ritual on some utterly vile human beings.
What left me a bit disappointed was that there wasn't much of a history established for the sin collectors. It's true that even these beings have their own speculations about where they came from and why they were made. This doesn't take away from the book in the least. I think my yearning to know more about the collectors made me enjoy the story more. It also may have helped me sympathize with the collectors' own questions about their origins.
Enough about that though. You want to hear about the story itself, I'm sure. I was hooked early on and fell in love with some of the characters right away. One of them was George. He's an 87 year old widower who visits Lily at the library daily. He added some light to her long life and I enjoyed reading their conversations. I almost wish there were more of them.
Another character I enjoyed was one we meet later on, Rebecca. All I can say about her is that she's an ancient collector and very mysterious. I wish it could tell you more about her, but without spoiling anything and the addition of her reclusive nature I can't say much. With the little hints into her character that we got, I wanted to see more.
There were many themes touched on throughout the book. What should be focused on is one's part in the world, be it in a family, a place, or a "profession." The collectors tend to question their purpose in life. Why do they collect; what will become of them if they do get killed; etc. Most all collectors lead a solitary life because they physically can't survive being very close to the sins held within other collectors. When a way around is found, these questions start to get asked more and more often. I liked that the book focused on themes such as these but didn't make the reader stumble when they showed themselves in the reading. There was a smooth mix of story and "philosophical thought" that blended perfectly.
A final little bit I'll discuss is the ending. This won't be a spoiler so don't worry. It ended, and leads to the next in the trilogy. That's great. The way it ended was a big surprise to me. The reader and Lily were lead to doubt some of the characters until the very end. I couldn't figure out who I trusted more, and that's a hard thing to accomplish. I've been discovering a good amount of novels recently that have great unpredictable twists to them and The Sin Collector has joined those ranks.
Overall this story was a fast-paced read with a number of great characters, unpredictable plot turns, and a great mythology. I now want to go read some of the real world myths about sin-eaters to maybe satisfy my craving for the next installment of The Sin Collector Trilogy.
What I really enjoyed from this book was the mythology behind the sin collectors, or Sin-eaters as they are also known. The concept that there are immortals roaming earth whose purpose is to remove the sins from a soul before it leaves a dying body was interesting. I was torn between finding this to be a good thing and that this could be too easy of a way out for heavy sinners. Lily mentions that she has performed the ritual on some utterly vile human beings.
What left me a bit disappointed was that there wasn't much of a history established for the sin collectors. It's true that even these beings have their own speculations about where they came from and why they were made. This doesn't take away from the book in the least. I think my yearning to know more about the collectors made me enjoy the story more. It also may have helped me sympathize with the collectors' own questions about their origins.
Enough about that though. You want to hear about the story itself, I'm sure. I was hooked early on and fell in love with some of the characters right away. One of them was George. He's an 87 year old widower who visits Lily at the library daily. He added some light to her long life and I enjoyed reading their conversations. I almost wish there were more of them.
Another character I enjoyed was one we meet later on, Rebecca. All I can say about her is that she's an ancient collector and very mysterious. I wish it could tell you more about her, but without spoiling anything and the addition of her reclusive nature I can't say much. With the little hints into her character that we got, I wanted to see more.
There were many themes touched on throughout the book. What should be focused on is one's part in the world, be it in a family, a place, or a "profession." The collectors tend to question their purpose in life. Why do they collect; what will become of them if they do get killed; etc. Most all collectors lead a solitary life because they physically can't survive being very close to the sins held within other collectors. When a way around is found, these questions start to get asked more and more often. I liked that the book focused on themes such as these but didn't make the reader stumble when they showed themselves in the reading. There was a smooth mix of story and "philosophical thought" that blended perfectly.
A final little bit I'll discuss is the ending. This won't be a spoiler so don't worry. It ended, and leads to the next in the trilogy. That's great. The way it ended was a big surprise to me. The reader and Lily were lead to doubt some of the characters until the very end. I couldn't figure out who I trusted more, and that's a hard thing to accomplish. I've been discovering a good amount of novels recently that have great unpredictable twists to them and The Sin Collector has joined those ranks.
Overall this story was a fast-paced read with a number of great characters, unpredictable plot turns, and a great mythology. I now want to go read some of the real world myths about sin-eaters to maybe satisfy my craving for the next installment of The Sin Collector Trilogy.
More...