clauleesi's review against another edition
3.0
What a strange and charming urban fantasy. Not in the least what I was expecting, but even though the rating might not be so high, I still really enjoyed my first book from [a:Anne Bishop|26897|Anne Bishop|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1237258217p2/26897.jpg].
Meg is a cassandra sangue. Because she has the ability to see the future when she cuts her skin, she is both dangerous and valuable, and is therefor kept in a facility with other as herself, to sell their prophesies to the highest bidder. When she escapes and finds herself in a courtyard, a place as dangerous as the one she left, she starts to learn about all the different deadly creatures, called the Others, that walk the earth.
Among them is Simon, a werewolf who suspects Meg to be more than just human from the start. He still gives her a job and slowly, as Meg proves herself to have a bigger heart than most, she starts growing on not only him, but all the Others in the courtyard.
"Whether you’re beaten or pampered, fed the best foods or starved, kept in filth or kept clean, a cage is still a cage."
At first this book seemed really, really dark. The Others are immediately described not as your regular fluffy werewolves or romantic vampires, but as killers who doesn't see humans as anything other than a meal. They are dangerous and their alliance with the human society is brittle. And even though they stayed both mysterious and threatening throughout the book, most of them soon turned out to be complete softies, all in love with sweet and considerate Meg.
As for Meg, she was a cute character. I liked her, but I felt that she could have been writted with way more depth than she was - her not only being a blood prophet, but also a grown woman who had been enslaved for most of her life would definitely make anyone complicated. I do understand why she was so naive, but her constant sweetness unfortunately sometimes felt a bit too sugary sweet; except for when she was with little pup Sam, then it was very appropriate and very adorable, thank you very much.
The plot, although exciting in the beginning, felt very drawn out at the end. Not only that, but we never really had a proper threat. How could I fear the silly Asia Crane, especially when I knew how deadly the Others were? The stakes were built up be high, but in reality never were. This was probably the biggest fault of [b:Written in Red|15711341|Written in Red (The Others, #1)|Anne Bishop|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1411439502l/15711341._SY75_.jpg|21378102] - I loved the slice of life feeling that we got in the courtyard, but that alone wasn't enough to carry the entire book. We needed a better plot to go along with it.
[a:Bishop|26897|Anne Bishop|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1237258217p2/26897.jpg] definitely created a world with a lot of potential, and even though the first book in this series wasn't the most impressive, I am really looking forward to see where she will go with it. Hopefully less vanilla.
Meg is a cassandra sangue. Because she has the ability to see the future when she cuts her skin, she is both dangerous and valuable, and is therefor kept in a facility with other as herself, to sell their prophesies to the highest bidder. When she escapes and finds herself in a courtyard, a place as dangerous as the one she left, she starts to learn about all the different deadly creatures, called the Others, that walk the earth.
Among them is Simon, a werewolf who suspects Meg to be more than just human from the start. He still gives her a job and slowly, as Meg proves herself to have a bigger heart than most, she starts growing on not only him, but all the Others in the courtyard.
"Whether you’re beaten or pampered, fed the best foods or starved, kept in filth or kept clean, a cage is still a cage."
At first this book seemed really, really dark. The Others are immediately described not as your regular fluffy werewolves or romantic vampires, but as killers who doesn't see humans as anything other than a meal. They are dangerous and their alliance with the human society is brittle. And even though they stayed both mysterious and threatening throughout the book, most of them soon turned out to be complete softies, all in love with sweet and considerate Meg.
As for Meg, she was a cute character. I liked her, but I felt that she could have been writted with way more depth than she was - her not only being a blood prophet, but also a grown woman who had been enslaved for most of her life would definitely make anyone complicated. I do understand why she was so naive, but her constant sweetness unfortunately sometimes felt a bit too sugary sweet; except for when she was with little pup Sam, then it was very appropriate and very adorable, thank you very much.
The plot, although exciting in the beginning, felt very drawn out at the end. Not only that, but we never really had a proper threat. How could I fear the silly Asia Crane, especially when I knew how deadly the Others were? The stakes were built up be high, but in reality never were. This was probably the biggest fault of [b:Written in Red|15711341|Written in Red (The Others, #1)|Anne Bishop|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1411439502l/15711341._SY75_.jpg|21378102] - I loved the slice of life feeling that we got in the courtyard, but that alone wasn't enough to carry the entire book. We needed a better plot to go along with it.
[a:Bishop|26897|Anne Bishop|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1237258217p2/26897.jpg] definitely created a world with a lot of potential, and even though the first book in this series wasn't the most impressive, I am really looking forward to see where she will go with it. Hopefully less vanilla.
booknerdlau's review against another edition
5.0
J'ai adoré !
L'univers est incroyablement riche et je vais vite enchainer avec la suite
L'univers est incroyablement riche et je vais vite enchainer avec la suite
sammydodger27's review
3.0
I found this book...frustrating. In so many ways. And the even more frustrating thing is that I can't quite put my finger on why.
Partly because nothing was ever really explained, not properly, and if it was it wasn't until 3/4 of the way through the book when I'd already forgotten the significance of said thing.
Partly because I couldn't actually decide whether I liked Simon, and because I wasn't really sure whether I was supposed to or not.
Partly because the Others are supposed to be true monsters, without the soft I-just-want-to-be-loved side, and yet their acceptance of Meg was rather...rapid.
Partly because Asia Crane was so unbelieeeeevably annoying, as well as rather thick and incredibly shallow.
And partly because despite all of the above reasons, I still wanted to finish the book.
Eugh.
See what I mean? Frustrating.
Partly because nothing was ever really explained, not properly, and if it was it wasn't until 3/4 of the way through the book when I'd already forgotten the significance of said thing.
Partly because I couldn't actually decide whether I liked Simon, and because I wasn't really sure whether I was supposed to or not.
Partly because the Others are supposed to be true monsters, without the soft I-just-want-to-be-loved side, and yet their acceptance of Meg was rather...rapid.
Partly because Asia Crane was so unbelieeeeevably annoying, as well as rather thick and incredibly shallow.
And partly because despite all of the above reasons, I still wanted to finish the book.
Eugh.
See what I mean? Frustrating.
phalgun's review
adventurous
emotional
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.0
donnakaye64's review
5.0
I liked this book. It kept me entertained and waiting to see what happened next.
vaniaasantos's review against another edition
5.0
Não podia esperar mais de Anne Bishop. Uma criadora de mundos completamente fantásticos e todos eles diferentes, foi um livro que me deixou com palpitações no peito - as emoções finais ficam à flor da pele, a ansiedade pelo que vai acontecer e todo o enredo num mundo alternativo fizeram-me apaixonar por este mundo e esperar pelos próximos livros para voltar a perder-me na terra dos Outros.
Neste livro, Anne Bishop transforma os míticos vampiros, por exemplo, e reformula o conceito não deixando de aproveitar os pormenores antigos que fazem a caracterização destas personagens, mas acrescenta-lhes algo mais, bem como cria novas personagens e conceitos que tornam esta história única. Um livro diferente que me fez admirar a autora pela criação de mundos tão diferentes e tão únicos. Espero ansiosamente pelos próximos.
Neste livro, Anne Bishop transforma os míticos vampiros, por exemplo, e reformula o conceito não deixando de aproveitar os pormenores antigos que fazem a caracterização destas personagens, mas acrescenta-lhes algo mais, bem como cria novas personagens e conceitos que tornam esta história única. Um livro diferente que me fez admirar a autora pela criação de mundos tão diferentes e tão únicos. Espero ansiosamente pelos próximos.
ndoenowu's review
4.0
Cheesy twilight-inspired vampire plus werewolves story with main character who ends up having her own power. Some slow parts but interesting details if you’re ok with the pacing. I loved the horses with their own powers
rellwood74's review
5.0
Fantasy Fiction
Pov being from all characters in the book, some more than others, in this book "Meg" and "Simon" are the main characters. They are not in a romantic relationship, they do not end up in a romantic relationship. They are two individuals who are in the story in the primary lead who become involved in each others lives. I have read this series until the 6th book "Lake Silence". There is no sex, not even a bit of sexual tension. There is a budding and possible future for a relationship.
The paranormals in this series are NOT humans who shift, humans with another "animal" in them which is a separate being. They are the first beings on the planet. They are kind of the Native Americans of the world. They started off as whatever animals they are but developed the ability to shift into human skin so they could blend in and learn about the "two-legged, clever-prey" that humans had become known to them as. They retain the "animal" sense in their human skins.
They think like wolves, crows, bears, but have also developed a bit of human thinking. However there is a huge fish out of water element when they get around humans and try to understand their motives and actions. So the idea of one of them, in the case of the primary male lead, getting into bed with a human female, it just doesn't make sense.
There are also Elemental which are basically the physical being manifestations of "Winter, Spring, Summer, Autumn, Blizzard, Thunder, Fire, etc."
There are also vampires, but they are more like humans in the way they act, but are never portrayed as being "sexy".
So if you want a good paranormal suspense with relationship dynamics then this is for you.
If you are looking for a romance, then this is not for you.
Pov being from all characters in the book, some more than others, in this book "Meg" and "Simon" are the main characters. They are not in a romantic relationship, they do not end up in a romantic relationship. They are two individuals who are in the story in the primary lead who become involved in each others lives. I have read this series until the 6th book "Lake Silence". There is no sex, not even a bit of sexual tension. There is a budding and possible future for a relationship.
The paranormals in this series are NOT humans who shift, humans with another "animal" in them which is a separate being. They are the first beings on the planet. They are kind of the Native Americans of the world. They started off as whatever animals they are but developed the ability to shift into human skin so they could blend in and learn about the "two-legged, clever-prey" that humans had become known to them as. They retain the "animal" sense in their human skins.
They think like wolves, crows, bears, but have also developed a bit of human thinking. However there is a huge fish out of water element when they get around humans and try to understand their motives and actions. So the idea of one of them, in the case of the primary male lead, getting into bed with a human female, it just doesn't make sense.
There are also Elemental which are basically the physical being manifestations of "Winter, Spring, Summer, Autumn, Blizzard, Thunder, Fire, etc."
There are also vampires, but they are more like humans in the way they act, but are never portrayed as being "sexy".
So if you want a good paranormal suspense with relationship dynamics then this is for you.
If you are looking for a romance, then this is not for you.
melissalurie81's review
dark
emotional
funny
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5