jackidawson's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
mysterious
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
2.5
revenant_tomato's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.75
dvester's review against another edition
3.0
Good read, good adventure, I love that Maggie is strong and brave. I just think the Siren Realm isn’t needed for what the story became.
kjandherbooks's review against another edition
2.0
I received a complimentary review copy of this novel from Voracious Readers.
First of all I just want to state that my thoughts and opinions on this novel are my own and I in no way wish to demean the author.
I understand if others enjoyed this book but I, unfortunately, did not. It wasn't for me.
I gave this book 2/5 stars. Once again using my reviewing system;
Characters
2/5
I didn't relate to any of these characters. I found them one dimensional, replaceable, and just boring. There was a huge lack of character development which would have helped this story somewhat if there was something to show our main characters had changed throughout the story. I also felt that the names for the characters were poorly chosen.
I didn't have any sympathy for them either and even the villain, Jax, was plain and uninteresting.
They needed something to give them substance and I feel Bertrand was probably the closest to have some kind of personality but only just.
Writing
3/5
The writing wasn't necessarily awful but if enough time and more editing had been taken it could have been a lot better. There some descriptions that were excellently written but others were cheesy and repetitive. I can appreciate that this author has taken the time to write this and have it published but I feel like it may have been a little rushed if anything.
Plot
1/5
I don't know where the plot was going in this novel. I felt like I was thrown into what sounded like a sequel to another book. Not to mention we spent hardly any time in the Siren's realm so we didn't get a decent idea of what it was. We were then thrown into another realm that already had its own story going on. To me it was like we were part of multiple different stories and none of them connected to one another. The love interest as well was far too instalovey for my liking. I didn't care about them and it just really annoyed me more than anything.
Enjoyment
2/5
I enjoyed this enough for the first part but eventually lost interest and ended up skimming the rest of it.
It's not necessarily a terrible book and I've read worse. Once again I can see why some people have enjoyed this book but it wasn't for me and I won't be continuing the series. I feel the author has put a lot of effort into her books and it does take time and energy but if this book had been given a little bit time and more editing and revising it could have been fantastic. It had a great premise it just wasn't executed as well as it could have been.
First of all I just want to state that my thoughts and opinions on this novel are my own and I in no way wish to demean the author.
I understand if others enjoyed this book but I, unfortunately, did not. It wasn't for me.
I gave this book 2/5 stars. Once again using my reviewing system;
Characters
2/5
I didn't relate to any of these characters. I found them one dimensional, replaceable, and just boring. There was a huge lack of character development which would have helped this story somewhat if there was something to show our main characters had changed throughout the story. I also felt that the names for the characters were poorly chosen.
I didn't have any sympathy for them either and even the villain, Jax, was plain and uninteresting.
They needed something to give them substance and I feel Bertrand was probably the closest to have some kind of personality but only just.
Writing
3/5
The writing wasn't necessarily awful but if enough time and more editing had been taken it could have been a lot better. There some descriptions that were excellently written but others were cheesy and repetitive. I can appreciate that this author has taken the time to write this and have it published but I feel like it may have been a little rushed if anything.
Plot
1/5
I don't know where the plot was going in this novel. I felt like I was thrown into what sounded like a sequel to another book. Not to mention we spent hardly any time in the Siren's realm so we didn't get a decent idea of what it was. We were then thrown into another realm that already had its own story going on. To me it was like we were part of multiple different stories and none of them connected to one another. The love interest as well was far too instalovey for my liking. I didn't care about them and it just really annoyed me more than anything.
Enjoyment
2/5
I enjoyed this enough for the first part but eventually lost interest and ended up skimming the rest of it.
It's not necessarily a terrible book and I've read worse. Once again I can see why some people have enjoyed this book but it wasn't for me and I won't be continuing the series. I feel the author has put a lot of effort into her books and it does take time and energy but if this book had been given a little bit time and more editing and revising it could have been fantastic. It had a great premise it just wasn't executed as well as it could have been.
dvester's review
3.0
Good read, good adventure, I love that Maggie is strong and brave. I just think the Siren Realm isn’t needed for what the story became.
branpender12's review against another edition
Maggie is a 17-year-old girl that finds herself in an impossible situation in the Realm of the Siren! The Stricken search for magic wielders and the Siren hunts down the unworthy who do not possess magic! In a realm that is not her own and where she is not readily accepted, Maggie must find a way to survive and to stay off the radar of those who would hunt her down!
I wanted to love this book! But I found that it was not the great read that it was hyped to be. The romance aspect is almost nonexistent until the last half of the book and then it is forced into the storyline as if the author suddenly remembered that most readers seek this aspect in a book, so she had to add in something. The pacing was also spotty, and I lost interest multiple times and forced myself to finish.
The book starts out in the most unusual way and I understand that the author is trying to do something different, however, it was confusing and not to my taste. Then there is Maggie (sigh). She is whiny and pulls the poor, poor pitiful me card more than I can stand. She does ease up towards the end but by then I pretty much wrote her character off as immature and did not care for the turnaround.
The concept was new, and I hope that the series does continue with better character growth. The setting was beautifully crafted, and I loved Bertrand! His character was the best part of the storyline.
Thanks for giving me the opportunity to read this book! It may not have been for me, but teens/younger readers will certainly appreciate it more than I did!
I wanted to love this book! But I found that it was not the great read that it was hyped to be. The romance aspect is almost nonexistent until the last half of the book and then it is forced into the storyline as if the author suddenly remembered that most readers seek this aspect in a book, so she had to add in something. The pacing was also spotty, and I lost interest multiple times and forced myself to finish.
The book starts out in the most unusual way and I understand that the author is trying to do something different, however, it was confusing and not to my taste. Then there is Maggie (sigh). She is whiny and pulls the poor, poor pitiful me card more than I can stand. She does ease up towards the end but by then I pretty much wrote her character off as immature and did not care for the turnaround.
The concept was new, and I hope that the series does continue with better character growth. The setting was beautifully crafted, and I loved Bertrand! His character was the best part of the storyline.
Thanks for giving me the opportunity to read this book! It may not have been for me, but teens/younger readers will certainly appreciate it more than I did!
singh_reads_kanwar2's review against another edition
3.0
This story is about Maggie who was fighting a war in her world when during a fight she fall into Siren realm a space between heaven and here things work on magic and magic is the currency in this place and every wished is fulfilled in return of barter of magic. She started adjusting to place, Until one day storm hit the place and she was saved by a kind guy, now she wants to gain magic to survive in the place, and take her adventure journey with Bertrand (kind guy), and went to another realm and come across a wanderer village whom are attacked by Jax, a power hungry wizard and want magic to be privileged by elites only, when war fall upon, Maggie and Bertrand stand with Abeyla(wanderer leader) and Tammond(boy who fall in love with Maggie and son of the leader) they survived the attacked this time and fight with bravery and time has come to make decision and leaving her love story in between, Maggie returns to Siren realm with magic enough for her to survive and find new adventure. She had a feeling for Bertrand but he make her realize nothing can happen between them because age difference between them. But may be second part come with more views about what would happen next. The story is fantasy fiction and writing is fresh and new things are there to explore on this side of fantasy genre.
morebookspleaseblog's review
4.0
Believing she was dead, Maggie wakes up in a realm of the Sirens. The currency of choice however is magic; which Maggie does not want to give away. While in this realm, Maggie meets Bertrand, who has been there practically forever. He serves as a bit of a mentor for her. Through Bertrand, she learns she can travel to other realms and go on a adventure.
Through her adventures, she meets Tammond, in a realm on the verge of war, and they are in desperate need of her help! The attraction is immediate and I adore this.
The world and character development is great. There are twists and turns and all of this keeps you quite interested. It’s a quick read and a promising start to a new series.
Through her adventures, she meets Tammond, in a realm on the verge of war, and they are in desperate need of her help! The attraction is immediate and I adore this.
The world and character development is great. There are twists and turns and all of this keeps you quite interested. It’s a quick read and a promising start to a new series.
fixatedonfiction's review against another edition
4.0
EDITING: I had to pick my Daughter up from School, so I only had time to do a quick review.
I loved absolutely everything about this book. The setting, the travelling and of course our main character Maggie.
She has been dragged into a new world, and decides to keep the fact that she is magical a secret.
(Won't say anymore as I may have a potential to spoil a lot of things for you guys)
My favourite character though is Bertrand, I just knew I was going to love him when he first entered the book. <3 Cannot wait to read more about him.
The reason I gave it a 4 star rating is because I feel like there should have been more of Maggies backstory, as we only got tiny glimpses. But I did check out the Authors GoodReads page, and there are 2 other books which could be possibly linked to Maggie, and may explain more of what happened to her in those.
I loved absolutely everything about this book. The setting, the travelling and of course our main character Maggie.
She has been dragged into a new world, and decides to keep the fact that she is magical a secret.
(Won't say anymore as I may have a potential to spoil a lot of things for you guys)
My favourite character though is Bertrand, I just knew I was going to love him when he first entered the book. <3 Cannot wait to read more about him.
The reason I gave it a 4 star rating is because I feel like there should have been more of Maggies backstory, as we only got tiny glimpses. But I did check out the Authors GoodReads page, and there are 2 other books which could be possibly linked to Maggie, and may explain more of what happened to her in those.
tbb17's review against another edition
5.0
I loved this book! A fantasy adventure with well written characters and story. I can’t wait to follow Bertrand and Maggie on more adventures! Maggie is the fierce and dedicated companion to the wise and a little crazy Bertrand who pulls her into adventures in other worlds. I was enraptured in the book from start to finish. It sounds like this book series is going to be Maggie and Bertrand finding new worlds and falling into adventures. I loved Maggie's personality. I can't wait to go on another adventure with them!