tamaraellen's review against another edition
4.0
a good start
So this was a good start to the series. I feel very confused in certain matters but then I’ve read books from another series that link to this one, so everything seems a little out of sorts for me. I have to say some parts of this books really frustrated me like Ana’s behaviour/attitude in bits however I completely understand the reason for it and look forward to seeing her character growth in the future.
So this was a good start to the series. I feel very confused in certain matters but then I’ve read books from another series that link to this one, so everything seems a little out of sorts for me. I have to say some parts of this books really frustrated me like Ana’s behaviour/attitude in bits however I completely understand the reason for it and look forward to seeing her character growth in the future.
thehamsterreads's review against another edition
5.0
This is a very interesting and unique story! It starts off with a bang (fairly literally unfortunately) and only picks up from there. The main character Ana is confused about what is happening to her, as her dreams seem to come to life and she seems to be manifesting powers that are beyond human. As a reader, I was confused as well, but this is part of the charm of the book. The reader learns along with Ana what is happening and this adds to the excitement and build up of the story! Becoming is definitely a YA read, so if you enjoy YA, I highly recommend it! It’s well written and a joy to read!
I received a copy from the author and I’m voluntarily leaving an honest review.
I received a copy from the author and I’m voluntarily leaving an honest review.
librarykate's review against another edition
1.0
I have been attempting to read this book for 3 weeks. I just can't stand it, and I am giving up. The beginning was incredibly confusing, and I just couldn't connect well enough with Ana to want to keep going.
novelsallnight's review against another edition
4.0
Our heroine in this story is Anala, or Ana. For a long time she dreams of a place called Hiddenkel where she gets to spend time with some people she’s grown to care about. In this dream world of hers she gets to spend time with her older sister Kaia. Of course, as far as she knows this sister never really existed anywhere other than her dreams. The only sister she knows is her sister Crystia. Her dream world of Hiddenkel is also where she gets to meet the alluring Dohlan, she feels a pull to him she can’t explain. Things quickly start to change and Ana begins to wonder just how much of her dreams are fantasy and how much is real. Her best friend Ryland seems to know more than he’s letting on and her mother won’t offer her any answers either. When things and people from her dreams start showing up in her real life and she starts to develop strange abilities she realizes she has to find answers and quick… Because not everything or everyone from her dreams is good and dark shadows seem to be coming after her during the day.
This book was completely different from most of the books I read but I’m glad I gave it a chance. It’s hard to talk too much about the details of the story without giving anything away so I’m going to try to stay away from that. At the start of the story we find Ana confused with a lot of things… her dreams and the secrets she feels are being kept from her by the people closest to her. To be honest, for longer than I’m used to I was also VERY confused! However, as the story went on and things became clearer for Ana they also became clearer for me. It became a major way of connecting to the main character. I found myself saying things like “What!? How could they have not told us that before now?!!” Major revelations to Ana became major revelations to Ana and me. I can honestly say that this is one of the only books I’ve read in a while that surprised me and kept me guessing from start to finish.
I read a lot of different genres of books but tend to stick with contemporary novels. Becoming: The Balance Bringer is more fantasy than I’m used to. It felt like part contemporary and part other time and other worldly. It really made me feel like the places Ana traveled to in her dreams were real. The longer I read the more I wanted to know about the fantasy world called Hiddenkel. The last part of the book explodes with action and revelations and left me wanting more. My imagination is already running wild thinking of all the possible scenarios Ana will soon find herself in. All in all a fun read, especially for lovers of fantasy.
**I received a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review**
Find more at Novels all Night
This book was completely different from most of the books I read but I’m glad I gave it a chance. It’s hard to talk too much about the details of the story without giving anything away so I’m going to try to stay away from that. At the start of the story we find Ana confused with a lot of things… her dreams and the secrets she feels are being kept from her by the people closest to her. To be honest, for longer than I’m used to I was also VERY confused! However, as the story went on and things became clearer for Ana they also became clearer for me. It became a major way of connecting to the main character. I found myself saying things like “What!? How could they have not told us that before now?!!” Major revelations to Ana became major revelations to Ana and me. I can honestly say that this is one of the only books I’ve read in a while that surprised me and kept me guessing from start to finish.
I read a lot of different genres of books but tend to stick with contemporary novels. Becoming: The Balance Bringer is more fantasy than I’m used to. It felt like part contemporary and part other time and other worldly. It really made me feel like the places Ana traveled to in her dreams were real. The longer I read the more I wanted to know about the fantasy world called Hiddenkel. The last part of the book explodes with action and revelations and left me wanting more. My imagination is already running wild thinking of all the possible scenarios Ana will soon find herself in. All in all a fun read, especially for lovers of fantasy.
**I received a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review**
Find more at Novels all Night
thereadingfaery's review against another edition
4.0
I have mixed feelings about this one, to be honest. It didn't start out very promising, but since I was really interested in the premise and the world, I pushed through, and I flew through the second half. I can't wait to read the rest of the series!
I have mixed feelings about the main character. On one hand, I had a really hard time connecting with her. I'm not entirely sure why, but I think it's about the way she acted. But I still enjoyed reading about her. She was interesting, she was quirky, and she was such a badass. I couldn't relate to her, but I was still very interested to see how things would turn out for her.
The romance was... I'm not even sure what word to use here. It was... different. At the beginning, it seems like there will be three love interests (a... love square?) which made the main character seem really boy crazy. But it gets better with time, and it becomes clear that we aren't talking about a whole bunch of love interests. (Also something really icky that is super spoilery, but thankfully that's just very brief.)
The plot was good. It started out a bit slow, and it felt like it took a while to really start, but I think that has more to do with the world-building than the actual plot. But overall, the plot was great, and it's very promising for the upcoming books in the series.
The world-building could've definitely been better. It took a very long time before we (the reader) learned anything real about the world, which annoyed me a bit. For the most part of the book, it was mostly lies and very vague statements that could mean anything. It wasn't until after halfway through that I actually learned anything about the world, and then everything came at once. I would've liked the information to have been spread out more evenly through the book, but the world is very interesting and it wasn't until around 40% through that it started bothering me.
Overall, it was a definitely enjoyable read, but more importantly, it's an interesting beginning to a series that will make it impossible to quit after reading the first book. So now, if you'll excuse me, I'll go read the second book.
I have mixed feelings about the main character. On one hand, I had a really hard time connecting with her. I'm not entirely sure why, but I think it's about the way she acted. But I still enjoyed reading about her. She was interesting, she was quirky, and she was such a badass. I couldn't relate to her, but I was still very interested to see how things would turn out for her.
The romance was... I'm not even sure what word to use here. It was... different. At the beginning, it seems like there will be three love interests (a... love square?) which made the main character seem really boy crazy. But it gets better with time, and it becomes clear that we aren't talking about a whole bunch of love interests. (Also something really icky that is super spoilery, but thankfully that's just very brief.)
The plot was good. It started out a bit slow, and it felt like it took a while to really start, but I think that has more to do with the world-building than the actual plot. But overall, the plot was great, and it's very promising for the upcoming books in the series.
The world-building could've definitely been better. It took a very long time before we (the reader) learned anything real about the world, which annoyed me a bit. For the most part of the book, it was mostly lies and very vague statements that could mean anything. It wasn't until after halfway through that I actually learned anything about the world, and then everything came at once. I would've liked the information to have been spread out more evenly through the book, but the world is very interesting and it wasn't until around 40% through that it started bothering me.
Overall, it was a definitely enjoyable read, but more importantly, it's an interesting beginning to a series that will make it impossible to quit after reading the first book. So now, if you'll excuse me, I'll go read the second book.
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