angelreads's review against another edition
4.0
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I received an e-arc of Who’s Afraid by Maria Lewis from Hachette Australia via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review. This has in no way included my thoughts and feelings about the book.
I was surprised with this book. I thought it was going to young adult by the synopsis, but it’s not, defiantly not. Once you start reading, you realise that it’s not actually for anyone under the age of 16 at the least. In saying that I did enjoy the book.
Who’s Afraid follows protagonist, Tommi who is stubborn, sarcastic, troublesome however also slightly breakable. After her mother’s death, she travels to New Zealand to find out more about her father and instead find that’s she comes from a line of very powerful and dangerous werewolves and well that she is a werewolf herself.
As she struggles with her new self, she finds out the world she knew wasn’t as it seemed and that her life wasn’t sunshine and daisies.
I am not too sure how I feel about Who’s Afraid. I enjoyed it, it was a good read, but I didn’t love it. I enjoyed the writing style on the other hand I didn’t love how it was changing perspectives. It went from first person to third back to first, I wouldn’t have a problem with it, if I knew that it was happening. I could be reading a scene in first person and then it changed to third person and it confused me.
I actually enjoyed the plot, it was engaging and interesting. There was many twists and turns and things happened that I wasn’t expecting at all. It was a ‘real’ book, nothing was hidden. Gruesome, hideous things happened.
Tommi is one strong girl. She has gone through hell and back. Having to deal with the death of her mother was hard enough, but then she finds out that comes from a powerful line of werewolves, everything else seems to fall apart.
Then there is her dark and mysterious guardian who also happens to be very attractive. Lorcan MacCarthy. He is pretty amazing and perfect to Tommi’s outgoing nature. He is calm, but fierce that fights with swords.
The world building in Who’s Afraid was well written. It was well thought out and it kept on drawing me in. especially with the Praetorian Guard. It was something different and very fascinating. There was a lot going on and somethings that was a bit heavy, it was overwhelming, trying to remember everything and everyone.
I liked the writing style of Maria Lewis, it was engaging and easy to read. There were certain words that were hard to pronounce, but that was easy to go over. Lewis keeps the reader captivated until the end, she makes the reader go in circles.
Who’s Afraid is not for the faint hearted, it’s gruesome and there are deaths all over the place, but it’s an enthralling unban fantasy novel that takes you on a flight of the supernatural, death and romance.
Overall, I really enjoyed Who’s Afraid. It was something different from what I have read before. I am used to Fantasy in Young Adult, this is one of the New Adult novels that I have read that isn’t contemporary. I truly enjoyed and cannot wait to read the rest of the books in the series.
I received an e-arc of Who’s Afraid by Maria Lewis from Hachette Australia via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review. This has in no way included my thoughts and feelings about the book.
I was surprised with this book. I thought it was going to young adult by the synopsis, but it’s not, defiantly not. Once you start reading, you realise that it’s not actually for anyone under the age of 16 at the least. In saying that I did enjoy the book.
Who’s Afraid follows protagonist, Tommi who is stubborn, sarcastic, troublesome however also slightly breakable. After her mother’s death, she travels to New Zealand to find out more about her father and instead find that’s she comes from a line of very powerful and dangerous werewolves and well that she is a werewolf herself.
As she struggles with her new self, she finds out the world she knew wasn’t as it seemed and that her life wasn’t sunshine and daisies.
I am not too sure how I feel about Who’s Afraid. I enjoyed it, it was a good read, but I didn’t love it. I enjoyed the writing style on the other hand I didn’t love how it was changing perspectives. It went from first person to third back to first, I wouldn’t have a problem with it, if I knew that it was happening. I could be reading a scene in first person and then it changed to third person and it confused me.
I actually enjoyed the plot, it was engaging and interesting. There was many twists and turns and things happened that I wasn’t expecting at all. It was a ‘real’ book, nothing was hidden. Gruesome, hideous things happened.
Tommi is one strong girl. She has gone through hell and back. Having to deal with the death of her mother was hard enough, but then she finds out that comes from a powerful line of werewolves, everything else seems to fall apart.
Then there is her dark and mysterious guardian who also happens to be very attractive. Lorcan MacCarthy. He is pretty amazing and perfect to Tommi’s outgoing nature. He is calm, but fierce that fights with swords.
The world building in Who’s Afraid was well written. It was well thought out and it kept on drawing me in. especially with the Praetorian Guard. It was something different and very fascinating. There was a lot going on and somethings that was a bit heavy, it was overwhelming, trying to remember everything and everyone.
I liked the writing style of Maria Lewis, it was engaging and easy to read. There were certain words that were hard to pronounce, but that was easy to go over. Lewis keeps the reader captivated until the end, she makes the reader go in circles.
Who’s Afraid is not for the faint hearted, it’s gruesome and there are deaths all over the place, but it’s an enthralling unban fantasy novel that takes you on a flight of the supernatural, death and romance.
Overall, I really enjoyed Who’s Afraid. It was something different from what I have read before. I am used to Fantasy in Young Adult, this is one of the New Adult novels that I have read that isn’t contemporary. I truly enjoyed and cannot wait to read the rest of the books in the series.
raven_morgan's review against another edition
3.0
NOTE: This book is an entry in the Aurealis Awards for 2016, for which I am a judge. This review was written before the awards opened for entries, and does not reflect the view of the judging panel.
An eARC of this book was received from the publisher via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.
This review is presented as part of my contribution to the Australian Women Writers Challenge 2016.
***
Who’s Afraid is the debut urban fantasy novel from Australian journalist and author Maria Lewis.
The first thing that has to be noted about this book is the cover. The book itself is clearly urban fantasy (for where urban fantasy involves paranormal creatures like vampires and werewolves existing in the modern world) but there’s no randomly sexualised woman on the cover. Instead, we see the protagonist Tommi from the back, blue hair on display, in a pose that screams power and defiance. Well done, Hachette, bravo to the cover artist for a truly gorgeous cover.
Who’s Afraid is a fast-paced, easy read. The settings are well grounded, be they in Scotland or New Zealand, and Lewis has a deft hand for the dialogue and idioms used by the characters in each setting. There’s a lot to love about Tommi – she’s no cringing violet, and is is shown as having a well-rounded life, with a job she enjoys (and is good at) and a good circle of friends, both male and female. Tommi doesn’t need saving (she will save herself, and thank you very much, and do you need saving as well?) and she is comfortable in her own body and in control of her own sexuality.
It does need to be noted that there is a sexual assault in this book, which may be a no go for some readers.
There are some debut novel issues with this book. Some of the pacing feels off, with some events happening far too quickly, and it feels like too much explanation about the world and its paranormal denizens is handed to Tommi, where it could have felt more natural if it were discovered by her more slowly. Tommi herself doesn’t always seem to react to some of the events happening – I’d expect someone to be reacting more than she does to the discovery that she’s a werewolf, for example. Many of the characters don’t feel as developed as I’d like them to be, also. Tommi is wonderfully developed, which makes some of the others, such as Lorcan, her mentor, feel thinner in contrast.
I also had some issues with the antagonist of the book, who isn’t developed much beyond his role as “bad guy who does bad things and therefore needs to be defeated by Tommi”. This ties into some of the pacing issues with the book; it feels almost as though this part of the story would have been better served with it being threaded through more than one book.
There’s also an issue which may put off some readers, in that all of the “bad” guys are Maori (and we don’t get to see any Maori who aren’t the bad guys). Tommi herself is half Maori, but identifies as Scottish several times in the book, which does little to lessen this. Again, I feel like this is something that ties into pacing issues and possibly the need to keep the book to a particular length, and I don’t feel that this was something that was done deliberately by Lewis, but it bears noting in case it is something that some readers want to avoid.
Despite these issues, I feel like Who’s Afraid is a promising debut novel, and would recommend it to fans of fast-paced fun urban fantasy. I’ll be looking out for the sequel when it is released.
An eARC of this book was received from the publisher via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.
This review is presented as part of my contribution to the Australian Women Writers Challenge 2016.
***
Who’s Afraid is the debut urban fantasy novel from Australian journalist and author Maria Lewis.
The first thing that has to be noted about this book is the cover. The book itself is clearly urban fantasy (for where urban fantasy involves paranormal creatures like vampires and werewolves existing in the modern world) but there’s no randomly sexualised woman on the cover. Instead, we see the protagonist Tommi from the back, blue hair on display, in a pose that screams power and defiance. Well done, Hachette, bravo to the cover artist for a truly gorgeous cover.
Who’s Afraid is a fast-paced, easy read. The settings are well grounded, be they in Scotland or New Zealand, and Lewis has a deft hand for the dialogue and idioms used by the characters in each setting. There’s a lot to love about Tommi – she’s no cringing violet, and is is shown as having a well-rounded life, with a job she enjoys (and is good at) and a good circle of friends, both male and female. Tommi doesn’t need saving (she will save herself, and thank you very much, and do you need saving as well?) and she is comfortable in her own body and in control of her own sexuality.
It does need to be noted that there is a sexual assault in this book, which may be a no go for some readers.
There are some debut novel issues with this book. Some of the pacing feels off, with some events happening far too quickly, and it feels like too much explanation about the world and its paranormal denizens is handed to Tommi, where it could have felt more natural if it were discovered by her more slowly. Tommi herself doesn’t always seem to react to some of the events happening – I’d expect someone to be reacting more than she does to the discovery that she’s a werewolf, for example. Many of the characters don’t feel as developed as I’d like them to be, also. Tommi is wonderfully developed, which makes some of the others, such as Lorcan, her mentor, feel thinner in contrast.
I also had some issues with the antagonist of the book, who isn’t developed much beyond his role as “bad guy who does bad things and therefore needs to be defeated by Tommi”. This ties into some of the pacing issues with the book; it feels almost as though this part of the story would have been better served with it being threaded through more than one book.
There’s also an issue which may put off some readers, in that all of the “bad” guys are Maori (and we don’t get to see any Maori who aren’t the bad guys). Tommi herself is half Maori, but identifies as Scottish several times in the book, which does little to lessen this. Again, I feel like this is something that ties into pacing issues and possibly the need to keep the book to a particular length, and I don’t feel that this was something that was done deliberately by Lewis, but it bears noting in case it is something that some readers want to avoid.
Despite these issues, I feel like Who’s Afraid is a promising debut novel, and would recommend it to fans of fast-paced fun urban fantasy. I’ll be looking out for the sequel when it is released.
madlymusing's review against another edition
5.0
In terms of books filling the gap between YA and standard adult literature (particularly fantastical stories), this one is right up there. Tommi, our protagonist, is outstanding - a great mix of strong, vulnerable and smart-assy. She's a 22 year old, biracial werewolf curator with blue hair; what's not to love?
I found her to be a compelling voice throughout the narrative, which was in turn sexy, scary, emotional and violent. My only complaint is that the second instalment is yet to be published - I'm already excited!
I found her to be a compelling voice throughout the narrative, which was in turn sexy, scary, emotional and violent. My only complaint is that the second instalment is yet to be published - I'm already excited!
tehani's review against another edition
5.0
A thoroughly engaging and well written urban fantasy that managed to surprise (and horrify) me, in good ways! Tommi is an excellent protagonist, and the worldbuilding was interesting and fresh – considering how very many urban fantasy novels I've read, that's high praise! I was also impressed by the hero's journey in this one, which was far more logical than most UF manages – kudos to the author! And oh my, that ending…
morethanfaerietales's review
adventurous
dark
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
2.75
caitlinlidae's review against another edition
2.0
Found this a bit of a slow read as the first act was a bit jarring and I couldn't get back into the swing of the book.
The near rape scene was not fun and anytime it was mentioned again really took me out of it. I wished there was a trigger warning or something beforehand. That would have helped, potentially.
The near rape scene was not fun and anytime it was mentioned again really took me out of it. I wished there was a trigger warning or something beforehand. That would have helped, potentially.
azebrareads's review
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
funny
hopeful
inspiring
mysterious
reflective
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
gems_31's review against another edition
5.0
Emotionally Drained. I think those two words really do sum up how I felt at the end of Who's Afraid? Lewis has crafted an ending that though has tinges of sadness, it also has some sort of hope left.
Going in I knew that this was the beginning of the series, but Lewis throws convention out of the window, wielding the Grim Reapers Synth at will. The cost at the end of this book hits with the force of sledge hammer and you see that the Tommi at the end of this book is most definetly not the same woman at the beginning.
Pick up this book because it is a fab read and this series should sit proudly next to your Mercy Thompson and The Women of the Otherworld series.
Going in I knew that this was the beginning of the series, but Lewis throws convention out of the window, wielding the Grim Reapers Synth at will. The cost at the end of this book hits with the force of sledge hammer and you see that the Tommi at the end of this book is most definetly not the same woman at the beginning.
Pick up this book because it is a fab read and this series should sit proudly next to your Mercy Thompson and The Women of the Otherworld series.