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erikaellr's review against another edition
1.0
Beginning - female protagonist dealing with a grief and complicated family relationships. Subpar writing quality and a narrator voice without any nuance or depth annoys me right away, but the series ratings are so high that it must get better, so I'm in, let's do this.
Middle - wow, so the writing really doesn't get any better, and the character's voice really stays that grating and graceless. It's clear that the author is trying to tell the reader something about the narrator, something complex about grief and mental illness and the mind's ability to both obscure reality and to make its own reality, and I am actually interested in that story, but the problem is that the author is telling not showing, and trying too hard to be mysterious and misunderstood, and the result is an nauseatingly reductionist portrayal of mental illness, teen romance, and the way a young woman thinks about both.
End - okay, without spoilers, while the ending was still just as badly executed as the rest of the book, the concept was at least good enough that I read the following two books in the series.
I was rewarded for my troubles with....disgust and regret. The next two books are as bad as the first in every way I mentioned, plus some extra cringe-worthiness around the paranormal bits - to call them half-baked would be too complimentary.
Reading this series was a total waste of time and I would like my 6 hours back.
Middle - wow, so the writing really doesn't get any better, and the character's voice really stays that grating and graceless. It's clear that the author is trying to tell the reader something about the narrator, something complex about grief and mental illness and the mind's ability to both obscure reality and to make its own reality, and I am actually interested in that story, but the problem is that the author is telling not showing, and trying too hard to be mysterious and misunderstood, and the result is an nauseatingly reductionist portrayal of mental illness, teen romance, and the way a young woman thinks about both.
End - okay, without spoilers, while the ending was still just as badly executed as the rest of the book, the concept was at least good enough that I read the following two books in the series.
I was rewarded for my troubles with....disgust and regret. The next two books are as bad as the first in every way I mentioned, plus some extra cringe-worthiness around the paranormal bits - to call them half-baked would be too complimentary.
Reading this series was a total waste of time and I would like my 6 hours back.
sarahjycbooks's review against another edition
5.0
5 CRAZY STARS!!!
Nocte by Courtney Cole is the first book of the Nocte trilogy. The rest of the series is now available.
OMGOMGOMGOMGOMGOMGOMG!!!!!! THAT ENDING!!!!!!!!!
Nocte by Courtney Cole is a fantastic and amazing story. It is one of the most unique and enticing stories I have ever read!
Nocte is about a girl named Calla who has a twin brother, Finn, with a mental illness. All her life, she and Finn have been inseparable. There love for each other as brother and sister held no bounds. Calla has always been there for her twin, and she will do anything to help him. But when tragedy strikes, Calla and Finn struggle to keep living life to the fullest. As Calla struggles with managing her own problems as well as Finn's, she finds a ray of happiness with Dare DuBray. Only...Dare has his own secrets. And there is always that old saying that revealing the truth is always best. But sometimes, secrets are better being kept hidden.
Courtney develops an amazing plot with twists and turns that will leave you wanting to know and read more. She has developed this wonderfully unique story that grabbed my attention from the first page. Nocte is unlike any other book I've read and I am SOOOOO glad I read this book. Because now I will have a serious book hangover because....THAT ENDING!
I absolutely love the relationship between Calla and Finn. As brother and sister, and twins, Courtney captured the essence of their bond fantastically! You could tell how close Calla and her brother were, and how they were willing to do ANYTHING to save each other from their inner demons.
And Dare DuBray! Let's just say that this fine specimen of a man will forever be on my top 20 book boyfriends!!!! He is sexy, kind, smart, loving, caring, and also badass at the same time! I think I almost fainted every time Courtney wrote a sexy Dare scene in the book...which happened to be almost all the time! But there was also a mysterious side to him that you don't figure out until the end and even then, the book leaves you at a cliff hanger that still keeps Dare's secrets hidden. The anticipation KILLED me when I read the last sentence. KILLED ME. Like, I think my heart and lungs stopped working for a good five minutes. I'll warn you right now (if you already hadn't figured it out) that the book ends in a cliffhanger. A frustratingly wonderful cliffhanger. Yeah, I know. That makes no sense. But it does at the same time.
And towards the end, Courtney reveals a shocking revelation that will have you wide-eyed, jaw dropped, internally screaming, and saying"OHMERGERD" a bajillion times.
TRUST ME.
You want to read this book.
And the next one.
And the next one.
Until you are done with the entire series.
CUZ IT IS THAT GOOD.
I highly recommend Nocte to anyone. ANYONE. It is a definite must-read. Nocte is a wonderfully beautiful story that will make you cry and smile and fall in love with the characters. I know I did. And I also neglected to do any work because I couldn't put this book down. Totally worth it though :)
Nocte by Courtney Cole is the first book of the Nocte trilogy. The rest of the series is now available.
OMGOMGOMGOMGOMGOMGOMG!!!!!! THAT ENDING!!!!!!!!!
Nocte by Courtney Cole is a fantastic and amazing story. It is one of the most unique and enticing stories I have ever read!
Nocte is about a girl named Calla who has a twin brother, Finn, with a mental illness. All her life, she and Finn have been inseparable. There love for each other as brother and sister held no bounds. Calla has always been there for her twin, and she will do anything to help him. But when tragedy strikes, Calla and Finn struggle to keep living life to the fullest. As Calla struggles with managing her own problems as well as Finn's, she finds a ray of happiness with Dare DuBray. Only...Dare has his own secrets. And there is always that old saying that revealing the truth is always best. But sometimes, secrets are better being kept hidden.
Courtney develops an amazing plot with twists and turns that will leave you wanting to know and read more. She has developed this wonderfully unique story that grabbed my attention from the first page. Nocte is unlike any other book I've read and I am SOOOOO glad I read this book. Because now I will have a serious book hangover because....THAT ENDING!
I absolutely love the relationship between Calla and Finn. As brother and sister, and twins, Courtney captured the essence of their bond fantastically! You could tell how close Calla and her brother were, and how they were willing to do ANYTHING to save each other from their inner demons.
And Dare DuBray! Let's just say that this fine specimen of a man will forever be on my top 20 book boyfriends!!!! He is sexy, kind, smart, loving, caring, and also badass at the same time! I think I almost fainted every time Courtney wrote a sexy Dare scene in the book...which happened to be almost all the time! But there was also a mysterious side to him that you don't figure out until the end and even then, the book leaves you at a cliff hanger that still keeps Dare's secrets hidden. The anticipation KILLED me when I read the last sentence. KILLED ME. Like, I think my heart and lungs stopped working for a good five minutes. I'll warn you right now (if you already hadn't figured it out) that the book ends in a cliffhanger. A frustratingly wonderful cliffhanger. Yeah, I know. That makes no sense. But it does at the same time.
And towards the end, Courtney reveals a shocking revelation that will have you wide-eyed, jaw dropped, internally screaming, and saying"OHMERGERD" a bajillion times.
TRUST ME.
You want to read this book.
And the next one.
And the next one.
Until you are done with the entire series.
CUZ IT IS THAT GOOD.
I highly recommend Nocte to anyone. ANYONE. It is a definite must-read. Nocte is a wonderfully beautiful story that will make you cry and smile and fall in love with the characters. I know I did. And I also neglected to do any work because I couldn't put this book down. Totally worth it though :)
multicoloredbookreviews's review against another edition
4.0
First of all, how gorgeous is that cover?! OMG so, so pretty!
This book has left me emotionally exhausted. Those last few chapters wrecked me. Had to go get the tissues box LOL (so be warned!)
The blurb was spot on when it said I would not see the ending coming. Even now, almost a full 24 hours after finishing the book, I'm still in shock. I had, like, 10 different hypotheses about what Dare and Finn's secrets were, but I was so, so off it's not even funny.
I love books where there's a mystery or secret the whole plot is tied around. When it's done well, as is the case with this book, it keeps you turning the pages in a desperate attempt to gain some insight. So few clues were given, that by the end I was almost as frenetic as Calla to get some answers! And the big reveal certainly was worth all the build up.
There is one thing I wanna point out, though. It bothered me immensely that Dare, being so gosh darn British (we were reminded of this almost every chapter) kept saying mom instead of mum. Like, WHAT? MOM? ARE YOU SERIOUS RIGHT NOW? What's even the point of having the love interest be British when you're not even gonna bother to make him actually speak like a British person? C'mon now.
I'm worried about the fact that I'm not sure there's enough story left for two more books. I don't want to go into the next books with huge expectations (and trust me, after Nocte, I'm expecting great things from books 2 and 3) only to be disappointed. But I figure, no risk, no reward, right? Plus, I need me some more answers, so...
mjdarko's review against another edition
5.0
Well that was mind bending.
Don't really know what to say without spoiling anything. Do yourself a favor and just read the book! On to the next one!
Don't really know what to say without spoiling anything. Do yourself a favor and just read the book! On to the next one!
pattymac61's review against another edition
5.0
This book was amazing! I had no idea where it was going and what was happening and it just kept me reading and reading until I couldn't put it down till I was done. I at one point wanted to go to the end just to see what was going on, but I didn't. This is one of my favorite books of 2014. Courtney is an outstanding writer, and just kept me grip to this book through out. 5 plus stars for me.
nata_sa_b's review against another edition
5.0
Mala som 5 teórií. Z toho ani jedna pravdivá.
Prekvapená?
Nie!
Šokovaná?
K*rva! Tomu ver, že áno!
Po celý čas sa správam ako blázon, pretože tu každá postava má nejaké tajomstvá. A mňa to zožieralo, pretože ja som strašne zvedavý človek, ktorý v tom tom prípade rátal takmer so všetkým, ale toto tu ma posadilo na riť! Dopekla! To čo mal byť za koniec? Chcem pokračovanie! Už aj! Boha...toto budem dlho rozdýchavať....Verte mi TOTO CHCETE ČÍTAŤ! NIE! VY SI TO MUSÍTE PREČÍTAŤ! A úprimne na konci vám bude jedno, keď to v strede bude trochu kolísať lebo sa to trošku premení akokeby na YA s typickou hlavnou hrdinkou, ktorú niečo požiera... Ale ten koniec vás dostane a budete sa pozerať na poslednú stranu a priať si, aby ste mali chybný výtlačok. OMYL! Nebude vám chýbať strana! Ale skôr rozumná časť mozgu!
Prekvapená?
Nie!
Šokovaná?
K*rva! Tomu ver, že áno!
Po celý čas sa správam ako blázon, pretože tu každá postava má nejaké tajomstvá. A mňa to zožieralo, pretože ja som strašne zvedavý človek, ktorý v tom tom prípade rátal takmer so všetkým, ale toto tu ma posadilo na riť! Dopekla! To čo mal byť za koniec? Chcem pokračovanie! Už aj! Boha...toto budem dlho rozdýchavať....Verte mi TOTO CHCETE ČÍTAŤ! NIE! VY SI TO MUSÍTE PREČÍTAŤ! A úprimne na konci vám bude jedno, keď to v strede bude trochu kolísať lebo sa to trošku premení akokeby na YA s typickou hlavnou hrdinkou, ktorú niečo požiera... Ale ten koniec vás dostane a budete sa pozerať na poslednú stranu a priať si, aby ste mali chybný výtlačok. OMYL! Nebude vám chýbať strana! Ale skôr rozumná časť mozgu!
m_chelld's review against another edition
5.0
A. M. A. Z. I. N. G!!!
Wish I could give this more than 5 stars ...
Another amazing book by Courtney Cole. She has become one of my favorite authors and I can not wait to read the net book in this series.
On to the 2nd book in the series!!!
Wish I could give this more than 5 stars ...
Another amazing book by Courtney Cole. She has become one of my favorite authors and I can not wait to read the net book in this series.
On to the 2nd book in the series!!!
juliabragg's review against another edition
2.0
2.5 stars. Super fast book (read in one sitting).. But this is ultimately a book for someone who wants to get into thriller.. It's not overly dark, and the twist is pretty obvious if you read thrillers - despite all of the 4+ star ratings, I believe it was super misleading about just how amazing it was. It was average at best.