The design and UX isn't done, Rob and Abbie, okkurrrr! 😌
ashnight's review
4.0
it was good, there however were more slow parts. am excited for the next book.
cdeane61's review
4.0
A little bit slow at times, but what's not to like about a story with Nazi invasion plans, ordinary people who all of a sudden have extraordinary powers, novice and pro spies, and all set in England on the cusp of WWII.
I see that it is number #1 in a series and may just have to continue following.
I see that it is number #1 in a series and may just have to continue following.
little_red_dragon's review
3.0
"All of this, false pretenses, and how that it was truly underway, a bit unnerving. Her mother would certainly be astonished. There had been moments when Kim was as well, but it was not as though she were planning to steal the family jewels. The theft, if it came, would only be secrets."
At the Table of Wolves promises to be a fast, clever thriller; think World War II spies meets X-Men. Unfortunately, it fails to deliver. It's a slow-paced spy novel, with plenty of twists and turns but no tension. Perhaps this is because the author failed to make me care about any of the characters. Or perhaps the stakes simply didn't feel particularly high.
Whatever it was, I was sadly disappointed. The premise seemed to promising, but the execution definitely left me wanting.
At the Table of Wolves promises to be a fast, clever thriller; think World War II spies meets X-Men. Unfortunately, it fails to deliver. It's a slow-paced spy novel, with plenty of twists and turns but no tension. Perhaps this is because the author failed to make me care about any of the characters. Or perhaps the stakes simply didn't feel particularly high.
Whatever it was, I was sadly disappointed. The premise seemed to promising, but the execution definitely left me wanting.
lsoccer12's review
Too many characters, the story shifted around too fast without explanation.
__ Try it! You’ll probably like it (wasn’t for me, but it’s well-written).
_x_ Meh. If you have nothing else to read, try it.
__ Don’t waste your time with this one!
__ Try it! You’ll probably like it (wasn’t for me, but it’s well-written).
_x_ Meh. If you have nothing else to read, try it.
__ Don’t waste your time with this one!
carolynf's review
1.0
This is the most annoying book that I ever read all the way through. Some aspects of the story are interesting - an alt 1936, an outbreak of psychic talents, a mysterious Nazi plot against English. But what could have been an enjoyable read was ruined for me by several issues.
1) The constant, constant gushing over England and its marvelous landscapes as symbolic of its marvelous culture and integrity. Especially in the first few chapters you can't get through a scene without someone suddenly becoming overwhelmed by tender feelings about their homeland because they saw some grass with mist on it. I'm all for patriotism but this was so over the top that it came close to camp.
2) The most incompetent spy ever. The main character is Kim (who no one, not even the most stodgy of matrons, refers to by anything other than her nickname) is a fish out of water when it comes to espionage, I get it. But she apparently also never read a spy novel in her life, because she doesn't know how to handle dead drops, handlers, people talking to you out of the side of their mouth in case you are being watched, anything. She has a psychic talent that induces people to tell her their darkest secrets, but is constantly trying it suppress it and it works out maybe twice in the entire book, and then accidentally with lots of shameful feelings. So yes, worst spy ever.
3) The cover art. This is more the publisher's fault than the novelist's but the cover art nevertheless has an effect on the reception of the book. Kim is 33, sensibly attired, with short hair. On the cover we get a 19 year old with flowing cheesecake tresses, who is apparently trying to launch a new "Casablanca" themed line at Spencer's. It is hard to take a book seriously when it seems like even the publishers didn't bother to get a grasp of the main character.
1) The constant, constant gushing over England and its marvelous landscapes as symbolic of its marvelous culture and integrity. Especially in the first few chapters you can't get through a scene without someone suddenly becoming overwhelmed by tender feelings about their homeland because they saw some grass with mist on it. I'm all for patriotism but this was so over the top that it came close to camp.
2) The most incompetent spy ever. The main character is Kim (who no one, not even the most stodgy of matrons, refers to by anything other than her nickname) is a fish out of water when it comes to espionage, I get it. But she apparently also never read a spy novel in her life, because she doesn't know how to handle dead drops, handlers, people talking to you out of the side of their mouth in case you are being watched, anything. She has a psychic talent that induces people to tell her their darkest secrets, but is constantly trying it suppress it and it works out maybe twice in the entire book, and then accidentally with lots of shameful feelings. So yes, worst spy ever.
3) The cover art. This is more the publisher's fault than the novelist's but the cover art nevertheless has an effect on the reception of the book. Kim is 33, sensibly attired, with short hair. On the cover we get a 19 year old with flowing cheesecake tresses, who is apparently trying to launch a new "Casablanca" themed line at Spencer's. It is hard to take a book seriously when it seems like even the publishers didn't bother to get a grasp of the main character.
ida_ree's review
4.0
Maybe 3 3/4 stars. In this sci-fi version of history, humanity has experienced a bloom of unusual Talents following the Great War. As the spectre of another world war looms on the horizon, both the German and British governments are running secret programs to discover what can be done with these abilities.
Kim Tavistock is a journalist living with her British father after having been raised across the pond by her mother. Kim has been identified with a significant talent -- the Spill. Unbidden, people reveal sensitive information to her in conversation. This makes it hard to keep friends, or even a relationship with her own father, who has secrets he needs to keep. But it comes in handy for journalism and possibly for piecing together German plans for an invasion.
I found the book a page turner, but did get frustrated a couple of times with the protagonist seeming a little overly naive in service of the plot. Good suspense. Well paced.
Kim Tavistock is a journalist living with her British father after having been raised across the pond by her mother. Kim has been identified with a significant talent -- the Spill. Unbidden, people reveal sensitive information to her in conversation. This makes it hard to keep friends, or even a relationship with her own father, who has secrets he needs to keep. But it comes in handy for journalism and possibly for piecing together German plans for an invasion.
I found the book a page turner, but did get frustrated a couple of times with the protagonist seeming a little overly naive in service of the plot. Good suspense. Well paced.
kkm0112's review
3.0
This book has a SUPER cool concept that I am totally here for, and most of the time I enjoyed reading it. However, I think it could have used another slash from the editor - at over 400 pages, it felt just a little bit bloated. It was also complicated enough that I found it challenging to keep track of characters and how they fit into this spy caper, but also not QUITE interesting enough that I cared to keep track. In all, I enjoyed reading it, but don't really care to read the next one.
lourdes_chapters_we_love's review
3.0
Review: https://chapterswelove.com/2017/09/08/at-the-table-of-wolves-by-kay-kenyon/
colossal's review
4.0
In an alternate Europe where paranormal talents began to appear in the general population after the Great War, tensions are building between England and Germany again. The rise of the Nazis and their advanced research into the talents they have available have created opportunities for them that England is ill-prepared for.
Kim Tavistock has recently returned to England from work in America as a journalist. At the secret English talent research facility of Monkton Hall where she is a test subject she becomes involved is espionage when it is suspected that the head of the facility is a German spy. Soon she is swept up in activities outside of the facility, and with the unknown involvement of her own father who is part of British Intelligence. Whether she realizes it or not, Kim is a player in a deadly game.
I thought this was terrific, and fairly typical of Kenyon's work. She has a genius for creating interesting characters and putting them in prolonged positions of jeopardy. The small flaw being the "prolonged" part, where the suspense is maintained for a long time because different players in the action are simply unaware of knowledge that the others are party to. Like very few writers that tend to drag things out though, Kenyon's writing is good enough to make the suspense worthwhile sitting through, and while this book is the first of a series, it does have a satisfying conclusion in this volume.
Highly recommended.
Kim Tavistock has recently returned to England from work in America as a journalist. At the secret English talent research facility of Monkton Hall where she is a test subject she becomes involved is espionage when it is suspected that the head of the facility is a German spy. Soon she is swept up in activities outside of the facility, and with the unknown involvement of her own father who is part of British Intelligence. Whether she realizes it or not, Kim is a player in a deadly game.
I thought this was terrific, and fairly typical of Kenyon's work. She has a genius for creating interesting characters and putting them in prolonged positions of jeopardy. The small flaw being the "prolonged" part, where the suspense is maintained for a long time because different players in the action are simply unaware of knowledge that the others are party to. Like very few writers that tend to drag things out though, Kenyon's writing is good enough to make the suspense worthwhile sitting through, and while this book is the first of a series, it does have a satisfying conclusion in this volume.
Highly recommended.