valeriew's review
5.0
This was pretty good. I do wish it wouldn't have been so much about their little love fest.
bookishplansandthings's review
4.0
I iust finished Solstice by Jane Redd and I loved it!
It started a little slow for me, I was actually a little confused with the story line at first, but after a few chapters I caught on with the lingo of the dustpan novel and couldn’t put the book down!
Jezebel’s character is your normal teenage girl who’s trying to fit in but the only problem with the society she’s in now is that you HAVE to fit or else you get banished or demoted or altered. So on top of having to hide her emotions, there’s the added pressure of having to be like everyone else.
I loved the other characters (I hope the sequel goes into more of Rueben’s story) and I loved how it explained the world that they know live in. It was very realistic. There wasn’t much action, it got to be a little slow at some points, I guess maybe too descriptive, but I appreciated the twists in the plot. I tried my best to guess what would happen next but there were some things that came as a surprise to me.
I really loved the book and I hope the sequel comes out soon.
It started a little slow for me, I was actually a little confused with the story line at first, but after a few chapters I caught on with the lingo of the dustpan novel and couldn’t put the book down!
Jezebel’s character is your normal teenage girl who’s trying to fit in but the only problem with the society she’s in now is that you HAVE to fit or else you get banished or demoted or altered. So on top of having to hide her emotions, there’s the added pressure of having to be like everyone else.
I loved the other characters (I hope the sequel goes into more of Rueben’s story) and I loved how it explained the world that they know live in. It was very realistic. There wasn’t much action, it got to be a little slow at some points, I guess maybe too descriptive, but I appreciated the twists in the plot. I tried my best to guess what would happen next but there were some things that came as a surprise to me.
I really loved the book and I hope the sequel comes out soon.
bookishlizz's review
3.0
Tweet Synopsis:
Come and meet a new Dystopian that has been covered with water and Jez has been tasked to save it all ... if only she knew what was going on.
Why Did I Pick It Up:
This book is trying to get published via Swoon Reads and I offered to read and review it.
The Good:
Jez is an interesting character whose life has been spent trying to be fantastic to get a great position within the government to shut down whatever is going on. That whole part is pretty vague. The great thing about this book was the attention payed to the secondary characters. I feel like my college writing professor would have written, "lovely" (his highest form of praise) in the margin again and again in reference to these secondary characters. They move along the story line, bring emotional depth to both Jez and the scenes, plus they add interest and layers to the story.
The premise is unique and fresh, which is really nice in the flood of dystopian novels that have hit the scene since the popularity of Hunger Games and Divergent. The world is covered in water, the people in control share no information, and the sun doesn't shine. Sounds bleak, doesn't it?
The Bad:
This book is no "Hunger Games," not that it has to be to be a good book, but the whole world isn't well developed enough. I never felt like the bad guy was really a bad guy, like the outside world really existed, like the problems were really problems. The whole emotional toll that other dystopian novels bring, this one lacks.
The Ugly:
I'll be honest, I'm reading this via a terrible PDF file and that is part of the reason I struggle to get involved in the story, it is just a bad format for me (lesson learned), but I feel like the story is just leaving me lacking information. I spent the first half of the book having no idea what was going on - not in a good, I must read more to know what is going on way - but in that, the author didn't know how to get to the good part way. Many people would say that the book was just moving "slowly," which some readers really like, but I didn't.
I wish that the book had been told in third person to really share a more "full" picture of what was going on and what they were missing out on. I guess they couldn't read anything, but as the reader you just kinda figure it out, rather than being told there were no books. We weren't told because Jez didn't know anything else. A third person narrator would have given me a way to connect with the book and a way to compare it to my world.
Who will love this book?
Lovers of Dystopian novels will like this book because it introduced a very new and different world.
How much did I like it? 7/10 (does that seem high after my review? It might be, but I think it is because much of my lack of connecting with the book had to do with the PDF version I was reading.)
Will I read more? Probably not, but I never read sequels anyway.
Come and meet a new Dystopian that has been covered with water and Jez has been tasked to save it all ... if only she knew what was going on.
Why Did I Pick It Up:
This book is trying to get published via Swoon Reads and I offered to read and review it.
The Good:
Jez is an interesting character whose life has been spent trying to be fantastic to get a great position within the government to shut down whatever is going on. That whole part is pretty vague. The great thing about this book was the attention payed to the secondary characters. I feel like my college writing professor would have written, "lovely" (his highest form of praise) in the margin again and again in reference to these secondary characters. They move along the story line, bring emotional depth to both Jez and the scenes, plus they add interest and layers to the story.
The premise is unique and fresh, which is really nice in the flood of dystopian novels that have hit the scene since the popularity of Hunger Games and Divergent. The world is covered in water, the people in control share no information, and the sun doesn't shine. Sounds bleak, doesn't it?
The Bad:
This book is no "Hunger Games," not that it has to be to be a good book, but the whole world isn't well developed enough. I never felt like the bad guy was really a bad guy, like the outside world really existed, like the problems were really problems. The whole emotional toll that other dystopian novels bring, this one lacks.
The Ugly:
I'll be honest, I'm reading this via a terrible PDF file and that is part of the reason I struggle to get involved in the story, it is just a bad format for me (lesson learned), but I feel like the story is just leaving me lacking information. I spent the first half of the book having no idea what was going on - not in a good, I must read more to know what is going on way - but in that, the author didn't know how to get to the good part way. Many people would say that the book was just moving "slowly," which some readers really like, but I didn't.
I wish that the book had been told in third person to really share a more "full" picture of what was going on and what they were missing out on. I guess they couldn't read anything, but as the reader you just kinda figure it out, rather than being told there were no books. We weren't told because Jez didn't know anything else. A third person narrator would have given me a way to connect with the book and a way to compare it to my world.
Who will love this book?
Lovers of Dystopian novels will like this book because it introduced a very new and different world.
How much did I like it? 7/10 (does that seem high after my review? It might be, but I think it is because much of my lack of connecting with the book had to do with the PDF version I was reading.)
Will I read more? Probably not, but I never read sequels anyway.
vickimarie2002's review against another edition
4.0
I liked this book, but at times, it kind of dragged. There were parts I thought that could use a little more description and elaboration, but other times I was very caught up and enraptured. I definitely need to read the second book because the ending is a major cliff hanger. There are a few characters that you really get to know, but just by reading the second book, you don't know how they all know each other or where they are headed. It was pretty good for a light and quick read. And it was a very interesting story line for a dystopian setting.
momwithareadingproblem's review against another edition
4.0
I received an eARC of this book via I Am a Reader in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of this review.
Solstice by Jane Redd (which is really [a:Heather B. Moore|1344869|Heather B. Moore|https://d.gr-assets.com/authors/1268230264p2/1344869.jpg] writing under a pseudonym) hooked me into the story immediately. Jezebel James is sixteen and a student in the A Level of society, meaning she is fast-tracked to study at the university level and eventually work as a scientist for the government. But there is something unique about Jezebel. She’s immune to the Harmony implant that every citizen is required to have placed at birth. This implant suppresses extreme emotions, allowing society to run smoothly with no criminal activity or “useless” fighting. Without it, Jez runs the risk of being found out and the penalty is death.
The dystopian world portrayed in Solstice is both haunting and something I could see happening, scary enough! Forty years prior to the start of the book, the rains started. It has rained everyday, all day since. This has basically resulted in a water world setting, with few places that there is viable land. 2 million live in the city Jez is in and it is the largest and only known civilized settlement. The Legislature (government) controls everything with an iron fist. No exceptions to the rules, no exceptions to the Harmony implant which not only controls emotions but tracks the citizens movements. Honestly it’s a totalitarian rule with little room for humans to be humans.
Jez has grown up in this society, immune to the implant and Carrier to a key that could save the human race, if she knows where to look. Her caretaker (parent) has coached her on hiding her emotions. This slowly eats at Jez. She wants to feel and is scared to feel all at the same time. I cannot imagine living in a society that dictates I cannot love, I can’t laugh, I can’t cry. This is Jezebel’s life and what she must hide at all times.
When her caretaker dies and leaves her a journal as an inheritance (the written word is also illegal), Jez is sent to prison for hiding the book. While there she uncovers more and more about who she is, what the Legislature is all about and the depths the government has gone to in order to “survive.” It’s all in the name of survival and I love that Jez, as the facts become known, really questions what she’s thought to be true her entire life.
Overall, this is a fantastic read! I only gave it 4 stars instead of 5 because the plot flow wasn’t even. There were times it was fast, times it dragged, and other times I thought I missed something in the turning of the chapters. Big holes in some cases but nothing so drastic as to make me sit the story down. If you enjoy dystopians, I highly recommend this one be your next read!
Solstice by Jane Redd (which is really [a:Heather B. Moore|1344869|Heather B. Moore|https://d.gr-assets.com/authors/1268230264p2/1344869.jpg] writing under a pseudonym) hooked me into the story immediately. Jezebel James is sixteen and a student in the A Level of society, meaning she is fast-tracked to study at the university level and eventually work as a scientist for the government. But there is something unique about Jezebel. She’s immune to the Harmony implant that every citizen is required to have placed at birth. This implant suppresses extreme emotions, allowing society to run smoothly with no criminal activity or “useless” fighting. Without it, Jez runs the risk of being found out and the penalty is death.
The dystopian world portrayed in Solstice is both haunting and something I could see happening, scary enough! Forty years prior to the start of the book, the rains started. It has rained everyday, all day since. This has basically resulted in a water world setting, with few places that there is viable land. 2 million live in the city Jez is in and it is the largest and only known civilized settlement. The Legislature (government) controls everything with an iron fist. No exceptions to the rules, no exceptions to the Harmony implant which not only controls emotions but tracks the citizens movements. Honestly it’s a totalitarian rule with little room for humans to be humans.
Jez has grown up in this society, immune to the implant and Carrier to a key that could save the human race, if she knows where to look. Her caretaker (parent) has coached her on hiding her emotions. This slowly eats at Jez. She wants to feel and is scared to feel all at the same time. I cannot imagine living in a society that dictates I cannot love, I can’t laugh, I can’t cry. This is Jezebel’s life and what she must hide at all times.
When her caretaker dies and leaves her a journal as an inheritance (the written word is also illegal), Jez is sent to prison for hiding the book. While there she uncovers more and more about who she is, what the Legislature is all about and the depths the government has gone to in order to “survive.” It’s all in the name of survival and I love that Jez, as the facts become known, really questions what she’s thought to be true her entire life.
Overall, this is a fantastic read! I only gave it 4 stars instead of 5 because the plot flow wasn’t even. There were times it was fast, times it dragged, and other times I thought I missed something in the turning of the chapters. Big holes in some cases but nothing so drastic as to make me sit the story down. If you enjoy dystopians, I highly recommend this one be your next read!
beckiebookworm1974's review against another edition
3.0
I received an e copy of this book for an honest review and am so glad i did as i really enjoyed the story, i love hunger games and divergent so this was right up my street i finished in one sitting i was that engrossed. I connected easily to Jezebel and sol and absolutely adored Reuben he was definitely my favourite by far and i would have liked to see more of him.So in conclusion i found the story was well written, flowed well ,the world building was excellent and it kept me captivated from start to finish a job well done and i for one am eager to know what occurs next.
jennp28's review
4.0
I was given an e-copy of this book in exchange for an honest review, which will be cross-posted on Swoon Reads for the contest it's entered in.
I liked this book a lot! It is remarkably polished given its unpublished status, although there are a few small errors. This is a well-done take on the dystopian teen girl-hero genre. A twist that I liked a lot was that the characters - all of society - are not allowed to fall in love, so that adds a new level of interest to the love story.
I'm also fascinated by the seemingly endless ways authors can invent for things to go badly wrong and controlled by the authorities in crazy ways in the dystopian future. In this case they removed emotions from the equation, and the cause of the strife seems to be global warming, or at least a crazy weather phenomenon.
I definitely think this one deserves to be published, and if you have a chance to pick it up, I recommend it! Be prepared to cross your fingers that the sequel gets published too, though, because it's part of a series and it definitely just ends and leaves you wanting more!!
I liked this book a lot! It is remarkably polished given its unpublished status, although there are a few small errors. This is a well-done take on the dystopian teen girl-hero genre. A twist that I liked a lot was that the characters - all of society - are not allowed to fall in love, so that adds a new level of interest to the love story.
I'm also fascinated by the seemingly endless ways authors can invent for things to go badly wrong and controlled by the authorities in crazy ways in the dystopian future. In this case they removed emotions from the equation, and the cause of the strife seems to be global warming, or at least a crazy weather phenomenon.
I definitely think this one deserves to be published, and if you have a chance to pick it up, I recommend it! Be prepared to cross your fingers that the sequel gets published too, though, because it's part of a series and it definitely just ends and leaves you wanting more!!
nicolepeck's review against another edition
5.0
I read this on the Swoon Reads website for the author, Heather Moore (writing under the pseudonym Jane Redd). As of now (January 2014), it has never been published and the author is hoping to win the contest on Swoon Reads to get it published. Given that it has not been gone over by an editor and is still in kind-of rough form, I still gave this 5 stars because of how it grabbed me and kept me enthralled the entire way. I wanted to know what was going to happen and though there were times I knew Jezebel shouldn't be asking or doing things and it was frustrating to me, I still was rooting for her and wondering what was going to happen, and it kept me guessing. There are lots of twists and new things that Jezebel encounters along her way. It is a teen futuristic novel, the first of a planned trilogy, so I was prepared for it to leave me hanging, knowing that there would be 2 more books to wrap everything up. There are a lot of unanswered questions and the setting set for the next book and I'm really hoping this is picked up to be published so that the trilogy can be finished and I can find out what happens with Jez, Sol, Reuben, and Chalice! I actually think this could be my favorite book I've read by this author so far, and I really like her writing.
nataliii's review against another edition
1.0
I felt like this book couldn't decide what it wanted to be. The focus changed like 5 times in the first half and not one of the characters was likeable. Big ole wth and no thanks to #2.
lpcoolgirl's review against another edition
5.0
Pretty great book! The reasons why to be kicked out made sense, but it also made sense for her to commit them! Though it could do with a few touch ups!