rebelrider's review
adventurous
dark
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
3.25
Content Warnings
Moderate: Death of parent and Violence
beckiebookworm1974's review against another edition
4.0
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️STARS
REVIEW COPY
Release Date-3/4/2017
When They Came (When They Came #1) by Kody Boye was a really enjoyable read. An incredibly fast-paced YA Sci-Fi/Dystopian novel that kept me interested from start to finish.
The first book in a series; this set the stage brilliantly, drawing me into this imaginative future dystopian landscape and hooking my interest instantly.
The world building here was fantastic and easily comprehended.
"When they Come" starts off in the fictional stronghold of Fort Hope; here Ana Mia after graduating the juvenile education system decides to join her sister on the wall as part of the Midnight Guard.
This guard protects the inhabitants of the stronghold by watching the night and holding the line; guarding the population against Earths alien invaders and there lackies the Coyotes.
(sounds almost Game Of Thrones-like)
The Aliens are harvesting the populace from there ships and the Coyotes seem to be the eyes and ears of these invaders.
These coyotes, by and large, seem dumb simple but vicious creatures and I'm not really sure yet what the deal is with them.
I mean where are they from? what are there Intentions? and why are they assisting the harvesters?
In fact who even are the Harvesters and what is there ultimate goal here?
And for that fact what happens to the inhabitants they have beamed up to there vessel?
See; so many valid questions here.
So there's a lot going on and as you can see from my above waffling so many questions I still want answers to.
the author also manages to do such an excellent job of dialling the tension up notch by gradual notch; its done so subtlely that before I knew it I were smack bang on a rollercoaster to god knows where.
There's so many twists and turns aplenty and the whole story had a biting your nails constantly vibe to it; I was so on edge throughout.
I also really liked how past events were conveyed here from invasion day; told in a series of flashbacks; I found this such a nice touch, It gave "When They Came" such a personal feel to it; which I very much appreciated.
my only annoyance here with this; was how fast the author seemed to knock off individuals I had become emotionally invested in.
No sooner had I forged a connection then pop they were gone; which is all fine and dandy but I didn't think enough closure was offered up to truly appreciate the contribution these characters brought.
I know post-apocalyptic Alien invaded landscape; not actually conducive to mourning and wallowing but I'm talking more about an internal monologue here.
A sort of reflective remembrance as I do feel that maybe Ana Mia would be much more traumatised and affected by her losses than she seemed to portray.
There was only one scene where she major broke down then she seemed to pull herself together so swiftly I was slightly sceptical.
I also wasn't a mega fan of using Ana's whole name in conversation; it just felt weird and slightly pretentious if I'm being honest here.
So That's my main reasons for the one-star deduction.
So despite my above points and some slight cliche one-liners, this was a fantastic YA read.
It will be fascinating to see where this will go next after that cliffhanger of an ending.
Thankfully the next instalment in this enthralling series is already available.
Thank You to the Author for providing me with an ARC copy of "When They Came (When They Came #1)" of which I have reviewed voluntary.
All opinions expressed are entirely my own.
Reviewed By Beckie Bookworm
https://www.facebook.com/beckiebookworm/
www.beckiebookworm.com
simoneclark's review
5.0
I really enjoyed this first book even though there was a lot of character and world building. At least, now that this is out of the way, we can get to the action ;-) This book does have plenty of action in it, though. So if that is what you are looking for, read this book. I will definitely check out the next book in the series.
ania_star's review
3.0
Received from Xpresso Book Tours
Dystopia is one of my favourite genre all across, so I had very high expectation going into the book. For me to fully enjoyed the story, it has to have certain element of realness to it, that *it-could-really-happen* vibe. And When They Came certainly has that.
Few years ago They came. But They didn’t come peacefully. It’s was more like the worse nightmare coming true. First they sent creatures similar to coyotes, that look around for people and then harvesters come, with ships.
People have resorted to live in small compounds, one of those is Fort Hope. When kids reach age of 17, the have to pick a job. Ana Mia pick to be Night Guard, protecting compound from Coyotes. One her first mission outside of the compound, she gets bitten. She luckily survives, but she starts to change.
It’s thrilling story, with very interesting story line. On the other side I didn’t like any of the dialog, they were too repetitive and the pace was a bit off. I wish there was more world building.
Dystopia is one of my favourite genre all across, so I had very high expectation going into the book. For me to fully enjoyed the story, it has to have certain element of realness to it, that *it-could-really-happen* vibe. And When They Came certainly has that.
Few years ago They came. But They didn’t come peacefully. It’s was more like the worse nightmare coming true. First they sent creatures similar to coyotes, that look around for people and then harvesters come, with ships.
People have resorted to live in small compounds, one of those is Fort Hope. When kids reach age of 17, the have to pick a job. Ana Mia pick to be Night Guard, protecting compound from Coyotes. One her first mission outside of the compound, she gets bitten. She luckily survives, but she starts to change.
It’s thrilling story, with very interesting story line. On the other side I didn’t like any of the dialog, they were too repetitive and the pace was a bit off. I wish there was more world building.
lillamyy's review against another edition
4.0
Ana Mia Berrios bor i Fort Hope, en liten del av Texas Där människor fortfarande är skyddade från utomjordingarna. De är ständigt nära, väntar och iakttar vad vi gör.
Ana Mia ska välja sitt yrke, hon väljer The Midnight Guard som skyddar den lilla staden och dess invånare. Det är ett tufft och farligt arbete med många timmars arbete och lite sömn. Hon blir antagen och tränad. Allt är ok tills den kvällen då staden blir anfallen och Ana Mia måste fly för sitt liv. Kommer hon klara sig?
Det är lätt att följa med i berättelsen. Med enkla medel beskriver författaren omgivningar och känslor utan att krångla till det. Jag gillar de olika karaktärerna. Detta är första boken i en trilogi och jag kommer fortsätta läsa nästa bok.
Ana Mia ska välja sitt yrke, hon väljer The Midnight Guard som skyddar den lilla staden och dess invånare. Det är ett tufft och farligt arbete med många timmars arbete och lite sömn. Hon blir antagen och tränad. Allt är ok tills den kvällen då staden blir anfallen och Ana Mia måste fly för sitt liv. Kommer hon klara sig?
Det är lätt att följa med i berättelsen. Med enkla medel beskriver författaren omgivningar och känslor utan att krångla till det. Jag gillar de olika karaktärerna. Detta är första boken i en trilogi och jag kommer fortsätta läsa nästa bok.
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