skyelavigne's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.75
theestherhadassah's review against another edition
4.0
I had the pleasure of reading a copy of this book a few years ago. But this time around, it's the audiobook and it's a completely different experience. While, for me, the book starts a little slower, it does get right into the moment Caeli finds Derek. Immediately, I fell in love with their blooming friendship and the romance that comes later. The horrendous adventures this pair undertakes is so well described and everything plays out. The entire book comes to a very satisfying ending, leaving you with the feeling that it could end there, but has an opening for continuation. Luckily, I do own the second book in paperback and can continue because I want to.
The audio for this book was smooth and clear. DW Draffin had a great performance. He definitely gave Derek a voice. I do, kinda, wish there'd been a female narrator for Caeli's perspective, but DW still did amazing on his own. I'm really glad I had the opportunity to listen to this book.
I received this audiobook as part of my participation in a blog tour with Audiobookworm Promotions. The tour is being sponsored by Tabitha Lord. The gifting of this audiobook did not affect my opinion of it.
The audio for this book was smooth and clear. DW Draffin had a great performance. He definitely gave Derek a voice. I do, kinda, wish there'd been a female narrator for Caeli's perspective, but DW still did amazing on his own. I'm really glad I had the opportunity to listen to this book.
I received this audiobook as part of my participation in a blog tour with Audiobookworm Promotions. The tour is being sponsored by Tabitha Lord. The gifting of this audiobook did not affect my opinion of it.
sevairi's review against another edition
4.0
Oh my. Oh my, oh my, oh my.
Working on a review; sit tight, my dears!
Working on a review; sit tight, my dears!
dtaylorbooks's review against another edition
1.0
My status update reading this book pretty much says it all: This book is about as exciting as a bowl of plain, tepid oatmeal.
Seriously, this book is a snooze fest. All tell, no show, with characters that are damn near perfect to the point of being boring, I had nothing to grab on to that would keep me engaged. It was a slog to get through to the end.
It starts off in the present with the shipwreck and then goes back in time to show Caeli’s life for chapters, probably just under half the book is Caeli’s story. And then it comes back to the present where we get some really dull moments that don’t even attempt to engage the reader in any action and then the story’s over.
Any feelings any characters were having were just stated. Anything that actually happened, be it sex, a murder, an attack, whatever it was was just spit out as if no time could be spent elaborating on anything. We needed to get to the end of the story. There was just nothing. I felt like I was reading an outline for how dry everything was. There was no character growth because the characters all said the right things and did the right things at all the right times and you can’t grow from that. The characters were largely flawless on top of that and any flaws they did have were glossed over with excuses for why they did what they did and of course everything made perfect sense in the perfect world.
It was just . . . blah. It lacked . . . heart. I felt like the author was just trying to spit out a story with characters that didn’t require any development in a world that didn’t require very much thought. The world(s) were no different from Earth. Everyone’s human, the technology isn’t anything that I couldn’t think of (and I’m not big into sci fi so . . .). There was just . . . nothing.
I really don’t know what else I can say about HORIZON. The concept is interesting enough. It’s what caught my attention and made me grab for the title. But that’s where the interest ended. Might as well have Ben Stein narrate this one because it’s monotone all the way through. All the characters might as well be the same, the world might as well be earth, and the time might as well be present. Nothing stands out, good or bad. It’s just blah.
1
I received a copy of this book from the publisher through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
Seriously, this book is a snooze fest. All tell, no show, with characters that are damn near perfect to the point of being boring, I had nothing to grab on to that would keep me engaged. It was a slog to get through to the end.
It starts off in the present with the shipwreck and then goes back in time to show Caeli’s life for chapters, probably just under half the book is Caeli’s story. And then it comes back to the present where we get some really dull moments that don’t even attempt to engage the reader in any action and then the story’s over.
Any feelings any characters were having were just stated. Anything that actually happened, be it sex, a murder, an attack, whatever it was was just spit out as if no time could be spent elaborating on anything. We needed to get to the end of the story. There was just nothing. I felt like I was reading an outline for how dry everything was. There was no character growth because the characters all said the right things and did the right things at all the right times and you can’t grow from that. The characters were largely flawless on top of that and any flaws they did have were glossed over with excuses for why they did what they did and of course everything made perfect sense in the perfect world.
It was just . . . blah. It lacked . . . heart. I felt like the author was just trying to spit out a story with characters that didn’t require any development in a world that didn’t require very much thought. The world(s) were no different from Earth. Everyone’s human, the technology isn’t anything that I couldn’t think of (and I’m not big into sci fi so . . .). There was just . . . nothing.
I really don’t know what else I can say about HORIZON. The concept is interesting enough. It’s what caught my attention and made me grab for the title. But that’s where the interest ended. Might as well have Ben Stein narrate this one because it’s monotone all the way through. All the characters might as well be the same, the world might as well be earth, and the time might as well be present. Nothing stands out, good or bad. It’s just blah.
1
I received a copy of this book from the publisher through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
cathepsut's review against another edition
2.0
I expected Star Trek, but in the first half of the book got a planet-bound tale of two societies struggling with each other, genocide, rebellion and a slow burning romance. The second half of the book was more of what I had expected, but I had lost interest by that point. The plot did not hold any great surprises and was pretty predictable.
I was fairly bored and did a good amount of skimming towards the end.
Too much romance and not enough sci-fi for me. Violence and sex happened mostly in the off, nothing was (too) graphic. Trigger warning for a rape scene, not graphic and with fade-out. Without that I would have pegged this as Young Adult, if the characters had been a bit younger.
The characters were formulaic. The story lacked suspense. The world building was adequate.
Maybe it would have been better to make two books out of this, with each of the two distinct storylines more deeply explored, one about Caeli and her rebellion on planet and the other about Derek and his Star Trekking off-planet and on another world.
The epilogue is a not very surprising cliffhanger and sets the scene for the next book.
I had a small problem with the moral ambiguity of the two main characters. Caeli had some pretty strong standpoints in the first half of the book regarding the use of her empathy, that she quite easily threw over board in the second half. The reasoning for it did not convince me. Derek does something later in the novel that did not work for me either.
I doubt I would get the second book in this series or recommend it to someone else.
I received this free e-copy from the publisher/author via NetGalley, in exchange for an honest review, thank you!
I was fairly bored and did a good amount of skimming towards the end.
Too much romance and not enough sci-fi for me. Violence and sex happened mostly in the off, nothing was (too) graphic. Trigger warning for a rape scene, not graphic and with fade-out. Without that I would have pegged this as Young Adult, if the characters had been a bit younger.
The characters were formulaic. The story lacked suspense. The world building was adequate.
Maybe it would have been better to make two books out of this, with each of the two distinct storylines more deeply explored, one about Caeli and her rebellion on planet and the other about Derek and his Star Trekking off-planet and on another world.
The epilogue is a not very surprising cliffhanger and sets the scene for the next book.
I had a small problem with the moral ambiguity of the two main characters. Caeli had some pretty strong standpoints in the first half of the book regarding the use of her empathy, that she quite easily threw over board in the second half. The reasoning for it did not convince me. Derek does something later in the novel that did not work for me either.
I doubt I would get the second book in this series or recommend it to someone else.
I received this free e-copy from the publisher/author via NetGalley, in exchange for an honest review, thank you!
lindz's review against another edition
5.0
Horizon by Tabitha Lord Caeli is one member that has a few unique skills. There is a commander in trouble with his spaceship. Will he survive? Caeli is part of the few survivors of her world. She is taken from her home and put with someone that being dictator.
Tabitha is a good author and she brings it all to life. What will happen on Horizon. Will the commander and Caeli get together and help save the crew, and find love in each other? She happy to work on the ship in where she loves working.
We go on adventures through inner space and what life is like on Horizon. Will they all survive or not? I enjoyed this book from the first page to the last page. I cannot wait to start the second book that I do have in this series. The author has done wonderfully with it. There are surprises throughout the book and some romance as well.
I believe this book is good for though science fiction but also I would suggest teens read it from the age of 14 and up. The parent has the right to decide. It being rated PG 13 so it would be okay for 13 years old if you the parent this your child or children are mature enough for the book. That is up to you.
Tabitha is a good author and she brings it all to life. What will happen on Horizon. Will the commander and Caeli get together and help save the crew, and find love in each other? She happy to work on the ship in where she loves working.
We go on adventures through inner space and what life is like on Horizon. Will they all survive or not? I enjoyed this book from the first page to the last page. I cannot wait to start the second book that I do have in this series. The author has done wonderfully with it. There are surprises throughout the book and some romance as well.
I believe this book is good for though science fiction but also I would suggest teens read it from the age of 14 and up. The parent has the right to decide. It being rated PG 13 so it would be okay for 13 years old if you the parent this your child or children are mature enough for the book. That is up to you.
utopiastateofmind's review against another edition
3.0
This is more like a 3.5 for me. I absolutely loved the MC in here. She is smart, caring, and strong willed. Relationships wise, I enjoyed the side characters and Derek. Although I wish there was more of the side characters, but hopefully in book two. The whole storyline is definitely designed for multiple books, so just be warned that even if it seems it's getting a bit off track, there's a grander arc in mind.
The history of the planets is great, but I just wish there had been a little more. As well, the world building could have been more descriptive. I wanted to really see it, like I was in her mind.
Overall this was a a great first book in the series that sets up a lot of history and character stories for the next one.
Disclaimer: I received this book from the publisher in exchange for an honest review.
full review: https://utopia-state-of-mind.com/review-horizon-tabitha-lord/
The history of the planets is great, but I just wish there had been a little more. As well, the world building could have been more descriptive. I wanted to really see it, like I was in her mind.
Overall this was a a great first book in the series that sets up a lot of history and character stories for the next one.
Disclaimer: I received this book from the publisher in exchange for an honest review.
full review: https://utopia-state-of-mind.com/review-horizon-tabitha-lord/
bookadventurer's review
1.0
Did not finish. Read to page 60.
For me, there was excessive violence in setting up the plot. I'll put up a full review this week if I can.
For me, there was excessive violence in setting up the plot. I'll put up a full review this week if I can.
lindz's review
5.0
Horizon by Tabitha Lord Caeli is one member that has a few unique skills. There is a commander in trouble with his spaceship. Will he survive? Caeli is part of the few survivors of her world. She is taken from her home and put with someone that being dictator.
Tabitha is a good author and she brings it all to life. What will happen on Horizon. Will the commander and Caeli get together and help save the crew, and find love in each other? She happy to work on the ship in where she loves working.
We go on adventures through inner space and what life is like on Horizon. Will they all survive or not? I enjoyed this book from the first page to the last page. I cannot wait to start the second book that I do have in this series. The author has done wonderfully with it. There are surprises throughout the book and some romance as well.
I believe this book is good for though science fiction but also I would suggest teens read it from the age of 14 and up. The parent has the right to decide. It being rated PG 13 so it would be okay for 13 years old if you the parent this your child or children are mature enough for the book. That is up to you.
Tabitha is a good author and she brings it all to life. What will happen on Horizon. Will the commander and Caeli get together and help save the crew, and find love in each other? She happy to work on the ship in where she loves working.
We go on adventures through inner space and what life is like on Horizon. Will they all survive or not? I enjoyed this book from the first page to the last page. I cannot wait to start the second book that I do have in this series. The author has done wonderfully with it. There are surprises throughout the book and some romance as well.
I believe this book is good for though science fiction but also I would suggest teens read it from the age of 14 and up. The parent has the right to decide. It being rated PG 13 so it would be okay for 13 years old if you the parent this your child or children are mature enough for the book. That is up to you.
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