eroof514's review against another edition
3.0
I received this book in exchange of an honest review. Charlie lives with her Aunt in a secluded cabin in the middle of nowhere. One day men show up her Aunt call monsters and we are introduced to vampires. Sebastian is one of the mentis vampires and is told to kill Charlie. He finds a secret about Charlie that makes her valuable and decides to help her. Cue the cheesy romance and even though he is a monster she can't help but want to stay with him. This book wasn't bad and it would definitely be a great read for teen vampire lovers!
thecozyreaderwbo's review against another edition
1.0
I didn't finish this so it may have gotten better....
alyram4's review against another edition
5.0
So... You're telling me I loved this book, and there's no sign of the sequel anywhere!?
I fucking love vampire books. It's one of my favorite genres! Video games, movies, shows, books... You name it. Randomly found this at Barnes and Noble when my best friend and i were spending the day together. I picked it up on a whim, because vampires of course, and man $8 well spent. The pacing of this is perfect! It just never stops, and the rush of it never feels off either. LOVED Charlie and Sebastian in here. Enemies-to-lovers is another one of my fave tropes, so this was a win-win for me. Opal is the perfect comedy relief character who's still a badass. Also loved how there are different vampire clans with their own morals. It just adds to the story and how these characters have to work together.
Seriously, I loved this! It's definitely worth the read in my opinion. I just hope that the next book gets published soon! Even though the ending was nice, it was clearly a cliffhanger. I NEED ANSWERS. Fingers crossed for the next installment!
I fucking love vampire books. It's one of my favorite genres! Video games, movies, shows, books... You name it. Randomly found this at Barnes and Noble when my best friend and i were spending the day together. I picked it up on a whim, because vampires of course, and man $8 well spent. The pacing of this is perfect! It just never stops, and the rush of it never feels off either. LOVED Charlie and Sebastian in here. Enemies-to-lovers is another one of my fave tropes, so this was a win-win for me. Opal is the perfect comedy relief character who's still a badass. Also loved how there are different vampire clans with their own morals. It just adds to the story and how these characters have to work together.
Seriously, I loved this! It's definitely worth the read in my opinion. I just hope that the next book gets published soon! Even though the ending was nice, it was clearly a cliffhanger. I NEED ANSWERS. Fingers crossed for the next installment!
nosinne's review against another edition
3.0
The story is told by Charlie, the 17-year old protagonist of Risen. She’s raised by her aunt in the middle of nowhere, when, obviously, things go Terribly Wrong.
If I’m totally honest: going by the blurb, this isn’t a book I would’ve picked up myself. It sounds like it’s full of stereotypical tropes: boring life turns exciting; secret war between mysterious creatures; super hot vampire; savior who doesn’t want to be savior. But hey, don’t judge a book by it’s blurb, right?
Let’s start with the negatives
The first couple of chapters were… well, not good. I feared this would turn out to be a book filled to the brim with all the cliches put together. A 17-year old naive girl who doesn’t know anything about the world around her… I’m rolling my eyes here, can you tell? Luckily, the vampires came along pretty soon and so the action could start. Or so I thought. Because for reasons I still can’t fathom, vampire Sebastian decides not to kill Charlie, but to take her someplace safe. And that gives us cringeworthy quotes likes this:
What makes Risen an enjoyable read
The world building is great. It’s hard to make something new out of all existing vampire lure, but Cole Gibsen managed. There are three vampire clans in the world: the super creepy zombie-like Corpus; the cruel and cunning Instagram-models Mentis (basically how most vampires are portrayed on screen) and the hippie vampires who love all living creatures, the Anima. There’s a bit of a backstory about how these three came to be. I really wanted to read more about their connection to the Fae; this was all so interesting and original! Maybe in the sequel, there will be more Fae.
This is just an excerpt, read my entire Risen review at The Sassologist
If I’m totally honest: going by the blurb, this isn’t a book I would’ve picked up myself. It sounds like it’s full of stereotypical tropes: boring life turns exciting; secret war between mysterious creatures; super hot vampire; savior who doesn’t want to be savior. But hey, don’t judge a book by it’s blurb, right?
Let’s start with the negatives
The first couple of chapters were… well, not good. I feared this would turn out to be a book filled to the brim with all the cliches put together. A 17-year old naive girl who doesn’t know anything about the world around her… I’m rolling my eyes here, can you tell? Luckily, the vampires came along pretty soon and so the action could start. Or so I thought. Because for reasons I still can’t fathom, vampire Sebastian decides not to kill Charlie, but to take her someplace safe. And that gives us cringeworthy quotes likes this:
I hate that he’s not the ugliest monster in the world – that my eyes are drawn to the crease above his nose when his brow furrows.
What makes Risen an enjoyable read
The world building is great. It’s hard to make something new out of all existing vampire lure, but Cole Gibsen managed. There are three vampire clans in the world: the super creepy zombie-like Corpus; the cruel and cunning Instagram-models Mentis (basically how most vampires are portrayed on screen) and the hippie vampires who love all living creatures, the Anima. There’s a bit of a backstory about how these three came to be. I really wanted to read more about their connection to the Fae; this was all so interesting and original! Maybe in the sequel, there will be more Fae.
This is just an excerpt, read my entire Risen review at The Sassologist
bookladysreviews's review against another edition
4.0
*I received this book for free, in exchange for an honest review. All thoughts and opinions are my own!*
Risen is a Young Adult Paranormal novel, which I couldn't wait to get my hands on since it sounded right up my alley when I read its synopsis! It follows Charlie, who has lived in a secluded cabin with her aunt for the majority of her life and is ready to finally leave it behind and experience life in the outside world! When she returns home from a walk in the forest with her trusted dog Jazz and talks about his abnormal behavior, things take a turn for the worse and her life takes the opposite direction from the one she planned on eventually following! Vampires destroy the only home she's ever known and take her aunt away, leaving one of their own to dispose of her! But, she's too compelling for him to kill and they end up joining forces in a race against time, in order to discover the truth about where they both came from before it's too late!
I'm not going to get into any more details about the plot itself, since I would definitely recommend going into it without knowing much! I've always been a huge fan of Vampires and haven't read a novel about them in ages so, I was very excited when I had the opportunity to read and review Risen! So of course, I had to jump at the chance and give it a try, since the idea of it alone fascinated me! I went into it without knowing what to expect and I was hoping that it wouldn't end up being just another cliche Vampire Romance novel full of tropes that I've already left behind! But, I was pleasantly surprised! It was original and authentic, which kept me on the edge throughout it!
The story line had me hooked from the beginning since the author didn't waste any time with formalities and jumped straight into the action! From the beginning til the end, its fast pace made the experience of reading it so much more interesting and suspenseful, which I personally prefer as I reader since I'm not the biggest fan of slow paced books! It was also very engaging and I immensely enjoyed how it developed. It introduced me to this entirely new and different world about vampires which I was very grateful for since it was completely different from what I was used to and kind of expected.
I absolutely fell in love with the characters and their chemistry blew my mind! I was rooting for them from the very first chapters and couldn't wait to see how the story would progress! Charlie grew up isolated from the world and her thirst for it becomes obvious before the story even takes its course! She's definitely loyal but also strong willed, ready to face whatever challenges get in her way and experience life to the fullest! She grew up in this bubble of security her aunt kind of forced her into and when the monsters came, she was forced to reevaluate her life and decide on a completely different course! She rose up to the difficult challenge of saving Rachel and discovering the truth about her past, something that brought out her inner courage and determination!
Sebastian was also a force to be reckoned with! I absolutely loved the banter between them and the intensity of it all could be felt through the pages. No, not exaggerating! He basically sacrificed everything in order to help Charlie, even before he realized that she could actually help him remember his past! Their attraction to each other was obvious from the very beginning but, things are never as easy as they seem! Especially considering the fact that, they're very different from each other and there's no guarantee that things will work out!
The only thing I wish would've been different and the only reason I didn't give this one a full five star rating, is its length. I feel like it should've been a bit longer because it would've had the chance to explore the characters' background a bit better and given us readers more information about where they came from! Even though I love it when books leave gaps and questions that will undoubtedly be filled and answered in future novels because they give off a certain suspense that keeps you on edge, Risen took it a bit far in the sense that, the author didn't explain basic terms used in the novel and left a lot of details out of the plot itself. It wasn't a huge thing and it obviously didn't affect how I felt about the book as a whole but, it would've been nice to have definite answers on some pretty basic questions that arose from the initial building of this unique world! I'm naturally a very patient person and I really hope that they'll be answered in the next novel because they concern the foundation of this book.
Overall, I feel like Risen took something familiar and completely transformed it into something unique, which isn't an easy feat to accomplish! The writing was amazing and matched the tone of the novel perfectly, which made it so much more enjoyable to read! It was a suspenseful and full of action YA Paranormal novel that is not like Twilight or Vampire Diaries at all so, ignore the little unfortunate blurb at the top of the synopsis...Because it truly is so much better both in terms of writing and development! It was also very entertaining and I cannot wait for the sequel!
Risen is a Young Adult Paranormal novel, which I couldn't wait to get my hands on since it sounded right up my alley when I read its synopsis! It follows Charlie, who has lived in a secluded cabin with her aunt for the majority of her life and is ready to finally leave it behind and experience life in the outside world! When she returns home from a walk in the forest with her trusted dog Jazz and talks about his abnormal behavior, things take a turn for the worse and her life takes the opposite direction from the one she planned on eventually following! Vampires destroy the only home she's ever known and take her aunt away, leaving one of their own to dispose of her! But, she's too compelling for him to kill and they end up joining forces in a race against time, in order to discover the truth about where they both came from before it's too late!
I'm not going to get into any more details about the plot itself, since I would definitely recommend going into it without knowing much! I've always been a huge fan of Vampires and haven't read a novel about them in ages so, I was very excited when I had the opportunity to read and review Risen! So of course, I had to jump at the chance and give it a try, since the idea of it alone fascinated me! I went into it without knowing what to expect and I was hoping that it wouldn't end up being just another cliche Vampire Romance novel full of tropes that I've already left behind! But, I was pleasantly surprised! It was original and authentic, which kept me on the edge throughout it!
The story line had me hooked from the beginning since the author didn't waste any time with formalities and jumped straight into the action! From the beginning til the end, its fast pace made the experience of reading it so much more interesting and suspenseful, which I personally prefer as I reader since I'm not the biggest fan of slow paced books! It was also very engaging and I immensely enjoyed how it developed. It introduced me to this entirely new and different world about vampires which I was very grateful for since it was completely different from what I was used to and kind of expected.
I absolutely fell in love with the characters and their chemistry blew my mind! I was rooting for them from the very first chapters and couldn't wait to see how the story would progress! Charlie grew up isolated from the world and her thirst for it becomes obvious before the story even takes its course! She's definitely loyal but also strong willed, ready to face whatever challenges get in her way and experience life to the fullest! She grew up in this bubble of security her aunt kind of forced her into and when the monsters came, she was forced to reevaluate her life and decide on a completely different course! She rose up to the difficult challenge of saving Rachel and discovering the truth about her past, something that brought out her inner courage and determination!
Sebastian was also a force to be reckoned with! I absolutely loved the banter between them and the intensity of it all could be felt through the pages. No, not exaggerating! He basically sacrificed everything in order to help Charlie, even before he realized that she could actually help him remember his past! Their attraction to each other was obvious from the very beginning but, things are never as easy as they seem! Especially considering the fact that, they're very different from each other and there's no guarantee that things will work out!
The only thing I wish would've been different and the only reason I didn't give this one a full five star rating, is its length. I feel like it should've been a bit longer because it would've had the chance to explore the characters' background a bit better and given us readers more information about where they came from! Even though I love it when books leave gaps and questions that will undoubtedly be filled and answered in future novels because they give off a certain suspense that keeps you on edge, Risen took it a bit far in the sense that, the author didn't explain basic terms used in the novel and left a lot of details out of the plot itself. It wasn't a huge thing and it obviously didn't affect how I felt about the book as a whole but, it would've been nice to have definite answers on some pretty basic questions that arose from the initial building of this unique world! I'm naturally a very patient person and I really hope that they'll be answered in the next novel because they concern the foundation of this book.
Overall, I feel like Risen took something familiar and completely transformed it into something unique, which isn't an easy feat to accomplish! The writing was amazing and matched the tone of the novel perfectly, which made it so much more enjoyable to read! It was a suspenseful and full of action YA Paranormal novel that is not like Twilight or Vampire Diaries at all so, ignore the little unfortunate blurb at the top of the synopsis...Because it truly is so much better both in terms of writing and development! It was also very entertaining and I cannot wait for the sequel!
breerashel's review against another edition
3.0
*This ARC was provided by the publisher via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review*
There are similarities between Risen and other vampire novels I have read but this book still managed have a few differences to set itself apart from the others. There were still flaws with this book but I feel that they were overshadowed by some of the good things about this story.
I didn't care for the insta-love but was able to look past it because it wasn't as in your face as is the case with some books. The main characters are not professing their love for each other throughout the story. It was more like them vowing to protect and save each other because they caught feelings.
The plot was simple but direct in its approach. It was not a complex story but I did enjoy that Charlie was not a part of some prophecy which tends to be the case lately. The other characters have their own theories about her background but none of them know anything for sure about her. This made her a mystery that was both frustrating and intriguing. I wanted to know more about her so I waited for the author to hand out clues about her past so that I could try to piece it together.
I also enjoyed the world building within the vampire world. This book is set in modern day with the majority of humans having no idea that vampires exist. I thought that the different factions of vampires was a nice touch to the story which provided the reader with information on the division between them all and why their is a war going on between them. and how they had different beliefs as to what should be done with humans and vampires alike. I found the characters interesting but I'm not sure if I like the way that things are unfolding with Charlies family. I would definitely read the next book in the series just so i can know what is going to happen with Charlie and her companions.
https://fictionedtodeath.blogspot.com/2018/03/risen-blood-eternal-1-by-cole-gibsen.html
There are similarities between Risen and other vampire novels I have read but this book still managed have a few differences to set itself apart from the others. There were still flaws with this book but I feel that they were overshadowed by some of the good things about this story.
I didn't care for the insta-love but was able to look past it because it wasn't as in your face as is the case with some books. The main characters are not professing their love for each other throughout the story. It was more like them vowing to protect and save each other because they caught feelings.
The plot was simple but direct in its approach. It was not a complex story but I did enjoy that Charlie was not a part of some prophecy which tends to be the case lately. The other characters have their own theories about her background but none of them know anything for sure about her. This made her a mystery that was both frustrating and intriguing. I wanted to know more about her so I waited for the author to hand out clues about her past so that I could try to piece it together.
I also enjoyed the world building within the vampire world. This book is set in modern day with the majority of humans having no idea that vampires exist. I thought that the different factions of vampires was a nice touch to the story which provided the reader with information on the division between them all and why their is a war going on between them. and how they had different beliefs as to what should be done with humans and vampires alike. I found the characters interesting but I'm not sure if I like the way that things are unfolding with Charlies family. I would definitely read the next book in the series just so i can know what is going to happen with Charlie and her companions.
https://fictionedtodeath.blogspot.com/2018/03/risen-blood-eternal-1-by-cole-gibsen.html
tien's review against another edition
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.0
milly_2022's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
funny
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0