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Nette
In a world where gender was distinguished by the eye color, blue for female and brown for male, she had the misfortune of being born as brown eyed girl. Being ugly and a freak to everyone was the least of her troubles. Immortal and destined to be a queen, her mere existence was a threat to the king. After everyone she loved was brutally murdered, she had no choice but to pursue the path she was destined. In a world that made it obvious there was no place in it for her, immortal Nette will have to make room even if it means killing them all.
This book is suitable for any age or gender, because it's a story about a girl that has been stigmatized in a society just because she was different. To make it more absurd, the first reason was the color of her eyes. Her immortality just added to the fire!
Be it the color of the skin or worshiping a different God;I see hatred in our present society as equally absurd. I wanted to show how different people are treated, how our noble deeds can be overpowered by hate, and I spiced it up with a bit of romance.
Hopefully, readers will enjoy reading as much as I did writing it.
This book is suitable for any age or gender, because it's a story about a girl that has been stigmatized in a society just because she was different. To make it more absurd, the first reason was the color of her eyes. Her immortality just added to the fire!
Be it the color of the skin or worshiping a different God;I see hatred in our present society as equally absurd. I wanted to show how different people are treated, how our noble deeds can be overpowered by hate, and I spiced it up with a bit of romance.
Hopefully, readers will enjoy reading as much as I did writing it.
162 pages, Paperback
First published March 12, 2012
200 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 19 of 19 reviews
April 17, 2012
This is a book about a girl who was never given the chance to be happy. What little happiness she does find is hard-earned and well deserved. I've always liked this type of storyline. Life is hard and I like it when characters work for their word count. It makes me root for them all the harder, and you defiantly sympathise with Nette in this book. She is good natured, strong willed, and likeable. Though from a very different genre, she reminded me a lot of Scarlett O'Hara in her ability to face disappointment head on, straighten her back, and get on with the difficult task of getting on-to hell with society's (or the nobility's) opinion. I found myself really hoping that the next chapter would bring a lasting happiness, and this kept the pages turning.
It is very easy to fall into pace with Nette, since the story is told in the first person from her point of view. You are never left wondering what she is thinking, as you are in her head every step of the way. The story starts when she is very young. Too young, in fact, to understand what is happening around her. The reader, like Nette, must face the unknown assailants and figure it out. It then follows her amazing and prophecied life.
The story is fast paced and engaging, and there is a colourful cast of supporting charters. I particularly loved Raul. The only thing that kept it from being a 5 stars (other than that I am very chincy with my 5 stars) is that it felt a little rushed at times-I would have liked a little more explanation of the whos, hows and whys-and Rayne has a habit of dropping particles that takes some getting used to. This should in no way discourage readers. It is a fun and imaginative book that is well worth the read. I'll definitely be up for reading another of Rayne's books in the future.
It is very easy to fall into pace with Nette, since the story is told in the first person from her point of view. You are never left wondering what she is thinking, as you are in her head every step of the way. The story starts when she is very young. Too young, in fact, to understand what is happening around her. The reader, like Nette, must face the unknown assailants and figure it out. It then follows her amazing and prophecied life.
The story is fast paced and engaging, and there is a colourful cast of supporting charters. I particularly loved Raul. The only thing that kept it from being a 5 stars (other than that I am very chincy with my 5 stars) is that it felt a little rushed at times-I would have liked a little more explanation of the whos, hows and whys-and Rayne has a habit of dropping particles that takes some getting used to. This should in no way discourage readers. It is a fun and imaginative book that is well worth the read. I'll definitely be up for reading another of Rayne's books in the future.
May 8, 2012
In a world around 3010, where men and women are differentiated by their eye colour - brown eyes for men and blue eyes for women. But, Nette is a girl, who was born with brown eyes and so, her parents hide her from the society fearing how they would treat their baby. When Nette was 5 years old, she is drowned in a river and they never found out what happened to her. But, Nette was saved by some light bubbles floating in the air. Soon, she learns that she is an immortal who cannot die, and she do not need to eat or drink.
After 5 years of surviving in a bubble, one day, Nette is left in front of the villagers by the bubble. Her grand father identifies her and tells her that she is part of a prophecy, where she kills the cruel king who killed her parents after she drowned. Nette learns to speak and write, along with military training. Many of them do not accept her for being different and want to betray her. Will she survive everything and still kill the King? Will she be accepted by the society of selfish people, for whom she is willing to give her own life?
After some bad start of the novel, I thought this book is not going to be good. But, this one really surprised me by bringing out the true qualities of the people. I just hated the fact that how far people will go for the power and money, due to their selfishness. Life is so unfair..I.get it. But, Nette, who does everything for her people's welfare and happiness, only gets betrayal and pain from them, in return. I loved Nette's will and courage, as much as I loved her patience and innocence.
There is some romance in the novel, that I liked. The only one person, who trusted and helped her from the start is Prince Raul. Even there, Nette didn't receive a moment's happiness, due to Raul's evil mother. If someone in the novel deserves some peace and happiness in their life, it would most definitely be Nette. I am really glad, that Raul is the real love for her.
I definitely want to give this book 5 stars..yeah, it was that good. But, I can't, just because of the starting chapters.
Highly recommended for fantasy lovers!
After 5 years of surviving in a bubble, one day, Nette is left in front of the villagers by the bubble. Her grand father identifies her and tells her that she is part of a prophecy, where she kills the cruel king who killed her parents after she drowned. Nette learns to speak and write, along with military training. Many of them do not accept her for being different and want to betray her. Will she survive everything and still kill the King? Will she be accepted by the society of selfish people, for whom she is willing to give her own life?
After some bad start of the novel, I thought this book is not going to be good. But, this one really surprised me by bringing out the true qualities of the people. I just hated the fact that how far people will go for the power and money, due to their selfishness. Life is so unfair..I.get it. But, Nette, who does everything for her people's welfare and happiness, only gets betrayal and pain from them, in return. I loved Nette's will and courage, as much as I loved her patience and innocence.
There is some romance in the novel, that I liked. The only one person, who trusted and helped her from the start is Prince Raul. Even there, Nette didn't receive a moment's happiness, due to Raul's evil mother. If someone in the novel deserves some peace and happiness in their life, it would most definitely be Nette. I am really glad, that Raul is the real love for her.
I definitely want to give this book 5 stars..yeah, it was that good. But, I can't, just because of the starting chapters.
Highly recommended for fantasy lovers!
June 18, 2012
It took me a little longer to start this book than I would have liked but once I did I couldnt put it down! I read the entire book in one evening.
It isn't exactly what I was expecting from the description. Honestly it sounded a bit more dystopian to me. To me it is more of a fantasy novel. I dont normally enjoy fantasy but as I said already I really enjoyed this book and could not put it down.
I found Nette both interesting and relateble. It was nice to see a strong female lead that wasn't too perfect or too dysfunctional to root for. There was some romance but not so much that that becomes the main point of the book.
Honestly I dont knowwhat else to say other than go read it! Trust me you will enjoy it.
It isn't exactly what I was expecting from the description. Honestly it sounded a bit more dystopian to me. To me it is more of a fantasy novel. I dont normally enjoy fantasy but as I said already I really enjoyed this book and could not put it down.
I found Nette both interesting and relateble. It was nice to see a strong female lead that wasn't too perfect or too dysfunctional to root for. There was some romance but not so much that that becomes the main point of the book.
Honestly I dont knowwhat else to say other than go read it! Trust me you will enjoy it.
May 9, 2012
I would like to thank the author Barbara Rayne for sending me a copy of Nette to read and review.
Nette was born with brown eyes in a world where all males are born with brown eyes and all females with blue eyes. Having brown eyes Nette is treated as if she has the plague. No one wants to be her friend. She has no one her family was murdered. She is immortal and destined to be the Queen.
Nette is trained to be a soldier along with all the males. Nette can not be killed. Nette's trainer does not believe that she is the one that was sent to save them all. So he sets out to prove that she is not the one. When he cannot prove this and because of his actions and attitude their master removes him from being her trainer.
Nette is a very strong girl and can fight better than any of her male opponents. Everyone is afraid of Nette because of the power she has. No one wants her to be the Queen because she is different, she is not like them. They think she is a freak. She doesn't mind chopping off a few heads to make the people understand where she is coming from. That she will be Queen no matter what they believe or want. When she does take the throne she tries her best to help the people by making the taxes fairer for everyone not just the rich.
Nette meets a king, Raul whom she likes very much. At first she is not sure about her feelings for Raul. Nette not ever having anyone to love her besides her family is not sure if she can trust him or not. But she does learn to trust him and falls completely in love with him. Raul's mother and sisters do not approve of the king, a person of royalty loving someone like Nette. So they try to stop Raul from being with Nette and they almost succeed. But Nette being the person she is fights for Raul and wins another victory.
I liked Nette well as I said earlier she is a very strong heroine that can fight as well as any of her male opponents. She sets out to find where she belongs in the world and she doesn't let anyone or thing stand in her way. I like her because she didn't mind chopping off a few heads to do it. But at the same time she is very good to the ones that is good to her and shows her the respect that they would show anyone else.
Nette was born with brown eyes in a world where all males are born with brown eyes and all females with blue eyes. Having brown eyes Nette is treated as if she has the plague. No one wants to be her friend. She has no one her family was murdered. She is immortal and destined to be the Queen.
Nette is trained to be a soldier along with all the males. Nette can not be killed. Nette's trainer does not believe that she is the one that was sent to save them all. So he sets out to prove that she is not the one. When he cannot prove this and because of his actions and attitude their master removes him from being her trainer.
Nette is a very strong girl and can fight better than any of her male opponents. Everyone is afraid of Nette because of the power she has. No one wants her to be the Queen because she is different, she is not like them. They think she is a freak. She doesn't mind chopping off a few heads to make the people understand where she is coming from. That she will be Queen no matter what they believe or want. When she does take the throne she tries her best to help the people by making the taxes fairer for everyone not just the rich.
Nette meets a king, Raul whom she likes very much. At first she is not sure about her feelings for Raul. Nette not ever having anyone to love her besides her family is not sure if she can trust him or not. But she does learn to trust him and falls completely in love with him. Raul's mother and sisters do not approve of the king, a person of royalty loving someone like Nette. So they try to stop Raul from being with Nette and they almost succeed. But Nette being the person she is fights for Raul and wins another victory.
I liked Nette well as I said earlier she is a very strong heroine that can fight as well as any of her male opponents. She sets out to find where she belongs in the world and she doesn't let anyone or thing stand in her way. I like her because she didn't mind chopping off a few heads to do it. But at the same time she is very good to the ones that is good to her and shows her the respect that they would show anyone else.
February 17, 2017
Nette was born with brown eyes in a society where females have blue eyes and males have brown eyes. Scared about how the society would react, her parents keep her hidden till one day Nette is involved in a drowning incident. Though she is thought to be dead, Nette actually survives in a bubble till she lands in a village where her grandfather identifies her. She learns to speak & write and finds out that the king had murdered her parents. Immortal Nette, also finds out that she has been prophesized to be the queen. Soon she starts training in combat in order to survive and fulfill her destiny.
Nette… Nette… Nette… That’s all I can think. She is a really strong character that in a way overshadowed everyone else. The amount or hurt and betrayal that she faced throughout the novel is really appalling, yet she emerges as an even stronger character. She doesn’t complain or moan about how unfair her life is. She takes on disappointments head first and then moves on. And since the story is narrated by Nette herself, I loved knowing what she was thinking at any point. I loved this girl for being so strong. Never waiting to be rescued or pitying herself – Nette is self-sufficient and no nonsense sort of girl. I could perhaps go on for pages writing about her. She is really one of the toughest girls I have ever read about and I love Barbara for creating her.
Once you get past the first few chapters, this book really starts to grow on you. The characters are all very strong in their respective roles. Besides Nette, I also liked Raul – the prince charming of this story. The way he supports Nette right from the word go is amazing. There’s a lot of action, drama, betrayal and even some romance. The writing style of the author can be called ‘different’ in the sense that she had the pace set very high right from the beginning. And I do not know if it’s only me, but I also found a lot of questions left unanswered with regards to a lot of other characters in the book. They are nothing major that could influence the overall outcome of the plot and so they can be overlooked I guess.
Overall this was a great experience and would surely pick up any book by this author!
Nette… Nette… Nette… That’s all I can think. She is a really strong character that in a way overshadowed everyone else. The amount or hurt and betrayal that she faced throughout the novel is really appalling, yet she emerges as an even stronger character. She doesn’t complain or moan about how unfair her life is. She takes on disappointments head first and then moves on. And since the story is narrated by Nette herself, I loved knowing what she was thinking at any point. I loved this girl for being so strong. Never waiting to be rescued or pitying herself – Nette is self-sufficient and no nonsense sort of girl. I could perhaps go on for pages writing about her. She is really one of the toughest girls I have ever read about and I love Barbara for creating her.
Once you get past the first few chapters, this book really starts to grow on you. The characters are all very strong in their respective roles. Besides Nette, I also liked Raul – the prince charming of this story. The way he supports Nette right from the word go is amazing. There’s a lot of action, drama, betrayal and even some romance. The writing style of the author can be called ‘different’ in the sense that she had the pace set very high right from the beginning. And I do not know if it’s only me, but I also found a lot of questions left unanswered with regards to a lot of other characters in the book. They are nothing major that could influence the overall outcome of the plot and so they can be overlooked I guess.
Overall this was a great experience and would surely pick up any book by this author!
April 23, 2012
This was a very interesting book to read. The first few pages I really had trouble reading because it was just not making very much sense to me whatsoever. But I kept going… I hate starting a book and not finishing it… so I kept reading and once I got past the beginning I found that I actually really enjoyed the book.
Nette is a VERY strong female character and she is able to overcome so much adversity right from the very beginning. But even though she was forced to endure so much simply because she was different, she was still able to hold on to her compassion and she always WANTED to see the good in people even though she ahd been proven over and over again that she had no reason to believe there was good to be found. The only thing that really confused me about this book is that I couldn’t pin down when exactly it was suppose to take place, there were some references that made me think it was way into the future… but then there were other things that made me think way back in the past, so it made it a little harder for me to connect to the book in that sense.
But overall I thought it was a very well written book, if a little rushed because there is so much the writer wanted to tell and the book isn’t very long, but definitely a good book if you are looking to enjoy a book that will only take a day at the most to read.
Nette is a VERY strong female character and she is able to overcome so much adversity right from the very beginning. But even though she was forced to endure so much simply because she was different, she was still able to hold on to her compassion and she always WANTED to see the good in people even though she ahd been proven over and over again that she had no reason to believe there was good to be found. The only thing that really confused me about this book is that I couldn’t pin down when exactly it was suppose to take place, there were some references that made me think it was way into the future… but then there were other things that made me think way back in the past, so it made it a little harder for me to connect to the book in that sense.
But overall I thought it was a very well written book, if a little rushed because there is so much the writer wanted to tell and the book isn’t very long, but definitely a good book if you are looking to enjoy a book that will only take a day at the most to read.
June 6, 2012
Review, author interview and some extra info on my blog!
http://disincentive-reviews.blogspot....
Nette is a girl with brown eyes. It’s not a big deal in our world, but what about the world where gender is defined by eye color – blue for girls and brown for boys?
She lives alone in a bubble, doesn’t eat or drink. Her only friend is a red light… Nette certainly isn’t ordinary.
It was a little hard to get used to the author’s writing style. It wasn’t better or worse than what usually is in YA books, it was just very simple. And I liked it to be honest! It made Nette really fast to read.
What I loved is a lot of action! When one thing in the plot was explained and ended, another thing happened! Not even a part of it was boring.
This is also a story about humanity and longing for power. It annoyed me a lot – Nette was so good to everyone, saved so many people’s lives and almost everyone betrayed her. I felt a lot of sympathy to this girl. Even though she was immortal there’s one thing that can hurt everyone, always – love.
I loved this part of the plot. The love story was full of twists and it was a nice change to instant-love romances.
The only thing I’d like to add is that it would be a perfect movie of TV show!
http://disincentive-reviews.blogspot....
Nette is a girl with brown eyes. It’s not a big deal in our world, but what about the world where gender is defined by eye color – blue for girls and brown for boys?
She lives alone in a bubble, doesn’t eat or drink. Her only friend is a red light… Nette certainly isn’t ordinary.
It was a little hard to get used to the author’s writing style. It wasn’t better or worse than what usually is in YA books, it was just very simple. And I liked it to be honest! It made Nette really fast to read.
What I loved is a lot of action! When one thing in the plot was explained and ended, another thing happened! Not even a part of it was boring.
This is also a story about humanity and longing for power. It annoyed me a lot – Nette was so good to everyone, saved so many people’s lives and almost everyone betrayed her. I felt a lot of sympathy to this girl. Even though she was immortal there’s one thing that can hurt everyone, always – love.
I loved this part of the plot. The love story was full of twists and it was a nice change to instant-love romances.
The only thing I’d like to add is that it would be a perfect movie of TV show!
May 20, 2012
I like this book very much. the story is very unique and intriguing. I like the concept of the different eye colors that people have in order to differentiate them. Although this is a very innovative concept, the themes of this book is very universal. It speaks of equality and freedom in all its forms. I can also be a beautiful allegory of class, race and gender distinctions. As long as there are divisions between people, there would always be struggle, which is very Marxian somehow. Reading this book is such a joy because I discovered a lot of new concepts. The author is definitely very creative in presenting old themes in such easily-understandable and remarkable ways. The concept of immortality here is almost like Anne Rice's vampires and Ramses of the book The Mummy, also by Anne Rice. i have always loved reading unique and strange concepts of immortality. The novel is well-written, action-packed and I read it quickly because the flow of the story is easy to follow and to absorb. I could have read this in one sitting but then I need to attend to some stuff. Be sure to check this out. The first pages will definitely draw you to the story and I think you will find this book a good way to spend some free time.
Definitely a must-read. I expect that more of this wonderful concepts and themes will come from the author soon. I will always be on the lookout.
Definitely a must-read. I expect that more of this wonderful concepts and themes will come from the author soon. I will always be on the lookout.
June 13, 2012
In a society where gender is easy to tell by eye color, males have brown eyes and females have blue eyes, what would happen if a female was born with brown eyes?
The prophecy states the girl born with brown eyes will kill the king and become the Queen. If everyone is so happy to be free, why do they think Nette is the devil?
From the age of 5, Nette has known pain, in numerous ways, including the death of her parents. Luckily she is found by her grandfather, and she learned to become a fearless warrior. She would learn to fight to the death, without any regret for those who had caused harm, whether to herself or to others. As Queen, she vowed she would help the people in many ways. But there were those who did not want her to rule and would try to dethrone her, spreading rumors and lies, causing mistrust and seeking revenge.
Very well written with a great cast of characters, from those that love and want to protect Nette to the most evil and deceitful . Keeps you reading to see what would happen next and what will become of Nette, the girl born with brown eyes. A few spelling errors that could easily be corrected, but overall a very good read.
The prophecy states the girl born with brown eyes will kill the king and become the Queen. If everyone is so happy to be free, why do they think Nette is the devil?
From the age of 5, Nette has known pain, in numerous ways, including the death of her parents. Luckily she is found by her grandfather, and she learned to become a fearless warrior. She would learn to fight to the death, without any regret for those who had caused harm, whether to herself or to others. As Queen, she vowed she would help the people in many ways. But there were those who did not want her to rule and would try to dethrone her, spreading rumors and lies, causing mistrust and seeking revenge.
Very well written with a great cast of characters, from those that love and want to protect Nette to the most evil and deceitful . Keeps you reading to see what would happen next and what will become of Nette, the girl born with brown eyes. A few spelling errors that could easily be corrected, but overall a very good read.
December 11, 2012
Even though Nette was such a short read, I absolutely loved it.
The characters, wow! Nette is such a great character. She’s kind, different (or you can also say unique) and can kick-ass like no other! The love interest, Raul, was great too. He was super sweet, said all the right things and he took responsibility. The secondary characters were awesome too.
The plot is amazing. It’s a short read, but the plot has such a big bang to it that I just adore it. The hate the people had for Nette was unbearable. I wanted Nette to be loved and not hated by the town. And even though Nette did a lot of great things for the town, the people couldn’t forget that she was different then them. When Nette turned into this kick-ass, fighting machine I applaud her. It was a bit gruesome to read, she was brutal to them, but they had it coming. The romance is super sweet and I loved every minute of it.
I got a e-copy of this book for review, but next month I’m going to get my own paperback copy. Nette is a must read!
The characters, wow! Nette is such a great character. She’s kind, different (or you can also say unique) and can kick-ass like no other! The love interest, Raul, was great too. He was super sweet, said all the right things and he took responsibility. The secondary characters were awesome too.
The plot is amazing. It’s a short read, but the plot has such a big bang to it that I just adore it. The hate the people had for Nette was unbearable. I wanted Nette to be loved and not hated by the town. And even though Nette did a lot of great things for the town, the people couldn’t forget that she was different then them. When Nette turned into this kick-ass, fighting machine I applaud her. It was a bit gruesome to read, she was brutal to them, but they had it coming. The romance is super sweet and I loved every minute of it.
I got a e-copy of this book for review, but next month I’m going to get my own paperback copy. Nette is a must read!
May 3, 2012
Oh my! What a story! Loved It, Loved It, Loved It!!!!!
From the very beginning it drew one in. So sad to see anyone so lonely and go threw so much at a young age. So many twist and turns I was not expecting. Especially from the red light!! I loved Nette and Raul! Ms. Rayne did a wonderful job with her character as well as with Raul’s. The plot was so different and wonderful and the story took me from sadness to happiness. Quick read, took me about 4 hours, I have to say some of the best hours of reading I have done in a while. I can’t wait to get my hands on one of her other stories. Thank you so much Ms. Rayne!
From the very beginning it drew one in. So sad to see anyone so lonely and go threw so much at a young age. So many twist and turns I was not expecting. Especially from the red light!! I loved Nette and Raul! Ms. Rayne did a wonderful job with her character as well as with Raul’s. The plot was so different and wonderful and the story took me from sadness to happiness. Quick read, took me about 4 hours, I have to say some of the best hours of reading I have done in a while. I can’t wait to get my hands on one of her other stories. Thank you so much Ms. Rayne!
May 18, 2012
This is a really cute story with a sad, but true lesson. Nette is a girl born with brown eyes, while in her world only boys are born with brown eyes. Her family tries to hide her at first, but when she is found out, the King has her family killed. She has many struggles in her life. She is destined to great things for her society, and they want nothing to do with her. She is a savior to many, yet they want her killed because she is different. Will she ever be loved? Can she fulfill her destiny?
January 2, 2013
Nette by Barbara Rayne
Page Count: 158
Release Date: 21 March 2012
Publisher: CreateSpace (self-published)
Source: Complimentary copy provided by author in exchange for an honest and unbiased review (thank you!)
Nette, whose biological makeup defies every rule of the norm, directly experienced the harshness of law and society since the day she was born. Her only crime is existing.
It isn't just her brown eyes that set her apart, however. She was born with great power, as a prophet stated, the power of immortality, whose purpose is to overrule the unjust King Garlid. Because of her differences, no one will accept her. And this, we readers learn, takes a turn for the worst on not only her self-esteem, but also on her morality. Innocent, adventurous Nette goes through hell and high water and soon transforms into a merciless, indestructible Queen.
The journey Nette goes on in order to fulfill her prophecy takes place in an ambitious fantastical world; the adventure is the perfect dangerous blend of suspense, betrayal, and companionship. I loved the plot Rayne creates, but the writing, not so much. The simple, first-person style reads almost in a formal fashion, except it uses contemporary diction. I wouldn't have minded the informal language, considering Nette takes place in the future, but I would have liked the style to match. There is absolutely no showing; the language is all telling—from Nette's irritatingly unworldly and unskilled point of view, at that. This stylistic flaw, along with the countless grammatical mistakes and typographical errors, made Nette a difficult read; I really had to work to comprehend it.
I do like the characters Rayne creates. King Raul, the love interest, in particular, was a pleasant character, though he isn't particularly deep. I wish the author would have elaborated upon the characters better. The good characters are likable and the bad characters dislikable, but that's about as far as characterization goes. Nothing from Nette will be haunting me tomorrow.
The theme of societal brutality and the effect it has on human compassion is especially strong, but again, I wish it had been analyzed more thoughtfully. The overall structure and flow of this book are kind of a mess, but I can tell it has its high points. Albeit, they're rather cloaked by the thick, awkward dialogue and impenetrable narration, but I promise they're there. With a bit of cleaning up, Nette might have potential to be a hit among dystopian thriller aficionados.
Pros: Interesting dystopian premise // Nice love story // Well-depicted characters; protagonists are perfectly lovable while antagonists are detestable // Doesn't lack action and gore // Feelings of frustration and injustice are portrayed well
Cons: Narration is off-key: passive and shows rather than tells // Tone is unfeeling and unmoving // Needs an editor badly // Characters are not explored deeply; I felt detached from them // Dialogue too stilted and actions too fantastical; I couldn't imagine any of this playing out in front of me
Love: "You lost your memory, so you don't know I can kill you with a single move, throw you on the floor..."
"I choose the second option."
Verdict: I didn't hate Nette, but I certainly didn't enjoy reading it either. The dystopian society Rayne immerses readers in is fascinating, and the characterization accurate, but stylistically, this one is terribly unfulfilling. There were aspects I really liked, such as the naturally flowing plot, but can't say I recommend it.
5 hearts: Doesn't particularly light any of my fires; I feel indifferent about this book.
Page Count: 158
Release Date: 21 March 2012
Publisher: CreateSpace (self-published)
Source: Complimentary copy provided by author in exchange for an honest and unbiased review (thank you!)
Nette, whose biological makeup defies every rule of the norm, directly experienced the harshness of law and society since the day she was born. Her only crime is existing.
It isn't just her brown eyes that set her apart, however. She was born with great power, as a prophet stated, the power of immortality, whose purpose is to overrule the unjust King Garlid. Because of her differences, no one will accept her. And this, we readers learn, takes a turn for the worst on not only her self-esteem, but also on her morality. Innocent, adventurous Nette goes through hell and high water and soon transforms into a merciless, indestructible Queen.
The journey Nette goes on in order to fulfill her prophecy takes place in an ambitious fantastical world; the adventure is the perfect dangerous blend of suspense, betrayal, and companionship. I loved the plot Rayne creates, but the writing, not so much. The simple, first-person style reads almost in a formal fashion, except it uses contemporary diction. I wouldn't have minded the informal language, considering Nette takes place in the future, but I would have liked the style to match. There is absolutely no showing; the language is all telling—from Nette's irritatingly unworldly and unskilled point of view, at that. This stylistic flaw, along with the countless grammatical mistakes and typographical errors, made Nette a difficult read; I really had to work to comprehend it.
I do like the characters Rayne creates. King Raul, the love interest, in particular, was a pleasant character, though he isn't particularly deep. I wish the author would have elaborated upon the characters better. The good characters are likable and the bad characters dislikable, but that's about as far as characterization goes. Nothing from Nette will be haunting me tomorrow.
The theme of societal brutality and the effect it has on human compassion is especially strong, but again, I wish it had been analyzed more thoughtfully. The overall structure and flow of this book are kind of a mess, but I can tell it has its high points. Albeit, they're rather cloaked by the thick, awkward dialogue and impenetrable narration, but I promise they're there. With a bit of cleaning up, Nette might have potential to be a hit among dystopian thriller aficionados.
Pros: Interesting dystopian premise // Nice love story // Well-depicted characters; protagonists are perfectly lovable while antagonists are detestable // Doesn't lack action and gore // Feelings of frustration and injustice are portrayed well
Cons: Narration is off-key: passive and shows rather than tells // Tone is unfeeling and unmoving // Needs an editor badly // Characters are not explored deeply; I felt detached from them // Dialogue too stilted and actions too fantastical; I couldn't imagine any of this playing out in front of me
Love: "You lost your memory, so you don't know I can kill you with a single move, throw you on the floor..."
"I choose the second option."
Verdict: I didn't hate Nette, but I certainly didn't enjoy reading it either. The dystopian society Rayne immerses readers in is fascinating, and the characterization accurate, but stylistically, this one is terribly unfulfilling. There were aspects I really liked, such as the naturally flowing plot, but can't say I recommend it.
5 hearts: Doesn't particularly light any of my fires; I feel indifferent about this book.
January 6, 2013
We all at some point or other think life is unfair, well… wait till you read Nette's story. Barbara Raynes writing style is gripping and to the point; it's a book where more emphasis is given to the emotions then the actual words. I was barely 2-3 pages into the story and was already enjoying the story with protagonist (as it's written in first person).
Books title is 'Nette', upon reading it (the title), I did a quick search on my dictionary and to my surprise it came up with nothing... Puzzled I opened the book and started my reading… Later in the story I found out that 'Nette' is our stories protagonist. In a world (or century) where every man has brown eyes and every girl is born with blue eyes, our Nette is a freak, because she’s got brown eyes, but that's least of her worries. Because Nette is the only hope of her peoples; she is the only one who can rescue her peoples from the clutches of cruel king. Given the situation, everyone should have supported Nette, to bring down king but, there are peoples who think surrendering Nette will relieve them from the wrath of the king.
Thus Nette is getting betrayed by her own peoples… very peoples for whom she is fighting against the king… will she be able to achieve the target of defeating the king and fulfilling her destiny, and became The Queen Nette.
This book crosses the boundaries of age and gender. It’s a book for anyone looking for a good read. This book is a marking stone, which will remind its readers that, being different in a society is very difficult. Story has a good message to deliver, that hate for someone just because he/she is different is absurd (but at the same time when Nette is on, all out war against king she killing people who oppose her! It is downright contradictory to the core idea of the story..)
This was definitely a good read. Character building was great and story had its own pace which made it a quick read. Book lacked on poor dialogue delivery and unnecessary gore. This book scores 3 out of 5 for being Creative, fast paced and nice character building.
Books title is 'Nette', upon reading it (the title), I did a quick search on my dictionary and to my surprise it came up with nothing... Puzzled I opened the book and started my reading… Later in the story I found out that 'Nette' is our stories protagonist. In a world (or century) where every man has brown eyes and every girl is born with blue eyes, our Nette is a freak, because she’s got brown eyes, but that's least of her worries. Because Nette is the only hope of her peoples; she is the only one who can rescue her peoples from the clutches of cruel king. Given the situation, everyone should have supported Nette, to bring down king but, there are peoples who think surrendering Nette will relieve them from the wrath of the king.
Thus Nette is getting betrayed by her own peoples… very peoples for whom she is fighting against the king… will she be able to achieve the target of defeating the king and fulfilling her destiny, and became The Queen Nette.
This book crosses the boundaries of age and gender. It’s a book for anyone looking for a good read. This book is a marking stone, which will remind its readers that, being different in a society is very difficult. Story has a good message to deliver, that hate for someone just because he/she is different is absurd (but at the same time when Nette is on, all out war against king she killing people who oppose her! It is downright contradictory to the core idea of the story..)
This was definitely a good read. Character building was great and story had its own pace which made it a quick read. Book lacked on poor dialogue delivery and unnecessary gore. This book scores 3 out of 5 for being Creative, fast paced and nice character building.
January 4, 2015
First, let me say that "Nette" was a wonderfully imaginative story. It really kills me to not give this book a glowing review because you can tell the author had a ton of passion while writing it. I did find myself wanting to finish to find out what happened, even though i knew what would. The author, Barbara rayne, had a certain message she wanted to get through to people about how hate is bad. Ok. I agree with that. But then why is it fine for Nette to hate and brutally kill those who wronged her? If Rayne wants to teach love and forgiveness it could have been done a bit more tactfully, and with less gore. The gore also makes me tend to think this book is NOT for all ages.
Another thing that bothered me is that it was never explained why Nette had brown eyes or why she was chosen for all of those things. The writing/editing was so bad that I thought they were purposefully making Nette's speech staccato. This was until I realized all of the characters had errors in their speech. It was extremely distracting to me. Also, I was bothered by a couple of the lines in the story. One was when Raul tells his mother to stop speaking to him as if he is "retarded". The story is set 100 years in the future and people still talk like that?
I am giving this book 2 stars because it was lacking in too many areas in my opinion. The story itself saved it from being a total disaster. I know this sounds harsh, but I have to be honest!
Another thing that bothered me is that it was never explained why Nette had brown eyes or why she was chosen for all of those things. The writing/editing was so bad that I thought they were purposefully making Nette's speech staccato. This was until I realized all of the characters had errors in their speech. It was extremely distracting to me. Also, I was bothered by a couple of the lines in the story. One was when Raul tells his mother to stop speaking to him as if he is "retarded". The story is set 100 years in the future and people still talk like that?
I am giving this book 2 stars because it was lacking in too many areas in my opinion. The story itself saved it from being a total disaster. I know this sounds harsh, but I have to be honest!
December 31, 2012
In the years that went by, our spending time together was the purpose of my life, the only reason to get out after waking up.
A brown-eyed girl born in a society where eye color determined gender, Nette was as used to being called a freak as she could be. Destined to be Queen, Nette watches as those she loves are taken from her until she is ready to follow her path.
How Nette reacts, and overcomes, her troubles is a testament to her character. This poor, discriminated-against girl who just wants to be loved is made into a strong, determined young women who sets off on the path laid in front of her. While using her "flaw" to her advantage, Nette learns to fight with the other soldiers, something that otherwise wouldn't have happened in her time.
The unique world that Nette lives in can get bogged down by grammatical errors at points, but if the reader, as Nette, carries on, the story unfolds with lots of adventure, a touch of romance, and a strong lead character. Nette has a strong message of anti-hate with the realization that sometimes there has to be war before there can be peace.
A brown-eyed girl born in a society where eye color determined gender, Nette was as used to being called a freak as she could be. Destined to be Queen, Nette watches as those she loves are taken from her until she is ready to follow her path.
How Nette reacts, and overcomes, her troubles is a testament to her character. This poor, discriminated-against girl who just wants to be loved is made into a strong, determined young women who sets off on the path laid in front of her. While using her "flaw" to her advantage, Nette learns to fight with the other soldiers, something that otherwise wouldn't have happened in her time.
The unique world that Nette lives in can get bogged down by grammatical errors at points, but if the reader, as Nette, carries on, the story unfolds with lots of adventure, a touch of romance, and a strong lead character. Nette has a strong message of anti-hate with the realization that sometimes there has to be war before there can be peace.
July 27, 2013
(taken from The Raven's Quill)
Nette by Barbara Rayne is a fantasy novel based on a very interesting premise. Boys are born with brown eyes, and girls are born with blue. This is how the sexes always fall and have always fallen, until the birth of a brown-eyed girl forever alters the course of the world. Aside from having a genetic anomaly, the girl, named Nette, is the subject of a grand prophecy and the wielder of incredible powers. She is destined to overthrow the corrupt king and bring peace to the land of Sentus, as well as to free the captive souls of the once great kingdom Predious. After the despot king murders her parents out of fear and attempt to murder her, Nette is whisked away by lights of an unknown origin, and raised by them for five years. During this time, she learns that she does not need sustenance to survive, nor can she die. For all intents and purposes, Nette is a superhuman. As she grows into her prophecy and avenges her parents murders, Nette has to struggle with the fear of the people and the spite of nobility.
I think that this book has a really interesting concept. I haven’t come across a similar idea in fantasy writing before, and the genre desperately needs new ideas. While there are some ideas that can be played with in a seemingly unlimited number of ways, sometimes this fantasy nerds feels as though writers get too comfortable with tropes and cliches. The first few chapters are very interesting. Readers are thrown into a confusing situation, just like the heroine, and they’re motivated to keep reading in order to solve the mystery of the lights and the strange, brown-eyed girl. However, while the writing of the first few chapters is very tight, the narrative unfortunately begins to unravel, worsening as the story progresses. Let’s start with the actual structure of the writing. While not horrible, the overall story lacks substance. What’s frustrating about this is that fact that substance is there—covered up like some forgotten relic or lost puzzle piece. I kept expecting Rayne to develop something more, but almost every time I was met with a brief and abrupt time skip. I also found that the number of typographical errors increased as the story progressed, which was midly annoying and distracting. I understand that Rayne was eager to progress the story, but I believe that by doing it so abruptly and without the use of transitionary devices, she instead created a crowded narrative that left no room for character development. That brings me to another point: the characters never change. The never grow—aside from physically—and they never learn; specifically the main heroine. Nette is a girl who attracts suspicion by simply being. She is almost godlike in nature, able to survive even the most brutal of deaths. Naturally, people fear this strange gift and tend to turn on her like a cliched angry mob with fire and pitchforks. And this angry mob trope happens a lot in Nette. What’s even worse, is that Nette recognizes how unjust the treatment is, and decides to resolve it by becoming exactly what they fear: a superpowerful terror. Now, if this story was meant to chronicle the life of this sort of character I wouldn’t be so opposed to it. However, Rayne makes it quite clear that Nette is supposed to be the hero of the work, and yet she’s entirely unheroic. She kills all how oppose her, throws temper tantrums like the Greek gods of yesteryears, and has absolutely no moral struggle with the fact that she kills left and right. She justifies everything she does, and what’s worse is that everyone else does—that is, the select few characters who aren’t apart of the angry mob. Not only do the main characters never grow, but the rest of the cast are complete stock characters. They’re all designed to fill the stupid, ignorant, and prejudiced antagonist roles. They all turn magically against her at the same moment, and no one actually sees the good she’s doing. These characters are so overplayed that they aren’t human or relatable—they’re just voices in a massive blob designed for the soul purpose of adding conflict to the story. And, once again, the only people who aren’t apart of the angry, stupid mass, blindly worship Nette and accept all of her actions as completely justifiable. It’s okay for her to murder large groups of people who oppose her. It’s okay for her to abuse the power of the blue orb—and object which is never fully explained. It’s okay for her to "cull" those who oppose her, because how dare they oppose their "benevolent" Queen?
Simply put, Nette is a book full of missed opportunities. The heroine is not relatable, nor is she even likable. She never changes, nor do any of the other characters around her. I would have loved to see her begin as very bitter and filled with self-entitlement, perhaps even believing herself to be a god over the weak masses. She could struggle with her humanity and the inhumanity of the world around her, and the desire to repay unkindness with godly force. And then, over the course of the book, she could learn to see herself through the eyes of the people, and discover that their content was born out of fear—a fear that she was reinforcing through her behavior. Ideally, side characters would have helped her to learn this lesson by showing her that not every single person in the world was afraid of her. Unfortunately, these things never happened. She never changed, for better or for worse. Instead of using her inhuman characteristics to explore the notion of humanity, Rayne instead chooses to make Nette a god-like character with no growth arc and no care for the consequences of her actions. Sadly, this in turn made the entire story un-compelling for me as a reader. Why would I want to read a story whose plot is driven a character I can't bring myself to like? I reiterate, the core idea of this book was very good. If Rayne ever writes a sequel, I might be interested in checking it out to see if she's grown as a writer and learned how to do her ideas justice. Until then though, I have to dubb this one a miss.
Nette by Barbara Rayne is a fantasy novel based on a very interesting premise. Boys are born with brown eyes, and girls are born with blue. This is how the sexes always fall and have always fallen, until the birth of a brown-eyed girl forever alters the course of the world. Aside from having a genetic anomaly, the girl, named Nette, is the subject of a grand prophecy and the wielder of incredible powers. She is destined to overthrow the corrupt king and bring peace to the land of Sentus, as well as to free the captive souls of the once great kingdom Predious. After the despot king murders her parents out of fear and attempt to murder her, Nette is whisked away by lights of an unknown origin, and raised by them for five years. During this time, she learns that she does not need sustenance to survive, nor can she die. For all intents and purposes, Nette is a superhuman. As she grows into her prophecy and avenges her parents murders, Nette has to struggle with the fear of the people and the spite of nobility.
I think that this book has a really interesting concept. I haven’t come across a similar idea in fantasy writing before, and the genre desperately needs new ideas. While there are some ideas that can be played with in a seemingly unlimited number of ways, sometimes this fantasy nerds feels as though writers get too comfortable with tropes and cliches. The first few chapters are very interesting. Readers are thrown into a confusing situation, just like the heroine, and they’re motivated to keep reading in order to solve the mystery of the lights and the strange, brown-eyed girl. However, while the writing of the first few chapters is very tight, the narrative unfortunately begins to unravel, worsening as the story progresses. Let’s start with the actual structure of the writing. While not horrible, the overall story lacks substance. What’s frustrating about this is that fact that substance is there—covered up like some forgotten relic or lost puzzle piece. I kept expecting Rayne to develop something more, but almost every time I was met with a brief and abrupt time skip. I also found that the number of typographical errors increased as the story progressed, which was midly annoying and distracting. I understand that Rayne was eager to progress the story, but I believe that by doing it so abruptly and without the use of transitionary devices, she instead created a crowded narrative that left no room for character development. That brings me to another point: the characters never change. The never grow—aside from physically—and they never learn; specifically the main heroine. Nette is a girl who attracts suspicion by simply being. She is almost godlike in nature, able to survive even the most brutal of deaths. Naturally, people fear this strange gift and tend to turn on her like a cliched angry mob with fire and pitchforks. And this angry mob trope happens a lot in Nette. What’s even worse, is that Nette recognizes how unjust the treatment is, and decides to resolve it by becoming exactly what they fear: a superpowerful terror. Now, if this story was meant to chronicle the life of this sort of character I wouldn’t be so opposed to it. However, Rayne makes it quite clear that Nette is supposed to be the hero of the work, and yet she’s entirely unheroic. She kills all how oppose her, throws temper tantrums like the Greek gods of yesteryears, and has absolutely no moral struggle with the fact that she kills left and right. She justifies everything she does, and what’s worse is that everyone else does—that is, the select few characters who aren’t apart of the angry mob. Not only do the main characters never grow, but the rest of the cast are complete stock characters. They’re all designed to fill the stupid, ignorant, and prejudiced antagonist roles. They all turn magically against her at the same moment, and no one actually sees the good she’s doing. These characters are so overplayed that they aren’t human or relatable—they’re just voices in a massive blob designed for the soul purpose of adding conflict to the story. And, once again, the only people who aren’t apart of the angry, stupid mass, blindly worship Nette and accept all of her actions as completely justifiable. It’s okay for her to murder large groups of people who oppose her. It’s okay for her to abuse the power of the blue orb—and object which is never fully explained. It’s okay for her to "cull" those who oppose her, because how dare they oppose their "benevolent" Queen?
Simply put, Nette is a book full of missed opportunities. The heroine is not relatable, nor is she even likable. She never changes, nor do any of the other characters around her. I would have loved to see her begin as very bitter and filled with self-entitlement, perhaps even believing herself to be a god over the weak masses. She could struggle with her humanity and the inhumanity of the world around her, and the desire to repay unkindness with godly force. And then, over the course of the book, she could learn to see herself through the eyes of the people, and discover that their content was born out of fear—a fear that she was reinforcing through her behavior. Ideally, side characters would have helped her to learn this lesson by showing her that not every single person in the world was afraid of her. Unfortunately, these things never happened. She never changed, for better or for worse. Instead of using her inhuman characteristics to explore the notion of humanity, Rayne instead chooses to make Nette a god-like character with no growth arc and no care for the consequences of her actions. Sadly, this in turn made the entire story un-compelling for me as a reader. Why would I want to read a story whose plot is driven a character I can't bring myself to like? I reiterate, the core idea of this book was very good. If Rayne ever writes a sequel, I might be interested in checking it out to see if she's grown as a writer and learned how to do her ideas justice. Until then though, I have to dubb this one a miss.
June 20, 2012
I received an epub copy from a Bookplex giveaway, and now I'm sharing my honest review.
The story and characters: Interesting enough premise. The first chapter, about the lights, was a bit boring, but later I realized that the descriptive narratives were the best written segments in the novel (especially the part of the carriage orb ambush). Overall the novel felt short - there were sections of Nette's life that feel rushed, and then there's others that I would've wanted to be more detailed (her military training, for one). But what I liked most is Nette's steadfast resolve.
Character nitpicks: Raul (I like you, but how can you be mind controlled...by toffee?), the nobility (their stupidity and pigheadedness is appalling. Would you go watch a play during the war? If you have a powerful and immortal ruler whom you can't defeat, what do you do? If you can't beat her, join her!)
The writing: I'm usually forgiving about typo errors in self-published ebooks, but there are an awful lot of them in my official copy. For example: get's instead of gets, vine instead of wine, looser instead of loser; and then there's the inconsistent tenses, misplaced quotation marks, and missing parallelism.
One of my biggest nitpick: the lack of certain articles and pronouns before character titles and nouns. I know that it works that way (e.g. King or Queen) but a lot of times the sentence is just too awkward without them. But the dialogues are the weakest points for me. From them, it's more apparent that the English is sometimes off. I'm not sure how exactly, but it feels similar to the way I can identify if something was written by a non-native speaker.
The story and characters: Interesting enough premise. The first chapter, about the lights, was a bit boring, but later I realized that the descriptive narratives were the best written segments in the novel (especially the part of the carriage orb ambush). Overall the novel felt short - there were sections of Nette's life that feel rushed, and then there's others that I would've wanted to be more detailed (her military training, for one). But what I liked most is Nette's steadfast resolve.
Character nitpicks: Raul (I like you, but how can you be mind controlled...by toffee?), the nobility (their stupidity and pigheadedness is appalling. Would you go watch a play during the war? If you have a powerful and immortal ruler whom you can't defeat, what do you do? If you can't beat her, join her!)
The writing: I'm usually forgiving about typo errors in self-published ebooks, but there are an awful lot of them in my official copy. For example: get's instead of gets, vine instead of wine, looser instead of loser; and then there's the inconsistent tenses, misplaced quotation marks, and missing parallelism.
One of my biggest nitpick: the lack of certain articles and pronouns before character titles and nouns. I know that it works that way (e.g. King or Queen) but a lot of times the sentence is just too awkward without them. But the dialogues are the weakest points for me. From them, it's more apparent that the English is sometimes off. I'm not sure how exactly, but it feels similar to the way I can identify if something was written by a non-native speaker.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
not-for-me
April 9, 2019Didn't finish. Maybe had an old version but I didn't enjoy it.
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