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Cycles #2
Spaces
Second book in the Cycles series.
After Renee’s life is threatened, she takes on a new identity and moves to New York with her family. There she finds herself haunted — whether by someone real or something supernatural she doesn't know — and finding out may be the last thing she ever does.
SPACES is the sequel to CYCLES, a top-five Young Adult finalist of The Kindle Book Review 2012.
After Renee’s life is threatened, she takes on a new identity and moves to New York with her family. There she finds herself haunted — whether by someone real or something supernatural she doesn't know — and finding out may be the last thing she ever does.
SPACES is the sequel to CYCLES, a top-five Young Adult finalist of The Kindle Book Review 2012.
- GenresFantasyParanormal
276 pages, Paperback
First published February 21, 2013
8 people are currently reading
83 people want to read
About the author
Lois D. Brown
24 books77 followersLois Brown’s love of all things fantastical began at an early age when her five older brothers made her watch television shows such as “Dr. Who” and “Lost in Space.” (Yes, the originals.) Her passion for science fiction continued when, at age 12, she spent an entire summer buying “Star Wars: Return of the Jedi” collector cards. She used her babysitting money earned over an entire year to get a full set. Now she likes to write her own books that spark the imagination. Her first novel, CYCLES, was a top 5 finalist of The Kindle Book Review’s “Best Indie Books of 2012.” She has recently appeared on televisions shows such as "Montezuma's Treasure" aired on the History Channel 2 in connection with her latest release, ROBBED OF SOUL
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Displaying 1 - 11 of 11 reviews
March 4, 2017
Review#6
Really easy to read, full of emotions and sappy scenes, Spaces by Lois D. Brown is a book that is entertaining, but had some things I didn't like. High school stereo types and an edge of adventure and mystery makes this book some what fun to read. The problem with this book is that it has a generic formula. A teenager that's “special” with family problems who defeats something, and let’s not forget the sprinkle of “high school drama” along the way. That could make an “OK” book but, the tragedy is that it’s 267 pages of “The Formula” that just doesn’t slide. For example, Harry Potter does the same thing. Besides that, one of the things I actually liked about this book was the change of scene and setting. It starts out in a regular high school and later takes place in somewhere more interesting. “Renee couldn’t wait. She found the historical boarding school old, dreary, and way too stuffy.” I did love the boarding school aspect (Harry Potter once again) it makes you feel like there might be something hiding in a dusty library or a deep basement. It gives a sense of adventure that doesn't come with a common old high school. One of the other things I liked was some of the Characterization. The main characters best guy friend is quite fun and interesting. “He couldn’t help himself. Darth Vader was his favorite. He had to see what was going on. The girl was probably high on something she’d found in her parents’ medicine cabinet. All the same, any mention of Darth Vader was not to be taken lightly.” This character is at least fun. The author gave him a unique personality that I personally hadn’t seen in other books. The main female character was shallow and boring, I really did not connect with her. “Do you ever wonder about other world out there?” he asked. “No” Renee casually scooted closer to him. Sam didn’t seem to notice. Instead, he shifted his leg that had been hurt when Mercury had fallen on him. “There’s Lyra and Ophiuchus,” he said. Renee looked around. ‘Who?” “It’s not who,” said Sam. “It’s what. Lyra and Ophiuchus are Constellations.” “Oh.” Renee shrugged. “I knew that.” Spaces has some entertaining parts and some good elements, but it wasn't by personal cup of tea.
Really easy to read, full of emotions and sappy scenes, Spaces by Lois D. Brown is a book that is entertaining, but had some things I didn't like. High school stereo types and an edge of adventure and mystery makes this book some what fun to read. The problem with this book is that it has a generic formula. A teenager that's “special” with family problems who defeats something, and let’s not forget the sprinkle of “high school drama” along the way. That could make an “OK” book but, the tragedy is that it’s 267 pages of “The Formula” that just doesn’t slide. For example, Harry Potter does the same thing. Besides that, one of the things I actually liked about this book was the change of scene and setting. It starts out in a regular high school and later takes place in somewhere more interesting. “Renee couldn’t wait. She found the historical boarding school old, dreary, and way too stuffy.” I did love the boarding school aspect (Harry Potter once again) it makes you feel like there might be something hiding in a dusty library or a deep basement. It gives a sense of adventure that doesn't come with a common old high school. One of the other things I liked was some of the Characterization. The main characters best guy friend is quite fun and interesting. “He couldn’t help himself. Darth Vader was his favorite. He had to see what was going on. The girl was probably high on something she’d found in her parents’ medicine cabinet. All the same, any mention of Darth Vader was not to be taken lightly.” This character is at least fun. The author gave him a unique personality that I personally hadn’t seen in other books. The main female character was shallow and boring, I really did not connect with her. “Do you ever wonder about other world out there?” he asked. “No” Renee casually scooted closer to him. Sam didn’t seem to notice. Instead, he shifted his leg that had been hurt when Mercury had fallen on him. “There’s Lyra and Ophiuchus,” he said. Renee looked around. ‘Who?” “It’s not who,” said Sam. “It’s what. Lyra and Ophiuchus are Constellations.” “Oh.” Renee shrugged. “I knew that.” Spaces has some entertaining parts and some good elements, but it wasn't by personal cup of tea.
October 12, 2013
The second book in the Cycles series. Great story idea.
But.
My problems with this book are the same as the ones I had with the first. Occasionally sloppy prose, questionable sentence structure, overstatement and repetition that shows no trust in the reader, and grammatical/punctuation/usage errors such as in the use of "shown" versus "shone," "further" versus "farther"; at one point Tyler refers to "Riley" (Renee's assumed name for while she's in New York) as "Renee," spotted by a sharp 7th-grader in one of my classes.
And.
Character development took a real beating this time around. Renee has to do or say something downright stupid several times in order to advance the plot. Like in Hitchcock's REAR WINDOW when the three characters turn on the livingroom light while they're spying on a neighbor across the courtyard while he is standing at his window looking back at them, wtf, alerting the guy to the fact that they are, in fact spying on him because they suspect he's murdered his wife. In SPACES, as in REAR WINDOW, the resulting plot turn is seen coming from a mile away. Brilliant Sam has a couple of wtf intellectual lapses for the same purpose. Renee asks questions with obvious answers. For some reason, it's always one of the male characters who answers it making Renee a damsel in distress (really, do we need any more of those?) and kind of a ditzy one at that. The first book did a much better job of keeping tension, with the occasional plot twist or turn that really was a surprise. This second book--not so much. I asked my 7th-graders to predict as we read, and they got it every time.
And why, oh why, does every YA novel these days have to have either a) a love interest or b) a love triangle?
Giving Renee a female friend was a nice touch this time around.
But.
My problems with this book are the same as the ones I had with the first. Occasionally sloppy prose, questionable sentence structure, overstatement and repetition that shows no trust in the reader, and grammatical/punctuation/usage errors such as in the use of "shown" versus "shone," "further" versus "farther"; at one point Tyler refers to "Riley" (Renee's assumed name for while she's in New York) as "Renee," spotted by a sharp 7th-grader in one of my classes.
And.
Character development took a real beating this time around. Renee has to do or say something downright stupid several times in order to advance the plot. Like in Hitchcock's REAR WINDOW when the three characters turn on the livingroom light while they're spying on a neighbor across the courtyard while he is standing at his window looking back at them, wtf, alerting the guy to the fact that they are, in fact spying on him because they suspect he's murdered his wife. In SPACES, as in REAR WINDOW, the resulting plot turn is seen coming from a mile away. Brilliant Sam has a couple of wtf intellectual lapses for the same purpose. Renee asks questions with obvious answers. For some reason, it's always one of the male characters who answers it making Renee a damsel in distress (really, do we need any more of those?) and kind of a ditzy one at that. The first book did a much better job of keeping tension, with the occasional plot twist or turn that really was a surprise. This second book--not so much. I asked my 7th-graders to predict as we read, and they got it every time.
And why, oh why, does every YA novel these days have to have either a) a love interest or b) a love triangle?
Giving Renee a female friend was a nice touch this time around.
August 10, 2015
This is the sequel to "Cycles" and takes off where the first book ended. It is another page turner! You do need to read these books in numerical order to get the most out of them. The ending is a definite surprise.
The story line has tremendous plot turns. What happened to Dr. Dawson? Trouble follows Renee. She has to move with her parents to a new home and school thousands of miles from California in order to protect her from a new threat. Renee and Sam are maturing away from each other but not out of each of their thoughts. There are new issues facing both of them. Through e-mail they can still communicate and both take comfort from that.
Sam has grown into a handsome football star who is still more comfortable hitting the books. Though Renee has blossomed in her new school she still has issues with insecurity. There are new friends and new enemies. Who is the trying to hurt Renee? Who is trying to scare her?
While I was reading the ending something was nagging at me. There was something familiar about it. As I was getting ready to write my review I realized what it was. I had visions of some Outer Limits and Star Trek episodes. But unless you watched those shows you wouldn't see that.
I truly enjoyed this book. I am keeping my fingers crossed there will be more in this series.
The story line has tremendous plot turns. What happened to Dr. Dawson? Trouble follows Renee. She has to move with her parents to a new home and school thousands of miles from California in order to protect her from a new threat. Renee and Sam are maturing away from each other but not out of each of their thoughts. There are new issues facing both of them. Through e-mail they can still communicate and both take comfort from that.
Sam has grown into a handsome football star who is still more comfortable hitting the books. Though Renee has blossomed in her new school she still has issues with insecurity. There are new friends and new enemies. Who is the trying to hurt Renee? Who is trying to scare her?
While I was reading the ending something was nagging at me. There was something familiar about it. As I was getting ready to write my review I realized what it was. I had visions of some Outer Limits and Star Trek episodes. But unless you watched those shows you wouldn't see that.
I truly enjoyed this book. I am keeping my fingers crossed there will be more in this series.
January 6, 2014
SPACES takes up right where CYCLES left off and Renee’s still not out of danger even though she’s stopped cycling. Due to threats on Renee’s life, her family is uprooted and put into a sort-of witness protection. As Riley Bellemare, Renee starts a new school and meets new friends. Including Tyler, with whom she would like to be more than friends. Renee is also being haunted, but she’s not sure by what or whom. With her best friend, Sam, all the way across the country, she’s got to figure this out on her own. SPACES is a magical blend of science and the metaphysical with outstanding characters. I definitely recommend the Cycles Series, but stress that you should definitely start with CYCLES.
May 28, 2013
Spaces is the sequel to the award-winning novel, Cycles. I read Cycles. I like Spaces even better!
Spaces takes place in a present day high school yet still contains a cast of characters I actually like instead of the usual stereotypical archetypes. Her plot is an edgy page-turner complete with some spine-tingling paranormal activity that I wouldn’t hesitate to hand off to my kids. It’s clean! And the hauntings are explained with science and logic (it’s still fantastical) instead of taking an uncomfortable dip into the spirit world. Two thumbs way up!
Spaces takes place in a present day high school yet still contains a cast of characters I actually like instead of the usual stereotypical archetypes. Her plot is an edgy page-turner complete with some spine-tingling paranormal activity that I wouldn’t hesitate to hand off to my kids. It’s clean! And the hauntings are explained with science and logic (it’s still fantastical) instead of taking an uncomfortable dip into the spirit world. Two thumbs way up!
September 26, 2013
perfect for a younger teen. and the paranormal angles for both this and the last book were so original. finally a younger male teen who responds appropriately to hazing. that was beyond refreshing. I think older teens might not like it as much. too bad for them. I loved the nerd talk and science theory stuff.
May 22, 2013
I enjoyed this book even more then CYCLES, the first book in the series. Brown had me laughing at one moment and on the edge of my seat in the next. The romantic elements were more rewarding in this book and the characters blossomed nicely. Pick this up.
February 4, 2014
I enjoyed the book.
September 3, 2014
3.5 Stars
December 31, 2014
Spaces
I loved this book couldn't put it down!! I loved how you brought out the love triangle between the characters!
I loved this book couldn't put it down!! I loved how you brought out the love triangle between the characters!
September 28, 2016
This is a great book!!!!!
I have read this so many times, it's that awesome!
I have read this so many times, it's that awesome!
Displaying 1 - 11 of 11 reviews