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The Nightbirds #1
Unwept
Gamin, Maine, is a remote seaside town where everyone seems to know Ellis Harkington better than she knows herself—but she doesn’t remember any of them.
Unknown events have robbed Ellis of her memory. Concerned individuals, who purport to be her friends and loved ones, insist that she simply needs to recuperate, that her memories may return in time, but refuse to divulge what has brought her to this state. For her own sake, so they say.
Ellis finds herself adrift in a town of ominous mysteries, cryptic hints, and disturbingly familiar strangers. The Nightbirds, a clique of fashionable young men and women, claim her as one of their own, but who among them can she truly trust? And what of the phantom suitor who visits her in her dreams? Is he a memory, a figment of her imagination, or a living nightmare beyond rational explanation?
Only her lost past hold the answers she seeks—if she can uncover its secrets before she fall prey to an unearthly killer.
Unknown events have robbed Ellis of her memory. Concerned individuals, who purport to be her friends and loved ones, insist that she simply needs to recuperate, that her memories may return in time, but refuse to divulge what has brought her to this state. For her own sake, so they say.
Ellis finds herself adrift in a town of ominous mysteries, cryptic hints, and disturbingly familiar strangers. The Nightbirds, a clique of fashionable young men and women, claim her as one of their own, but who among them can she truly trust? And what of the phantom suitor who visits her in her dreams? Is he a memory, a figment of her imagination, or a living nightmare beyond rational explanation?
Only her lost past hold the answers she seeks—if she can uncover its secrets before she fall prey to an unearthly killer.
272 pages, Hardcover
First published July 1, 2014
13 people are currently reading
2098 people want to read
About the author
Tracy Hickman
454 books2,736 followersNYT Best-selling fantasy authors Tracy Hickman, with his wife Laura, began their journey across the 'Sea of Possibilities' as the creators of 'Dragonlance' and their voyage continues into new areas with the 'Drakis' trilogy, 'Wayne of Gotham', a Batman novel for DC Comics and his
'Dragon's Bard' collector's series
. Tracy has over fifty books currently in print in most languages around the world. A record of both Tracy and Laura's DNA currently orbits on the international space station and he is the writer and editor of the first science-fiction movie actually filmed in space. Follow us on
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 133 reviews
August 27, 2014
See more reviews at YA Midnight Reads
DNF
Unfortunately, another beautiful cover gone to waste. Be prepared for the over-usage of the word 'boring', because that's the only word that I can use to describe everything.
Ellis, the main character, was boring. I definitely had an incentive to like this Ellis; to prove Ellis @ The Random Transliterator that her other life was so much better. Alas, I can come up with nothing to prove that her other life was better no matter how hard I tried to whip up something. Why? Because for most of this book, Unwept Ellis doesn't have any emotions. Sure, it's mentioned that she's flustered or confused but I never really felt those emotions dig into my skin. I honestly could not care less about Ellis because of this lack of connection between us, and same goes for all the other characters. Not one character, could catch my interest.
The writing, was beautiful, but boooooooring. I mentioned the same problem in an earlier review this month--that while the writing was highly exceptional, but it dragged slowly and made me unquestionably bored. The long sentences and overly long descriptions just did not work.
The plot and pace was slowly developed, and well, boring. The idea of a girl waking up to discover that all she could remember was her name was certainly haunting and mysterious, but that's the intrigue ended. Ellis, I feel, doesn't even act like a girl whose memories have been lost. She just didn't feel all that shocked, in my opinion. I expected Ellis to be so much more confused and withdrawn in general. Going on, the pace didn't work at all. I DNFed this book at 50% and at around 40%, nothing in regards to the plot moved. It was only around after this point, when Ellis began having eerie and strange dreams (and where the plot actually starts to pick up.) If you cannot deal with boring and slow writing for a good 50%, then I wouldn't be recommending this. While it is only a 272 paged book, it reads to feel so much longer.
This book was boring, if you haven't gotten the message yet. If you want a good mystery with intrigue, this would not suffice. While these authors have great potential, the pace and slow writing and characters let this down.
DNF
Unfortunately, another beautiful cover gone to waste. Be prepared for the over-usage of the word 'boring', because that's the only word that I can use to describe everything.
Ellis, the main character, was boring. I definitely had an incentive to like this Ellis; to prove Ellis @ The Random Transliterator that her other life was so much better. Alas, I can come up with nothing to prove that her other life was better no matter how hard I tried to whip up something. Why? Because for most of this book, Unwept Ellis doesn't have any emotions. Sure, it's mentioned that she's flustered or confused but I never really felt those emotions dig into my skin. I honestly could not care less about Ellis because of this lack of connection between us, and same goes for all the other characters. Not one character, could catch my interest.
He whispered her name simply and yet there was a rushing wind in his breath that spoke of green summer, bitter winter, resigned autumn and a thousand glorious springs.
The writing, was beautiful, but boooooooring. I mentioned the same problem in an earlier review this month--that while the writing was highly exceptional, but it dragged slowly and made me unquestionably bored. The long sentences and overly long descriptions just did not work.
The plot and pace was slowly developed, and well, boring. The idea of a girl waking up to discover that all she could remember was her name was certainly haunting and mysterious, but that's the intrigue ended. Ellis, I feel, doesn't even act like a girl whose memories have been lost. She just didn't feel all that shocked, in my opinion. I expected Ellis to be so much more confused and withdrawn in general. Going on, the pace didn't work at all. I DNFed this book at 50% and at around 40%, nothing in regards to the plot moved. It was only around after this point, when Ellis began having eerie and strange dreams (and where the plot actually starts to pick up.) If you cannot deal with boring and slow writing for a good 50%, then I wouldn't be recommending this. While it is only a 272 paged book, it reads to feel so much longer.
This book was boring, if you haven't gotten the message yet. If you want a good mystery with intrigue, this would not suffice. While these authors have great potential, the pace and slow writing and characters let this down.
~Thank you Tor Books for sending me this copy!~
July 15, 2014
3 of 5 stars at The BiblioSanctum http://bibliosanctum.com/2014/07/15/b...
Some books start off with a shaky opening but then end up getting better as the story gains momentum, but other times there are books like Unwept that go the opposite way. These books manage to capture my attention right off the bat and get me invested with an interesting premise, but then they stumble and lose me about halfway through. The magic fizzles out and I can’t get it back.
I have my inklings as to why this might have been the case with Unwept. Thing is, I love being teased with a bit of mystery. And this book did that very well, starting off by painting a baffling yet very intriguing picture. A girl named Ellis Harkington comes to herself in the middle of a train ride accompanied by a nurse and baby, but has no memory of how she got there or any of her life before this moment. She arrives at a remote seaside town named Gamin where everyone seems to know her better than she knows herself, but she can’t even recognize any of their faces. A group of young men and women called the Nightbirds — who claims to be a literary society – welcome her back into the fold with open arms, and yet for a literary society they don’t seem all that interested in books…
Then there are the nightmares. Ellis dreams of clouds of moths and visitations from a strange soldier with a paisley-shaped mark on his face. There’s also talk of terrible things happening all over town, like a devastating fire, missing people, and the discovery of mutilated bodies pointing to a ruthless killer on the loose. And why are there no children in town? There this real sense of unease and foreboding. The atmosphere is practically humming with anticipation. The stage is set for something great, and you know deep down in your gut that this book has got to be building up to something huge.
Well. It didn’t really happen. At least, not for me. You must understand, this book had me wrapped around its finger and I was completely under its control and prepared to fall head over heels in love with it. I cannot give enough praise to the first half of this novel; it was fantastically well written and constructed to give the reader a perfect foundation. I simply adored the first 150 pages or so. But not long after that, the plot started fraying at the edges.
Unfortunately, being plied with all that escalation with ultimately not much payoff has a way of making me feel a bit grumpy. I’m also disheartened by the lost potential of this story. The book could only maintain the suspense for so long before I started questioning where it was trying to go and what it was trying to say. I had the sneaking suspicion that I was being led on a wild goose chase. Not long after that, I finally had to admit to myself that I really had no idea what was going on. By the time some answers were forthcoming, I don’t know if I felt as invested or engaged in the outcome anymore. The revelations were certainly eye-opening, but it’s a classic case of “too little too late.” I just can’t decide if the disappointment hurt more or less because the story had such a strong and promising start.
Unwept is also the first book of a series, and – unsurprisingly, perhaps – it has the stamp of a “Book One” all over it. Don’t expect any satisfying or clear-cut answers. Instead of growing and expanding, the story seemed to shrink back in on itself. There is mystery at the beginning, and there will still be mystery at the end, and probably more blanks and question marks than you started out with. It’s hard to tell now, but I think I might have had a more positive reaction to the book if I had known to rein in my expectations a little.
In the end, I don’t think Unwept is a bad book. The sheer enjoyment I got out of the first part of it is a testament to that. It’s also such a quick read that if you’re even remotely interested in the description, I would say it is well worth your time, as the average reader can probably knock it out in one or two sittings. It has a fascinating premise, and I have no doubt it’ll work for a lot of readers. I just personally wish I been better prepared for its peculiar pacing.
Some books start off with a shaky opening but then end up getting better as the story gains momentum, but other times there are books like Unwept that go the opposite way. These books manage to capture my attention right off the bat and get me invested with an interesting premise, but then they stumble and lose me about halfway through. The magic fizzles out and I can’t get it back.
I have my inklings as to why this might have been the case with Unwept. Thing is, I love being teased with a bit of mystery. And this book did that very well, starting off by painting a baffling yet very intriguing picture. A girl named Ellis Harkington comes to herself in the middle of a train ride accompanied by a nurse and baby, but has no memory of how she got there or any of her life before this moment. She arrives at a remote seaside town named Gamin where everyone seems to know her better than she knows herself, but she can’t even recognize any of their faces. A group of young men and women called the Nightbirds — who claims to be a literary society – welcome her back into the fold with open arms, and yet for a literary society they don’t seem all that interested in books…
Then there are the nightmares. Ellis dreams of clouds of moths and visitations from a strange soldier with a paisley-shaped mark on his face. There’s also talk of terrible things happening all over town, like a devastating fire, missing people, and the discovery of mutilated bodies pointing to a ruthless killer on the loose. And why are there no children in town? There this real sense of unease and foreboding. The atmosphere is practically humming with anticipation. The stage is set for something great, and you know deep down in your gut that this book has got to be building up to something huge.
Well. It didn’t really happen. At least, not for me. You must understand, this book had me wrapped around its finger and I was completely under its control and prepared to fall head over heels in love with it. I cannot give enough praise to the first half of this novel; it was fantastically well written and constructed to give the reader a perfect foundation. I simply adored the first 150 pages or so. But not long after that, the plot started fraying at the edges.
Unfortunately, being plied with all that escalation with ultimately not much payoff has a way of making me feel a bit grumpy. I’m also disheartened by the lost potential of this story. The book could only maintain the suspense for so long before I started questioning where it was trying to go and what it was trying to say. I had the sneaking suspicion that I was being led on a wild goose chase. Not long after that, I finally had to admit to myself that I really had no idea what was going on. By the time some answers were forthcoming, I don’t know if I felt as invested or engaged in the outcome anymore. The revelations were certainly eye-opening, but it’s a classic case of “too little too late.” I just can’t decide if the disappointment hurt more or less because the story had such a strong and promising start.
Unwept is also the first book of a series, and – unsurprisingly, perhaps – it has the stamp of a “Book One” all over it. Don’t expect any satisfying or clear-cut answers. Instead of growing and expanding, the story seemed to shrink back in on itself. There is mystery at the beginning, and there will still be mystery at the end, and probably more blanks and question marks than you started out with. It’s hard to tell now, but I think I might have had a more positive reaction to the book if I had known to rein in my expectations a little.
In the end, I don’t think Unwept is a bad book. The sheer enjoyment I got out of the first part of it is a testament to that. It’s also such a quick read that if you’re even remotely interested in the description, I would say it is well worth your time, as the average reader can probably knock it out in one or two sittings. It has a fascinating premise, and I have no doubt it’ll work for a lot of readers. I just personally wish I been better prepared for its peculiar pacing.
January 14, 2015
I received this as an ARC from Netgalley for an honest review.
I really, really wanted to like this. I mean the cover was so pretty, and I had such high hopes. The problem is this book was SO boring, and I just couldn’t get into the characters. Then that ending happened, and it was a cliffhanger, and I just really didn’t care. There was no emotional connection for me to care to find out what happens in the next book.
I guess I was looking for the magic Hickman had with Weis in the Dragonlance Chronicles and it wasn’t there.
I really, really wanted to like this. I mean the cover was so pretty, and I had such high hopes. The problem is this book was SO boring, and I just couldn’t get into the characters. Then that ending happened, and it was a cliffhanger, and I just really didn’t care. There was no emotional connection for me to care to find out what happens in the next book.
I guess I was looking for the magic Hickman had with Weis in the Dragonlance Chronicles and it wasn’t there.
December 29, 2014
"You know, Ellie, Nightbird is just another name for 'moth'. Maybe that's where your dreams come from."
I would like to thank Netgalley and Tor books for providing me this review copy for an honest review.
Where do I even start with this?
Until now my head is just overflowing with possibilities on what will happen on the next book. That's a bit of a spoiler isn't it?
Yes, there will be sequel!
And this baby, ended in a way that you will surely ask for more.
This is how I looked like as I was reading this. This is chronologically arranged, starting from when I started reading it up to when it ended.
STARTED READING:
AT ABOUT 30%:
AT ABOUT 60%:
AT ABOUT 80%:
AFTER FINISHING:
THIS BOOK WAS A SUCKER PUNCH TO THE GUT OR FACE... WHATEVER!
It will keep you guessing up until the last minute, even after they're already revealing the secret behind the mystery, you are still guessing if it's true or not.
For the GIST
Ellis doesn't know how she got on that train going to Gamin, Maine. All she remembered was waking up from a nightmare, and in front of her was a nurse who knows her, but she had no memory of ever knowing her.
Upon her arrival to the town, she was greeted warmly by people she had never met, but knew her. Doctor Carmichael (who prefers to be called Uncle) picks her up from the train station and takes her to her cousin, Jenny, to recover from an illness she also does not have any memory of.
She still gets dreams, and the dreams are getting more and more vivid. She doesn't distinguish which is real and which is a dream anymore.
She wants to trust in someone, but she doesn't know who she can trust, especially now that everyone can't seem to tell her what happened to her. No one tells her anything. She wants answers, and she will find them no matter what it takes.
MY RATING
WRITING: 17
PLOT: 20
CHARACTERS: 17
UNPREDICTABILITY: 20
PACING: 5
ENJOYABILITY: 8
----------------------------
87 points
WRITING
I just have one thing to say about the writing, it was damn eerie. It has that mysterious vibe oozing through its pages. It will make you flip through its pages faster than you should. I usually don't like third person narration, except for maybe the Harry Potter series and Cassie Clare's books, but this one worked for me.
Waking up without a memory will cause you to be confused, puzzled, and lost. I've never lost my memory, so I couldn't really confirm if this was an accurate thinking of a person who had amnesia. But I kind of think it was as close as it could get to it.
PLOT
UNIQUE. The plot of this book is nothing I've ever read before. I wasn't exactly sure at first, if it was going to be a paranormal book, or just an otherworldly contemporary book. The story doesn't really giveaway too much of wha was going to happen until the last few pages of the book. This book was like a puzzle with missing pieces, that we were trying to complete. As the story progress, we get one piece of the puzzle at a time until the whole picture is revealed.
It was amazing.
CHARACTERS
Ellis was an admirable character. She may have lost her memory, but she doesn't give up in finding out the truth about who she was, and what was going on around her, because there was a lot going on in the background. There was a lot of thing we weren't able to see at first. She thinks before she speaks. Although everyone tells her she was sick or something, it didn't break her spirit. I liked that about her. She knew she'd be a fool to trust anyone, which was the right decision. Although, there was a point she misjudged someone, which I kind of thought she would.
I don't want to get too much on the details about the other characters because I'd probably give away too much if I did. There were a lot of secondary characters, but not all of them had a role, most of them are just pawns on the game that one of them was playing... So no, I wouldn't tell you guys anymore about the characters.
PREDICTABILITY
I still gave this a perfect score on my book, because majority of the time I was just shaking my head in disbelief that what I was thinking about is so far from the truth. I did guess one thing right though, I guessed who the evil villan was!!
PACING
It was too slow for my taste, but towards the last quarter of the book, all the truth came out in the open and hit you all at once.
ENJOYABILITY
I love my mystery so I definitely enjoyed this book!
FINAL RAMBLINGS
I am totally impressed with this book! I would have finished this earlier had I not been irritated with the Bluefire reader. *NOTE TO SELF: never send a galley through Bluefire!!*
Romance was not a big thing in this book so if you're looking for paranormal romance in this novel, better look for it some place else. There is pseudoromance I guess, but I'm not really sure until I get the next book which I want right now!!!
Oh and the cover's gorgeous! I should have given plus points for that. Publisher's should always remember that the cover gives the book additional pull to its audience.
What else am I missing?
I think that's all for my review of this book! Would I recommend it? Abso-fucking-lutely! I'm not really sure if this was supposed to be YA or adult or something, but younger readers could read this. No mature themes that I have read, just a little bit of gory stuff towards the end.
VERY FINAL NOTE I don't get the title. Why was it Unwept? Maybe I missed it somehow. I'll probably skim through it at some point to figure it out!
August 19, 2014
I really put this at about 2.5 stars.
Sometimes I’m in the mood for something different from my normal reads, something outside of the books I know are telling stories I want to hear in a style that I enjoy. Sometimes this results in a huge payoff as I read and enjoy something quite different. So, I will admit this is the mindset I was in when I decided to read Unwept. That, plus the gorgeous cover.
The story intrigued me. A girl wakes up with complete amnesia, remembering nothing before a train ride that has brought her to be reunited with her friends and life from before her “accident” (whatever that may have been) that resulted in her memory loss. Imagine suddenly becoming aware of everything and everyone around you with no recognition or familiarity. A part of you has to ask if you should trust these people. That was my hook. The potential for a story that makes you question everything and everyone. What if these are not her friends? What caused her memory loss? What other possibilities exist? Those questions are why I chose this book. There could be some seriously suspenseful creepy things going on, and so I wanted to find out.
I did find some of this with Unwept. We do wonder about this strange place she has awoken to. There are no children, the rules seem more lax and there is just something odd about the place and the people. You definitely can tell that this is not just a simple case of amnesia. But I also found some of the story terribly predictable. And the writing style is just one that tends to not work for me. I hate to say its “too YA” because YA can mean various things depending on who you are talking to, and there are so many different styles represented within it. It also makes it sound like an insult, which I would never want to do. There are some phenomenal YA books out there. But, I feel this was too typical of the common YA that most people think of when they hear the label. There’s an audience for those books, it just doesn’t typically include me. There’s nothing wrong with that and there are plenty of books I read that other readers would feel the same way about. It just comes down to different styles for different readers. I knew this book was going to be a bit of a gamble for me. And while I enjoyed the premise, I just never was as drawn in as I had hoped. I may have been just looking for more of a horror story than this turned out to be. And I can’t fault a book for not being something its not.
It is quite a quick read, which in my case was a good thing. I may not have finished it otherwise. But, I was curious enough to see if my suspicions were correct to read on to the end. I guess I am glad I did, because now I know. I don’t think I enjoyed it quite enough to continue on with the series, but it wasn’t so disagreeable that I can completely rule out the possibility.
Sometimes I’m in the mood for something different from my normal reads, something outside of the books I know are telling stories I want to hear in a style that I enjoy. Sometimes this results in a huge payoff as I read and enjoy something quite different. So, I will admit this is the mindset I was in when I decided to read Unwept. That, plus the gorgeous cover.
The story intrigued me. A girl wakes up with complete amnesia, remembering nothing before a train ride that has brought her to be reunited with her friends and life from before her “accident” (whatever that may have been) that resulted in her memory loss. Imagine suddenly becoming aware of everything and everyone around you with no recognition or familiarity. A part of you has to ask if you should trust these people. That was my hook. The potential for a story that makes you question everything and everyone. What if these are not her friends? What caused her memory loss? What other possibilities exist? Those questions are why I chose this book. There could be some seriously suspenseful creepy things going on, and so I wanted to find out.
I did find some of this with Unwept. We do wonder about this strange place she has awoken to. There are no children, the rules seem more lax and there is just something odd about the place and the people. You definitely can tell that this is not just a simple case of amnesia. But I also found some of the story terribly predictable. And the writing style is just one that tends to not work for me. I hate to say its “too YA” because YA can mean various things depending on who you are talking to, and there are so many different styles represented within it. It also makes it sound like an insult, which I would never want to do. There are some phenomenal YA books out there. But, I feel this was too typical of the common YA that most people think of when they hear the label. There’s an audience for those books, it just doesn’t typically include me. There’s nothing wrong with that and there are plenty of books I read that other readers would feel the same way about. It just comes down to different styles for different readers. I knew this book was going to be a bit of a gamble for me. And while I enjoyed the premise, I just never was as drawn in as I had hoped. I may have been just looking for more of a horror story than this turned out to be. And I can’t fault a book for not being something its not.
It is quite a quick read, which in my case was a good thing. I may not have finished it otherwise. But, I was curious enough to see if my suspicions were correct to read on to the end. I guess I am glad I did, because now I know. I don’t think I enjoyed it quite enough to continue on with the series, but it wasn’t so disagreeable that I can completely rule out the possibility.
June 12, 2014
☆ ☆ ☆
Actual 3.5
No spoilers and colorful language abound! I received this ARC from the publisher in exchange for an honest review.
Imagine coming into consciousness on a train, you remember nothing of your self at all but your own name. Your travel companion refuses to tell you anything, only referring to your uncle that you are traveling to see. When you arrive it turns out he isn't even your uncle, just someone who likes to be called "uncle" by the entire town read: creepy as fuck. None of the smiling faces at the station feel safe or remind you of home, no one will give you answers and keeps coddling you because of how unwell you are. The thing is, you don't feel unwell, you feel confused and angry because who the hell are you and why won't anyone tell you?
Bonus: Interesting as hell premise.
Almost immediately I was absorbed into this interesting world Hickman had created and was quickly locked down by the mystery of it all. Each little hint of the truth was revealed excruciatingly slowly, all the while second guessing my hunches and realizing I actually have no idea what is happening. I have a deep love-hate relationship with mystery, I love it because when written well I can do nothing and see nothing else. Nothing gets under my skin like a good mystery. However, I get incredibly annoyed when it takes the entire book to get even the slightest sense of truth, but I suppose that's part of the seduction of it all. In retrospect the clues were obvious enough, at least to give you an idea of what it all meant, but as I said earlier, I was second guessing myself until the very end.
This reads very much like a first installment, which of course it is. However this is not an aspect I appreciate, but one I accept. The truth is that not many authors can carry an entire first book on the premise of laying down the foundation and follow it up with something spectacular, that ending tho. I do hope in the second installment there is a bit more character exploration, I was left with way more questions than answers.
Ellis gets off the train in Gamin, a strange but quant seaside town brimming with curiosities that speak of the life and times of the 1920's. She is swept up in a life she doesn't recognize filled with people she isn't sure she can trust. With aspects of a child-like secret society, a passion for music, and the ever present sensation that she has to remember you own't be able to put this down! I don't want to spoil so I'll keep this part vague, it's a fast and engrossing read that I read in one delightful sitting.
Actual 3.5
No spoilers and colorful language abound! I received this ARC from the publisher in exchange for an honest review.
Imagine coming into consciousness on a train, you remember nothing of your self at all but your own name. Your travel companion refuses to tell you anything, only referring to your uncle that you are traveling to see. When you arrive it turns out he isn't even your uncle, just someone who likes to be called "uncle" by the entire town read: creepy as fuck. None of the smiling faces at the station feel safe or remind you of home, no one will give you answers and keeps coddling you because of how unwell you are. The thing is, you don't feel unwell, you feel confused and angry because who the hell are you and why won't anyone tell you?
Bonus: Interesting as hell premise.
Almost immediately I was absorbed into this interesting world Hickman had created and was quickly locked down by the mystery of it all. Each little hint of the truth was revealed excruciatingly slowly, all the while second guessing my hunches and realizing I actually have no idea what is happening. I have a deep love-hate relationship with mystery, I love it because when written well I can do nothing and see nothing else. Nothing gets under my skin like a good mystery. However, I get incredibly annoyed when it takes the entire book to get even the slightest sense of truth, but I suppose that's part of the seduction of it all. In retrospect the clues were obvious enough, at least to give you an idea of what it all meant, but as I said earlier, I was second guessing myself until the very end.
This reads very much like a first installment, which of course it is. However this is not an aspect I appreciate, but one I accept. The truth is that not many authors can carry an entire first book on the premise of laying down the foundation and follow it up with something spectacular, that ending tho. I do hope in the second installment there is a bit more character exploration, I was left with way more questions than answers.
Ellis gets off the train in Gamin, a strange but quant seaside town brimming with curiosities that speak of the life and times of the 1920's. She is swept up in a life she doesn't recognize filled with people she isn't sure she can trust. With aspects of a child-like secret society, a passion for music, and the ever present sensation that she has to remember you own't be able to put this down! I don't want to spoil so I'll keep this part vague, it's a fast and engrossing read that I read in one delightful sitting.
July 11, 2014
UNWEPT strives to create an uncanny dreamworld of menace and meaning, but falls far short of its goal. After a gripping opening scene, the story bogs down under Alice in Wonderland levels of incongruity and silliness.
Though the story lags after the incredible opening chapter, once Ellis arrives in Gamin the mystery manages to overpower the nonsense for a time. Unfortunately, the clues and hints scattered page by page don’t build to a satisfying trajectory, but rather pile up and become cacophonous. Like the reader, the characters are similarly overwhelmed. Rather than growing over the course of the story, book one of this series takes Ellis from confused and compliant to hysterical and obdurate. Despite glimmers of strength and intelligence, Ellis herself seems fed up with this story by book’s end.
Fantastic opening chapter and interesting premise aside, the majority of this narrative doesn’t offer enough grounding to ever give the story weight. UNWEPT left me with a long list of questions and very little desire to spend any more time in this chaotic and frustrating world.
Sexual Content: References to sex and sexual assault.
Though the story lags after the incredible opening chapter, once Ellis arrives in Gamin the mystery manages to overpower the nonsense for a time. Unfortunately, the clues and hints scattered page by page don’t build to a satisfying trajectory, but rather pile up and become cacophonous. Like the reader, the characters are similarly overwhelmed. Rather than growing over the course of the story, book one of this series takes Ellis from confused and compliant to hysterical and obdurate. Despite glimmers of strength and intelligence, Ellis herself seems fed up with this story by book’s end.
Fantastic opening chapter and interesting premise aside, the majority of this narrative doesn’t offer enough grounding to ever give the story weight. UNWEPT left me with a long list of questions and very little desire to spend any more time in this chaotic and frustrating world.
Sexual Content: References to sex and sexual assault.
March 26, 2015
2.5 stars
When I first started reading Unwept, I thought to myself, "What the heck is going on?" -- and I have to admit that this mystery factor was the driving force that kept me reading. I was unsure what kind of story this was going to be, and my guesses kept changing as new things happened (all without any explanations, somehow). By the end of this novel, I was still wondering what the heck was going on, and so I found myself rather frustrated. Confusion reigns supreme in this novel, which would have been fine if I'd gotten more of an answer by the end of this book. As it stands, I don't know that I'll continue the series.
When I first started reading Unwept, I thought to myself, "What the heck is going on?" -- and I have to admit that this mystery factor was the driving force that kept me reading. I was unsure what kind of story this was going to be, and my guesses kept changing as new things happened (all without any explanations, somehow). By the end of this novel, I was still wondering what the heck was going on, and so I found myself rather frustrated. Confusion reigns supreme in this novel, which would have been fine if I'd gotten more of an answer by the end of this book. As it stands, I don't know that I'll continue the series.
November 7, 2015
Unwept by Tracy and Laura Hickman
First in the Nightbirds series
2 stars (DNF)
Whimsical Writing Scale: 2
Plotastic Scale: 2
Character Scale: 2
Cover Thoughts: This is another case of beautiful cover, crappy content. This cover is just so gorgeous. I love it.
Thank you, Netgalley and Tor Books for allowing me the chance to read this book in exchange for an honest review.
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I got accepted for this on Netgalley.
First in the Nightbirds series
2 stars (DNF)
Ellis finds herself amidst a strange town with no recollection of who she is or what is going on around. Something feels off in the town she finds herself in and she can’t help, but feel as if she’s inside a nightmare. I was incredibly excited when I was approved for this on Netgalley because 1) the cover is absolutely gorgeous, 2) the summary is intriguing, and 3) it seemed like a book I would love. Sadly I didn’t even make it to the 50% mark of Unwept. I found myself enjoying the opening chapter. I thought it was creepy and the dream sequence left me feeling excited for more. This feeling quickly left me feeling unsatisfied. The tone of Unwept is very uncertain and while I don’t mind this tone I don’t like the feeling of being trapped while reading and that’s exactly how I felt. I felt like the opening chapter- trapped in a coffin and it was as if I couldn’t get out. I quickly began to dislike the book because the town felt like one giant coffin. I also didn’t understand the dual point-of-view aspect that was slowly thrown in. I wasn’t sure if this was because there are two authors and they wanted to take a gander at writing from different perspectives, but whatever the real reason behind it is- I don’t care. This book is as dull as the characters introduced. The characters are talking pieces of cardboard who exhibit no sign of emotion; even the main character who should be the most interesting character in the story. I DNFed and I’m sadly disappointed. Maybe one day I will give this another shot, but it seems very unlikely.
Whimsical Writing Scale: 2
Plotastic Scale: 2
Character Scale: 2
Cover Thoughts: This is another case of beautiful cover, crappy content. This cover is just so gorgeous. I love it.
Thank you, Netgalley and Tor Books for allowing me the chance to read this book in exchange for an honest review.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
I got accepted for this on Netgalley.
July 18, 2014
I really thought this might be good, but unfortunately it wasn't. I feel like I was bamboozled. I almost don't know where to start with this book.
The pacing was way too slow. I was bored to tears at first, and very nearly put the book down. The characters were lackluster and uninteresting. It felt like a chore just finishing the book. The twist near the end of the book was kind of random, honestly. The whole book left me feeling crazy myself.
Ellis was just too passive aggressive, which infuriates me. I get that she is supposed to be suffering from some sort of amnesia, but dont act like you remember something and then backtrack later. Merrick needs to calm his butt down and quit acting like the smug, psycho dentist creeping around with ether. Jenny needs to take a hint and quit acting like a dog in heat. And every other character should just get a life. Oh right, easier said than done in this book.
I kept asking myself what was going every couple of pages. This story was hard to follow and not well written if I might add. The flow wasn't smooth at all. Too bland for my tastes.
The pacing was way too slow. I was bored to tears at first, and very nearly put the book down. The characters were lackluster and uninteresting. It felt like a chore just finishing the book. The twist near the end of the book was kind of random, honestly. The whole book left me feeling crazy myself.
Ellis was just too passive aggressive, which infuriates me. I get that she is supposed to be suffering from some sort of amnesia, but dont act like you remember something and then backtrack later. Merrick needs to calm his butt down and quit acting like the smug, psycho dentist creeping around with ether. Jenny needs to take a hint and quit acting like a dog in heat. And every other character should just get a life. Oh right, easier said than done in this book.
I kept asking myself what was going every couple of pages. This story was hard to follow and not well written if I might add. The flow wasn't smooth at all. Too bland for my tastes.
September 3, 2014
As posted on The Bibliophile's Diary
My experience with the Hickmans was Dragonlance, one of the first fantasy series I made very sad attempts to follow. The world was huge, and I loved it! I haven't ventured much back into those worlds recently but I never had any complaints about the Hickmans at the time, so when I spotted this beauty on NetGalley I quickly sent out a request.
I don't know what I expected, but I surely did not get what I expected. I don't even know what to tell anyone else to expect. I made a rather hysterical attempt at explaining and conveying to my roommate who also read Dragonlance as kid why she should read this. I mostly end up waving my arms around and sighing. Ellis wakes up on a train within the first few pages of the book, she's on her way to a city called Gamin to recover from a mysterious illness or trauma. Even from the beginning of the book you wonder if maybe perhaps we have an unreliable narrator. Ellis has no memory of how she got on the train, why she is on the train, or memories of the people who claim to be loved ones she meets. The most clearest recollection she has of the city and it's town are scattered memories and a fondness and comfort she feels with her cousin.
Throughout the first maybe 40% of the book I spent vaguely confused and not at all convinced of it. It's a slow start, and very strange. It seems that over and over the individuals she knew before she left Gamin originally expect her to remember odd things. Things like scrapbooks and relationships, ships and plays. You distinctly get the feeling that Ellis now is very, very different from Ellis before. You also begin to wonder just how sane everyone else is.
In the end it becomes... intense, the world and everyone in it seems to flip and honestly it took me by surprise. I expected maybe a slightly paranormal mystery, which is not what I got. But I loved what I got. The ride, the confusion, it kept me going. I remember looking up at my husband and wailing that I had no idea what was happening but I could not stop! I had to find the answers, and I was not disappointed. But the answers did somewhat disturb...
I would recommend this to a fantasy, paranormal, and maybe even a horror lover. The twist at the end really makes it unique and the next book in this series is an insta-buy for me if I don't get to a review copy. This was an insta-buy, I've already pre-ordered my hardcover.
My experience with the Hickmans was Dragonlance, one of the first fantasy series I made very sad attempts to follow. The world was huge, and I loved it! I haven't ventured much back into those worlds recently but I never had any complaints about the Hickmans at the time, so when I spotted this beauty on NetGalley I quickly sent out a request.
I don't know what I expected, but I surely did not get what I expected. I don't even know what to tell anyone else to expect. I made a rather hysterical attempt at explaining and conveying to my roommate who also read Dragonlance as kid why she should read this. I mostly end up waving my arms around and sighing. Ellis wakes up on a train within the first few pages of the book, she's on her way to a city called Gamin to recover from a mysterious illness or trauma. Even from the beginning of the book you wonder if maybe perhaps we have an unreliable narrator. Ellis has no memory of how she got on the train, why she is on the train, or memories of the people who claim to be loved ones she meets. The most clearest recollection she has of the city and it's town are scattered memories and a fondness and comfort she feels with her cousin.
Throughout the first maybe 40% of the book I spent vaguely confused and not at all convinced of it. It's a slow start, and very strange. It seems that over and over the individuals she knew before she left Gamin originally expect her to remember odd things. Things like scrapbooks and relationships, ships and plays. You distinctly get the feeling that Ellis now is very, very different from Ellis before. You also begin to wonder just how sane everyone else is.
In the end it becomes... intense, the world and everyone in it seems to flip and honestly it took me by surprise. I expected maybe a slightly paranormal mystery, which is not what I got. But I loved what I got. The ride, the confusion, it kept me going. I remember looking up at my husband and wailing that I had no idea what was happening but I could not stop! I had to find the answers, and I was not disappointed. But the answers did somewhat disturb...
I would recommend this to a fantasy, paranormal, and maybe even a horror lover. The twist at the end really makes it unique and the next book in this series is an insta-buy for me if I don't get to a review copy. This was an insta-buy, I've already pre-ordered my hardcover.
June 18, 2014
I received a copy from Netgalley.
I don't quite know how to review this one. It was a pretty bland read for me. I didn't love it, I didn't hate it either. The mystery aspect pulled me in from the get go and it was a fast paced read. However, there were too many questions and not enough answers until right at the end. I had a vague idea of what was going on and to be fair I didn't actually guess the answers.
The plot was kind of slow but picked up towards the end, and I did think the actual revelations of the mystery were quite unique and original. Writing was okay, I liked the setting. The characters didn't really do much for me. They felt a little flat personality wise. It was more a what the hell is going on and how is this going to be resolved. It was left at an interesting cliffhanger but I'm not all that sure I will be continuing with this series.
It wasn't a bad book, just not for me, I guess.
Thank you to Netgalley and Macmillan-Tor/Forge for approving my request to view the title.
I don't quite know how to review this one. It was a pretty bland read for me. I didn't love it, I didn't hate it either. The mystery aspect pulled me in from the get go and it was a fast paced read. However, there were too many questions and not enough answers until right at the end. I had a vague idea of what was going on and to be fair I didn't actually guess the answers.
The plot was kind of slow but picked up towards the end, and I did think the actual revelations of the mystery were quite unique and original. Writing was okay, I liked the setting. The characters didn't really do much for me. They felt a little flat personality wise. It was more a what the hell is going on and how is this going to be resolved. It was left at an interesting cliffhanger but I'm not all that sure I will be continuing with this series.
It wasn't a bad book, just not for me, I guess.
Thank you to Netgalley and Macmillan-Tor/Forge for approving my request to view the title.
September 2, 2014
This was a dark tale of morbid curiosities with gas lamps and steam engines set in a sleepy seaside town of mysterious circumstance. It grabbed me on the first page and kept me interested throughout. The story picks up near the end to a dizzying pace. It gets a little confusing to tell the difference between waking moments and nightmarish discoveries, but the cliffhanger leaves you begging for more. If you like steampunk-ish fairy tales with a twist of gore, this is definitely the series for you. I will be on the lookout for The Nightbirds #2 to find out what happens to Ellis.
*I received this copy from NetGalley in return for an honest review, and opinions are mine alone.
Review: http://casualreadersbookclub.blogspot...
*I received this copy from NetGalley in return for an honest review, and opinions are mine alone.
Review: http://casualreadersbookclub.blogspot...
January 23, 2015
Beautiful cover. Intriguing premise. Boring delivery...
July 7, 2014
There's a clear line between complex and complicated, and Unwept crossed that line very early into the novel and got more and more lost in there the farther it went into the story. Basically, Unwept wanted to be many, many things and to do a lot of things, and, in the end, it barely achieved to be and to do any of the things it set out to. The problem doesn't lie in being too ambitious with the story, - though for such a small book, the amount of details and ideas was overwhelming -, the real issue is when more and more layers are added to an already convoluted story without first securing the stability of the foundation. The authors left so many threads hanging and left so many parts of the story standing on flimsy foundations, that as they kept adding more mysteries and storylines, it didn't take long for the whole thing to crumble under pressure as soon as the climax came along and did nothing to reinforce the structure of the plot.
Unwept is a very interesting novel at a glance, and it certainly has some very original and fascinating ideas in there, but one can certainly have too much of a good thing, especially when the authors force the mystery by keeping all their cards close to their chests. I don't think an author should reveal absolutely everything, definitely not in the first book in a projected series and certainly not when the mystery of the novel is the driving force of the main storyline. But, as an author, you owe your readers some explanations and to deny them any kind of reason or explanation for the world so that they remain for the duration of the series is nothing short of extortion.
Throughout this novel, the reader is introduced to a very fantastical but mysterious world where elements from almost every single fantasy sub-genre can be found, and yet the thing that bounds them together is never shown. From beginning to end, the reader is as clueless as Ellis, and as the story gets more and more and more complicated, the novel ends up being overwhelming because of how complicated and unexplained the whole thing is. Just once in the entire novel there's an attempt to somewhat explain the situation in this world and it is downright unsatisfactory.
What's more, there's actually barely a plot in there. The story is slow-paced and meanders around at the pace Ellis stumbled around in this new world. The story basically starts in the last few chapters and the entire novel depends on the slumbering pace at which Ellis discovered things about the life she's living.
Ellis, for her part, was a very frustrating and inconsistent main character. She never questioned her situation and never outright sought to remedy her lack of understanding or knowledge about this world. She has no memory of who she is, she is being dumped somewhere, told nothing and expected to just fall back into this life with these people that she's supposed to know but want to tell her nothing and instead control her every step, and she's perfectly fine with it. She rarely questioned it and simply went along with all of it, more worried about how they would feel than the fact that she knew nothing about those people, about herself or this world and was expected to live this strange life and not question it. She constantly oscillated between having a backbone and wanting to find out what was going on, and then back into perfect complacence. Moreover, the way Ellis got back some of her memories was not only frustrating, but also extremely unrealistic. Memories don't come back that easily, and certainly not without any side-effects, and you just can't stand in front of a piano or an easel and just decide that you must have known how to play or paint and, poof!, here are your memories of doing exactly that. It wasn't until the very last page that Ellis showed her outrage at her situation and decided to take matter in her own hands, but by then it was too late for me.
The rest of the novel is full of shallowly-drawn and slightly irritating characters that have no subtlety in their characterization or any clear point at all. At this point, I still have no idea as to what any of this characters actually wants. The worst two characters by far were the love interests. Equally creepy, controlling, dominating and inconsiderate, these two alphas were stuck in a pissing contest with each other, claiming back and forth the main character without even wondering about what she wanted. They just came on to her, going so far as to assault her while she sleeps, never once seeing her as a person but an object to be claimed, and expected Ellis and the reader to be totally cool with this. At least Ellis spoke out against this in the end and basically told both of them to go to hell, but I have no doubt this creepy love triangle will come back and probably be all the more important in upcoming books, which is one of the main reasons why I'm not picking up the sequel.
Unwept is a collection of very good and fascinating ideas, but they are threads tangled with each other, left like that intentionally by the authors to force a series from a story that, developed rightly and carefully explained, shouldn't had have space for more installments. The book was not badly written and there was an impressive atmosphere in the book, but you cannot force a mystery and a whole story by throwing buckets of exposition and half-developed concepts at your reader and then tell them that if they want to know what it all means then they'll have to stick around for the next book, especially when it is done in such a blatant way. Lot of potential with this one, certainly full of great ideas, but in the end, without the right execution, great ideas can only go so far.
Unwept is a very interesting novel at a glance, and it certainly has some very original and fascinating ideas in there, but one can certainly have too much of a good thing, especially when the authors force the mystery by keeping all their cards close to their chests. I don't think an author should reveal absolutely everything, definitely not in the first book in a projected series and certainly not when the mystery of the novel is the driving force of the main storyline. But, as an author, you owe your readers some explanations and to deny them any kind of reason or explanation for the world so that they remain for the duration of the series is nothing short of extortion.
Throughout this novel, the reader is introduced to a very fantastical but mysterious world where elements from almost every single fantasy sub-genre can be found, and yet the thing that bounds them together is never shown. From beginning to end, the reader is as clueless as Ellis, and as the story gets more and more and more complicated, the novel ends up being overwhelming because of how complicated and unexplained the whole thing is. Just once in the entire novel there's an attempt to somewhat explain the situation in this world and it is downright unsatisfactory.
What's more, there's actually barely a plot in there. The story is slow-paced and meanders around at the pace Ellis stumbled around in this new world. The story basically starts in the last few chapters and the entire novel depends on the slumbering pace at which Ellis discovered things about the life she's living.
Ellis, for her part, was a very frustrating and inconsistent main character. She never questioned her situation and never outright sought to remedy her lack of understanding or knowledge about this world. She has no memory of who she is, she is being dumped somewhere, told nothing and expected to just fall back into this life with these people that she's supposed to know but want to tell her nothing and instead control her every step, and she's perfectly fine with it. She rarely questioned it and simply went along with all of it, more worried about how they would feel than the fact that she knew nothing about those people, about herself or this world and was expected to live this strange life and not question it. She constantly oscillated between having a backbone and wanting to find out what was going on, and then back into perfect complacence. Moreover, the way Ellis got back some of her memories was not only frustrating, but also extremely unrealistic. Memories don't come back that easily, and certainly not without any side-effects, and you just can't stand in front of a piano or an easel and just decide that you must have known how to play or paint and, poof!, here are your memories of doing exactly that. It wasn't until the very last page that Ellis showed her outrage at her situation and decided to take matter in her own hands, but by then it was too late for me.
The rest of the novel is full of shallowly-drawn and slightly irritating characters that have no subtlety in their characterization or any clear point at all. At this point, I still have no idea as to what any of this characters actually wants. The worst two characters by far were the love interests. Equally creepy, controlling, dominating and inconsiderate, these two alphas were stuck in a pissing contest with each other, claiming back and forth the main character without even wondering about what she wanted. They just came on to her, going so far as to assault her while she sleeps, never once seeing her as a person but an object to be claimed, and expected Ellis and the reader to be totally cool with this. At least Ellis spoke out against this in the end and basically told both of them to go to hell, but I have no doubt this creepy love triangle will come back and probably be all the more important in upcoming books, which is one of the main reasons why I'm not picking up the sequel.
Unwept is a collection of very good and fascinating ideas, but they are threads tangled with each other, left like that intentionally by the authors to force a series from a story that, developed rightly and carefully explained, shouldn't had have space for more installments. The book was not badly written and there was an impressive atmosphere in the book, but you cannot force a mystery and a whole story by throwing buckets of exposition and half-developed concepts at your reader and then tell them that if they want to know what it all means then they'll have to stick around for the next book, especially when it is done in such a blatant way. Lot of potential with this one, certainly full of great ideas, but in the end, without the right execution, great ideas can only go so far.
September 20, 2017
When Ellis Harkington awakes from a nightmare, she knows little except her name. A nurse accompanies her on a train back to her hometown of Gamin, Maine in hope that familiar settings will restore the memory robbed from her by unknown causes. After a short rest, she begins to meet members of the Nightbirds, a circle of young men and women who claim to be friends. They tell Ellis little about her forgotten past hoping that activities they invite her to join will gently spur her memory.
I wish the husband and wife authors would have described better the members of the Nightbirds as they did Gamin. I found it difficult portraying them in my mind's eye. The action seemed to drag and was ready to rate it one star until the last 60 pages when it finally began to become interesting. This novel is the initial in a trilogy. Generally, when I read a trilogy, the weakest of the set is generally the second serving as a bridge between an introduction that draws the reader in and the climatic conclusive third novel. However, this series appears to be the exception with such a slow start, I doubt I will read the other two even if there was a cliff-hanger at this book's end.
I wish the husband and wife authors would have described better the members of the Nightbirds as they did Gamin. I found it difficult portraying them in my mind's eye. The action seemed to drag and was ready to rate it one star until the last 60 pages when it finally began to become interesting. This novel is the initial in a trilogy. Generally, when I read a trilogy, the weakest of the set is generally the second serving as a bridge between an introduction that draws the reader in and the climatic conclusive third novel. However, this series appears to be the exception with such a slow start, I doubt I will read the other two even if there was a cliff-hanger at this book's end.
June 17, 2014
I would like to thank NetGalley & Tor Books for granting me a copy of this e-ARC to read in exchange for an honest review. Though I received this e-book for free that in no way impacts my review.
The beginning of an unusually creative mystery, this first book sets the stage for the rest of the series. The opening scene is spooky and utterly bizarre, particularly as we jump from there to Ellis being on a train with her nurse, who she doesn't even recognize as her nurse when they begin talking.
Ellis keeps getting handed off from one person to the next, first her nurse, then her doctor, and Merrick, who leave her at her cousin Jenny's with no sign of Jenny anywhere. Poor Ellis keeps being told that her memories will come back given time, but until then no one will tell her anything to help her regain those memories. They say it's for her own good, but right from the beginning Ellis is questioning the illogic in that concept. How can she recall who she is if those closest to her won't talk about their past together? As soon as she asks a question Ellis is handed off to the next closest person, almost as if they're all playing a game of 'Pass Ellis' without explaining the rules of the game to her. Or explaining anything else for that matter.
She finds the town of Gamin to be quite strange. There don't seem to be any adults around acting as proper chaperones for her group. Even her cousin Jenny lives alone in a large, remote house. Not too mention the strange inhabitants of the town proper, such as the Finney sisters. And the slightly sinister Mr. Merrick Bacchus, who appears to be in his early 30's and was introduced to her as the benefactor of the entire town. Why would a gentleman in his 30's be spending his time with a bunch of young people, hardly even into their twenties? The genders mingle without a thought for propriety, and no one finds this odd. No more odd than a 30-something-year-old man spending all his time with a group of young people barely into their twenties. Nor does anyone think it odd how things seem to get done without anyone seeming to do them - luggage moved, meals cooked, dishes done. All the while other basic upkeep isn't getting done. There appears to be little rhyme nor reason behind the way things are done in Gamin. Again, no one else finds it the least bit odd.
Slowly pieces of the larger picture are introduced, but nothing is ever so fully explained as to make it clear. . . yet. But the pace just keeps increasing throughout the book as Ellis thinks she begins to understand things, and the reader is given further details. Strange things continue to happen, and it's becoming increasingly clear to Ellis that people are keeping secrets from her, while sharing hers as if they were public property.
By the end of the book Ellis has grown a backbone and stopped simply accepting the answers she's being fed. She's determined to make up her own mind about things, regardless of of much or how little she ever remembers. But independent thinking may just be hazardous to her health while in Gamin. It doesn't seem to have done anyone else any good, not that she can really tell since she hardly seems to stumble across it. What she does stumble across makes for a very strong cliffhanger ending!
Gamin, Maine, is a remote seaside town where everyone seems to know Ellis Harkington better than she knows herself—but she doesn’t remember any of them.
Unknown events have robbed Ellis of her memory. Concerned individuals, who purport to be her friends and loved ones, insist that she simply needs to recuperate, that her memories may return in time, but refuse to divulge what has brought her to this state. For her own sake, so they say.
Ellis finds herself adrift in a town of ominous mysteries, cryptic hints, and disturbingly familiar strangers. The Nightbirds, a clique of fashionable young men and women, claim her as one of their own, but who among them can she truly trust? And what of the phantom suitor who visits her in her dreams? Is he a memory, a figment of her imagination, or a living nightmare beyond rational explanation?
Only her lost past hold the answers she seeks—if she can uncover its secrets before she fall prey to an unearthly killer.
The beginning of an unusually creative mystery, this first book sets the stage for the rest of the series. The opening scene is spooky and utterly bizarre, particularly as we jump from there to Ellis being on a train with her nurse, who she doesn't even recognize as her nurse when they begin talking.
Ellis keeps getting handed off from one person to the next, first her nurse, then her doctor, and Merrick, who leave her at her cousin Jenny's with no sign of Jenny anywhere. Poor Ellis keeps being told that her memories will come back given time, but until then no one will tell her anything to help her regain those memories. They say it's for her own good, but right from the beginning Ellis is questioning the illogic in that concept. How can she recall who she is if those closest to her won't talk about their past together? As soon as she asks a question Ellis is handed off to the next closest person, almost as if they're all playing a game of 'Pass Ellis' without explaining the rules of the game to her. Or explaining anything else for that matter.
She finds the town of Gamin to be quite strange. There don't seem to be any adults around acting as proper chaperones for her group. Even her cousin Jenny lives alone in a large, remote house. Not too mention the strange inhabitants of the town proper, such as the Finney sisters. And the slightly sinister Mr. Merrick Bacchus, who appears to be in his early 30's and was introduced to her as the benefactor of the entire town. Why would a gentleman in his 30's be spending his time with a bunch of young people, hardly even into their twenties? The genders mingle without a thought for propriety, and no one finds this odd. No more odd than a 30-something-year-old man spending all his time with a group of young people barely into their twenties. Nor does anyone think it odd how things seem to get done without anyone seeming to do them - luggage moved, meals cooked, dishes done. All the while other basic upkeep isn't getting done. There appears to be little rhyme nor reason behind the way things are done in Gamin. Again, no one else finds it the least bit odd.
Slowly pieces of the larger picture are introduced, but nothing is ever so fully explained as to make it clear. . . yet. But the pace just keeps increasing throughout the book as Ellis thinks she begins to understand things, and the reader is given further details. Strange things continue to happen, and it's becoming increasingly clear to Ellis that people are keeping secrets from her, while sharing hers as if they were public property.
By the end of the book Ellis has grown a backbone and stopped simply accepting the answers she's being fed. She's determined to make up her own mind about things, regardless of of much or how little she ever remembers. But independent thinking may just be hazardous to her health while in Gamin. It doesn't seem to have done anyone else any good, not that she can really tell since she hardly seems to stumble across it. What she does stumble across makes for a very strong cliffhanger ending!
July 8, 2014
3.5/5
Mon avis en Français
My English review
When I saw for the first time the cover and when I read the synopsis, I knew that I had to try the novel. It is true that in the end I am very surprised because the story is not at all what I expected. Not that it was not good, not at all, it was very interesting but also very special. You will understand exactly why later.
We discover Ellis who wakes up in a place she does not know about, but I must say that she doesn’t remember a thing about herself. Taken in a train to people who seem to know her, she hopes to understand what is happening. But everything seems new and no memory comes back to the surface whatever she might do. She finds herself thrown into a very strange world, where everyone seems to know her and wants something from her, while she is totally lost. As she tries to find the true through all these persons, it seems that a man, a dream or a nightmare appears to her, trying to take her away from this place. But who can she really trust?
We follow Ellis in her discovery of the city, as well as the characters throughout the story and it is true that it is very very difficult to understand what is happening. This is a young woman who is determined to find answers to her questions and not be influenced by the decisions of those who evolve around her. It must be said that none of the characters explains what they really want; living by certains rules we don’t know anything about. Oh yes, you will see that this story is really strange, and even more than that! We understand gradually that something is really not normal in this city, but it was not until the end of the novel that we realize what it is actually happening. And one thing is certain, we can not expect one second for the truth that we discover. Everything is really well found and very original.
Many very different characters appear alternately in the story and it is true that we are trying to penetrate their secrets. The two most mysterious are the mayor and the person who appears to the young woman. We do not understand their interest and emphasis, but all that will come in due time.
To conclude this novel was a pleasant surprise, even if it is very different from what I expected. We have here a first part of the history and even if the authors present us a kind of end, we don’t really have one and I’m very curious to see what they’ll have for us next.
Mon avis en Français
My English review
When I saw for the first time the cover and when I read the synopsis, I knew that I had to try the novel. It is true that in the end I am very surprised because the story is not at all what I expected. Not that it was not good, not at all, it was very interesting but also very special. You will understand exactly why later.
We discover Ellis who wakes up in a place she does not know about, but I must say that she doesn’t remember a thing about herself. Taken in a train to people who seem to know her, she hopes to understand what is happening. But everything seems new and no memory comes back to the surface whatever she might do. She finds herself thrown into a very strange world, where everyone seems to know her and wants something from her, while she is totally lost. As she tries to find the true through all these persons, it seems that a man, a dream or a nightmare appears to her, trying to take her away from this place. But who can she really trust?
We follow Ellis in her discovery of the city, as well as the characters throughout the story and it is true that it is very very difficult to understand what is happening. This is a young woman who is determined to find answers to her questions and not be influenced by the decisions of those who evolve around her. It must be said that none of the characters explains what they really want; living by certains rules we don’t know anything about. Oh yes, you will see that this story is really strange, and even more than that! We understand gradually that something is really not normal in this city, but it was not until the end of the novel that we realize what it is actually happening. And one thing is certain, we can not expect one second for the truth that we discover. Everything is really well found and very original.
Many very different characters appear alternately in the story and it is true that we are trying to penetrate their secrets. The two most mysterious are the mayor and the person who appears to the young woman. We do not understand their interest and emphasis, but all that will come in due time.
To conclude this novel was a pleasant surprise, even if it is very different from what I expected. We have here a first part of the history and even if the authors present us a kind of end, we don’t really have one and I’m very curious to see what they’ll have for us next.
July 2, 2014
When I first saw this book on NetGalley I was very much intrigued and decided to request it, and I was quite pleased when I got approved (thank you, Tor Books!).
Upon starting I was quite right hooked by the very eery and creepy beginning and then quite even more with the mystery and unknowns that are all over the story. This book has such a gothic mystery and romance feel to it, with a very compelling atmosphere and full of creepy and disquieting moments.
The narrative was a very mysterious one, no matter how many tiny clues we kept on getting here and there, nothing seemed to make sense cause we seemed to be lacking some foundation of information so none of the pieces would click. The writing was quite beautiful too, so while I kept devouring page after page trying to come upon some more answers, I was also quite enchanted with the words themselves.
As a first book in a series or trilogy, I feel that it sets up the world in a rather interesting way, but I felt like by end of the book I was left with too many questions unanswered and a rather narrow view of the world of the Nightbirds. Also, some of the explanations were a bit on the vague side and that's mostly where the paranormal (so to speak) part of the book came into view. My confusion and lack of more world building is probably what has knocked the rating down for me. Also, even if the explanation seems like a nice twist on well known religious beliefs, it seemed a bit timid? grey?... I dunno, I guess I was expecting a bit more after all the mystery!
The main character Ellis was quite a challenge, not that she was unlikeable but at first as an amnesiac and infirm recovering she seemed to have very little of a will at first, and although she doesn't know who she is or what is going on, she develps a very healthy self preservation sense and even if she sometimes fail to show common sense, by the end of the book she shows that she can stand for herself and ready to fight, and that gave me quite a lot of hope for the coming books.
The other characters are rather mysterious, keeping in tune with the feel of the book, but they just felt a bit cartoonish on occasion, like augmented characterstics but not real feel behind them... might have been intentional given our later discoveries but left me a bit unsatisfied.
I will probably be checking out the next book and despite some of my grips with the book I still give it 3 stars, Ellis seems like a character with progression and the atmosphere and writing were quite fantastic.
Upon starting I was quite right hooked by the very eery and creepy beginning and then quite even more with the mystery and unknowns that are all over the story. This book has such a gothic mystery and romance feel to it, with a very compelling atmosphere and full of creepy and disquieting moments.
The narrative was a very mysterious one, no matter how many tiny clues we kept on getting here and there, nothing seemed to make sense cause we seemed to be lacking some foundation of information so none of the pieces would click. The writing was quite beautiful too, so while I kept devouring page after page trying to come upon some more answers, I was also quite enchanted with the words themselves.
As a first book in a series or trilogy, I feel that it sets up the world in a rather interesting way, but I felt like by end of the book I was left with too many questions unanswered and a rather narrow view of the world of the Nightbirds. Also, some of the explanations were a bit on the vague side and that's mostly where the paranormal (so to speak) part of the book came into view. My confusion and lack of more world building is probably what has knocked the rating down for me. Also, even if the explanation seems like a nice twist on well known religious beliefs, it seemed a bit timid? grey?... I dunno, I guess I was expecting a bit more after all the mystery!
The main character Ellis was quite a challenge, not that she was unlikeable but at first as an amnesiac and infirm recovering she seemed to have very little of a will at first, and although she doesn't know who she is or what is going on, she develps a very healthy self preservation sense and even if she sometimes fail to show common sense, by the end of the book she shows that she can stand for herself and ready to fight, and that gave me quite a lot of hope for the coming books.
The other characters are rather mysterious, keeping in tune with the feel of the book, but they just felt a bit cartoonish on occasion, like augmented characterstics but not real feel behind them... might have been intentional given our later discoveries but left me a bit unsatisfied.
I will probably be checking out the next book and despite some of my grips with the book I still give it 3 stars, Ellis seems like a character with progression and the atmosphere and writing were quite fantastic.
July 11, 2014
3.5 out of 5 stars
I was immediately intrigued by Unwept. Between it's lovely cover and mysterious synopsis that promises murder and small town secrets, how could I not be? It's a rather short first book in a new series that looks like it'll get even better as it goes on, as well.
The simple fact that Ellis has no memories whatsoever makes for a fascinating read. Never does it feel like things are being held back, and learning the true nature of Gamin alongside Ellis is addicting. I found myself quickly turning the (metaphorical) pages, making guess after guess about Gamin and its residents--and never coming close. Even after finishing the novel, I'm not quite solid on it, but I think that's kind of the point. Despite an explanation, I've still got loads of questions, questions that must wait to be answered.
The pace is, especially considering that it's pretty short, astonishingly slow-feeling, without being frustratingly so. At the close of each chapter, something new has been uncovered, so you're always kept on your toes. And it really works. Unwept is very gothic and creepy, without ever really being scary--though there are a couple of horror-movie worthy visuals.
My real complaint is that it feels so much like a series setup. You get the explanation, but it's leave you with more questions than answers. You know who's been killing, but it does little to resolve the book's conflict. We know who Ellis is and where she came from, but the book really just cuts off at the end. There's very little satisfaction in finishing Unwept, and that's what bothered me. I wanted to put it down and sigh, having read an interesting book, but I was left feeling unsatisfied. It's an interesting setup, certainly one I've never seen before, that I'm very interested in, and I enjoyed reading the novel, but I just think the story needs some feeling of completion, even if there are large threads leading to the next book.
Nonetheless, Unwept is a fascinating read that will keep you guessing and leave shivers down your spine, and the promising start to the series.
I received a copy of this book from the publisher in exchange for an honest review.
You can find this review and many more fun things on my blog: Paper Cuts.
I was immediately intrigued by Unwept. Between it's lovely cover and mysterious synopsis that promises murder and small town secrets, how could I not be? It's a rather short first book in a new series that looks like it'll get even better as it goes on, as well.
The simple fact that Ellis has no memories whatsoever makes for a fascinating read. Never does it feel like things are being held back, and learning the true nature of Gamin alongside Ellis is addicting. I found myself quickly turning the (metaphorical) pages, making guess after guess about Gamin and its residents--and never coming close. Even after finishing the novel, I'm not quite solid on it, but I think that's kind of the point. Despite an explanation, I've still got loads of questions, questions that must wait to be answered.
The pace is, especially considering that it's pretty short, astonishingly slow-feeling, without being frustratingly so. At the close of each chapter, something new has been uncovered, so you're always kept on your toes. And it really works. Unwept is very gothic and creepy, without ever really being scary--though there are a couple of horror-movie worthy visuals.
My real complaint is that it feels so much like a series setup. You get the explanation, but it's leave you with more questions than answers. You know who's been killing, but it does little to resolve the book's conflict. We know who Ellis is and where she came from, but the book really just cuts off at the end. There's very little satisfaction in finishing Unwept, and that's what bothered me. I wanted to put it down and sigh, having read an interesting book, but I was left feeling unsatisfied. It's an interesting setup, certainly one I've never seen before, that I'm very interested in, and I enjoyed reading the novel, but I just think the story needs some feeling of completion, even if there are large threads leading to the next book.
Nonetheless, Unwept is a fascinating read that will keep you guessing and leave shivers down your spine, and the promising start to the series.
I received a copy of this book from the publisher in exchange for an honest review.
You can find this review and many more fun things on my blog: Paper Cuts.
July 1, 2014
I think I was pulled by another pretty cover, but who can blame me right? It’s gorgeous and has a touch of mystery surrounding it too. When you add on the synopsis, which promises a creepy small town mystery, I knew that I had to read the Unwept.
The book starts off strong in the prologue. A girl is in a coffin and the entire experience both creepy and disturbing. After the prologue, the book is pretty good. We’re introduced to Ellis who is coming down to Gamin, Maine via train. She’s with a nurse, who she doesn’t remember, and a baby. Only the nurse keeps telling her to ignore the sleeping child and acts like they don’t exist. When Ellis leaves the train, she realizes that no one else got on the train even though there are many people at the train station. Almost like no one ever leaves this place.
Ellis then meets the other members of the small town. Just like the nurse on the train, everyone remembers Ellis even though she doesn’t know any of them. The only one she has some inkling of remembrance for is her cousin Jenny.
The town, in itself, seems almost sinister despite the smiles and happiness of its citizens. No kids are here and people keep mysteriously dying. Ellis also has dreams of a man who turns into a moth.
All this sounds great, right? Perfect for an eerie mystery where you’re not sure of what’s what and who is who. Only...only I found the Unwept to be kind of boring. The mystery is very slow moving and by the time everything is reveal, you stop caring. It’s not shocking, it’s just there.
Even though this is a small book and should be a short read, I found myself struggling to get through it. I liked Gamin and I did like the beginning of the novel, but everything else failed to live up to its potential. The other characters were one note and when two of them decided to escape, it almost didn’t make sense because you didn’t understand their motivations.
Overall: Maybe the next book in the series will be better, especially since some of the secrets have now been brought to light, but unfortunately, the Unwept was slow moving, lacked proper character development, and was boring.
The book starts off strong in the prologue. A girl is in a coffin and the entire experience both creepy and disturbing. After the prologue, the book is pretty good. We’re introduced to Ellis who is coming down to Gamin, Maine via train. She’s with a nurse, who she doesn’t remember, and a baby. Only the nurse keeps telling her to ignore the sleeping child and acts like they don’t exist. When Ellis leaves the train, she realizes that no one else got on the train even though there are many people at the train station. Almost like no one ever leaves this place.
Ellis then meets the other members of the small town. Just like the nurse on the train, everyone remembers Ellis even though she doesn’t know any of them. The only one she has some inkling of remembrance for is her cousin Jenny.
The town, in itself, seems almost sinister despite the smiles and happiness of its citizens. No kids are here and people keep mysteriously dying. Ellis also has dreams of a man who turns into a moth.
All this sounds great, right? Perfect for an eerie mystery where you’re not sure of what’s what and who is who. Only...only I found the Unwept to be kind of boring. The mystery is very slow moving and by the time everything is reveal, you stop caring. It’s not shocking, it’s just there.
Even though this is a small book and should be a short read, I found myself struggling to get through it. I liked Gamin and I did like the beginning of the novel, but everything else failed to live up to its potential. The other characters were one note and when two of them decided to escape, it almost didn’t make sense because you didn’t understand their motivations.
Overall: Maybe the next book in the series will be better, especially since some of the secrets have now been brought to light, but unfortunately, the Unwept was slow moving, lacked proper character development, and was boring.
July 20, 2014
This book is so poorly written that at times I stopped reading the actual story and just noted how many badly composed sentences were on each page. In spite of that, and even with an actual attempt to follow the plot (which was a bit like following a drunk friend who is SURE the way home is just THIS WAY), I never managed to figure out what the hell was going on.
In fact, I found it so hilariously awful that I almost recommended it to a friend who reads books that are fun to hate. The problem? It wasn't fun, hating this thing. It made me sad. Sad that books like this manage to get published.
Basically, there is this girl who is imagining herself in a coffin. Then she is on a train with a snotty nurse and a crying baby. Then there is the train platform, where everyone is staring at her, and no one else boards a train, and then we go into the bizarre and nonsensical town of Gamin. We get to meet the founder of Gamin, Merrick, who is kind of a dick. This girl, the main character, whose name might be Ellis or Ellie or Janelle (seriously), wanders around in a daze meeting people, all the time being offended at things in the manner of an uptight Victorian girl. I can't even remember how many times we got to hear how ugly Ellie/Ellis thought her traveling clothes were. Who gives a good god damn? This book would have been torture for an adept mystery reader. Red herrings everywhere, and none of them meant a damn thing.
I was hoping for a quick trashy young adult book. I ended up with the dog's breakfast of books.
In fact, I found it so hilariously awful that I almost recommended it to a friend who reads books that are fun to hate. The problem? It wasn't fun, hating this thing. It made me sad. Sad that books like this manage to get published.
Basically, there is this girl who is imagining herself in a coffin. Then she is on a train with a snotty nurse and a crying baby. Then there is the train platform, where everyone is staring at her, and no one else boards a train, and then we go into the bizarre and nonsensical town of Gamin. We get to meet the founder of Gamin, Merrick, who is kind of a dick. This girl, the main character, whose name might be Ellis or Ellie or Janelle (seriously), wanders around in a daze meeting people, all the time being offended at things in the manner of an uptight Victorian girl. I can't even remember how many times we got to hear how ugly Ellie/Ellis thought her traveling clothes were. Who gives a good god damn? This book would have been torture for an adept mystery reader. Red herrings everywhere, and none of them meant a damn thing.
I was hoping for a quick trashy young adult book. I ended up with the dog's breakfast of books.
July 1, 2014
**I received this book for free from NetGalley/Tor Books in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.**
*Genre* Mystery, with supernatural aspects
*Rating* 3.0
*My Thoughts*
Unwept follows the story of Ellis Harkington as she tries to remember her history, especially where she came from, where she's been, why she woke up on a train, why she can't remember the people in the town of Gamin who claim to know her, why she has knowledge of certain things while mostly blank about everything else, and above all, is she really dead, or alive?
This story truly takes a page from the long running TV series The Twilight Zone in that you are not really seeing what you are seeing, and if you truly do believe what you are seeing, then perhaps you have been swallowed up by the writers twisted imaginary, or need to go back and re-read the last chapters.
*For the rest of my review, please go to Gizmos Reviews* Thanks!
http://www.gizmosreviews.blogspot.com...
*Recvd via NetGalley 05/05/2014* Expected publication: July 1st 2014 by Tor Books
*Genre* Mystery, with supernatural aspects
*Rating* 3.0
*My Thoughts*
Unwept follows the story of Ellis Harkington as she tries to remember her history, especially where she came from, where she's been, why she woke up on a train, why she can't remember the people in the town of Gamin who claim to know her, why she has knowledge of certain things while mostly blank about everything else, and above all, is she really dead, or alive?
This story truly takes a page from the long running TV series The Twilight Zone in that you are not really seeing what you are seeing, and if you truly do believe what you are seeing, then perhaps you have been swallowed up by the writers twisted imaginary, or need to go back and re-read the last chapters.
*For the rest of my review, please go to Gizmos Reviews* Thanks!
http://www.gizmosreviews.blogspot.com...
*Recvd via NetGalley 05/05/2014* Expected publication: July 1st 2014 by Tor Books
September 25, 2014
The only reason I read this book past the first third is the author. I loved the Dragonlance series, so I gave this a shot. I did manage to get through the entire book, but I'm not sure it was worth it. Nothing remotely interesting happens in the first hundred pages. Barely anything interesting happens after that. The only real excitement comes in at the very end, when the story finally moves forward a bit...immediately before ending, setting up the second book.
Ellis, the main character, has amnesia. She remembers nothing about who she is or where she came from. No one else really believes that, apparently, because everyone treats her like she knows what's going on, and gets angry/frustrated/confused when she doesn't react the way they expect. There. That, right there, is three quarters of the story. Ellis not knowing what's going on, everyone acting like she does, lather rinse repeat. It wears thin quickly. There are some interesting bits, and future installments might be better, since Ellis is finally beginning to remember some things, but I can't honestly recommend struggling through this story on that lone hope.
Ellis, the main character, has amnesia. She remembers nothing about who she is or where she came from. No one else really believes that, apparently, because everyone treats her like she knows what's going on, and gets angry/frustrated/confused when she doesn't react the way they expect. There. That, right there, is three quarters of the story. Ellis not knowing what's going on, everyone acting like she does, lather rinse repeat. It wears thin quickly. There are some interesting bits, and future installments might be better, since Ellis is finally beginning to remember some things, but I can't honestly recommend struggling through this story on that lone hope.
July 2, 2014
UNWEPT strives to create an uncanny dreamworld of menace and meaning, but falls far short of its goal. After a gripping opening scene, the story bogs down under Alice in Wonderland levels of incongruity and silliness. Once Ellis is ensconced with her cousin, the mystery manages to overpower the nonsense for a time, but the clues and hints left don't build to a satisfying trajectory. Rather than growing over the course of the story, book one of this series takes Ellis from confused and compliant to hysterical and obdurate, leaving me with a laundry list of questions and no desire whatsoever to continue to book two. Despite an interesting premise, UNWEPT doesn't offer enough grounding to give the story weight, and despite glimmers of strength and intelligence, Ellis herself seems as fed up as me by book's end.
Sexual Content: References to sexual and sexual assault.
Sexual Content: References to sexual and sexual assault.
November 24, 2014
This book never did grab my attention. Ellis wakes up after a nightmare scene that was very promising. She has no knowledge of who she is...ok, I can buy that. But then, there's the weird nurse and that conversation goes nowhere. Then there's the doctor and a weird power struggle at the train station which goes nowhere. Then, she gets to her Cousin Jenny's house and the conversation goes, you guessed it, NOWHERE. The authors tried to keep the plot moving and exciting, but I never felt like they were giving me enough information. Therefore, when I wasn't getting answers, I got, as another reviewer put it, bored...not engaged...wanted to quit. I did finish, the book, but was annoyed when it ended more than anything. Will not be reading the sequel.
March 29, 2016
I'm afraid I don't have anything good to say about this book. The rule of "when you don't have anything nice to say, don't say anything at all" makes it difficult to write a review on a book that you loathed.
I didn't like any of the characters and couldn't connect with them. I couldn't care less what happened to Ellis or any of her friends.
The author tried so hard to be mysterious that in the end nothing made sense and there was no resolution. The ending was especially awkward and confusing.
The book was a big mess and I would never have finished it if it weren't for the fact that I had to write a review.
Thank you to the publisher and Netgalley for the free review copy.
I didn't like any of the characters and couldn't connect with them. I couldn't care less what happened to Ellis or any of her friends.
The author tried so hard to be mysterious that in the end nothing made sense and there was no resolution. The ending was especially awkward and confusing.
The book was a big mess and I would never have finished it if it weren't for the fact that I had to write a review.
Thank you to the publisher and Netgalley for the free review copy.
May 5, 2015
When I finished this book, I said to myself, "That was a stupid book." In a nutshell, too much mystery, not enough reveal to make me curious about what might happen at the end of the book, much less in a sequel. I have no idea why it was called Unwept. I have no idea who any of the characters really are, or even WHAT they are (ok, a tiny inkling, but not enough of one). And I just don't care.
It was funny that I read this book right after I read The Asylum, which is another book about a young woman waking up with no memory. (I can recommend that book more highly than this one.)
It was funny that I read this book right after I read The Asylum, which is another book about a young woman waking up with no memory. (I can recommend that book more highly than this one.)
May 10, 2014
I was hoping that some shocking reveal would save this story and make me want to continue the series, but I was left disappointed. The twist about Ellis and the people in Gamin wasn't very surprising because there were enough hints to figure out the main idea. Wasn't bad, but not something I would recommend either. Full review to come.
July 19, 2014
Read 82 pages and thought life is too short and quit.
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