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The Girl in the Box/Out of the Box Universe
Alone, Untouched, Soulless
This is a collection of the first three titles in The Girl in the Box Series, which are about a teenage girl who develops powers far beyond those of a normal human, and her battles against those who would use her against her will. (Approx. 185,000 words total.)
Books included:
1. Alone
2. Untouched
3. Soulless
Alone
Sienna Nealon was a 17 year-old girl who had been held prisoner in her own house by her mother for twelve years. Then one day her mother vanished, and Sienna woke up to find two strange men in her home. On the run, unsure of who to turn to and discovering she possesses mysterious powers, Sienna finds herself pursued by a shadowy agency known as the Directorate and hunted by a vicious, bloodthirsty psychopath named Wolfe, each of which is determined to capture her for their own purposes...
Untouched
Still haunted by her last encounter with Wolfe and searching for her mother, Sienna Nealon must put aside her personal struggles when a new threat emerges – Aleksandr Gavrikov, a metahuman so powerful, he could destroy entire cities – and he's focused on bringing the Directorate to its knees.
Soulless
After six months of intense training with the Directorate, Sienna Nealon finds herself on her first assignment - tracking a dangerous meta across the upper midwest. With Scott Byerly and Kat Forrest at her side, she'll face new enemies and receive help from unlikely allies as she stumbles across the truth behind the shadowy organization known only as Omega.
Additional books not included in set:
Books included:
1. Alone
2. Untouched
3. Soulless
Alone
Sienna Nealon was a 17 year-old girl who had been held prisoner in her own house by her mother for twelve years. Then one day her mother vanished, and Sienna woke up to find two strange men in her home. On the run, unsure of who to turn to and discovering she possesses mysterious powers, Sienna finds herself pursued by a shadowy agency known as the Directorate and hunted by a vicious, bloodthirsty psychopath named Wolfe, each of which is determined to capture her for their own purposes...
Untouched
Still haunted by her last encounter with Wolfe and searching for her mother, Sienna Nealon must put aside her personal struggles when a new threat emerges – Aleksandr Gavrikov, a metahuman so powerful, he could destroy entire cities – and he's focused on bringing the Directorate to its knees.
Soulless
After six months of intense training with the Directorate, Sienna Nealon finds herself on her first assignment - tracking a dangerous meta across the upper midwest. With Scott Byerly and Kat Forrest at her side, she'll face new enemies and receive help from unlikely allies as she stumbles across the truth behind the shadowy organization known only as Omega.
Additional books not included in set:
502 pages, Kindle Edition
First published February 19, 2014
8345 people are currently reading
10077 people want to read
About the author
Robert J. Crane
176 books1,168 followersRobert J. Crane was born and raised on Florida's Space Coast before moving to the upper midwest in search of cooler climates and more palatable beer. He graduated from the University of Central Florida with a degree in English Creative Writing. He worked for a year as a substitute teacher and worked in the financial services field for seven years while writing in his spare time.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 724 reviews
April 25, 2014
By Chapter 6 I'd decided I wasn't going to keep reading I finished the three books anyway. It pretty much kept going as I imagined.
It's sturdy teen fiction that many of us will recognise.
A teenage girl, innocent of the world and of men, discovers that she has special powers. There's sexual tension, which is perpetually thwarted, but scenes to prod the pubescent mind's fantasies nonetheless.
Gods and monsters, ridiculously named organisations and a parade of psychopathic super-powered killers abound.
Despite her unconventional upbringing, which is sheltered, she seems to enter the outside world with a ready awareness of sarcasm and far more contemporary references that seem likely.
There are another 7 books in the series. I'm not feeling compelled to read them.
It's sturdy teen fiction that many of us will recognise.
A teenage girl, innocent of the world and of men, discovers that she has special powers. There's sexual tension, which is perpetually thwarted, but scenes to prod the pubescent mind's fantasies nonetheless.
Gods and monsters, ridiculously named organisations and a parade of psychopathic super-powered killers abound.
Despite her unconventional upbringing, which is sheltered, she seems to enter the outside world with a ready awareness of sarcasm and far more contemporary references that seem likely.
There are another 7 books in the series. I'm not feeling compelled to read them.
December 16, 2014
I think Crane had a good story idea, that just wasn't executed well. I found the main character irritating and unlikeable. Sienna was overly sarcastic, and at times her personality seemed to contradict itself. On one hand we have a sheltered girl who is bewildered by the site of a store mannequin, but is comfortable making jokes about sex with a middle-aged man. I continued reading thinking that something would happen to make me want to root for her, but that never happened. She had no redeemable qualities.
I like action, but these books read like a bad action movie. A lot of fighting, but not enough plot. Additionally, in a series, each book should be able to stand on its own by telling a complete story, but leave you wanting to read more. That is not the case here. It almost feels like the author wrote one book, but then decided to break it up into multiple books.
I like action, but these books read like a bad action movie. A lot of fighting, but not enough plot. Additionally, in a series, each book should be able to stand on its own by telling a complete story, but leave you wanting to read more. That is not the case here. It almost feels like the author wrote one book, but then decided to break it up into multiple books.
March 27, 2016
I was rather disappointed in the series. As a YA I was excited to read an adventure story with just a little bit of romance. I'm 14, and reading a book with that much language and sexual talk is disappointing. The language was unneeded and made me dislike Sienna's character. Her tongue was obnoxious. I tend to appreciate sarcasm, but she overly used it, to the point that her goal was to constantly annoy people that she worked for and people that saved her on more than one occasion. Book two ended with (Spoiler) Zach kissing her. I had been waiting for it through two books, and I got excited about the next book. The next book skipped ahead months and you pretty much miss their whole relationship. Only a few chapters in Zach comes into her room while she is taking a shower. He doesn't leave or even let her know he's there. Once Sienna comes out she makes a crack about how he should have come in. I mean they're teenagers. They then have an entire conversation about how they want to have sex with each other and Zach leaves. They never resolve anything and later (while they are still dating) she makes out with a hot guy in a bar as an under aged drinker. She then randomly breaks up with Zach, a guy who has been great to her, and almost sleeps with a guy she doesn't know and ends up trying to kill her in the end. All this made the book way to old for teenagers. The adventure factor however is very upbeat and pushed me through the books. Aside from the language and sarcasm, books one and two were good. Book three however was not good, and I am certainly not going to waste my life reading seven more books with her complaining she can't sleep with a guy she cheated on.
July 22, 2015
This review and many other reviews and features can be found at www.thebookeaters.co.uk
Sienna Nealon, the protagonist of this series (books 1-3 in this omnibus, my review focuses on book 1), is a 17 year-old girl who had been held prisoner in her own house by her mother for twelve years. Her mother says this is actually for her own good, and, alongside training her in epic fighting skills and calculus, has also given her a number of rules to follow- one of them being NEVER leave the house. We first meet Sienna a week after her mother has disappeared, and as she wakes up to find two mysterious men in her home- one old and grumpy, one young and ‘hunky’ (Oldie and Hottie- yes, she refers to them thusly), both out to capture her. So she follows the logical course of action and leaves the house, after administering a bit of a smack down on their butts. Having ventured out into the big wide world, she meets, in quick succession, Reed, a smokin’ hot mysterious boy who rescues her, and Wolfe, a hulking beast of a man who tries to squeeze the life out of her. Oldie and Hottie rescue her from Wolfe whilst Reed does a runner.
She passes out from severe trauma and wakes up, all healed up, at the headquarters of the Directorate, a mysterious organisation that tracks, monitors and trains meta-humans; people who are super strong, super intelligent, heal really quickly, and have an extra ‘power’ of some kind. Sienna, of course, is one of these meta-humans and the Directorate, and its mysterious leader, Old Man Winter, want her to stay and be tested to find out which type. She is reluctant, given that her mother is missing, the Directorate had sent Oldie and Hottie to ‘retrieve her’ and she doesn’t trust them. She also has to contend with weird dream conversations with Reed who tells her the Directorate can’t be trusted, and with Wolfe who is determined to capture Sienna for his bosses- another mysterious organisation- but whose immense psychosis puts her life in danger.
Phew! A pretty long summary there, and perhaps one too many uses of the word ‘mysterious’ but that can’t really be helped. Robert J Crane has tried to cram as much mystery into The Girl in the Box series as possible- why did Sienna’s mother keep her in the house? Why did Sienna follow her mother’s rules? What do the Directorate really do? Who is Wolfe working for? Who is Reed working for? Where did Sienna’s mother go? Who is her father? What is Sienna’s meta-human power? What are the dream conversations about? Who is Old Man Winter really?
And for me the biggest mystery is why does this have an average rating of 4.5 on Amazon?
Maybe I’m missing something that all those reviewers are seeing but I just don’t get why it has received so many good reviews? Seriously. I do try to always find the best in the books I read but I’m struggling in this case.
To start with the whole premise seems to be a bit of a rip off of the X-Men: meta- humans are clearly mutants, the Directorate reminds me strongly of Professor X’s school (if a bit shadier!) with the oft-mentioned but mysterious (see, can’t help it!) M-Squad,and Sienna turns out to be almost identical in powers to one of the X-Men portrayed often in the graphic novels and particularly the first film. I don’t mind borrowed ideas so much, as long as the author does something new with them but in this case the whole plot seems tired and recycled from various other stories- aside from X-Men, there are undertones of Heroes, Lost Girl, and the equally dreadful Lux series.
Which actually would have been fine if Sienna had been a better protagonist. You can do a lot with familiar plot lines if you have an original, relate-able and likeable character leading us through. Sadly, Sienna is completely unbelievable. She has been locked away for 12 YEARS, her mother locks her in a tiny metal coffin when she does something wrong, the last time for over a week before she breaks out to be nearly killed by a huge wolf man and kidnapped by some mysterious organisation intent on putting her through medical, psychological and physical tests because she’s actually some rare super- human. And how does she react to this? By being a massive bitch and ogling at boys… sorry Robert J. Crane, that just does not work. Where is her emotional trauma? Where are the longer lasting effects from this childhood abuse? One hour of TV watching a night does not make you able to cope with modern society to the extent that Sienna does. Her communication skills, sarcasm and ‘mean girl’ putdowns are inconsistent with someone who has had no social interaction for all of her formative years. It constantly threw me out of the story and was really irritating.
And speaking of the story, I will admit there were elements of interest, it was actually intriguing at first and the dream conversations were a nice touch. However, it was very repetitive and I was pretty fed up of Sienna continually getting beaten up by Wolfe only to make a rapid recovery by the end.
It was also a bit ridiculous, Wolfe kills literally hundreds of people in order to draw out Sienna so he can rape her to death and apparently no one can do anything because M-squad are in South America- they have a whole bunch of meta-humans sitting around in the cafeteria being all glare-y and hate-y but never mind their super powers! So instead they just keep Sienna in the basement so she will be safe; apparently she is really important to the Directorate despite them not even knowing her power at this stage.
Sienna constantly makes poor and inconsistent choices and then won’t take responsibility for her actions despite the increasing body count. She treats people appallingly (unless they’re a cute boy because of course that’s all girls think about :eyeroll:) for no reason at all, at least no reason we are given. No wonder so many people in the book hate her guts.
Sigh…I’m pretty sure I don’t have time to discuss the poorly written action scenes, the unbelievable ‘love triangle’ that is hinted at between Sienna, Reed and Zack (Hottie…. I can’t even remember Oldie’s real name though), the cliched ending, and the sequels that only get more annoying and ridiculous although I have a lot more I could say. I will therefore leave you with my bites score…
1 bite because I did at least finish the whole book. My advice if you do want to pick this up…. don’t.
Sienna Nealon, the protagonist of this series (books 1-3 in this omnibus, my review focuses on book 1), is a 17 year-old girl who had been held prisoner in her own house by her mother for twelve years. Her mother says this is actually for her own good, and, alongside training her in epic fighting skills and calculus, has also given her a number of rules to follow- one of them being NEVER leave the house. We first meet Sienna a week after her mother has disappeared, and as she wakes up to find two mysterious men in her home- one old and grumpy, one young and ‘hunky’ (Oldie and Hottie- yes, she refers to them thusly), both out to capture her. So she follows the logical course of action and leaves the house, after administering a bit of a smack down on their butts. Having ventured out into the big wide world, she meets, in quick succession, Reed, a smokin’ hot mysterious boy who rescues her, and Wolfe, a hulking beast of a man who tries to squeeze the life out of her. Oldie and Hottie rescue her from Wolfe whilst Reed does a runner.
She passes out from severe trauma and wakes up, all healed up, at the headquarters of the Directorate, a mysterious organisation that tracks, monitors and trains meta-humans; people who are super strong, super intelligent, heal really quickly, and have an extra ‘power’ of some kind. Sienna, of course, is one of these meta-humans and the Directorate, and its mysterious leader, Old Man Winter, want her to stay and be tested to find out which type. She is reluctant, given that her mother is missing, the Directorate had sent Oldie and Hottie to ‘retrieve her’ and she doesn’t trust them. She also has to contend with weird dream conversations with Reed who tells her the Directorate can’t be trusted, and with Wolfe who is determined to capture Sienna for his bosses- another mysterious organisation- but whose immense psychosis puts her life in danger.
Phew! A pretty long summary there, and perhaps one too many uses of the word ‘mysterious’ but that can’t really be helped. Robert J Crane has tried to cram as much mystery into The Girl in the Box series as possible- why did Sienna’s mother keep her in the house? Why did Sienna follow her mother’s rules? What do the Directorate really do? Who is Wolfe working for? Who is Reed working for? Where did Sienna’s mother go? Who is her father? What is Sienna’s meta-human power? What are the dream conversations about? Who is Old Man Winter really?
And for me the biggest mystery is why does this have an average rating of 4.5 on Amazon?
Maybe I’m missing something that all those reviewers are seeing but I just don’t get why it has received so many good reviews? Seriously. I do try to always find the best in the books I read but I’m struggling in this case.
To start with the whole premise seems to be a bit of a rip off of the X-Men: meta- humans are clearly mutants, the Directorate reminds me strongly of Professor X’s school (if a bit shadier!) with the oft-mentioned but mysterious (see, can’t help it!) M-Squad,and Sienna turns out to be almost identical in powers to one of the X-Men portrayed often in the graphic novels and particularly the first film. I don’t mind borrowed ideas so much, as long as the author does something new with them but in this case the whole plot seems tired and recycled from various other stories- aside from X-Men, there are undertones of Heroes, Lost Girl, and the equally dreadful Lux series.
Which actually would have been fine if Sienna had been a better protagonist. You can do a lot with familiar plot lines if you have an original, relate-able and likeable character leading us through. Sadly, Sienna is completely unbelievable. She has been locked away for 12 YEARS, her mother locks her in a tiny metal coffin when she does something wrong, the last time for over a week before she breaks out to be nearly killed by a huge wolf man and kidnapped by some mysterious organisation intent on putting her through medical, psychological and physical tests because she’s actually some rare super- human. And how does she react to this? By being a massive bitch and ogling at boys… sorry Robert J. Crane, that just does not work. Where is her emotional trauma? Where are the longer lasting effects from this childhood abuse? One hour of TV watching a night does not make you able to cope with modern society to the extent that Sienna does. Her communication skills, sarcasm and ‘mean girl’ putdowns are inconsistent with someone who has had no social interaction for all of her formative years. It constantly threw me out of the story and was really irritating.
And speaking of the story, I will admit there were elements of interest, it was actually intriguing at first and the dream conversations were a nice touch. However, it was very repetitive and I was pretty fed up of Sienna continually getting beaten up by Wolfe only to make a rapid recovery by the end.
It was also a bit ridiculous, Wolfe kills literally hundreds of people in order to draw out Sienna so he can rape her to death and apparently no one can do anything because M-squad are in South America- they have a whole bunch of meta-humans sitting around in the cafeteria being all glare-y and hate-y but never mind their super powers! So instead they just keep Sienna in the basement so she will be safe; apparently she is really important to the Directorate despite them not even knowing her power at this stage.
Sienna constantly makes poor and inconsistent choices and then won’t take responsibility for her actions despite the increasing body count. She treats people appallingly (unless they’re a cute boy because of course that’s all girls think about :eyeroll:) for no reason at all, at least no reason we are given. No wonder so many people in the book hate her guts.
Sigh…I’m pretty sure I don’t have time to discuss the poorly written action scenes, the unbelievable ‘love triangle’ that is hinted at between Sienna, Reed and Zack (Hottie…. I can’t even remember Oldie’s real name though), the cliched ending, and the sequels that only get more annoying and ridiculous although I have a lot more I could say. I will therefore leave you with my bites score…
1 bite because I did at least finish the whole book. My advice if you do want to pick this up…. don’t.
March 15, 2015
Love the series
Stayed up late way to many nights because I had to know what was next. Books 1 and 2 kept me just as sleepless and intrigued. Praying my health will improve soon so I can buy the other books in the girl in the box series. High on my must read next list for sure!
Stayed up late way to many nights because I had to know what was next. Books 1 and 2 kept me just as sleepless and intrigued. Praying my health will improve soon so I can buy the other books in the girl in the box series. High on my must read next list for sure!
July 22, 2017
Great book, totally unexpected. Recommend highly!
I really enjoyed reading this novel and the first two before it. When I read the synopsis for all three stories I thought maybe the story line would be a little too aimed towards the "teen" crowd and I wasn't sure if I would enjoy it. But I became so involved with the characters in the stories that I read all three books in as many days and am looking forward to the next books in the series.
The story line was very different from anything I have read before. I've watched movies with "mutants" and although I liked them it was nothing compared to the way this author made all of it seem a lot more realistic and plausible. I got pretty involved with the main character, everything about her is so real. Besides the normal teenage angst, this girl survived unspeakable abuse from her own mother. BEING locked in a house, alone and afraid that her mother might not return this time is just the tip of the iceberg for this poor young girl.
Not only was she abandoned and has no idea why, she starts developing abilities that she didn't know she had, abilities she is pretty sure other normal girl don't . What hurts her the most is finding out that her mother had been lying to her all her life, had kept huge secrets from her about what she is and all this has left her questioning if anything in her life was real and doubting whether or not her mother ever actually loved her. She has grown into a young woman with no experience of any kind of the world just outside her front door. She knows that there's something very different about herself and that she has come to a crossroad in her life where she needs to choose which way to go, what will she be and what will she believe. It doesn't take long for her to see has her future thrust upon her and has no choice in which direction her life is to go.
The story line is fascinating, Heart breaking, imaginative, futuristic, fast paced, thought-provoking and will keep your interest peaked wanting to know what happens next. THEN will start it all over again.. S. has a biting, sarcastic sense of humor and brings you into her world where you find yourself fighting with her to just figure out how not just survive the next moment...But to live it.
I believe this book would be great for almost any one over the age of 12/13 yrs. it does have quite a bit of violence in it and a little sexual content so I guess you just need to know your own child's level of maturity in handling the content in this series of books.
For me I would recommend this book for anyone who wants to try something a little out of their comfort zone and everyone who loves this genre. I was incredibly surprised to find myself enjoying every minute of the story and unable to put down the books till I had finished all three of them. NOW I need to get the next three books in the series...because I am hooked!.
Thanks Robert Crane for introducing me to a genre I never thought I would enjoy reading. I'm pretty sure it's not just the content that convinced me to reject my g that all mutants, vampyres, and other weird or dead characters are too impossibly unrealistic for me to enjoy reading about. He has a way of drawing you into the story, bringing the characters to life, dragging you deeply into the characters emotional highs and lows until you have unknowingly developed a vested interest in the characters you have become intimately familiar with and their stories.
I really enjoyed reading this novel and the first two before it. When I read the synopsis for all three stories I thought maybe the story line would be a little too aimed towards the "teen" crowd and I wasn't sure if I would enjoy it. But I became so involved with the characters in the stories that I read all three books in as many days and am looking forward to the next books in the series.
The story line was very different from anything I have read before. I've watched movies with "mutants" and although I liked them it was nothing compared to the way this author made all of it seem a lot more realistic and plausible. I got pretty involved with the main character, everything about her is so real. Besides the normal teenage angst, this girl survived unspeakable abuse from her own mother. BEING locked in a house, alone and afraid that her mother might not return this time is just the tip of the iceberg for this poor young girl.
Not only was she abandoned and has no idea why, she starts developing abilities that she didn't know she had, abilities she is pretty sure other normal girl don't . What hurts her the most is finding out that her mother had been lying to her all her life, had kept huge secrets from her about what she is and all this has left her questioning if anything in her life was real and doubting whether or not her mother ever actually loved her. She has grown into a young woman with no experience of any kind of the world just outside her front door. She knows that there's something very different about herself and that she has come to a crossroad in her life where she needs to choose which way to go, what will she be and what will she believe. It doesn't take long for her to see has her future thrust upon her and has no choice in which direction her life is to go.
The story line is fascinating, Heart breaking, imaginative, futuristic, fast paced, thought-provoking and will keep your interest peaked wanting to know what happens next. THEN will start it all over again.. S. has a biting, sarcastic sense of humor and brings you into her world where you find yourself fighting with her to just figure out how not just survive the next moment...But to live it.
I believe this book would be great for almost any one over the age of 12/13 yrs. it does have quite a bit of violence in it and a little sexual content so I guess you just need to know your own child's level of maturity in handling the content in this series of books.
For me I would recommend this book for anyone who wants to try something a little out of their comfort zone and everyone who loves this genre. I was incredibly surprised to find myself enjoying every minute of the story and unable to put down the books till I had finished all three of them. NOW I need to get the next three books in the series...because I am hooked!.
Thanks Robert Crane for introducing me to a genre I never thought I would enjoy reading. I'm pretty sure it's not just the content that convinced me to reject my g that all mutants, vampyres, and other weird or dead characters are too impossibly unrealistic for me to enjoy reading about. He has a way of drawing you into the story, bringing the characters to life, dragging you deeply into the characters emotional highs and lows until you have unknowingly developed a vested interest in the characters you have become intimately familiar with and their stories.
Read
March 4, 2023DNF at 29% - I read the first book and I have no interest in reading the others.
September 23, 2014
Teenage Emo X-Men
Subject line says it all. I was pretty surprised about the genre, feeling the title didn't quite express the overall tone for the series. Good storyline, fairly absorbing, although the emo-kid, woe is me attitude from the heroine is a bit grating at times.
Spoiler alert:
The main character, Sienna, is horrifically abused both mentally and physically basically from birth, but the reader is introduced to her at 17, abandoned by her mother--the abuser. Sienna is forced into an agoraphobic state, locked in a metal, coffin-like box while her mother (a succubus) goes to work for the Directorate (the X-Men agency). I'll stop the spoilers here, because I was hooked.
One major problem bothered me throughout the entire series (1-3); Sienna suffered major psychological and physical abuse and wasn't ever allowed outside her own house EVER, then learns she's basically Rogue, from the X-Men, and can't touch anyone without killing them... and yet she seamlessly integrates into society with just regular teenage angst and a snarky attitude? Ummm... No.
Subject line says it all. I was pretty surprised about the genre, feeling the title didn't quite express the overall tone for the series. Good storyline, fairly absorbing, although the emo-kid, woe is me attitude from the heroine is a bit grating at times.
Spoiler alert:
The main character, Sienna, is horrifically abused both mentally and physically basically from birth, but the reader is introduced to her at 17, abandoned by her mother--the abuser. Sienna is forced into an agoraphobic state, locked in a metal, coffin-like box while her mother (a succubus) goes to work for the Directorate (the X-Men agency). I'll stop the spoilers here, because I was hooked.
One major problem bothered me throughout the entire series (1-3); Sienna suffered major psychological and physical abuse and wasn't ever allowed outside her own house EVER, then learns she's basically Rogue, from the X-Men, and can't touch anyone without killing them... and yet she seamlessly integrates into society with just regular teenage angst and a snarky attitude? Ummm... No.
February 14, 2016
These books were offered free on kindle, so I thought why not, I'll give them a go, although I wasn't exactly sure what to expect.
Initially I found the first book difficult to fully get into. I'm not sure why. Maybe because they are a young adults series and I'm a bit out of that demographic. Or maybe I found Sienna a bit irritating at first and took a while to warm to her as a character. To say she's been housebound for years she was quite cocky, gobby and worldly wise and not like she'd been kept away from the world. Anyway, after pondering giving up I persevered and having just completed the third book, I'm glad I did. Full of action, quick moving, new characters being introduced throughout and some twists and turns these books are engrossing. Now I'm off to download the fourth book to see where the story leads next...
Initially I found the first book difficult to fully get into. I'm not sure why. Maybe because they are a young adults series and I'm a bit out of that demographic. Or maybe I found Sienna a bit irritating at first and took a while to warm to her as a character. To say she's been housebound for years she was quite cocky, gobby and worldly wise and not like she'd been kept away from the world. Anyway, after pondering giving up I persevered and having just completed the third book, I'm glad I did. Full of action, quick moving, new characters being introduced throughout and some twists and turns these books are engrossing. Now I'm off to download the fourth book to see where the story leads next...
March 20, 2014
I purchased the kindle version of Books 1-3(Alone, Untouched and Soulless) of the Girl in the Box series and read them straight through. Robert Crane is a skillful writer who is a great storyteller. At first it was the dialogue that captured me and then I got into the story. This is a young adult series and I’m not a young adult, but the stories had characters I truly enjoyed being around and watching what happened next. Mr. James should be picked up by a big publishing house—if that’s what he wants—and he will make it to the top.
I would encourage anyone wanting to be skillfully entertained to read his series of books. I don’t understand his pricing—the first three books are free. The editing, storyline and skill deserved to be paid for. Well done.
I give these three books 4.5 stars for only one reason. The author wrote these books in first person and did an excellent job, except in places he shifted the first person to someone else putting a bit of confusion in his writing. When I read in first person I expect the story to stay with one person’s point of view. Switching point of view in first person shows a lack of skill in presenting a story. I would like to add that Robert J. Crane has all the skills necessary to be a great writer. I will be reading all of his works.
I would encourage anyone wanting to be skillfully entertained to read his series of books. I don’t understand his pricing—the first three books are free. The editing, storyline and skill deserved to be paid for. Well done.
I give these three books 4.5 stars for only one reason. The author wrote these books in first person and did an excellent job, except in places he shifted the first person to someone else putting a bit of confusion in his writing. When I read in first person I expect the story to stay with one person’s point of view. Switching point of view in first person shows a lack of skill in presenting a story. I would like to add that Robert J. Crane has all the skills necessary to be a great writer. I will be reading all of his works.
July 9, 2014
and I thought I didn't even like stories like these..
It's almost 4 in the morning and my eyes are like sandpaper but I could not stop reading until I found out what was going to happen to poor Sienna next.
from being locked away from the outside world most of her life, tho running into some really dangerous situations, discovering who, or what she is, finding her first love, having a kick ass job, and fighting for her life nearly every waking moment, I began tho really root for this girl/ young woman.
I want to know more about what happens next...the ending may just have been the beginning. at least I hope so!
It's almost 4 in the morning and my eyes are like sandpaper but I could not stop reading until I found out what was going to happen to poor Sienna next.
from being locked away from the outside world most of her life, tho running into some really dangerous situations, discovering who, or what she is, finding her first love, having a kick ass job, and fighting for her life nearly every waking moment, I began tho really root for this girl/ young woman.
I want to know more about what happens next...the ending may just have been the beginning. at least I hope so!
September 13, 2014
These books were surprisingly decent, even though I didn't like or really connect with any of the characters. I can't say I'm going to spend any money to buy the next seven books in the series, but I am a little intrigued as to what happens next.
Trigger warnings: attempted rape, gay jokes, torture
Trigger warnings: attempted rape, gay jokes, torture
April 5, 2015
Really good
These were great books to read. The story moves quickly. I was instantly engaged.
Amazon Prime- I got to read these first three free. And I think it was good enough that I'll actually buy the next set.
These were great books to read. The story moves quickly. I was instantly engaged.
Amazon Prime- I got to read these first three free. And I think it was good enough that I'll actually buy the next set.
March 13, 2018
Have had this set for a while and finally got around to reading it. More like 2 1/2 stars, but again, rounding up.
I won't rehash the plot -- the summary does a decent job -- so I'll get right into it. This series reads like a network TV series. Just about every character in here lacks a third dimension, and the plot is about as transparent as it gets. By the end of the third book I was shaking my head at everything happening. It just got silly.
For all of that, I did keep reading. The books are a real easy read and the pace is fast. The heroine, Sienna, is too much of everything, including being a wisecracker, but again, nothing you wouldn't expect out of a TV show. Not realistic, but wholly expected.
This isn't bad, but it's not anything a mature reader can get excited about. Heck, the third book is almost too silly to finish. And I certainly would not consider the rest of the series. For a high school reader, they might enjoy this and perhaps the rest of the series. For anyone else, I cannot recommend, even just for something to kill time.
I won't rehash the plot -- the summary does a decent job -- so I'll get right into it. This series reads like a network TV series. Just about every character in here lacks a third dimension, and the plot is about as transparent as it gets. By the end of the third book I was shaking my head at everything happening. It just got silly.
For all of that, I did keep reading. The books are a real easy read and the pace is fast. The heroine, Sienna, is too much of everything, including being a wisecracker, but again, nothing you wouldn't expect out of a TV show. Not realistic, but wholly expected.
This isn't bad, but it's not anything a mature reader can get excited about. Heck, the third book is almost too silly to finish. And I certainly would not consider the rest of the series. For a high school reader, they might enjoy this and perhaps the rest of the series. For anyone else, I cannot recommend, even just for something to kill time.
June 28, 2019
I don’t really remember how this box set ended up on my kindle. I must have been a while ago when I download a few free books. The premise sounded interesting so I finally gave it a go. 3 stars might be a little generous. I liked the x-men type story line but the main character wasn’t entirely likable, which really isn’t a problem. These were short fast reads, the action moved quickly and kept you drawn in. I liked book two the best. It flowed well and kept me hook all the way through. I struggled with book 3, it just didn’t work as well as the first 2. Probably won’t continue with the series.
December 29, 2017
Absolutely amazing!
July 7, 2017
Decent writing and pacing. Unoriginal universe. Wildly unbelievable premise. I don't mean the whole supernatural powers thing. Lots of authors do that reasonably well. What they rarely do well is come up with a way to convince me that the rest of the world would put up with their existence. And in this case, our heroine is a rebel and a troublemaker even among her own kind. I found it terribly difficult to swallow that the "responsible adults" in charge of the X-men type school would simply let her get away with the sort of collateral damage she causes when (a) having dominance fights with other students, and (b) blatantly defying orders to stay put.
It was engaging enough that I finished it, but not nearly enough that I'll purchase the rest of the series.
It was engaging enough that I finished it, but not nearly enough that I'll purchase the rest of the series.
March 22, 2014
This has to be the most obscene story I've ever read! Sadly, I only read the first book in this set. It's totally unbelievable, and outrageous. If this girl spent so many years isolated, how does she know the ins and outs of the world outside? Surly, 7 hours or less of TV per week can't educate you much. And that little action in the opening, seriously? I just don't get this book. Maybe others will like it. And it's definitely not YA, which it's clearly defined as. I wouldn't let my young adult read this.
May 13, 2015
When I went in to it I didn't know anything about the series or the author because it was the first time I've ever read anything by that author,so I didn't know if I would like it or not.I'm so glad that I gave it a chance because I loved it.I love how its a take on the gods and goddesses,and what I mean by that is in this series there is us the normal humans and then there's the ones that are not so normal because they have powers that are named after the gods and goddesses.if you want to find out what I mean then your going to have to read the series.
April 9, 2016
This book series was awful. The plot, for starters, was completely unbelievable, child abuse was brushed off as if it was a "toughening up" tool or something and the main character was in no way likeable and the secondary characters suffered because of her stupidity. They were belittled and insulted at every turn because of her for NO REASON WHATSOEVER. I felt no sympathy for her and her predicament and, by the end of the first couple of chapters, wished nothing but a bloody death on her. What else can I say but that Rogue from Xmen wore the soul sucking skin curse so much better.
January 31, 2018
This story was about a young teenage girl who after being held in a box -- found through her experiences that a box could be many things---abuse, fear, regret, time, a job, expectations.
I found parts of this story to be very believable, and scary, and others-- well I hope they stay as imaginings of the author.. The story gave me chills and dread in parts and I found in other parts of the story I was cheering for the young lady......Over all it held my attention and was a good read...
January 20, 2018
Alien
Different type of reading. A little bit of mystery, lots of danger, different species living in the same world amongst humans.
Different type of reading. A little bit of mystery, lots of danger, different species living in the same world amongst humans.
July 15, 2019
Excellent read
I absolutely love this book and it has been a very great read. I hope you guys will enjoy it too
I absolutely love this book and it has been a very great read. I hope you guys will enjoy it too
July 31, 2018
Good read but prefer stories that are more realistic..
Super hero's are of my thing. Too many 'normal' people are expendable..
Good characters but not interested enough to read any more of the series.
Super hero's are of my thing. Too many 'normal' people are expendable..
Good characters but not interested enough to read any more of the series.
June 11, 2019
Alone
Obviously the first book in the Girl in the Box series Alone introduces us to all the main characters for at least these first three books in the series. Our heroine is Sienna about to turn 18 years old. To say Sienna has led a sheltered life would be a gross understatement. For the past dozen years she has lived at home alone with only her mother Sierra, having only and an hour of television a day watching mostly sitcoms as her only view of the outside world. Her mother doesn’t even allow her to discuss what’s going on outside of their house with her. She is never allowed out of the house and all of the windows are boarded to prevent anyone from seeing in or her seeing out. She has spent her life learning rigid discipline from her often aloof and cold mother. She reads copiously and practices martial arts with her mother for two hours every day. When she rarely disobeys her mother her punishments are often beyond harsh and abusive. One day during a time when her mother has disappeared for more than a week Sienna is awakened by the sound of intruders in her home. With her martial arts training and abilities she isn’t even yet aware she possesses she overcomes the intruders and rushes from the house into the outside world she hasn’t seen since she was six years old. After eluding the two men in black who attempted to abduct her from her house she meets Reed, a handsome twenty something who offers her a ride to escape her pursuers. She hardly spends any time with Reed before he is attacked and decommissioned by a powerful individual who resembles a very large wolf. This character is Wolf a mythical meta-human who has also been sent to capture Sienna. Before he can completely overpower her Sienna shoots him with a few tranquilizer darts as the men in black who had tried to abduct her earlier come to her aide as she passes out. She awakes in the medical unit of the Directorate a clandestine organization whose purpose is to control wayward meta-humans. The two agents that pursued her and ultimately took her to the Directorate campus are a young handsome agent Zach and an older agent Kurt. Sienna feels a strong attraction to Zach but she and Kurt are constantly verbally sparring with one another with Sienna’s tart tongue always the victor. We meet Old Man Erich Winter who heads up the Directorate and his top assistant Ariadne. For some reason Sienna finds taunting Ariadne almost as much fun as taunting Kurt. We also meet the head M.D. who spends her time patching up Sienna and often her victims. We meet a kindly psychologist who tries to help Sienna make sense of her new reality and we meet two other meta-humans Scott and Kat. Besides meeting all the characters the story revolves around Wolf’s pursuit of Sienna. Did I mention he’s an insane psycho-killer who goes on a killing spree killing over 100 innocent victims to force Sienna to leave the safety of the Directorate’s campus and come to him? Did I mention Sienna is a meta-human with incredible strength, speed and agility, or that she can talk to people in her dreams? All of this leads to a final showdown between Sienna and Wolf when she goes to sacrifice herself to end his killing spree. But during the ensuing encounter she discovers she has another unknown power and unwittingly uses it to kill Wolf. Come on, that’s not really a spoiler. It’s the first book of a multi-book series. Sienna Horribly can’t die already.
In Untouched the second book in the series the title refers to the fact that Sienna has never received physical affection from anyone, including her mother. She longs for affection, especially physical affection. Ironically her greatest power means that she will never know the touch of human affection. In this book the main villain is an evil version of the Fantastic Fours Human Torch, Alexandre Gorbanov another super meta villain. There is also another villain who is a bad version of Marvel’s Iron Man who pops up throughout the book attempting to maim and capture Sienna. Throughout the book Sienna is battling with Wolf for control of her mind and body while she tries to decide whether to trust the Directorate and accept their offer to join them as an agent in training. She meets the M-Squad, four super-metas at the top of the Directorate’s food chain that handle the most vicious meta criminals. When Alexandre threatens to level all of Minnieapolis in what would equate to a nuclear firestorm Sienna against Directorate orders decides to take matters into her own hands to stop him. She feels the need to redeem herself from all the lives Wolf took while she hid to protect herself. With some surprising allies Sienna manages to overcome Alexandre and the evil Iron Man. She also discovers an prevn ously unknown relative.
In Souless Sienna is in training to become a Directorate agent. She’s in a non-physical (by necessity relationship with Zach which is sexually frustrating both of them. She’s befriended Kat and Scott who are also now fellow agents in training. Because the agencies resources are stretched thin the three are sent out to investigate a string of convenience store robberies believed to be committed by a young meta-human. In the process Sienna experiences her first drink and first hangover. I’m a bit lost her because I would have thought if Sienna’s powers didn’t prevent her from getting drunk on two drinks they surely would have prevented her from experiencing the classic hangovuer we normal humans suffer when we drink too much? Because Sienna knows Zach needs more from a relationship than she can give him she breaks up with him. Then she meets someone she can actually have physical contact with without killing him and almost gives her virginity to him. Throughout the book this unidentified character that is robbing convenience stores and cars keeps popping up. We’re never sure whom he or she is but are led to strongly suspect it is Sienna’s Aunt Charlotte. As our intrepid team continues to hunt for the convenience store thief their mission is changed when another secret meta organization Omega (which had sent Wolf and Hendershott after Sienna) attacks the Directorate on several fronts. Sienna finds herself in the thick of the action as people she thought she could trust threaten her and people she didn’t trust come to her aid at just the right times.
Obviously the first book in the Girl in the Box series Alone introduces us to all the main characters for at least these first three books in the series. Our heroine is Sienna about to turn 18 years old. To say Sienna has led a sheltered life would be a gross understatement. For the past dozen years she has lived at home alone with only her mother Sierra, having only and an hour of television a day watching mostly sitcoms as her only view of the outside world. Her mother doesn’t even allow her to discuss what’s going on outside of their house with her. She is never allowed out of the house and all of the windows are boarded to prevent anyone from seeing in or her seeing out. She has spent her life learning rigid discipline from her often aloof and cold mother. She reads copiously and practices martial arts with her mother for two hours every day. When she rarely disobeys her mother her punishments are often beyond harsh and abusive. One day during a time when her mother has disappeared for more than a week Sienna is awakened by the sound of intruders in her home. With her martial arts training and abilities she isn’t even yet aware she possesses she overcomes the intruders and rushes from the house into the outside world she hasn’t seen since she was six years old. After eluding the two men in black who attempted to abduct her from her house she meets Reed, a handsome twenty something who offers her a ride to escape her pursuers. She hardly spends any time with Reed before he is attacked and decommissioned by a powerful individual who resembles a very large wolf. This character is Wolf a mythical meta-human who has also been sent to capture Sienna. Before he can completely overpower her Sienna shoots him with a few tranquilizer darts as the men in black who had tried to abduct her earlier come to her aide as she passes out. She awakes in the medical unit of the Directorate a clandestine organization whose purpose is to control wayward meta-humans. The two agents that pursued her and ultimately took her to the Directorate campus are a young handsome agent Zach and an older agent Kurt. Sienna feels a strong attraction to Zach but she and Kurt are constantly verbally sparring with one another with Sienna’s tart tongue always the victor. We meet Old Man Erich Winter who heads up the Directorate and his top assistant Ariadne. For some reason Sienna finds taunting Ariadne almost as much fun as taunting Kurt. We also meet the head M.D. who spends her time patching up Sienna and often her victims. We meet a kindly psychologist who tries to help Sienna make sense of her new reality and we meet two other meta-humans Scott and Kat. Besides meeting all the characters the story revolves around Wolf’s pursuit of Sienna. Did I mention he’s an insane psycho-killer who goes on a killing spree killing over 100 innocent victims to force Sienna to leave the safety of the Directorate’s campus and come to him? Did I mention Sienna is a meta-human with incredible strength, speed and agility, or that she can talk to people in her dreams? All of this leads to a final showdown between Sienna and Wolf when she goes to sacrifice herself to end his killing spree. But during the ensuing encounter she discovers she has another unknown power and unwittingly uses it to kill Wolf. Come on, that’s not really a spoiler. It’s the first book of a multi-book series. Sienna Horribly can’t die already.
In Untouched the second book in the series the title refers to the fact that Sienna has never received physical affection from anyone, including her mother. She longs for affection, especially physical affection. Ironically her greatest power means that she will never know the touch of human affection. In this book the main villain is an evil version of the Fantastic Fours Human Torch, Alexandre Gorbanov another super meta villain. There is also another villain who is a bad version of Marvel’s Iron Man who pops up throughout the book attempting to maim and capture Sienna. Throughout the book Sienna is battling with Wolf for control of her mind and body while she tries to decide whether to trust the Directorate and accept their offer to join them as an agent in training. She meets the M-Squad, four super-metas at the top of the Directorate’s food chain that handle the most vicious meta criminals. When Alexandre threatens to level all of Minnieapolis in what would equate to a nuclear firestorm Sienna against Directorate orders decides to take matters into her own hands to stop him. She feels the need to redeem herself from all the lives Wolf took while she hid to protect herself. With some surprising allies Sienna manages to overcome Alexandre and the evil Iron Man. She also discovers an prevn ously unknown relative.
In Souless Sienna is in training to become a Directorate agent. She’s in a non-physical (by necessity relationship with Zach which is sexually frustrating both of them. She’s befriended Kat and Scott who are also now fellow agents in training. Because the agencies resources are stretched thin the three are sent out to investigate a string of convenience store robberies believed to be committed by a young meta-human. In the process Sienna experiences her first drink and first hangover. I’m a bit lost her because I would have thought if Sienna’s powers didn’t prevent her from getting drunk on two drinks they surely would have prevented her from experiencing the classic hangovuer we normal humans suffer when we drink too much? Because Sienna knows Zach needs more from a relationship than she can give him she breaks up with him. Then she meets someone she can actually have physical contact with without killing him and almost gives her virginity to him. Throughout the book this unidentified character that is robbing convenience stores and cars keeps popping up. We’re never sure whom he or she is but are led to strongly suspect it is Sienna’s Aunt Charlotte. As our intrepid team continues to hunt for the convenience store thief their mission is changed when another secret meta organization Omega (which had sent Wolf and Hendershott after Sienna) attacks the Directorate on several fronts. Sienna finds herself in the thick of the action as people she thought she could trust threaten her and people she didn’t trust come to her aid at just the right times.
October 3, 2014
Wow
How do I review this book? For starters, it's extremely engrossing almost to a fault. I read all three books Alone, Untouched and Soulless in record time all the while ignoring daily responsibilities. If you like coming of age stories, or fantasy, or super heroes comics, you'll enjoy this book. If you've read Harry Potter books and enjoyed them, you'll enjoy The Girl In The Box series.
How do I review this book? For starters, it's extremely engrossing almost to a fault. I read all three books Alone, Untouched and Soulless in record time all the while ignoring daily responsibilities. If you like coming of age stories, or fantasy, or super heroes comics, you'll enjoy this book. If you've read Harry Potter books and enjoyed them, you'll enjoy The Girl In The Box series.
December 26, 2015
I liked it. A lot. Was recommended to me by me sister and I'm glad I gave it a try. Besides the occasional grammar errors, it's actually a really good series. I love all of the powers that were mentioned in this series and how far they can do unlike the usual things they show on tv, in regards to humans having powers. I would definitely recommend this especially if you're into meta-humans and such.
April 29, 2015
Engaging
It was very easy reading. I found myself not wanting to put the books down. When I finished the last of the trilogy, I wanted to get started on the next book. Even though the first three books were free,I was disheartened to find the cost of the rest of the books in the series.
It was very easy reading. I found myself not wanting to put the books down. When I finished the last of the trilogy, I wanted to get started on the next book. Even though the first three books were free,I was disheartened to find the cost of the rest of the books in the series.
March 17, 2015
Entertaining
These books remind me of the Maximum Ride series, which I thoroughly enjoyed. This is similar in that the main character is a young girl with super powers she is discovering. I found myself always wanting to know what was going to happen next.
These books remind me of the Maximum Ride series, which I thoroughly enjoyed. This is similar in that the main character is a young girl with super powers she is discovering. I found myself always wanting to know what was going to happen next.
March 22, 2016
Robert J crane is in a league of his own with this series. Having read it up to date, I never want it to end. If you haven't given this author a shot yet this series is a great start.
Sienna is one of the best female lead's I've ever experienced.
Sienna is one of the best female lead's I've ever experienced.
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