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The Harrow
Callie was just going to the YMCA for a swim, nothing out of the ordinary, when the tunnel leading to the pool took her into an entirely different world. For Callie had unknowingly answered the call of The Harrow, which would bring her and many other women across the ages into the chambers of the Dark Manor. The women fight the machines of The Harrow and each other to their death, for there can only be one winner, the one that wins true love.
Callie and Duncan had been dreaming about each other for years, and nightmares of The Harrow had plagued Callie for the same amount of time. Without realizing it, Callie’s life was driven to her final destination, but the wrong choice would mean death for everyone in The Harrow.
The Harrow delivers equal parts romance and adventure set in a land where women across time meet to fight to their death. They form friendships and alliances and bring hope to each other in the direst of situations. Can Callie forsake all others for true love, or will she fight for the survival of all?
Callie and Duncan had been dreaming about each other for years, and nightmares of The Harrow had plagued Callie for the same amount of time. Without realizing it, Callie’s life was driven to her final destination, but the wrong choice would mean death for everyone in The Harrow.
The Harrow delivers equal parts romance and adventure set in a land where women across time meet to fight to their death. They form friendships and alliances and bring hope to each other in the direst of situations. Can Callie forsake all others for true love, or will she fight for the survival of all?
230 pages, Paperback
First published February 21, 2015
10 people are currently reading
691 people want to read
About the author
Karen Carr
10 books55 followersI discovered at a young age that I liked to write. It was mostly because of my father, who wrote so much that he could not leave his study without an avalanche of papers following him. In fact, the only piece of furniture in the study was an old leather sofa. The rest of the room was full of books and bookshelves. It was on this sofa that I spent many hours honing my craft, even after he was gone.
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Displaying 1 - 13 of 13 reviews
May 7, 2016
The Harrow by Karen Karr Book One
I really enjoyed this book, it was a fast paced exciting adventure. I thought the story was unique and original. This story was about a girl named Callie who found herself transported through time. She ends up at a place called The Dark Manor where she will have to rescue Duncan Brove and others in a cruel game of death. Duncan and Callie have some kind of mental connection to each other.
I particularly enjoyed the mechanical aspects of this story and I think you will too. The ending was great ♡ Looking forward to The Quell Book 2.
I give The Harrow by Karen Karr Book One 4 stars for its unique and original plot.
I would recommend this book to anyone who enjoys fantasy.
I really enjoyed this book, it was a fast paced exciting adventure. I thought the story was unique and original. This story was about a girl named Callie who found herself transported through time. She ends up at a place called The Dark Manor where she will have to rescue Duncan Brove and others in a cruel game of death. Duncan and Callie have some kind of mental connection to each other.
I particularly enjoyed the mechanical aspects of this story and I think you will too. The ending was great ♡ Looking forward to The Quell Book 2.
I give The Harrow by Karen Karr Book One 4 stars for its unique and original plot.
I would recommend this book to anyone who enjoys fantasy.
April 5, 2015
Fast and furious
This book starts with a bang and keeps going like a dark roller coaster. Heroine Callie is in constant peril as she moves through both time and dimension to a castle of horrors she has dreamed of for years, and is helped by her deadly dream lover. Minor criticisms: some confusion toward the end in the descriptions of the many battles with the machines, and the ending not strong enough to insure I would continue with the series. It almost felt anticlimactic.
This book starts with a bang and keeps going like a dark roller coaster. Heroine Callie is in constant peril as she moves through both time and dimension to a castle of horrors she has dreamed of for years, and is helped by her deadly dream lover. Minor criticisms: some confusion toward the end in the descriptions of the many battles with the machines, and the ending not strong enough to insure I would continue with the series. It almost felt anticlimactic.
February 19, 2015
Does this woman write a bad book?
I don't think so. This book was interesting from the beginning. I can't wait until the next book. Steam punk robots live. I'm glad I read this book. Great read
I don't think so. This book was interesting from the beginning. I can't wait until the next book. Steam punk robots live. I'm glad I read this book. Great read
January 31, 2026
The Harrow follows our main character Callie, after a seemingly normal trip to her local YMCA ends with her lost in another world and another time. Callie has no idea where she is or how she got there. Before she has a chance to comprehend what is going on, she witnesses a girl being murdered by a boy - a boy she has seen in her dreams. It turns out that this boy is Duncan, a prince in this world, and the reason that Callie was brought there. Every year, something called the Harrow begins - women from all over the world and different time periods are pulled into Duncan’s land and forced to fight for their survival. By the end of each Harrow, all of the women must die, until Duncan finds the one woman he is meant to be with - the sole survivor of the Harrow.
I really wanted to enjoy this book a lot more than I did. The premise seemed very interesting. I thought it would be dark, creepy, and action-packed. There was a good base plot line there, but I wish it had been more fleshed out. The world of the Harrow had some really interesting aspects to it - the land had been stuck in a period of winter for years and there were all kinds of mechanized, steampunk animals roaming around. What could have been some fantastic world building fell flat for me, because I barely learned anything about the awesome world I was thrust into. There were also numerous times in the book where some ominous foreshadowing would be thrown in - but then it was never mentioned again! Ideas seemed to be thrown onto the page, but then never developed.What happened????
I really didn’t feel any kind of connection to the characters in The Harrow. I actually liked most of the side characters way more than Callie and Duncan. From one paragraph to the next, our two main characters would frequently go from trying to escape the Harrow, to lusting after each other in a few sentences of really cringe-worthy smut. I’m sorry, but “groin” is never (EVER) a sexy word. Their randomly intense insta-love really wasn't believable at all for me, and ended up preventing me from connecting with Callie and Duncan at all.
Despite the issues I had with the world building and character development, the thing that bothered me the most about The Harrow was the actual presentation of the book itself. I know this doesn’t bother some readers at all, but the way a book is presented to me plays a big part in my enjoyment of my reading experience. I understand that The Harrow was not published by one of the major publishing houses, and I know that it is incredibly hard work for authors to get their books published independently, but to me that means there is all the more reason for proofreading and editing. Typos happen - no one’s perfect. But there was a typo on almost every page. Even the formatting changed. On some pages the paragraphs were double-spaced, and sometimes they were single-spaced - with no rhyme or reason to the changes. The thing that really got me though, was the use of incorrect words throughout the book. There were so many times that words were replaced with their homophones, rendering the sentence completely nonsensical. (For example: “I sat in my thrown.” A ruler sits ON a THRONE!!!) I found errors like these to be so distracting and they really pulled my attention away from the plot.
All in all, I was pretty disappointed with this book. I think the plot was really interesting and it could have been really cool if it had been fleshed out a bit more. Maybe we will be lucky enough to get some more world building in the later books in this series. But for me, I don’t think I will be picking up the next book, so I will never know.
I really wanted to enjoy this book a lot more than I did. The premise seemed very interesting. I thought it would be dark, creepy, and action-packed. There was a good base plot line there, but I wish it had been more fleshed out. The world of the Harrow had some really interesting aspects to it - the land had been stuck in a period of winter for years and there were all kinds of mechanized, steampunk animals roaming around. What could have been some fantastic world building fell flat for me, because I barely learned anything about the awesome world I was thrust into. There were also numerous times in the book where some ominous foreshadowing would be thrown in - but then it was never mentioned again! Ideas seemed to be thrown onto the page, but then never developed.What happened????
I really didn’t feel any kind of connection to the characters in The Harrow. I actually liked most of the side characters way more than Callie and Duncan. From one paragraph to the next, our two main characters would frequently go from trying to escape the Harrow, to lusting after each other in a few sentences of really cringe-worthy smut. I’m sorry, but “groin” is never (EVER) a sexy word. Their randomly intense insta-love really wasn't believable at all for me, and ended up preventing me from connecting with Callie and Duncan at all.
Despite the issues I had with the world building and character development, the thing that bothered me the most about The Harrow was the actual presentation of the book itself. I know this doesn’t bother some readers at all, but the way a book is presented to me plays a big part in my enjoyment of my reading experience. I understand that The Harrow was not published by one of the major publishing houses, and I know that it is incredibly hard work for authors to get their books published independently, but to me that means there is all the more reason for proofreading and editing. Typos happen - no one’s perfect. But there was a typo on almost every page. Even the formatting changed. On some pages the paragraphs were double-spaced, and sometimes they were single-spaced - with no rhyme or reason to the changes. The thing that really got me though, was the use of incorrect words throughout the book. There were so many times that words were replaced with their homophones, rendering the sentence completely nonsensical. (For example: “I sat in my thrown.” A ruler sits ON a THRONE!!!) I found errors like these to be so distracting and they really pulled my attention away from the plot.
All in all, I was pretty disappointed with this book. I think the plot was really interesting and it could have been really cool if it had been fleshed out a bit more. Maybe we will be lucky enough to get some more world building in the later books in this series. But for me, I don’t think I will be picking up the next book, so I will never know.
March 28, 2015
I received a free copy in exchange for an honest review. Callie Grant just went to the ymca for a swim, when she gets lost in the tunnel leading to the pool and it takes her to an entirely different world.She had unknowingly answered the Harrows call, which brings her and many other women across the ages into the chambers of the dark manor. The women must fight the machines of the Harrow and each other to the death. There can only be one winner, the one who wins true love. Callie and Duncan had been dreaming about each other. Callie was plagued with dreams of the Harrow for years. Callie's life is driven to its final destination without her realizing it. But one wrong choice will mean the death of everyone in the Harrow. Part romance part adventure set in a land where women must fight to the death. They become friends and form alliances. They support each other and give hope to each other in dire situations. Will Callie forsake her friends for true love? Or will she fight for everyone's survival?
February 3, 2015
This was a fantasy/sci-fi/steampunk roller coaster!
When Allie decides to sneak into the Y one night to swim, she loses her way, literally, and finds herself in the bowls of the Dark Manor, complete with women, man-eating mechanical fish and steam-powered machines designed to kill her. The mysterious Duncan, lord of the Manor, is at the center of the curse of the Harrow, a once a year event in which women are brought to his lair from all times and places and killed by the devious machines; the one left standing at the end, if there is one, becomes his true intended.
This was a really quick read and quite interesting. I felt like I was trapped in this steampunk nightmare along with Allie. I found the end a bit messy, like it might have been rushed, but overall was happy with it, and pleased to know there will be a sequel. One star off for quite a few minor editing mistakes - missed and repeated words, typos and misspellings.
When Allie decides to sneak into the Y one night to swim, she loses her way, literally, and finds herself in the bowls of the Dark Manor, complete with women, man-eating mechanical fish and steam-powered machines designed to kill her. The mysterious Duncan, lord of the Manor, is at the center of the curse of the Harrow, a once a year event in which women are brought to his lair from all times and places and killed by the devious machines; the one left standing at the end, if there is one, becomes his true intended.
This was a really quick read and quite interesting. I felt like I was trapped in this steampunk nightmare along with Allie. I found the end a bit messy, like it might have been rushed, but overall was happy with it, and pleased to know there will be a sequel. One star off for quite a few minor editing mistakes - missed and repeated words, typos and misspellings.
June 9, 2015
I received a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.
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If you combined Hunger Games, Steam Punk, and a twisted version of The Bachelor then you would get The Harrow. Although I liked the concept, I was extremely disappointed in the plot and writing of this book. The main characters felt slightly flat and two dimensional while surprisingly the supporting characters had a bit more depth.
The two leads and their romance just felt utterly unrealistic for me. Even if they were soul mates and even if they were in a crazy Dark Manor, I believe that there should be some more caution before such an intense relationship was formed.
I felt like many important plot points were skipped over or never addressed fully during the novel and the ending was definitely rushed.
This concept had a lot of potential, and although there were some good points within the story, I felt really let down after I read it.
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If you combined Hunger Games, Steam Punk, and a twisted version of The Bachelor then you would get The Harrow. Although I liked the concept, I was extremely disappointed in the plot and writing of this book. The main characters felt slightly flat and two dimensional while surprisingly the supporting characters had a bit more depth.
The two leads and their romance just felt utterly unrealistic for me. Even if they were soul mates and even if they were in a crazy Dark Manor, I believe that there should be some more caution before such an intense relationship was formed.
I felt like many important plot points were skipped over or never addressed fully during the novel and the ending was definitely rushed.
This concept had a lot of potential, and although there were some good points within the story, I felt really let down after I read it.
May 22, 2015
Well, considering I read it in a day, I think it was very good. For the most part, it was very well written. The storyline was great, the characters were cool, and it was a cool read. There were a few typos, but it was easy to understand what was supposed to be there. Some of the romance scenes irked me, just because it got in the way of the action, but that's just my opinion. Overall, I'm definitely recommending it to my friends.
March 19, 2015
Goodreads win. Will read and review once received.
So I will admit not one of my favorite books I have read so far this year. It did have its moments that were interesting. The beginning of the book was really interesting but the last part of the book seemed a little rushed to me. A decent read that I would recommend to a few friends.
So I will admit not one of my favorite books I have read so far this year. It did have its moments that were interesting. The beginning of the book was really interesting but the last part of the book seemed a little rushed to me. A decent read that I would recommend to a few friends.
February 7, 2015
a good start
I received this book free in exchange for my honest review. A good start to a interesting story although it felt rushed during the last third of the book. With improved depth to its characters and more detail this could be a five star series.
I received this book free in exchange for my honest review. A good start to a interesting story although it felt rushed during the last third of the book. With improved depth to its characters and more detail this could be a five star series.
March 10, 2015
This book is a zero. I could not get past the second chapter. It is absolutely terrible. All tell no show and riddled with grammatical and word choice errors (hey... put away the thesaurus before you hurt yourself!)
April 12, 2015
A fast paced book with lots of twists and turns. The story was interesting and easy to read. I received this book through Good reads.
August 17, 2015
I really really enjoyed reading this book and I cant wait to read the next one in this series.
thank you!
thank you!
Displaying 1 - 13 of 13 reviews