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Planet Maya
Planet Maya is the first in a trilogy about a haunted, cursed mansion. Over time, the mansion found many new owners due to the bargain price. However, each owner left because they didn't have the courage to stay and confront the strange happenings. That is until Paul’s family moved in.
Paul works hard to provide for his family and to be a loving father and husband. When he finally gets the house of his dreams on a lovely expanse of land, he doesn't question oddities - previous owners leaving their possessions and old food behind, or the black bird that haunts the barn and repeatedly attacks his son whenever he ventures outside.
The whole family is on edge until one day Angelo goes missing without a trace. Paul suspects that the black bird has something to do with it. He takes matters into his own hands and hunts the perpetrator responsible for his son's disappearance.
Paul works hard to provide for his family and to be a loving father and husband. When he finally gets the house of his dreams on a lovely expanse of land, he doesn't question oddities - previous owners leaving their possessions and old food behind, or the black bird that haunts the barn and repeatedly attacks his son whenever he ventures outside.
The whole family is on edge until one day Angelo goes missing without a trace. Paul suspects that the black bird has something to do with it. He takes matters into his own hands and hunts the perpetrator responsible for his son's disappearance.
159 pages, Kindle Edition
First published July 11, 2013
3 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews
August 25, 2015
I started the book thinking it was an adult book, and the description on Netgalley was pretty neat. So I decided to read it.
I can now say that the description of the book is the best part of it. (Although I had to go back and check if it was an indie publication and if the target audience really was adult as claimed).
Soon enough we are given the setting; a mansion, a lake, a mountain; that's all. We know there's a family with some kids, but we don't get to know their names, or how many of them there are. The main character is a man, Paul, and we get to see the police, and a man who introduces himself as a neighbour, who happens to be the previous owner of the mansion and watches the house closely. No one knows where this neighbour lives, but the police know who he is and even have a record on him, but still no one knows his address!
There's no world building, or character development and there are several loose ends throughout the story. The plot seems all over the place, wanting to give suspense or a mystery feel to it, but it crumbles; the reader isn't aware of the time that has passed between scenes. The language is poor, with strange choices of words which suggests that the author's first language is not english. The tone of voice tries to sound "cool" and young but it sounds dated.
There are mentions of clues and mysteries (that will be revealed when the time comes), animals that can talk but never introduce themselves, and no one even asks their names, although their lives depend on how well they treat these talking animals.
Although it is a fantasy book, the main setting is in the real world, but there are very few realistic things about it. I will only mention my favourite part of the story. Angelo, one of the children, vanishes and the family's reaction is, "what are we gonna do? Shall we stay or go? Let's decide on the toss of a coin!", so they decide to do so, and the result is "let's stay and look for our own son"!!!!!
The writing style isn't good at all; it seems like a teenager from the 80's wanting to write a story for his english assignment, trying hard to imagine what would it be like to be married and have kids. Also I could imagine a Harry Potter fan trying to write a fan-fic on Tumblr, and trying to piece it together, resulting in "Planet Maya" (which, by the way, we know nothing about!).
There are parts of the book that are so unintentionally funny, that I had to laugh; I couldn't take the book seriously at all. I ended up reading it to find out how this mess was going to end. Now that I know, I can continue reading some other book; in fact any book would be better than this!
I'm sure the book's target audience isn't adults, but middle grade.
I can now say that the description of the book is the best part of it. (Although I had to go back and check if it was an indie publication and if the target audience really was adult as claimed).
Soon enough we are given the setting; a mansion, a lake, a mountain; that's all. We know there's a family with some kids, but we don't get to know their names, or how many of them there are. The main character is a man, Paul, and we get to see the police, and a man who introduces himself as a neighbour, who happens to be the previous owner of the mansion and watches the house closely. No one knows where this neighbour lives, but the police know who he is and even have a record on him, but still no one knows his address!
There's no world building, or character development and there are several loose ends throughout the story. The plot seems all over the place, wanting to give suspense or a mystery feel to it, but it crumbles; the reader isn't aware of the time that has passed between scenes. The language is poor, with strange choices of words which suggests that the author's first language is not english. The tone of voice tries to sound "cool" and young but it sounds dated.
There are mentions of clues and mysteries (that will be revealed when the time comes), animals that can talk but never introduce themselves, and no one even asks their names, although their lives depend on how well they treat these talking animals.
Although it is a fantasy book, the main setting is in the real world, but there are very few realistic things about it. I will only mention my favourite part of the story. Angelo, one of the children, vanishes and the family's reaction is, "what are we gonna do? Shall we stay or go? Let's decide on the toss of a coin!", so they decide to do so, and the result is "let's stay and look for our own son"!!!!!
The writing style isn't good at all; it seems like a teenager from the 80's wanting to write a story for his english assignment, trying hard to imagine what would it be like to be married and have kids. Also I could imagine a Harry Potter fan trying to write a fan-fic on Tumblr, and trying to piece it together, resulting in "Planet Maya" (which, by the way, we know nothing about!).
There are parts of the book that are so unintentionally funny, that I had to laugh; I couldn't take the book seriously at all. I ended up reading it to find out how this mess was going to end. Now that I know, I can continue reading some other book; in fact any book would be better than this!
I'm sure the book's target audience isn't adults, but middle grade.
September 5, 2015
I really enjoy paranormal books so I was looking forward to reading this book. I have never reviewed a book and only given a one star rating but to be honest I simply cannot find anything positive about it. The writing and story are childlike with the characters having no depth or common sense.
The story is about a family moving into their dream Mansion in the countryside. The Mansion is cursed and various childlike events start to happen. The evening meal is over salted, the washing is dirty from rusty water a rat appears in the kitchen and bedroom and a black bird keeps attacking one of the children. One day the son Angelo disappears and the family have to make a decision. Do they stay and look for him or do they pack up and leave? As they cannot agree they toss a coin to decide. Really it is decided on the toss of a coin! The black bird is captured by the father Paul and taken to the police station for questioning and the police go along with all of this. Paul and his wife Eva even organise a house warming party and decide not to tell their families that Angelo is missing or even mention the problems with their home.
This book is supposed to be for any age but it works for neither adult reading or as a Y.A. book. I would dread to think that a child would read this and think this is how they should be as parents.
I would like to thank Netgalley for the opportunity to read and review this book.
The story is about a family moving into their dream Mansion in the countryside. The Mansion is cursed and various childlike events start to happen. The evening meal is over salted, the washing is dirty from rusty water a rat appears in the kitchen and bedroom and a black bird keeps attacking one of the children. One day the son Angelo disappears and the family have to make a decision. Do they stay and look for him or do they pack up and leave? As they cannot agree they toss a coin to decide. Really it is decided on the toss of a coin! The black bird is captured by the father Paul and taken to the police station for questioning and the police go along with all of this. Paul and his wife Eva even organise a house warming party and decide not to tell their families that Angelo is missing or even mention the problems with their home.
This book is supposed to be for any age but it works for neither adult reading or as a Y.A. book. I would dread to think that a child would read this and think this is how they should be as parents.
I would like to thank Netgalley for the opportunity to read and review this book.
September 9, 2015
I was given this book for free, by Netgallery, for an honest review.
I'm really sorry, I don't want to insult the author by giving low rating, but this book just wasn't for me. It actually sounded really intresting from the description, but it was really awful. I had to go back and check I wasn't reading a children's book, as I found the language style to be quite stilted and childlike, with formal words thrown in here and there. It didn't flow very well, almost as if it was written by someone for whom English is a second language or by an older child. I'm not giving this review to be unkind, but I'm trying to give the author a positive critique to be used to help them grow as a writer.
I'm really sorry, I don't want to insult the author by giving low rating, but this book just wasn't for me. It actually sounded really intresting from the description, but it was really awful. I had to go back and check I wasn't reading a children's book, as I found the language style to be quite stilted and childlike, with formal words thrown in here and there. It didn't flow very well, almost as if it was written by someone for whom English is a second language or by an older child. I'm not giving this review to be unkind, but I'm trying to give the author a positive critique to be used to help them grow as a writer.
December 5, 2015
I picked this book on the description I like paranormal books and spooky stuff but it turned out I was very disappointed.
I felt like it was a book more for children then an adult book and didn't like paul very much.
Sorry never finished the book I was just not interested in it the characters or what was happening.
Thank you Netgalley the author and publisher for a copy of this book for an honest review
I felt like it was a book more for children then an adult book and didn't like paul very much.
Sorry never finished the book I was just not interested in it the characters or what was happening.
Thank you Netgalley the author and publisher for a copy of this book for an honest review
October 6, 2015
A spookfest for young readers. I enjoyed the premise of the book and the magical aspect. At times, it was confusing and hard to follow. But there were also parts that were creepy and enjoyable. I started struggling to finish the book a little more than halfway through. I'm hoping with the second book a few more answers will be revealed for Paul and his family.
August 25, 2015
I picked this book based on the description and was so disappointed. The story is so detached and jilted. The characters are completely one sided. The whole read like a child telling a story and making it up as they went along.
May 28, 2016
I received this as an arc from net galley in exchange for an honest review. Planet Maya is a trilogy, it is a book about a haunted ,cursed mansion. The mansion finds many new owners at a bargain price. Every owner that has purchased the said mansion did not have the courage to stay. Wow. Absolutely fantastic read. CNPID. I loved the story and the characters. Aww felt for Eva and Paul. I do hope their luck picks up. Wow. Didn't expect that. Wow. Paul sacrificed everything to get his son back. I hoed he solves the mystery. I was rooting for the family all through the book. Wow. What a read. I loved the ending too. Can't wait for next part. This is a must read and I would highly recommend this book. Definitely worth more than 5 *.
October 5, 2015
When I read the blurb of this book I thought this would be right up my alley. I love paranormal books, think haunted houses and ghosts are scary as hell and I am also a parent. So I was all ready to read this story. In the very beginning I noticed that the language used to describe the house and the family didn't stick with me. I also found that the father Paul was a bit of a flat character. It felt like he was emotionally detached from the rest of the family. Happenings that I would find scary didn't stir much of emotions with the characters in the story.
I was really hoping this would be a good book but it didn't get to me.
I was really hoping this would be a good book but it didn't get to me.
October 11, 2015
Did not finish.
This writing needs a lot of work. Feels very juvenile, couldn't even finish it. And it's not that long to start with, but I just could not force myself thru.
*Received via NetGalley for my honest thoughts.
This writing needs a lot of work. Feels very juvenile, couldn't even finish it. And it's not that long to start with, but I just could not force myself thru.
*Received via NetGalley for my honest thoughts.
Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews