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The Deian Chronicles #1
The Elysian Prophecy
An enchanted island. An ancient evil. A society determined to gain power.
After a violent attack leaves their father in the hospital, Abigail and Benjamin Cole soon discover there’s more to their family history than mental illness.
But when fifteen-year-old Abi is abducted, she learns the attack wasn’t random. Thrust into an exotic and beautiful world part of a multi-millennial feud, she must decide who to trust in a society built on secrets. Questioning everything she’s ever known, she enlists the help of a boy connected to her in impossible ways and uncovers a dangerous secret stretching generations.
With Abi gone, seventeen-year-old Ben desperately tries to search for both his sister and his mother, but his hold on reality is fading. Something dark has latched onto him. In a race against his own failing mind, where violent hallucinations and paranoia force him to believe he’s next in line for the family curse, he learns he’s the only one that can save his family.
When darkness is coming, who do you trust?
Magic. Possession. War. Perfect for fans of Libba Bray, Cassandra Clare, and Leigh Bardugo.
After a violent attack leaves their father in the hospital, Abigail and Benjamin Cole soon discover there’s more to their family history than mental illness.
But when fifteen-year-old Abi is abducted, she learns the attack wasn’t random. Thrust into an exotic and beautiful world part of a multi-millennial feud, she must decide who to trust in a society built on secrets. Questioning everything she’s ever known, she enlists the help of a boy connected to her in impossible ways and uncovers a dangerous secret stretching generations.
With Abi gone, seventeen-year-old Ben desperately tries to search for both his sister and his mother, but his hold on reality is fading. Something dark has latched onto him. In a race against his own failing mind, where violent hallucinations and paranoia force him to believe he’s next in line for the family curse, he learns he’s the only one that can save his family.
When darkness is coming, who do you trust?
Magic. Possession. War. Perfect for fans of Libba Bray, Cassandra Clare, and Leigh Bardugo.
485 pages, Kindle Edition
Published February 20, 2018
101 people are currently reading
3438 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 87 reviews
September 3, 2019
True Rating: 3/5
I was given an eARC of this novel by the author in exchange for an honest review. This review will be spoiler-free. (Disclaimer: I meant to finish and review this novel before its release date, but since it was only sent to me a little over a week before publication and I had other obligations, I wasn't able to. Sorry!!!)
The best way I can describe this book is to say it was enjoyable. Not great, but not bad either. A true three out of five stars. I was actually considering giving it 3.5 stars, but enough issues piled up by the end that I couldn't justify the half star.
I want to start off with the things I liked and felt were really working for this novel. By far my favorite part of it was the romance. Although it didn't play a huge role in the story, it acted as my shining beacon in the darkness. What I liked most about it was the realism. Abi, one of the main characters in this book, reminded me so much of myself when I was her age. Experiencing a crush through her point of view was incredibly relatable, and gave me some teen-girl-crush nostalgia. There was nothing weird or unhealthy about the relationship, either, which is always something I look for. Overall, it was well done.
Another thing I felt was well done was Reis’s use of imagery (when she remembered to include it, that is). A lot of the settings were described very well, so I was able to see them clearly. Along these same lines, the action scenes were written clearly, too, and the tension was also consistently on-point, keeping me on edge until the characters were out of danger.
The magical elements also really worked well in this story. The world building was mostly clear, where I had a decent understanding of how the magic worked, and it was cool to see the magic in action during fight scenes. My favorite moments were where characters would use their teleportation as a fighting tactic, disappearing and then reappearing behind the person they planned to attack. To me, that was both clever and really cool.
There were also great mystery elements that kept me invested throughout the novel. I found myself making predictions a lot, though sometimes I felt like there were mysteries that didn't really need to be mysteries. For example, it took Reis a long time to even explain in what way Ben and Abi’s mom was sick. They kept saying, “Things haven't been the same since our mom got sick.” All the while, I was wondering, “Sick how? Obviously mentally, but what are her symptoms? Is she depressed? Anxious? Schizophrenic? What?” It would have been nice to have some clarity with that a little earlier on.
Which segues nicely to the things I felt could have been improved. The first is the ridiculous amount of time it took for Reis to give us a visual image of Ben and Abi. We finally get some imagery of them when Abi finds a picture of her mom at a young age, but before that there had been plenty of time to describe the two of them. The story switches between Ben and Abi’s points of view, after all, so Ben could have easily described Abi and vice versa. Instead, we get “I look like my mom and Ben looks like me” imagery. To this day I'm not entirely sure if I even have a clear picture of Ben or Abi in my head.
Speaking of the POV shifts, I felt that Reis didn't use them very effectively. She seemed to be determined to switch between Ben and Abi every other chapter, with the occasional random POV of a side character thrown in. This would have worked if something interesting or exciting had happened every chapter, or if every chapter had at least pushed the story forward in some way. Unfortunately, that wasn't the case. In the beginning, Abi's chapters really drug the story down, ruining the pacing completely. A couple of her chapters revolved around introducing characters who would be important later in the story, but who I feel Reis could have gotten away with not introducing until they arrived later, just for the sake of keeping the story moving. If I were Reis, in the beginning of the novel I would have had an introductory chapter for Abi and a scene where she went over to her friend Cora's house and hung out with Cora's brother Jesse and his friend Theo. Other than that, I would have cut her other scenes until the action began for her and I would have focused mainly on Ben.
Towards the end of the novel, something that really started bothering me were some plot inconsistencies. I had noticed it as little stuff earlier in the book, like Mr. Flynn assigning a project that was due on October 31st and then in the same chapter telling someone that Halloween had been two weeks ago, but by the end the issues were pretty big. One example has to do with a crystal necklace that plays a large role in the story. Abi had found it early on in the novel, and had left it at her friend Cora's house. Later in the novel she was afraid to tell Jesse that the necklace was in his house with his sister, and it was made out as a big deal that she wanted to tell him but kept getting interrupted. In Chapter 39, though, she says, “I saw that necklace again. The one at your house.” This implies that he knows the necklace is at his house, but then a few chapters later she tells him that it's in his house and he acts shocked. Stuff like this happened a few times, and it really drove me nuts and pulled me out of the story.
My final gripe is something that I actually did not count toward my rating of this novel. If I had, it probably would have been at 2.5 stars instead of three. I excused it because I assume it is not an issue in the final version of the book, but I'm bringing it up because it really did negatively impact my reading experience. This is the grammar and punctuation issues that I found scattered throughout the book. Now, I know Reis had some trouble with her proofreader backing out on her very close to publication, and so I wouldn't have held it against her at all if there had been one or two errors scattered here or there that I'd found. The problem was that, by the end of the novel, it felt like she'd written it with her eyes closed (or like she'd dictated her novel and then hadn't read back through it to check for errors). Punctuation-wise, commas were the main issue, usually missing from where they should have been. Grammar-wise, things were misspelled, words were omitted, and some things were just oddly phrased. My first drafts of my own novels have less errors than this ARC, which, honestly, I felt was a bit ridiculous. Again, a few errors I could have easily forgiven, but when you're giving a book out early for review, I would think you'd want it to be as close to perfect as you could get it in order to ensure your book got the best possible rating.
Overall, I enjoyed the basic concept of the plot. There were moments where I genuinely got swept up in the story, be it because of the romance, magic, or action. However, there were also times where I was taken out of the story because of silly mistakes, which is a shame. I was invested enough, though, to be interested in reading the sequel whenever it comes out, because I do want to know what happens next. In the end, this would probably be a fun read for someone who does not look at books critically. It isn't a novel I would go out of my way to recommend, but I also wouldn't steer someone away from it if they came up to me and said they were planning to read it.
Anyone who is looking for a book featuring magical secret societies, mind-based magical abilities, and/or a war where you don't know who you can trust would most likely enjoy this novel.
I was given an eARC of this novel by the author in exchange for an honest review. This review will be spoiler-free. (Disclaimer: I meant to finish and review this novel before its release date, but since it was only sent to me a little over a week before publication and I had other obligations, I wasn't able to. Sorry!!!)
The best way I can describe this book is to say it was enjoyable. Not great, but not bad either. A true three out of five stars. I was actually considering giving it 3.5 stars, but enough issues piled up by the end that I couldn't justify the half star.
I want to start off with the things I liked and felt were really working for this novel. By far my favorite part of it was the romance. Although it didn't play a huge role in the story, it acted as my shining beacon in the darkness. What I liked most about it was the realism. Abi, one of the main characters in this book, reminded me so much of myself when I was her age. Experiencing a crush through her point of view was incredibly relatable, and gave me some teen-girl-crush nostalgia. There was nothing weird or unhealthy about the relationship, either, which is always something I look for. Overall, it was well done.
Another thing I felt was well done was Reis’s use of imagery (when she remembered to include it, that is). A lot of the settings were described very well, so I was able to see them clearly. Along these same lines, the action scenes were written clearly, too, and the tension was also consistently on-point, keeping me on edge until the characters were out of danger.
The magical elements also really worked well in this story. The world building was mostly clear, where I had a decent understanding of how the magic worked, and it was cool to see the magic in action during fight scenes. My favorite moments were where characters would use their teleportation as a fighting tactic, disappearing and then reappearing behind the person they planned to attack. To me, that was both clever and really cool.
There were also great mystery elements that kept me invested throughout the novel. I found myself making predictions a lot, though sometimes I felt like there were mysteries that didn't really need to be mysteries. For example, it took Reis a long time to even explain in what way Ben and Abi’s mom was sick. They kept saying, “Things haven't been the same since our mom got sick.” All the while, I was wondering, “Sick how? Obviously mentally, but what are her symptoms? Is she depressed? Anxious? Schizophrenic? What?” It would have been nice to have some clarity with that a little earlier on.
Which segues nicely to the things I felt could have been improved. The first is the ridiculous amount of time it took for Reis to give us a visual image of Ben and Abi. We finally get some imagery of them when Abi finds a picture of her mom at a young age, but before that there had been plenty of time to describe the two of them. The story switches between Ben and Abi’s points of view, after all, so Ben could have easily described Abi and vice versa. Instead, we get “I look like my mom and Ben looks like me” imagery. To this day I'm not entirely sure if I even have a clear picture of Ben or Abi in my head.
Speaking of the POV shifts, I felt that Reis didn't use them very effectively. She seemed to be determined to switch between Ben and Abi every other chapter, with the occasional random POV of a side character thrown in. This would have worked if something interesting or exciting had happened every chapter, or if every chapter had at least pushed the story forward in some way. Unfortunately, that wasn't the case. In the beginning, Abi's chapters really drug the story down, ruining the pacing completely. A couple of her chapters revolved around introducing characters who would be important later in the story, but who I feel Reis could have gotten away with not introducing until they arrived later, just for the sake of keeping the story moving. If I were Reis, in the beginning of the novel I would have had an introductory chapter for Abi and a scene where she went over to her friend Cora's house and hung out with Cora's brother Jesse and his friend Theo. Other than that, I would have cut her other scenes until the action began for her and I would have focused mainly on Ben.
Towards the end of the novel, something that really started bothering me were some plot inconsistencies. I had noticed it as little stuff earlier in the book, like Mr. Flynn assigning a project that was due on October 31st and then in the same chapter telling someone that Halloween had been two weeks ago, but by the end the issues were pretty big. One example has to do with a crystal necklace that plays a large role in the story. Abi had found it early on in the novel, and had left it at her friend Cora's house. Later in the novel she was afraid to tell Jesse that the necklace was in his house with his sister, and it was made out as a big deal that she wanted to tell him but kept getting interrupted. In Chapter 39, though, she says, “I saw that necklace again. The one at your house.” This implies that he knows the necklace is at his house, but then a few chapters later she tells him that it's in his house and he acts shocked. Stuff like this happened a few times, and it really drove me nuts and pulled me out of the story.
My final gripe is something that I actually did not count toward my rating of this novel. If I had, it probably would have been at 2.5 stars instead of three. I excused it because I assume it is not an issue in the final version of the book, but I'm bringing it up because it really did negatively impact my reading experience. This is the grammar and punctuation issues that I found scattered throughout the book. Now, I know Reis had some trouble with her proofreader backing out on her very close to publication, and so I wouldn't have held it against her at all if there had been one or two errors scattered here or there that I'd found. The problem was that, by the end of the novel, it felt like she'd written it with her eyes closed (or like she'd dictated her novel and then hadn't read back through it to check for errors). Punctuation-wise, commas were the main issue, usually missing from where they should have been. Grammar-wise, things were misspelled, words were omitted, and some things were just oddly phrased. My first drafts of my own novels have less errors than this ARC, which, honestly, I felt was a bit ridiculous. Again, a few errors I could have easily forgiven, but when you're giving a book out early for review, I would think you'd want it to be as close to perfect as you could get it in order to ensure your book got the best possible rating.
Overall, I enjoyed the basic concept of the plot. There were moments where I genuinely got swept up in the story, be it because of the romance, magic, or action. However, there were also times where I was taken out of the story because of silly mistakes, which is a shame. I was invested enough, though, to be interested in reading the sequel whenever it comes out, because I do want to know what happens next. In the end, this would probably be a fun read for someone who does not look at books critically. It isn't a novel I would go out of my way to recommend, but I also wouldn't steer someone away from it if they came up to me and said they were planning to read it.
Anyone who is looking for a book featuring magical secret societies, mind-based magical abilities, and/or a war where you don't know who you can trust would most likely enjoy this novel.
February 12, 2018
I had high hopes for The Elysian Prophecy because I'm a huge fan of Vivien's YouTube channel, so I must say I approached reading this book with some trepidation. However, my fears were soon revealed to be unfounded. I devoured The Elysian Prophecy in two days because the pacing was absolutely PHENOMENAL. I have recently read The Selection and even though the two books are nothing alike (other than being YA), the overall reading experience was very similar (I'm mostly talking about how unputdownable they both were :)).
So, the pacing was hands down my favorite thing about this book because I read YA fantasy when I want to escape my reality and become fully immersed in a different world, but there was so much more to it than that. I liked how gray most of the characters felt, the writing was solid and flowed really well, and there were quite a few twists and turns I didn't see coming (or did, but then persuaded myself otherwise because "THIS can't possibly be true").
A word of warning: there are a few horror elements to this story. Nothing too bad, just know that this book is NOT recommended bedtime reading (been there, done that, and - NO. Don't do it).
Highly recommended if you are looking for a fast-paced YA fantasy read.
Here's my full review: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q_5pY...
So, the pacing was hands down my favorite thing about this book because I read YA fantasy when I want to escape my reality and become fully immersed in a different world, but there was so much more to it than that. I liked how gray most of the characters felt, the writing was solid and flowed really well, and there were quite a few twists and turns I didn't see coming (or did, but then persuaded myself otherwise because "THIS can't possibly be true").
A word of warning: there are a few horror elements to this story. Nothing too bad, just know that this book is NOT recommended bedtime reading (been there, done that, and - NO. Don't do it).
Highly recommended if you are looking for a fast-paced YA fantasy read.
Here's my full review: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q_5pY...
Want to read
July 17, 2016Sooooo excited for this book!!!!
Want to read
November 2, 2017Well first and foremost a huge congratulations to the author for releasing the first few chapters of this!
I have had a read of the first chapter and a half and enjoying it so far, it reads great! The first chapter has me hooked in and invested in the story wanting to know more. The writing style is very readable and the whole thing is very polished.
Getting to the point to release some of your work in my experience can feel like bearing your heart and soul as you know some people will like it and some won't, so well done to the author for taking that step.
Will definitely be ordering a copy when it is available for order in the UK. Exciting!!!
I have had a read of the first chapter and a half and enjoying it so far, it reads great! The first chapter has me hooked in and invested in the story wanting to know more. The writing style is very readable and the whole thing is very polished.
Getting to the point to release some of your work in my experience can feel like bearing your heart and soul as you know some people will like it and some won't, so well done to the author for taking that step.
Will definitely be ordering a copy when it is available for order in the UK. Exciting!!!
January 17, 2019
I heard of this book by seeing a few of the author’s YouTube videos. Thought I’d give it a try as it sounded interesting. Unfortunately, this book was very hard to get into.
The beginning was just way too slow. WAY too slow. Nothing at all happens for like 6 or 7 chapters. I really could have done without the lengthy explanation of how to play the drinking game that Abi was playing. It was so unnecessary and it went on forever.
Then all of a sudden they are saying things like Marked, Oracle, the King’s army, Elysia, without telling me what any of it means. These words aren’t mentioned again for several more chapters, and it felt extremely out of place.
I don’t buy that Ben wouldn’t have told Ravi about the necklace. That was purely used to make part of the plot later on work. Ben trusted Ravi, and seeing how he was the only person Ben knew who was part of this magical world, he definitely would have asked him about the necklace and told him about the journal.
He felt it was “Traitorous to include an adult”? Please. That makes no sense.
The author really didn’t have to switch characters every chapter. It would’ve been much better to do another chapter from the same character at some points. Sometimes it really broke up the flow and tension of the story to go back and forth.
I will say I liked the concept of the crystals in this book. I like that they are used for different abilities and have energy.
However, why is it so important for Abi to learn to block her thoughts right away if there is a crystal that does that? I understand learning it eventually, so you don’t always have to rely on the crystal. But it was stressed that it was very important that that be the first thing she learns, but I think she would have been better off learning how to “hop” a lot sooner instead, and keeping the thought crystal close on her person until she learns the ability later.
The last 20 pages or so had some good tension build up, but nothing really is resolved in this book. The entire book felt like it was just a set up for the sequel. I probably won’t be reading it.
The beginning was just way too slow. WAY too slow. Nothing at all happens for like 6 or 7 chapters. I really could have done without the lengthy explanation of how to play the drinking game that Abi was playing. It was so unnecessary and it went on forever.
Then all of a sudden they are saying things like Marked, Oracle, the King’s army, Elysia, without telling me what any of it means. These words aren’t mentioned again for several more chapters, and it felt extremely out of place.
I don’t buy that Ben wouldn’t have told Ravi about the necklace. That was purely used to make part of the plot later on work. Ben trusted Ravi, and seeing how he was the only person Ben knew who was part of this magical world, he definitely would have asked him about the necklace and told him about the journal.
He felt it was “Traitorous to include an adult”? Please. That makes no sense.
The author really didn’t have to switch characters every chapter. It would’ve been much better to do another chapter from the same character at some points. Sometimes it really broke up the flow and tension of the story to go back and forth.
I will say I liked the concept of the crystals in this book. I like that they are used for different abilities and have energy.
However, why is it so important for Abi to learn to block her thoughts right away if there is a crystal that does that? I understand learning it eventually, so you don’t always have to rely on the crystal. But it was stressed that it was very important that that be the first thing she learns, but I think she would have been better off learning how to “hop” a lot sooner instead, and keeping the thought crystal close on her person until she learns the ability later.
The last 20 pages or so had some good tension build up, but nothing really is resolved in this book. The entire book felt like it was just a set up for the sequel. I probably won’t be reading it.
December 10, 2020
When I first read the blurb, I hadn't realized how dark the book would actually be. After reading the blurb again, yeah I see it now. Just consider this a warning: This book is very, very dark and can be scary at times. It does not make for light reading as you wind down for bed nor does it make for a sweet, pretty gift for your mother (sorry mom). So, probably don't do either of those.
First, I'm going to start with my absolute favorite element of story art and that is character. And oh my, do I love these characters.
CHARACTERS
Ben: This poor soul. Oh, sweet baby Ben. He begins the story as a high school jock, better at hockey than he is in school, but his family friend Ravi (also his History teacher) tries to help him in the classroom. The book doesn't mention it, but the author has said on her Youtube channel that Ben is dyslexic, which does make it harder for him in school. He starts to develop the early symptoms of his mother's schizophrenia and fears he's slowly falling into madness just like his mom. He doesn't tell anyone and suffers alone until he puts himself in danger and gets a bit of help. It just goes downhill from there.
Abi: She's fifteen, but honestly I completely forgot this fact until the author took care to remind me. I'd read the book with her age being closer to 18, but she's not. Just a very mature, intelligent 15-year-old. At first, she definitely acted her age, but it is very possible that the kidnapping aged her beyond her years. She's different from other YA female protagonists I read at this time. She thinks logically, but still has emotions and isn't afraid to have or show them (except to avoid public humiliation) and underneath all her pain and heartbreak, underneath all the world-shattering and family secrets, she isn't afraid to have a crush on a boy like a normal teenager.
Cora: Cora is out-there with her wild hair and costume-esque clothing, but the real difference between Cora and Abi is that Cora is courageous and ready for adventure and , where Abi is a bit less so, preferring to stay in the crowd rather than front-and-center. I really liked Cora and thought that she complimented Abi well.
Jesse, Theo, and Myra: I clump them together because I felt like they were a trio of friends who could possibly be the main characters of their own story. You have Myra, the Healer, who is also the smart one. Theo is the muscle, a big, muscular guy from Nigeria who is the fighter (I think). And Jesse, who is the leader of the group as he is the one with the connection to Abi.
STORY AND WRITING
When I read the first few chapters, it read a bit like a contemporary, possibly-coming-of-age book about two teens navigating normal life with their mom (who is heavily-medicated and a husk of a person). Then it quickly shifts gears to remind you that oh no, this is far more than that. It's very fast-paced, with something emotional happening to the characters at each chapter and each section of the chapter. If you like fast-paced, this is the book for you. It also does great world-building by using Ben and Abi separately as it's left to the reader to pick up the pieces from each and fit them together. This is done spectacularly, especially as we, the readers, pick up on something but the characters don't and it becomes impossible to put down as you impatiently wait for the characters to learn what you know because you can't just tell them yourself. If that were possible, that would be amazing, but it's not. So you have to helplessly read as the characters struggle without that knowledge you have which would change everything.
Also, the writing is really well done. Vivid description and lots of emotion. The introspection had another layer to it as well, which was fun. Generally, introspection is fantastic for getting to understand character thoughts and feelings as well as world-build, but it was also used in this case as a tool for communication. Anyway, that was fun. All around, this was a fun read and I can't wait for the physical copy to come in the mail next week!
Fun Facts: My name is Elysa, which is very close to Elysia. Another fun fact, The Elysian fields, or Elysium, in Greek mythology, is the part of the afterlife dedicated to heroes and those related to heroes or the gods. Pretty cool, right?
I read an ARC of this book, courtesy of the author, and would like to thank her for the opportunity to read the book a week earlier than publication! This is my honest review.
First, I'm going to start with my absolute favorite element of story art and that is character. And oh my, do I love these characters.
CHARACTERS
Ben: This poor soul. Oh, sweet baby Ben. He begins the story as a high school jock, better at hockey than he is in school, but his family friend Ravi (also his History teacher) tries to help him in the classroom. The book doesn't mention it, but the author has said on her Youtube channel that Ben is dyslexic, which does make it harder for him in school. He starts to develop the early symptoms of his mother's schizophrenia and fears he's slowly falling into madness just like his mom. He doesn't tell anyone and suffers alone until he puts himself in danger and gets a bit of help. It just goes downhill from there.
Abi: She's fifteen, but honestly I completely forgot this fact until the author took care to remind me. I'd read the book with her age being closer to 18, but she's not. Just a very mature, intelligent 15-year-old. At first, she definitely acted her age, but it is very possible that the kidnapping aged her beyond her years. She's different from other YA female protagonists I read at this time. She thinks logically, but still has emotions and isn't afraid to have or show them (except to avoid public humiliation) and underneath all her pain and heartbreak, underneath all the world-shattering and family secrets, she isn't afraid to have a crush on a boy like a normal teenager.
Cora: Cora is out-there with her wild hair and costume-esque clothing, but the real difference between Cora and Abi is that Cora is courageous and ready for adventure and , where Abi is a bit less so, preferring to stay in the crowd rather than front-and-center. I really liked Cora and thought that she complimented Abi well.
Jesse, Theo, and Myra: I clump them together because I felt like they were a trio of friends who could possibly be the main characters of their own story. You have Myra, the Healer, who is also the smart one. Theo is the muscle, a big, muscular guy from Nigeria who is the fighter (I think). And Jesse, who is the leader of the group as he is the one with the connection to Abi.
STORY AND WRITING
When I read the first few chapters, it read a bit like a contemporary, possibly-coming-of-age book about two teens navigating normal life with their mom (who is heavily-medicated and a husk of a person). Then it quickly shifts gears to remind you that oh no, this is far more than that. It's very fast-paced, with something emotional happening to the characters at each chapter and each section of the chapter. If you like fast-paced, this is the book for you. It also does great world-building by using Ben and Abi separately as it's left to the reader to pick up the pieces from each and fit them together. This is done spectacularly, especially as we, the readers, pick up on something but the characters don't and it becomes impossible to put down as you impatiently wait for the characters to learn what you know because you can't just tell them yourself. If that were possible, that would be amazing, but it's not. So you have to helplessly read as the characters struggle without that knowledge you have which would change everything.
Also, the writing is really well done. Vivid description and lots of emotion. The introspection had another layer to it as well, which was fun. Generally, introspection is fantastic for getting to understand character thoughts and feelings as well as world-build, but it was also used in this case as a tool for communication. Anyway, that was fun. All around, this was a fun read and I can't wait for the physical copy to come in the mail next week!
Fun Facts: My name is Elysa, which is very close to Elysia. Another fun fact, The Elysian fields, or Elysium, in Greek mythology, is the part of the afterlife dedicated to heroes and those related to heroes or the gods. Pretty cool, right?
I read an ARC of this book, courtesy of the author, and would like to thank her for the opportunity to read the book a week earlier than publication! This is my honest review.
February 28, 2019
I actually DNFed this book. I stopped at page 224, so 56% of the way through
April 15, 2019
The Elysian Prophecies:
* writing- it is very cerebral. It focused on physical and mental reactions that leave no room for aesthetic. This fluffs out the whole novel which gets really tedious after a while. In almost every paragraph the author describes how the character breathes, down to how their toes are moving coupled with exposition similar to “their world was crumbling away around them.” “Their life was falling apart” “They had nothing left” This lost its effectiveness very quickly. It was too much and should have focused on the story and surroundings and character building. I really think that the author would benefit writing in first person because of the attention to how the characters react to things.
* Characters- none of the characters have any personality or even an appearance(seriously, what do they look like?) except for maybe Cora and Gertrude and Theo. No inflections or voices or mannerisms. I think abi and Ben had about 50 break downs each. The characters never ask the right questions or enough questions about really huge things. The funniest thing anyone said in the book was “you feel like a beluga whale in my mind.” More silly moments like this please.
* Story- could have been condensed down into a much smaller book. There is just too much fluffiness and not enough flesh. Could not enjoy the story because almost every single time something would happen, abi and Ben would both swear black and blue that what they are experiencing is too crazy to exist and there’s no possible way it could be real and they’re just having a mental break down like their mother. This got really tedious. After the 20th time this happened I almost put the book down. I’m glad I didn’t though. It is better after chapter 40 more or less. There was a twist I didn’t see coming. However I hated that crazy things would happen to these characters and they would continue to go to school and go to parties. It felt awkward and unnatural a lot of the time. Like the author just wanted certain scenes to happen, and tried to force them in there. Also, purposely excluding information (when it should be given and asked for by characters) is not a good way to try to seduce readers to keep reading. It’s very frustrating and easy to see through.
* World building- yeah I got zero sense of Elysia. Not even its history. I just got an island a dome and a cave and some crystals. There was no sense of people living there. And They eat takeaway? Idk, it just felt so underdeveloped and I lost of my sense of place for about 40% of this book. Kinda just felt like a touristy island and I didn’t care about it. Even the town which they live, I would’ve like to have learnt more about it. Juxtaposition of the two worlds would’ve been really effective. There needs to be more nitty gritty details that bring the worlds alive. I wish the author had more fun with it.
* Overall- I was Interested in finding out the plot but boy oh boy does the author make you work hard for it and rewards you with anticlimactic payoffs. This book just felt like it was in a constant state of flux and said the word mind 40000 times. It was wishy washy and didn’t seem to take anchor ever throughout the whole book. Constantly going back and forth between Ben and Abi broke up the pacing. I would’ve liked to have spent more time with them. It was good towards the end, but the characters are…not boring–but I feel like the author is not letting them play in the world they live or interact authentically with each other so it really comes across as boring. I think the author would benfit writing in 1st person. I also think she should aim her writing for younger children. The swearing and adulty moments felt awkward and a bit of a gimmick at times and could’ve done without it. The idea is really good, and there were some really effective things here, but it just needed fine tuning to give the punch that it needed.
* Unless I am mistaken, Ben found out about a death twice? Page 332 and 346
* The Good- after chapter 40 it started to pick up. The writing is very easy to read! The words fell of the page. The chapters were short and made you feel like you flying through the book. I was surprised to be surprised by some plot twists which was good and made me glad I didn’t put the book down. I liked the themes explored. I like crystals and rituals and powers, however a little more would been better.
* I want to read the next one. Mostly to just take the journey with viv as she has given me so much helpful advice. At the end of the day I thought it best to be honest, and hope my review wasn’t too harsh. Regardless, I wish her the best and I’m sure her next novel will be better.
* writing- it is very cerebral. It focused on physical and mental reactions that leave no room for aesthetic. This fluffs out the whole novel which gets really tedious after a while. In almost every paragraph the author describes how the character breathes, down to how their toes are moving coupled with exposition similar to “their world was crumbling away around them.” “Their life was falling apart” “They had nothing left” This lost its effectiveness very quickly. It was too much and should have focused on the story and surroundings and character building. I really think that the author would benefit writing in first person because of the attention to how the characters react to things.
* Characters- none of the characters have any personality or even an appearance(seriously, what do they look like?) except for maybe Cora and Gertrude and Theo. No inflections or voices or mannerisms. I think abi and Ben had about 50 break downs each. The characters never ask the right questions or enough questions about really huge things. The funniest thing anyone said in the book was “you feel like a beluga whale in my mind.” More silly moments like this please.
* Story- could have been condensed down into a much smaller book. There is just too much fluffiness and not enough flesh. Could not enjoy the story because almost every single time something would happen, abi and Ben would both swear black and blue that what they are experiencing is too crazy to exist and there’s no possible way it could be real and they’re just having a mental break down like their mother. This got really tedious. After the 20th time this happened I almost put the book down. I’m glad I didn’t though. It is better after chapter 40 more or less. There was a twist I didn’t see coming. However I hated that crazy things would happen to these characters and they would continue to go to school and go to parties. It felt awkward and unnatural a lot of the time. Like the author just wanted certain scenes to happen, and tried to force them in there. Also, purposely excluding information (when it should be given and asked for by characters) is not a good way to try to seduce readers to keep reading. It’s very frustrating and easy to see through.
* World building- yeah I got zero sense of Elysia. Not even its history. I just got an island a dome and a cave and some crystals. There was no sense of people living there. And They eat takeaway? Idk, it just felt so underdeveloped and I lost of my sense of place for about 40% of this book. Kinda just felt like a touristy island and I didn’t care about it. Even the town which they live, I would’ve like to have learnt more about it. Juxtaposition of the two worlds would’ve been really effective. There needs to be more nitty gritty details that bring the worlds alive. I wish the author had more fun with it.
* Overall- I was Interested in finding out the plot but boy oh boy does the author make you work hard for it and rewards you with anticlimactic payoffs. This book just felt like it was in a constant state of flux and said the word mind 40000 times. It was wishy washy and didn’t seem to take anchor ever throughout the whole book. Constantly going back and forth between Ben and Abi broke up the pacing. I would’ve liked to have spent more time with them. It was good towards the end, but the characters are…not boring–but I feel like the author is not letting them play in the world they live or interact authentically with each other so it really comes across as boring. I think the author would benfit writing in 1st person. I also think she should aim her writing for younger children. The swearing and adulty moments felt awkward and a bit of a gimmick at times and could’ve done without it. The idea is really good, and there were some really effective things here, but it just needed fine tuning to give the punch that it needed.
* Unless I am mistaken, Ben found out about a death twice? Page 332 and 346
* The Good- after chapter 40 it started to pick up. The writing is very easy to read! The words fell of the page. The chapters were short and made you feel like you flying through the book. I was surprised to be surprised by some plot twists which was good and made me glad I didn’t put the book down. I liked the themes explored. I like crystals and rituals and powers, however a little more would been better.
* I want to read the next one. Mostly to just take the journey with viv as she has given me so much helpful advice. At the end of the day I thought it best to be honest, and hope my review wasn’t too harsh. Regardless, I wish her the best and I’m sure her next novel will be better.
November 1, 2019
This book has literally restored my faith in self-publishing.
As a book-book, it's 3 stars. As a self-published book, 5.
Basically, had I pulled this off the shelf at the library or at Barnes & Noble, I would have regarded it the way I do most fantasy books I try reading: fine writing, interesting enough story, gorgeous cover art, but ultimately not one of the few I'd end up finishing on the first try.
In other words, while "the Elysian Prophecy" is no "Snow Crash," it easily passes for a traditionally published book. This book is legit. Aside from the proper edit and legitimate cover art that many self-published books lack, both the narration and plotline avoid cliches that plague the genre, in traditionally-published books and otherwise.
Story:
Compelling, but underdeveloped in the latter half. The start, though, is great. This story does not begin with a lonely orphan discovering a magical object; it starts with an almost-normal family with a mentally ill mother, a violent attack against the father, and the mother going missing. The main characters start off as relatively normal kids, with a family and friends. The titicular prophecy also avoids the worst cliches. While the main characters are obviously affected by the prophecy, I don't recall any of the usual, "It's all up to you, only you can save us all, the prophecy says so!"
I personally did not find the pacing to be slow, but I felt everything was underdeveloped in the second half of the book. While the "real" world is well drawn, the enchanted island and its inhabitants receive minimal descriptions. I never felt like I was exploring a magical island with the characters, perhaps because they didn't seem too impressed with the magic. The idea of a society of telepaths with crystal-based technology (for lack of a better term) should have been compelling, but fell flat. The climax of the story also lacked the oomph needed, and felt rushed.
Writing
On the subject of descriptions, not only was the magical island underwhelming, but I can't remember what most of the characters looked like. This is one of those books where important characters will receive one physical description when first introduced, and then nothing about their appearance is ever mentioned again (the exception being Cora's changing hair colors). Since many traditionally published authors seem to have a phobia of describing their main characters at all, I will not hold this against this book. But it still peeves me.
The narration is well done. Reis writes with her own voice, mostly avoiding cliched phrases, and choosing words that get the point across, rather than words that will sound elegant on the page (as many fantasy authors do). She is particularly good at describing feelings of panic (and as a person with a legitimate anxiety disorder, I think I'm qualified to say). The only problem is that she does it a bit too often. It's true that with all the characters are going through, these feelings would be recurring constantly over the course of the story, but that doesn't mean the narration needs to pause and describe the whole thing every time. After a while, the descriptions of panic, well done as they were, lost their impact, because it just got to be overkill.
Cover art!
I do judge books by their covers, sorry. And this one is just gorgeous, as you can see. I'm honestly disappointed that my copy wore down as much as it did while I was reading it (not the book's fault; I store my books in my backpack, and bring them outside). So, props to Vivien Reis for not only investing in a legitimate cover, but going above and beyond with it.
The back "Acknowledgements" section, not something I'd normally comment on, also adds to the author's credibility. Not only does it look more professional than self-published books that forgo mentioning outside help (sometimes for obvious reasons), but it also demonstrates some much-needed humility, especially important for someone marketing their book through a You Tube advice channel.
But that does not mean that Vivien Reis shouldn't take pride in this book. I'm sure she's been told this, but she should feel beyond proud of this accomplishment. I'd count myself lucky for my own first book to be half this well done. Legit story, legit writing, compelling setup for the next book, gorgeous cover art. For a debut novel, never mind-self published, it's nothing to sneeze at.
As a book-book, it's 3 stars. As a self-published book, 5.
Basically, had I pulled this off the shelf at the library or at Barnes & Noble, I would have regarded it the way I do most fantasy books I try reading: fine writing, interesting enough story, gorgeous cover art, but ultimately not one of the few I'd end up finishing on the first try.
In other words, while "the Elysian Prophecy" is no "Snow Crash," it easily passes for a traditionally published book. This book is legit. Aside from the proper edit and legitimate cover art that many self-published books lack, both the narration and plotline avoid cliches that plague the genre, in traditionally-published books and otherwise.
Story:
Compelling, but underdeveloped in the latter half. The start, though, is great. This story does not begin with a lonely orphan discovering a magical object; it starts with an almost-normal family with a mentally ill mother, a violent attack against the father, and the mother going missing. The main characters start off as relatively normal kids, with a family and friends. The titicular prophecy also avoids the worst cliches. While the main characters are obviously affected by the prophecy, I don't recall any of the usual, "It's all up to you, only you can save us all, the prophecy says so!"
I personally did not find the pacing to be slow, but I felt everything was underdeveloped in the second half of the book. While the "real" world is well drawn, the enchanted island and its inhabitants receive minimal descriptions. I never felt like I was exploring a magical island with the characters, perhaps because they didn't seem too impressed with the magic. The idea of a society of telepaths with crystal-based technology (for lack of a better term) should have been compelling, but fell flat. The climax of the story also lacked the oomph needed, and felt rushed.
Writing
On the subject of descriptions, not only was the magical island underwhelming, but I can't remember what most of the characters looked like. This is one of those books where important characters will receive one physical description when first introduced, and then nothing about their appearance is ever mentioned again (the exception being Cora's changing hair colors). Since many traditionally published authors seem to have a phobia of describing their main characters at all, I will not hold this against this book. But it still peeves me.
The narration is well done. Reis writes with her own voice, mostly avoiding cliched phrases, and choosing words that get the point across, rather than words that will sound elegant on the page (as many fantasy authors do). She is particularly good at describing feelings of panic (and as a person with a legitimate anxiety disorder, I think I'm qualified to say). The only problem is that she does it a bit too often. It's true that with all the characters are going through, these feelings would be recurring constantly over the course of the story, but that doesn't mean the narration needs to pause and describe the whole thing every time. After a while, the descriptions of panic, well done as they were, lost their impact, because it just got to be overkill.
Cover art!
I do judge books by their covers, sorry. And this one is just gorgeous, as you can see. I'm honestly disappointed that my copy wore down as much as it did while I was reading it (not the book's fault; I store my books in my backpack, and bring them outside). So, props to Vivien Reis for not only investing in a legitimate cover, but going above and beyond with it.
The back "Acknowledgements" section, not something I'd normally comment on, also adds to the author's credibility. Not only does it look more professional than self-published books that forgo mentioning outside help (sometimes for obvious reasons), but it also demonstrates some much-needed humility, especially important for someone marketing their book through a You Tube advice channel.
But that does not mean that Vivien Reis shouldn't take pride in this book. I'm sure she's been told this, but she should feel beyond proud of this accomplishment. I'd count myself lucky for my own first book to be half this well done. Legit story, legit writing, compelling setup for the next book, gorgeous cover art. For a debut novel, never mind-self published, it's nothing to sneeze at.
March 16, 2018
This book definitely wasn’t what I was expecting. Which isn’t a bad thing, but I was thrown when I started this book as I was expecting a book set in a fantasy world, both the blurb and the cover made me think this but the book starts following brother and sister Ben and Abi at an ordinary high school. I didn’t have a problem with this, I thought the glimpse into their family life at the start was really well done and was a great jumping off point to introduce the magic and secret society that we’re told about in the blurb. If it had been done in that way I think I would have enjoyed this much more, but as it turned out neither main character really gets introduced to the fantasy element until about 40% in. Which made everything seem very slow to me. Don’t get me wrong, it was all interesting and I enjoyed reading it. There were loads of really great scenes that I really got to know the characters in but it wasn’t until about half way that this book resembled anything that felt like what the blurb had promised. I feel like this was two stories. Ben’s decent into ‘madness’ was my favourite part, It kept me reading and turning the page and needing to find out what happened next whereas Abi’s parts, even in the second half of the book, were very slow and passive until right at the end. Which brings me to the second thing I was expecting from the blurb, which was a strong brother-sister relationship, and while it does say they get spilt up in the blurb I was just expecting…. More. It seemed like they only remembered they were supposed to be trying to get back to each other every now and then. Especially in Abi’s parts. She does have a lot to think about but I feel like she should have been thinking more about her family. Once I got over my expectations, the premise and the story itself was enjoyable, I just wish it had been a bit quicker to get to the action, which might just be my love for exciting fast paced stories.
May 1, 2019
Terrible fantasy. Nothing happens for the first 7 chapters that would make me think this was a fantasy or anything similar. There were lot of issues with composition with the most notible as having an entire descriptive paragraph or two between two pieces of dialog that if spoken would only take 2 seconds. The degree of repetition in this story makes it seem like the author thinks the audience is too stupid to understand that the protagonist is a smart, published girl.
Published as in, she wrote a story that got published and is thus very amazing. For a woman who gives a lot of writing advise, the author scarcely made characters feel like real, tangible people with goals, aspirations, or deeper feelings. Instead all we get is clichéd characters straight out of a boring teenager's fanfic notebook and rambling about the heroine's need to be edgy and 'corrupted' dspite being nothing more than a boring, cheesy, dollar-a-dozen author stand in. It wasn't pretty when fanfic writers did it, and it isn't interesting when Reis does it.
The only thing I can give to the author that isn't negative is the plain fact that she gives good advice for people who have never taken a writing class and who are interested in writing for fun. Her advice is not useful if you are into writing in a serious way. You will not be published just because you removed all your -ly adverbs, cut out passive voice, or tried to write chapters worth of exposition. It would be better to take an actual writing class and learn the art of poetic language.
Published as in, she wrote a story that got published and is thus very amazing. For a woman who gives a lot of writing advise, the author scarcely made characters feel like real, tangible people with goals, aspirations, or deeper feelings. Instead all we get is clichéd characters straight out of a boring teenager's fanfic notebook and rambling about the heroine's need to be edgy and 'corrupted' dspite being nothing more than a boring, cheesy, dollar-a-dozen author stand in. It wasn't pretty when fanfic writers did it, and it isn't interesting when Reis does it.
The only thing I can give to the author that isn't negative is the plain fact that she gives good advice for people who have never taken a writing class and who are interested in writing for fun. Her advice is not useful if you are into writing in a serious way. You will not be published just because you removed all your -ly adverbs, cut out passive voice, or tried to write chapters worth of exposition. It would be better to take an actual writing class and learn the art of poetic language.
August 28, 2018
Really not bad... but not great either. I just can't justify having to wait six chapters for some action to start happening. I thought that some of the beginning details of the lives of Ben and Abi were a little shaky and underdeveloped. For example; I've never witnessed teachers letting athletes slide in school. The teacher slamming his yardstick down even though we never knew he was holding one. Did Abi really not notice Cora's blue hair until Cora had to point it out? We are in Abi's POV she should have noticed. School's really crack down on cellphone use, I really don't buy that Cora can just keep texting without even getting called out on it. Little things I know. BUT nonetheless obvious things that stick out to any reader. If the first thing you're thinking is, "huh, my school wasn't/isn't like that" then you know what I'm talking about. I love the mental illness aspect that is brought in. I think that is the beginnings biggest (and maybe only) redeeming quality. I like that Ben is worried that he may also be suffering from it. Great world building once you get into the meat of the novel and the magic is well done and intriguing but even so...it took way too long to 'start' the actual story which is easily this book's biggest weakness because no one who reads the first few free chapters online are going to want to keep going.
May 18, 2018
I need to start off and say I did receive an ARC copy of The Elysian Prophecy from the wonderful Vivien Reis in return for an honest opinion. Let me also state that I don't normally don't read this genre but I'm a fan of viven so I had to read it and let me just say I was blown away. Viven has some amazing skills and draws you into this world. The characters are amazingly written. From the moment you start the book to the end you are fully draw in. If you're on the fence, then get off the fence and buy the book. You won't be disappointed. Definitely worth the wait. I will do a full detail review will be avaiable on my podcast called The Wicked Hour
Want to read
January 22, 2018So excited that this is available! Hopefully, fingers crossed I will be able to read it sooner then later.
May 14, 2018
I received an eARC copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. My opinion is in no way influenced by the author or publisher.
So, I believe in rating absolutes (partly because Goodreads does as well, apparently) but man, I think I'm gonna have to give this a half-star kinda rating. 3.5, I think. Definitely not a 3, it was too good for that, but definitely not a 4 either.
The Writing
This is a fast-paced story, meaning that events happen in rather quick succession and do not tend to slow down for too long. However, sometimes the book was less fast-paced and more rushed. The first 7 chapters were very exposition heavy, which dragged down the overall feel of the story, as I felt talked at and explained to, rather than experiencing the story. Around chapter 8, things started picking up with the inciting incident and I found myself very drawn into the story. I felt like I was reading a book sometimes, which I don't like, but it did pull me in a lot.
There were two primary storylines: Abi's and Ben's, especially after . I found that Abi's plot tended to be very rushed whereas Ben's narrative voice was consistent and engaging. The scary parts made my heart race and the sad parts made me feel so sad, but mostly only in Ben's parts.
Also, Jesse kept saying that they were monitoring Abi’s family, but either he was straight up lying, the Marker was a lying traitorous spy (and wasn’t important enough to warrant a revelation in the book), or this was just bad writing, because obviously Ben was constantly getting hospitalized and was having episodes that literally got recorded and went viral, but no one thought that, maybe, just maybe, he was an Oracle too.
The World-Building
The Order felt forced at first, I gotta admit. It took several chapters before they started to feel less like a Clave rip-off/Camp Halfblood wanna-be and more like their own thing. The King's Army felt very real from the start and remained so, but I believe that is probably because they primarily featured in Ben's plot, which was, as you can probably tell at this point, superior and my favorite part of the story.
The magic system was interesting and unique, though not super defined, which isn't really negative since that just means it was more soft magic versus being hard magic.
The Characters
Ben: Favorite character. I have a thing for slow descents into madness, so he was absolutely awesome. All of his scenes were consistent and intriguing. I wish the whole book was just about him. I would read the heck out of that book.
Abi: Abi...oh Abi. Abi was kind of annoying, but only because she was sort of inconsistent. She would flip between being determined and strong and being petty and childish. Yeah, she’s fifteen, but the number of times she just straight up forgot very important things was really annoying. I was fifteen once. I didn’t forget things that easily, I assure you.
Cora: She started out as the classic cool, extravert with multicolored hair and best friends with the bookworm, but really became her own person as the story went on.
The Rooftop Gang (as I like to call them):
Jesse was the classic heart-throb obvious love interest. Not much else going on though. A bit of a deus ex machina tbh.
Myra was nice and consistent. Good character.
Theo was very infectious, I must admit. I really liked him, but not enough to feel . My WIP has a character basically just like him (they're even both black), so it was fun to read scenes he was in. He really made Elysia feel real.
Shelley: She was there? Kinda? She really wasn’t important.
Austin: Was he important? I really couldn’t tell you.
Red and Rogan: Classic villains. They’ll need more time in a sequel to really become something special, but they were definitely effective. I was spooked.
Ravi: He was honestly such a surprise.
Conclusion
The book was good. I liked it and will definitely read the sequel. Ben was my fav and I heart him, even though he’s kinda corrupted and crazy. It’s a fast read, even though it’s like 400 pages. It honestly flies by. I read it in 3 days, but could probably have read it even faster if I hadn’t gotten stuck in the middle-of-the-book slump.
So, I believe in rating absolutes (partly because Goodreads does as well, apparently) but man, I think I'm gonna have to give this a half-star kinda rating. 3.5, I think. Definitely not a 3, it was too good for that, but definitely not a 4 either.
The Writing
This is a fast-paced story, meaning that events happen in rather quick succession and do not tend to slow down for too long. However, sometimes the book was less fast-paced and more rushed. The first 7 chapters were very exposition heavy, which dragged down the overall feel of the story, as I felt talked at and explained to, rather than experiencing the story. Around chapter 8, things started picking up with the inciting incident and I found myself very drawn into the story. I felt like I was reading a book sometimes, which I don't like, but it did pull me in a lot.
There were two primary storylines: Abi's and Ben's, especially after . I found that Abi's plot tended to be very rushed whereas Ben's narrative voice was consistent and engaging. The scary parts made my heart race and the sad parts made me feel so sad, but mostly only in Ben's parts.
Also, Jesse kept saying that they were monitoring Abi’s family, but either he was straight up lying, the Marker was a lying traitorous spy (and wasn’t important enough to warrant a revelation in the book), or this was just bad writing, because obviously Ben was constantly getting hospitalized and was having episodes that literally got recorded and went viral, but no one thought that, maybe, just maybe, he was an Oracle too.
The World-Building
The Order felt forced at first, I gotta admit. It took several chapters before they started to feel less like a Clave rip-off/Camp Halfblood wanna-be and more like their own thing. The King's Army felt very real from the start and remained so, but I believe that is probably because they primarily featured in Ben's plot, which was, as you can probably tell at this point, superior and my favorite part of the story.
The magic system was interesting and unique, though not super defined, which isn't really negative since that just means it was more soft magic versus being hard magic.
The Characters
Ben: Favorite character. I have a thing for slow descents into madness, so he was absolutely awesome. All of his scenes were consistent and intriguing. I wish the whole book was just about him. I would read the heck out of that book.
Abi: Abi...oh Abi. Abi was kind of annoying, but only because she was sort of inconsistent. She would flip between being determined and strong and being petty and childish. Yeah, she’s fifteen, but the number of times she just straight up forgot very important things was really annoying. I was fifteen once. I didn’t forget things that easily, I assure you.
Cora: She started out as the classic cool, extravert with multicolored hair and best friends with the bookworm, but really became her own person as the story went on.
The Rooftop Gang (as I like to call them):
Jesse was the classic heart-throb obvious love interest. Not much else going on though. A bit of a deus ex machina tbh.
Myra was nice and consistent. Good character.
Theo was very infectious, I must admit. I really liked him, but not enough to feel . My WIP has a character basically just like him (they're even both black), so it was fun to read scenes he was in. He really made Elysia feel real.
Shelley: She was there? Kinda? She really wasn’t important.
Austin: Was he important? I really couldn’t tell you.
Red and Rogan: Classic villains. They’ll need more time in a sequel to really become something special, but they were definitely effective. I was spooked.
Ravi: He was honestly such a surprise.
Conclusion
The book was good. I liked it and will definitely read the sequel. Ben was my fav and I heart him, even though he’s kinda corrupted and crazy. It’s a fast read, even though it’s like 400 pages. It honestly flies by. I read it in 3 days, but could probably have read it even faster if I hadn’t gotten stuck in the middle-of-the-book slump.
August 3, 2020
Before I start, I'm basing my rating on only a very small portion of the book. This review is in no way a reflection of the entire book.
I hate this. I just couldn't read on, I finished somewhere between the end of chapter one and end of chapter three (it was on some website, maybe the author's as a preview). I'm sorry, but that preview DID NOT make me want to read this any further.
Firstly, I get that a lot of authors have characters that are writers because "write what you know" but it is just SOOOOO ANNOYING. I've seen some of Vivien's Youtube videos and there's one where she talks about a time she was in a writing competition (during high school) and didn't win. Within the first chapter Abi finds out she's won a writing competition. STOP WITH THIS PATHETIC WISH FULFILMENT. Honestly it's the only trope in books/TV/film I cannot stand, it irritates me so much.
However, if this sort of thing doesn't annoy you just yet, I still don't think it's the greatest of beginnings.
Obviously there's a difference between you giving advice and you applying your own advice practically, but I really had higher hopes. It'll sound bad, but I stopped watching her YT videos after reading the opening, just felt like I couldn't trust her advice anymore - I heard similar things about Jenna Moreci. Let me know if the book does improve and whether the wish fulfilment is preferably forgotten about later in the novel.
I hate this. I just couldn't read on, I finished somewhere between the end of chapter one and end of chapter three (it was on some website, maybe the author's as a preview). I'm sorry, but that preview DID NOT make me want to read this any further.
Firstly, I get that a lot of authors have characters that are writers because "write what you know" but it is just SOOOOO ANNOYING. I've seen some of Vivien's Youtube videos and there's one where she talks about a time she was in a writing competition (during high school) and didn't win. Within the first chapter Abi finds out she's won a writing competition. STOP WITH THIS PATHETIC WISH FULFILMENT. Honestly it's the only trope in books/TV/film I cannot stand, it irritates me so much.
However, if this sort of thing doesn't annoy you just yet, I still don't think it's the greatest of beginnings.
Obviously there's a difference between you giving advice and you applying your own advice practically, but I really had higher hopes. It'll sound bad, but I stopped watching her YT videos after reading the opening, just felt like I couldn't trust her advice anymore - I heard similar things about Jenna Moreci. Let me know if the book does improve and whether the wish fulfilment is preferably forgotten about later in the novel.
March 27, 2018
I asked and received a copy of this book from the author in exchange for my honest review. Thank you, Vivien Reis, for providing the ARC.
I have to start this book talk by saying that I don’t read YA Fantasy. But as a part of ‘read other genres this year,’ I am glad I read this one.
This is Vivien’s debut novel; DEBUT novel, and she is GOOD!
She is masterful at using imagery, and her description of setting is so well done that I could see them. The romance is handled well, and the characters are relatable to the point of nostalgia. The mystery and magical elements kept me reading late into the night.
While I enjoyed reading The Elysian Prophecy, I found the multiple POV a little distracting. Often, I was confused who was narrating and had to re-read to catch up. I wish the author would have spent a bit more time tightening and polishing this POV shift issue. Other than that I thoroughly enjoyed reading this novel.
I have to start this book talk by saying that I don’t read YA Fantasy. But as a part of ‘read other genres this year,’ I am glad I read this one.
This is Vivien’s debut novel; DEBUT novel, and she is GOOD!
She is masterful at using imagery, and her description of setting is so well done that I could see them. The romance is handled well, and the characters are relatable to the point of nostalgia. The mystery and magical elements kept me reading late into the night.
While I enjoyed reading The Elysian Prophecy, I found the multiple POV a little distracting. Often, I was confused who was narrating and had to re-read to catch up. I wish the author would have spent a bit more time tightening and polishing this POV shift issue. Other than that I thoroughly enjoyed reading this novel.
February 22, 2018
I have been a long time fan of Vivien and her writing videos on YouTube and I was beyond ecstatic when I had the opportunity to read an eARC of her debut novel. I have always had a love for kidnapping plot lines and this particular one was unique and definitely kept me on my toes. Definitely one I would recommend and also one I would reread. It was easy to immerse myself into the story and into the eyes of the character. I simply did not want to put it down until I read the entire thing. I found it a beautifully written and dark tale.
June 18, 2018
I really enjoyed this book. Vivien Reis weaves a fascinating world that threads well into our own. I am looking forward to the next book in the series :-D
September 11, 2019
Read: September 2019
Genre: YA Fantasy
Length: 393 Pages
Time Read In: 2 Days
Swearing in This Review: Nope, not this time.
Spoilers in This Review: Yes, quite a few actually.
The Elysian Prophecy is another novel that I picked up with the intentions supporting the author. Vivien Reis has a very relaxed Youtube channel and I enjoy watching it. I think she’s very down to Earth and she’s wonderful to listen to when I just need a relaxed writing session. I didn’t have huge expectations for Elysian Prophecy, so I don’t think I could really be disappointed. Reis was very open about the problems had with her editor and her release and honestly, I don’t think the untrained eye could spot it. There were a few things that I think need some fixings - the misspelling of a character’s name, switching between names within the narrative (for example, the grandmother is referred to as Gran and then Kath - her nickname - within her own POV narrative.
The biggest issue I had with this book and the one thing that must be improved upon was the pace of this book. It was slower than death walking backwards on crutches my friends. Nothing exciting happens until chapter 6 and, even then, the pace trickles on slowly. It actually takes 16 chapters to get into the good stuff . There’s no urgency behind the writing throughout this book. I don’t feel my heart beating and I didn’t feel on the edge of my seat, even as the climax came about.
The second biggest issue I faced was the multiple POVs. We have Abi and Ben as our two narrative voices for first five chapters before we’re randomly thrown into Jesse’s POV with no background. It’s supposed to create tension and drama, I know, but I think it does the exact opposite. Forcing me into Jesse’s POV confuses me more than anything else because if I’m in Jesse’s POV I should be able to understand what’s going on and have some kind of grasp of what’s happening. The same thing happens when we switch into Gran’s POV and Mr. Flynn’s. It only serves to confusion the reader and drags the story out far longer than it needs to be. Another problem I’ve had was that the voices are too similar. Honestly, if you took the names out, I wouldn’t be able to tell who’s POV I was supposed to be following.
I also think we should have spent more time in one character’s POV before we switched to another characters. I think one chapter is too short to really get attached to the character and it makes it harder to care about the situations they’re in. We switch from . It felt like I was getting whiplash going between so many different situations so quickly.
Reis desperately needs more emotional details into her writing. I felt no real connection to either Ben or Abi and I don’t think either of them had any overwhelming character traits. Abi was smart and Ben was paranoid. That’s all I got. I didn’t feel for Ben or Abi . It was so hard to connect to these characters, to feel for them or relate to them. Which is rough because we spent six chapters just walking through their day to day lives. I also don’t think we get enough of Jesse’s personality to figure out why Abi has such a crush on him. I really wish they’d spent more time with just the two of them. Even if it was Jesse comforting Abi about her parents or him joking around with her and making him laugh.
On the subject of characters, I hated Cora. She’s a bad friend. (“Tonight might not make you feel better, but I want you to feel something” - Cora, page 88) I disliked her from the moment I met her but her insistence that Abi go to a party really pushed me other the edge. My father was sick for a very long time. He needed a heart pump and later a heart transplant. It was very scary. And do you know what my best friend did for me? Whatever I wanted. She brought me to her house on weekends and after school, helped me do my homework, let me talk about whatever I wanted. We went camping, we watched movies and went swimming. But, she never once tried to convince me to do something she wanted to do (and knew I didn’t like), because that’s not what friends do. Cora is a bad friend and I hated having to put up with her.
I don’t think living situation is very well explained or fleshed out. Does his family just no notice that he was home for a night and then is now gone? Has enough time passed that he’s at that college he was going to? Or is his boarding school close enough that he comes home to visit all the time? It’s implied that he only comes home for vacations but the way he talks it’s like he’s home visiting them all the time.
The time passages between Ben and Abi’s chapters confuse me. It feels like time passes much quicker in Ben’s chapters. When reading his POV, I felt like a month had passed but then we find our it’s only been a week in Abi’s chapter? It honestly all goes back to pacing.
That being said, overall, The Elysian Prophecy was an okay read. Once the plot actually got rolling I was interested. I think the magic system was unique and fun. I also like the world of Elysia. The system of Oracles was cool and I’d like to see more of this world. I wish we’d gotten to see more of it. If we’d started off with chapter 16, and spent more time in Elsyia, I think it would have done wonders for this novel.
I also really enjoyed Ben’s role. I wish we’d gotten more of his spiral and he’d gotten to see more of his personality before everything happened so the personality shift was more dramatic and I could have feared for him more. I did like his ending, .
At the end of the day, Reis’s debut novel wasn’t a disappointment. Overall, she’s created a unique world and one that I hope to get to explore further. I can only hope that Reis puts more emotional pull and details into the next novel and polishes the different character voices. I’m looking forward to getting to know the characters better and get to really feel for them. I hope that Reis's next release goes much smoother and hope that she finds herself a more reliable editor. I'll definitely pick up the sequel.
Genre: YA Fantasy
Length: 393 Pages
Time Read In: 2 Days
Swearing in This Review: Nope, not this time.
Spoilers in This Review: Yes, quite a few actually.
The Elysian Prophecy is another novel that I picked up with the intentions supporting the author. Vivien Reis has a very relaxed Youtube channel and I enjoy watching it. I think she’s very down to Earth and she’s wonderful to listen to when I just need a relaxed writing session. I didn’t have huge expectations for Elysian Prophecy, so I don’t think I could really be disappointed. Reis was very open about the problems had with her editor and her release and honestly, I don’t think the untrained eye could spot it. There were a few things that I think need some fixings - the misspelling of a character’s name, switching between names within the narrative (for example, the grandmother is referred to as Gran and then Kath - her nickname - within her own POV narrative.
The biggest issue I had with this book and the one thing that must be improved upon was the pace of this book. It was slower than death walking backwards on crutches my friends. Nothing exciting happens until chapter 6 and, even then, the pace trickles on slowly. It actually takes 16 chapters to get into the good stuff . There’s no urgency behind the writing throughout this book. I don’t feel my heart beating and I didn’t feel on the edge of my seat, even as the climax came about.
The second biggest issue I faced was the multiple POVs. We have Abi and Ben as our two narrative voices for first five chapters before we’re randomly thrown into Jesse’s POV with no background. It’s supposed to create tension and drama, I know, but I think it does the exact opposite. Forcing me into Jesse’s POV confuses me more than anything else because if I’m in Jesse’s POV I should be able to understand what’s going on and have some kind of grasp of what’s happening. The same thing happens when we switch into Gran’s POV and Mr. Flynn’s. It only serves to confusion the reader and drags the story out far longer than it needs to be. Another problem I’ve had was that the voices are too similar. Honestly, if you took the names out, I wouldn’t be able to tell who’s POV I was supposed to be following.
I also think we should have spent more time in one character’s POV before we switched to another characters. I think one chapter is too short to really get attached to the character and it makes it harder to care about the situations they’re in. We switch from . It felt like I was getting whiplash going between so many different situations so quickly.
Reis desperately needs more emotional details into her writing. I felt no real connection to either Ben or Abi and I don’t think either of them had any overwhelming character traits. Abi was smart and Ben was paranoid. That’s all I got. I didn’t feel for Ben or Abi . It was so hard to connect to these characters, to feel for them or relate to them. Which is rough because we spent six chapters just walking through their day to day lives. I also don’t think we get enough of Jesse’s personality to figure out why Abi has such a crush on him. I really wish they’d spent more time with just the two of them. Even if it was Jesse comforting Abi about her parents or him joking around with her and making him laugh.
On the subject of characters, I hated Cora. She’s a bad friend. (“Tonight might not make you feel better, but I want you to feel something” - Cora, page 88) I disliked her from the moment I met her but her insistence that Abi go to a party really pushed me other the edge. My father was sick for a very long time. He needed a heart pump and later a heart transplant. It was very scary. And do you know what my best friend did for me? Whatever I wanted. She brought me to her house on weekends and after school, helped me do my homework, let me talk about whatever I wanted. We went camping, we watched movies and went swimming. But, she never once tried to convince me to do something she wanted to do (and knew I didn’t like), because that’s not what friends do. Cora is a bad friend and I hated having to put up with her.
I don’t think living situation is very well explained or fleshed out. Does his family just no notice that he was home for a night and then is now gone? Has enough time passed that he’s at that college he was going to? Or is his boarding school close enough that he comes home to visit all the time? It’s implied that he only comes home for vacations but the way he talks it’s like he’s home visiting them all the time.
The time passages between Ben and Abi’s chapters confuse me. It feels like time passes much quicker in Ben’s chapters. When reading his POV, I felt like a month had passed but then we find our it’s only been a week in Abi’s chapter? It honestly all goes back to pacing.
That being said, overall, The Elysian Prophecy was an okay read. Once the plot actually got rolling I was interested. I think the magic system was unique and fun. I also like the world of Elysia. The system of Oracles was cool and I’d like to see more of this world. I wish we’d gotten to see more of it. If we’d started off with chapter 16, and spent more time in Elsyia, I think it would have done wonders for this novel.
I also really enjoyed Ben’s role. I wish we’d gotten more of his spiral and he’d gotten to see more of his personality before everything happened so the personality shift was more dramatic and I could have feared for him more. I did like his ending, .
At the end of the day, Reis’s debut novel wasn’t a disappointment. Overall, she’s created a unique world and one that I hope to get to explore further. I can only hope that Reis puts more emotional pull and details into the next novel and polishes the different character voices. I’m looking forward to getting to know the characters better and get to really feel for them. I hope that Reis's next release goes much smoother and hope that she finds herself a more reliable editor. I'll definitely pick up the sequel.
September 27, 2019
This book was great. The story was sooooo good! The adventure, suspense, action and drama flow in and out of each scene seamlessly. The back and forth format made this book into literary crack. It was physically hard to put the book down. I think the addiction was mostly through the characters. Not to take away from the wild ride that the story offers, but the characters are incredible. This author truly loves her characters. They come to life right off the page and attach themselves to the reader. I reacted with sincere emotion to the joys and sorrow, frustration and success, gain and loss of each character. I bit all my nails off during the last 50 pages. My fingertips hurt right now as I type. My only complaint is that the book ended and now I have to wait for the second in the series to be released. I have no problem giving this book a 4.75-5.0. The story is awesome!
March 22, 2018
Actual rating: 2.25/5
While the new-age idea of fantasy is quite over-processed, authors are still producing works within the genre. However, not many of them are providing a refreshing look into it. Rather than focusing on Tolkein’s side of fantasy, authors are now trying to focus on other forms. Such as the characters rather than the adventure or the magic. This create more of a contemporary feel or introduction to the genre.
Vivien Reis’ The Eysian Prophecy provides a fresh insight into the fantasy genre. She has built her voice and it is clear throughout. There were a few grammar mistakes, plot holes and inconsistencies, much of the characters without clear motivation - other than to move the plot along. However, Vivien used each chapter to create its own story, which made it a fun read.
Each character developed throughout the course of the novel. The setting was always clear and described vividly.
But some of the words did not meld well with what Vivien was trying to imply. If you want to know more about my thoughts on this, I will be posting a review on my website very soon: https://dahliaburroughsbooks.weebly.com/
I found Abi to be quite annoying at times. Ben had much more of a place within the story, while Abi felt like a side-character. Abi’s plot did not have the impact I was expecting, it would have been more punchy if Ben slowly figured out what was happening to her.
I do believe Cora was a great additive. But I didn’t like how there was a bit of an insta-romance between her and another character that did not do anything for the story.
The additive of Abi having a thing for Jesse before where the novel started was a great way to avoid insta-love. However, when Abi should have been freaking out or concerned about what was happening, she was too focused on Jesse. This made the events less climactic. Instead they felt like a way to add in a plot point to distract from the romantic subplot. This could have easily been a romance novel with a fantasy subplot.
The world of Elysia was so incredible. I loved the way the magic was weaved into the story organically. Abi didn’t know about any of it, so it all had to be explained to her, such as it had to be with the reader. This was a great way to introduce the world.
I very much liked Abi and Ben's mother and the mystery surrounding her: a real whodunnit?
As for whether I will be continuing with the series, I am unsure. Vivien provides amazing advice on her YouTube channel but it seems some of it she did not take. I do believe her writing will grow as she grows as a writer, so I may pick up book two out of curiosity or to learn more about Elysia.
While the new-age idea of fantasy is quite over-processed, authors are still producing works within the genre. However, not many of them are providing a refreshing look into it. Rather than focusing on Tolkein’s side of fantasy, authors are now trying to focus on other forms. Such as the characters rather than the adventure or the magic. This create more of a contemporary feel or introduction to the genre.
Vivien Reis’ The Eysian Prophecy provides a fresh insight into the fantasy genre. She has built her voice and it is clear throughout. There were a few grammar mistakes, plot holes and inconsistencies, much of the characters without clear motivation - other than to move the plot along. However, Vivien used each chapter to create its own story, which made it a fun read.
Each character developed throughout the course of the novel. The setting was always clear and described vividly.
But some of the words did not meld well with what Vivien was trying to imply. If you want to know more about my thoughts on this, I will be posting a review on my website very soon: https://dahliaburroughsbooks.weebly.com/
I found Abi to be quite annoying at times. Ben had much more of a place within the story, while Abi felt like a side-character. Abi’s plot did not have the impact I was expecting, it would have been more punchy if Ben slowly figured out what was happening to her.
I do believe Cora was a great additive. But I didn’t like how there was a bit of an insta-romance between her and another character that did not do anything for the story.
The additive of Abi having a thing for Jesse before where the novel started was a great way to avoid insta-love. However, when Abi should have been freaking out or concerned about what was happening, she was too focused on Jesse. This made the events less climactic. Instead they felt like a way to add in a plot point to distract from the romantic subplot. This could have easily been a romance novel with a fantasy subplot.
The world of Elysia was so incredible. I loved the way the magic was weaved into the story organically. Abi didn’t know about any of it, so it all had to be explained to her, such as it had to be with the reader. This was a great way to introduce the world.
I very much liked Abi and Ben's mother and the mystery surrounding her: a real whodunnit?
As for whether I will be continuing with the series, I am unsure. Vivien provides amazing advice on her YouTube channel but it seems some of it she did not take. I do believe her writing will grow as she grows as a writer, so I may pick up book two out of curiosity or to learn more about Elysia.
June 26, 2020
I feel bad for rating this book so low, I really do. I love Vivien Reis' channel and writing advice, and I know how much effort it takes to write, edit, and self-publish a book. I don't like ripping a story apart when I know it's basically somebody else's baby.
But... this book wasn't great. I think it had a lot of potential but fell flat in many areas.
Some things I really didn't like:
(1) Most of this book was so slow. I don't even think you find out important information that really drives the story forward until the 50% mark or later. The first few chapters are especially long and unnecessary. In general, this book felt like a set-up for a sequel, not its own book with a plot that could stand on its own.
(2) I wasn't attached to any of the characters. I don't know if this is a me thing, but both Abi and Ben didn't feel like fully, fleshed out people to me. Reading about someone's descent into madness is something I usually love, but Ben was so boring to me that I didn't care. Abi was also boring to me. In the beginning of the book, we find out that she's a published writer, and yet that's never mentioned again. There's a scene in a library where she likes the books and that's it. There was no consistency, no pull for her to write stories about all the things she was seeing on the island. I don't know, passions don't just usually randomly go away.
(3) The story was all over the place. This book is advertised as a fantasy, and it's... not really? Like, kind of. Most of it takes place in the real world, with jumps to this "magical" island which isn't really that magical. And there's "powers" that feel like superpowers, like teleportation and mind reading. That felt kind of sci-fi, along with the weird modern, utopian world known as Elysia. But then there was also a cult and demons and demonic possession and basically Satan being resurrected? And then there were also crystals and "energy bending" and literal spells done on the full moon, which felt very spiritual and witchy. There was also a random ghost who talks to stars, apparently? None of these things went together, it was like four different genres pushed into one and I would've preferred the author just chose one thing and went with that.
(4) The dichotomy of good and evil. Personally, I'm just really tired of stories that have the good vs. the evil and that's it. People and life are more complicated than that. This trope has been overdone. In general, a lot of this book felt like it'd been done a hundred times before.
I don't know, I kind of hated this but I feel too bad to give it one star.
But... this book wasn't great. I think it had a lot of potential but fell flat in many areas.
Some things I really didn't like:
(1) Most of this book was so slow. I don't even think you find out important information that really drives the story forward until the 50% mark or later. The first few chapters are especially long and unnecessary. In general, this book felt like a set-up for a sequel, not its own book with a plot that could stand on its own.
(2) I wasn't attached to any of the characters. I don't know if this is a me thing, but both Abi and Ben didn't feel like fully, fleshed out people to me. Reading about someone's descent into madness is something I usually love, but Ben was so boring to me that I didn't care. Abi was also boring to me. In the beginning of the book, we find out that she's a published writer, and yet that's never mentioned again. There's a scene in a library where she likes the books and that's it. There was no consistency, no pull for her to write stories about all the things she was seeing on the island. I don't know, passions don't just usually randomly go away.
(3) The story was all over the place. This book is advertised as a fantasy, and it's... not really? Like, kind of. Most of it takes place in the real world, with jumps to this "magical" island which isn't really that magical. And there's "powers" that feel like superpowers, like teleportation and mind reading. That felt kind of sci-fi, along with the weird modern, utopian world known as Elysia. But then there was also a cult and demons and demonic possession and basically Satan being resurrected? And then there were also crystals and "energy bending" and literal spells done on the full moon, which felt very spiritual and witchy. There was also a random ghost who talks to stars, apparently? None of these things went together, it was like four different genres pushed into one and I would've preferred the author just chose one thing and went with that.
(4) The dichotomy of good and evil. Personally, I'm just really tired of stories that have the good vs. the evil and that's it. People and life are more complicated than that. This trope has been overdone. In general, a lot of this book felt like it'd been done a hundred times before.
I don't know, I kind of hated this but I feel too bad to give it one star.
February 22, 2018
I received an ARC from the author before release day.
I didn't really have any expectations before I started reading this book, but I was very happy with it overall. I wasn't completely 100% engrossed in it until near the middle to end, but I feel that the book was very fast paced and emotional. Something seems to happen to the characters everytime you turn the page and I love that the author wrote the book from multiple POVs. Also, the writing did an excellent job describing the characters and the settings. I felt that I could connect with the characters on a deeper level and had no trouble imaging what was going on around them.
My favorite character is hands down Abi. She's smart, mature, and pretty relatable. She gets embarrassed easily and she's fiercely loyal to both her friends and her family. However, I feel that the author also did an excellent job with Abi's brother Ben. Ben is....let's just say my heart goes out to Ben. He's just trying to do the right thing.
And the grandmother...poor Gran. She's just trying to keep the family together, but she seems to lose each of them one by one...
This book is dark, but the author sprinkles bits of hope within each chapter and I think she did an excellent job with her first debut. I can't wait to see what she comes up with next.
I didn't really have any expectations before I started reading this book, but I was very happy with it overall. I wasn't completely 100% engrossed in it until near the middle to end, but I feel that the book was very fast paced and emotional. Something seems to happen to the characters everytime you turn the page and I love that the author wrote the book from multiple POVs. Also, the writing did an excellent job describing the characters and the settings. I felt that I could connect with the characters on a deeper level and had no trouble imaging what was going on around them.
My favorite character is hands down Abi. She's smart, mature, and pretty relatable. She gets embarrassed easily and she's fiercely loyal to both her friends and her family. However, I feel that the author also did an excellent job with Abi's brother Ben. Ben is....let's just say my heart goes out to Ben. He's just trying to do the right thing.
And the grandmother...poor Gran. She's just trying to keep the family together, but she seems to lose each of them one by one...
This book is dark, but the author sprinkles bits of hope within each chapter and I think she did an excellent job with her first debut. I can't wait to see what she comes up with next.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
February 5, 2019
There are three fundamental issues with this book. If you can get through them, and you might if you go into it not expecting a full on fantasy novel, because half of the book does not contain any fantasy at all.
1. The magic system in only introduced halfway through. There is a lot of teenager things going on, then there's a moment when you think, this is it, it's gonna start now, wow it's going down. But it isn't. It's not going anywhere and when it finally does, it's wasted on boring dialogue, and bears no weight or tension.
2. Whining! The main characters whine a lot. Really, a lot. I know that's the way of the teenagers, but it doesn't make for likeable characters.
3. And the one that made me skim the rest of the book, rushing to the end, not caring about what was happening, was the constant internal questions. Someone says something or something happens and you can bet that the protagonists will ask the same questions over and over again. Which is fine, the first time, it's natural. Two times. Sure, yeah, they went through some traumatic stuff, take your time. I'll even allow myself to read it a third time. But it's constant, every damn page constant.
I know, I'm whining about whining.
1. The magic system in only introduced halfway through. There is a lot of teenager things going on, then there's a moment when you think, this is it, it's gonna start now, wow it's going down. But it isn't. It's not going anywhere and when it finally does, it's wasted on boring dialogue, and bears no weight or tension.
2. Whining! The main characters whine a lot. Really, a lot. I know that's the way of the teenagers, but it doesn't make for likeable characters.
3. And the one that made me skim the rest of the book, rushing to the end, not caring about what was happening, was the constant internal questions. Someone says something or something happens and you can bet that the protagonists will ask the same questions over and over again. Which is fine, the first time, it's natural. Two times. Sure, yeah, they went through some traumatic stuff, take your time. I'll even allow myself to read it a third time. But it's constant, every damn page constant.
I know, I'm whining about whining.
April 17, 2018
I'm going to very honest, and say that this book did not reach the expectations I'd set. This author is super sweet on Instagram, and I love the cover of this book, so I was very excited to have gotten to read this. Unfortunately, it did drop a little short for me. There are a few reasons: 1. I personally didn't connect with any of the characters. 2. The plot was pretty slow throughout the middle and 3. The amount of swearing made me uncomfortable.
The only reason I really enjoyed this book was the magic system, which reminded me a little bit of my imprints and questing from my own storyworld. I really enjoyed a different perspective on telepathy and mind reading.
I may continue with this series, but it was honestly not my favorite, which makes me really sad. But nevertheless, I still love Vivien and think she is a super sweet woman. I'm so glad she is a published author, and I hope her book does well, even though I didn't think it was for me. :)
The only reason I really enjoyed this book was the magic system, which reminded me a little bit of my imprints and questing from my own storyworld. I really enjoyed a different perspective on telepathy and mind reading.
I may continue with this series, but it was honestly not my favorite, which makes me really sad. But nevertheless, I still love Vivien and think she is a super sweet woman. I'm so glad she is a published author, and I hope her book does well, even though I didn't think it was for me. :)
August 2, 2018
My real rating of: 3.5
(yeah, I did a ceiling rouding. It's a debut novel, after all)
I have to start this review by saying that English is not my mothertongue, and I'm not very good at writing reviews. But I think is important to give one, cause as a writer myself I know how unvaluable detailed reviews are. That's why I'm forcing myself into one.
Also, this review contains spoilers. Most of them are hidden, but still...
About the Writing
I can't judge how well written is because, as I said, English is not my primary language, though it was a nice and pleasant read. Sentences were clear and easy to read, with just a hint of rushing towards the end. And maybe, some overused words, like throb? (I bought the paperback edition, so I can't count them)
The story flow was well thought, events occurring in a linear and easy-to-understand way. Reis obviously has carefully reviewed her own little baby till her eyes bled, and I wasn't expecting much less from her. Good job!
Speaking of pacing, sometimes I was drowning in the ocean of Ben's headaches and Abi's questions "how this works?" and "how that works?". Don't get me wrong, each chapter has its own purpose, but I just wished a little bit more action.
I really liked the wood scene, where Abi . Unfortunately I felt something was wrong when . Still, it was interesting.
Where Reis' imagery really shone, is when Abi was being held captive by King's Army. Everything is dark, bloody, evil and scary. I love that and Reis really plunged myself into such horror. The author should consider the horror genre for her next novel, she seems at ease in this kind of imagery.
And speaking of imagery, I believe there is little-to-none scattered across 400 pages. But Reis herself already pointed that out in one of her YouTube video, so there is nothing more to say here.
Fighting scenes were also pretty well done. Hopping was badass and .
By the way, what I loved the most of the whole book, is the shift of focus from Ben to Abi. Really clever. You fooled me, well done.
The Plot twists
I recall three plot twists, that's a honest amount for a debut novel, but unfortunately I was able to foretold two of them.
and .
However, I still have two big questions:
1.
2.
The Characters
Ben: though my school performance was pretty much the same as Ben's back in the days, I could not connect to him much. If my sister is kidnapped, I would have tore the world apart to find her. Sometimes he was on the track, sometimes not. It's ok, but it's not me.
Abi: I liked her. She was the most focused character of the whole book. Her family was important to her most of the time. Yeah, she's petty, childish and awkwardly clumsy at time, but to me she was like the sister I never had. As I said, I liked her a lot.
Myra: I had a crush on her. Well done, Reis.
Ravi: even if, I loved him. His motivations, his reasoning felt real. I wish I could do this kind of character building in my WIP. Again, Reis proved herself to be a source of inspiration.
Jesse: as others have said, he worked as a deus-ex machina more than once. Apart from that, he was ok. The love bond with Abi was predictable, but I liked it. The romantic guy in me approved that.
Cora: she was the funniest. I wonder if Reis ever played Life Is Strange, because Cora reminded me Chloe Price at times.
Emilienne/Red: I have a thing for red hair and nail polish, so I liked her no question asked. There was a , which I liked it. To me, she should have stayed in the scene much longer. Her clicking heels were sending chills down my spine every time she walked on stage. Hope to see her more in the sequel.
Dad: I'm not sure about I feel about him. He was on the page for few pages and then he .
Mom: She is a victim of her own mind. And her only guilt is . It's ok.
There were a lot more characters, but I can't and won't be talking about them all.
Conclusion
I hope this review will be of some help to the author to further improve her unquestioned skills, and I hope I didn't mispelled anything in this review, it has been a heck of a week. Please forgive my grammar mistakes.
Overall, I liked the book and I wish my WIP could be anything near to this DEBUT novel.
I'm looking forward the sequel. Abi and Ravi were my favs and can't wait to see Abi kicking asses to save her brother. The writing is pleasant and it reads easily. The story could have used more descriptions, but overall is a solid debut novel.
I will definetly suggest this novel to aspiring authors, because it's a good starting point.
As for non-author readers, just be sure to like the YA genre before diving into this one.
(yeah, I did a ceiling rouding. It's a debut novel, after all)
I have to start this review by saying that English is not my mothertongue, and I'm not very good at writing reviews. But I think is important to give one, cause as a writer myself I know how unvaluable detailed reviews are. That's why I'm forcing myself into one.
Also, this review contains spoilers. Most of them are hidden, but still...
About the Writing
I can't judge how well written is because, as I said, English is not my primary language, though it was a nice and pleasant read. Sentences were clear and easy to read, with just a hint of rushing towards the end. And maybe, some overused words, like throb? (I bought the paperback edition, so I can't count them)
The story flow was well thought, events occurring in a linear and easy-to-understand way. Reis obviously has carefully reviewed her own little baby till her eyes bled, and I wasn't expecting much less from her. Good job!
Speaking of pacing, sometimes I was drowning in the ocean of Ben's headaches and Abi's questions "how this works?" and "how that works?". Don't get me wrong, each chapter has its own purpose, but I just wished a little bit more action.
I really liked the wood scene, where Abi . Unfortunately I felt something was wrong when . Still, it was interesting.
Where Reis' imagery really shone, is when Abi was being held captive by King's Army. Everything is dark, bloody, evil and scary. I love that and Reis really plunged myself into such horror. The author should consider the horror genre for her next novel, she seems at ease in this kind of imagery.
And speaking of imagery, I believe there is little-to-none scattered across 400 pages. But Reis herself already pointed that out in one of her YouTube video, so there is nothing more to say here.
Fighting scenes were also pretty well done. Hopping was badass and .
By the way, what I loved the most of the whole book, is the shift of focus from Ben to Abi. Really clever. You fooled me, well done.
The Plot twists
I recall three plot twists, that's a honest amount for a debut novel, but unfortunately I was able to foretold two of them.
and .
However, I still have two big questions:
1.
2.
The Characters
Ben: though my school performance was pretty much the same as Ben's back in the days, I could not connect to him much. If my sister is kidnapped, I would have tore the world apart to find her. Sometimes he was on the track, sometimes not. It's ok, but it's not me.
Abi: I liked her. She was the most focused character of the whole book. Her family was important to her most of the time. Yeah, she's petty, childish and awkwardly clumsy at time, but to me she was like the sister I never had. As I said, I liked her a lot.
Myra: I had a crush on her. Well done, Reis.
Ravi: even if, I loved him. His motivations, his reasoning felt real. I wish I could do this kind of character building in my WIP. Again, Reis proved herself to be a source of inspiration.
Jesse: as others have said, he worked as a deus-ex machina more than once. Apart from that, he was ok. The love bond with Abi was predictable, but I liked it. The romantic guy in me approved that.
Cora: she was the funniest. I wonder if Reis ever played Life Is Strange, because Cora reminded me Chloe Price at times.
Emilienne/Red: I have a thing for red hair and nail polish, so I liked her no question asked. There was a , which I liked it. To me, she should have stayed in the scene much longer. Her clicking heels were sending chills down my spine every time she walked on stage. Hope to see her more in the sequel.
Dad: I'm not sure about I feel about him. He was on the page for few pages and then he .
Mom: She is a victim of her own mind. And her only guilt is . It's ok.
There were a lot more characters, but I can't and won't be talking about them all.
Conclusion
I hope this review will be of some help to the author to further improve her unquestioned skills, and I hope I didn't mispelled anything in this review, it has been a heck of a week. Please forgive my grammar mistakes.
Overall, I liked the book and I wish my WIP could be anything near to this DEBUT novel.
I'm looking forward the sequel. Abi and Ravi were my favs and can't wait to see Abi kicking asses to save her brother. The writing is pleasant and it reads easily. The story could have used more descriptions, but overall is a solid debut novel.
I will definetly suggest this novel to aspiring authors, because it's a good starting point.
As for non-author readers, just be sure to like the YA genre before diving into this one.
May 15, 2020
After reading the short prequel (available for free) I was really looking forward to reading the main story and to be honest, I was not disappointed.
The plot is engaging, there are moments of suspence, plot twists, mysteries, originality and hunger for knowing what it all means.
The only thing I'd say is that the mechanics of the magic and their skills are not that well explained, but since its a 1st part of series I hope the gaps will fill in the cracks :)
And at this stage I don't think it affects the plot in a negative way.
A very well executed idea and a debut novel from the author. A round of applause from me and looking forward for the next part.
The plot is engaging, there are moments of suspence, plot twists, mysteries, originality and hunger for knowing what it all means.
The only thing I'd say is that the mechanics of the magic and their skills are not that well explained, but since its a 1st part of series I hope the gaps will fill in the cracks :)
And at this stage I don't think it affects the plot in a negative way.
A very well executed idea and a debut novel from the author. A round of applause from me and looking forward for the next part.
February 26, 2021
It was as so boring. I made 3 attempts to read it but finally gave up around 280 page.
July 1, 2019
Honestly just simply amazing. As a debut novel, this seems unreal that it can be such a joy to read.
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