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Praetorian #1
Provenance
When Bree Warren goes out for a night on the town with her best friend, she never expects to run into the man she's dreamt of for the past ten years. The nightmare has haunted her sleep for so long. The startled look of recognition in the stranger's eyes is even more unexpected.
What happens next will throw these two people together in ways they never imagined. Suddenly, they're both targets, hiding from a mysterious group bent on killing them and thrown into a war between two centuries-old factions. The more they learn, the more questions they have. Neither of them asked for this, but fate seems to have other plans for them. The only way to survive is together.
What happens next will throw these two people together in ways they never imagined. Suddenly, they're both targets, hiding from a mysterious group bent on killing them and thrown into a war between two centuries-old factions. The more they learn, the more questions they have. Neither of them asked for this, but fate seems to have other plans for them. The only way to survive is together.
286 pages, Kindle Edition
Published January 12, 2018
8 people are currently reading
40 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews
June 11, 2018
Superb!!
I had no idea I’d fall in love with these characters, but I did... however, cliffhanger??? WHY???? Can not wait for the next book!
I had no idea I’d fall in love with these characters, but I did... however, cliffhanger??? WHY???? Can not wait for the next book!
September 11, 2020
I received a free copy of this audio book, at my request, and am voluntarily leaving this unbiased review.
AI want to start by saying this book was posted as Sci-Fi, it is not. I would classify as Urban Fantasy or Speculative Fiction.
**There will be minor spoilers throughout this review**
This book is book 1 of a series. Typically book 1's tend to be stand alone entries to gauge if there is an audience and then more come if there is. This book is not like that. This book is book 1 and if you want a complete story, you need more than 1 book.
I have 2 major complaints with this story. Firstly is the lack of closure. It doesn't end on a cliff-hanger, if it did it would have dropped to 1 star. However, the story was not finished. There are constant questions and plot lines set up in this book, with no payoffs. In fact, there is NO pay off's for any plot line in this book. To use an analogy, this book is like if in Star Wars: A New Hope, the movie ended after Han, Luke and Leia escaped the death star.
This book sets up all the questions, for subsequent books. I can't say if they are ever answered, because they are not in this book. Questions like "why are Bree and Declan linked?", "What are their dreams? Premonitions? Alternate realities?", "who are Declan's parents, and why are they killed?", "why are Bree and Declan being targeted?", "what's the source of the powers?", etc.
The book sets up question after question, but answers none of them. Either characters will give vague non-answers, or just leaves them there, twisting in the wind.
Even the ending is left open, like the end of a chapter, not the end of a book. Not quite cliff-hanger, but definitely "story is not over". It's even hard to say what's a plot hole, because I don't know how anything works.
The second story problem is how emotionally immature ALL of the main characters are. We have Bree and Declan, who are so in love that it's almost sickening. However, for vague "don't want to hurt the other" reasons, they won't get involved or even talk about it. It's not a cute "will they, won't they?" kind of relationship. It's a "will you just get over yourself and just get on with it?!" kind of relationship. Bree's mother and father have almost the exact same thing going on, and both the mother and Declan both basically broken in the same way and can see the issue in the other, but not themselves. Her father's situation really hit me. 20 Years with a woman who is indifferent to him, staying out of misplaced love and duty and obligation to the child. The worst thing is he has convinced himself he's happy, in some kind of Stockholm Syndrome, kind of way.
Then there's the body guard, who is an emotional wreck in a completely different way. She lashes out and gets defensive and distant because of more vague reasons from her past.
The only emotionally sound character in the book is the best friend, and she is left behind 1/3rd of the way in the book. When every character is an emotional wreck throughout the book, it's exhausting. I understand humans, for the most part, are emotional creatures who don't often act rationally. But when its every character, all the time, it's too much.
The story starts out with a chase and character deaths. I assume to grab the reader. A similar scene plays out throughout the first half of the book. However, it really is there just for background, as the situations never get explored or explained. I assume, in a subsequent book it will come to a head, with call backs to book 1. But as for this book, it's just filler.
The book is really divided into 2 sections, mystery and action, action meaning doing stuff not "action movie" type things.
The mystery was very enjoyable. The first half of the book deals with "why is this happening?" and "is it real?", etc. It is engaging, following the characters around and see how they spiral together.
An event kicks off the second half and a lot of activity happens, with little exposition and no excitement. A brief bit of excitement at the end, but mostly just internal monologues about the emotional state of the characters.
The voice narration, by Scarlett Mayson, was ok. Her differentiation between characters was good, she had a decent range of voices and did male voices, not convincingly, but well enough that it wasn't distracting. The issue with her was her speed. I had to check audible to make sure it was set to 1X playback. There was little in the way of pauses between characters, between paragraphs or even between dialogue. It was too fast. A slower, more practiced way of speaking would have been much better.
In the end, if you plan on reading book 1 and stopping, then don't bother. There is nothing new in this book, that you can't find elsewhere. The book not being finished is a huge issue for me, and none of the questions being answered means this book on its own is useless. If you will pick up subsequent books, then maybe it's fine, if the plot is finished elsewhere. This book had a great opening, then dropped the ball as the ending was left off the book. Voice narration is pretty good, but too fast to be a comfortable listen. If you normally listen on 1.1X or something like that, then you will probably be fine with this book.
I won't be continuing this series.
AI want to start by saying this book was posted as Sci-Fi, it is not. I would classify as Urban Fantasy or Speculative Fiction.
**There will be minor spoilers throughout this review**
This book is book 1 of a series. Typically book 1's tend to be stand alone entries to gauge if there is an audience and then more come if there is. This book is not like that. This book is book 1 and if you want a complete story, you need more than 1 book.
I have 2 major complaints with this story. Firstly is the lack of closure. It doesn't end on a cliff-hanger, if it did it would have dropped to 1 star. However, the story was not finished. There are constant questions and plot lines set up in this book, with no payoffs. In fact, there is NO pay off's for any plot line in this book. To use an analogy, this book is like if in Star Wars: A New Hope, the movie ended after Han, Luke and Leia escaped the death star.
This book sets up all the questions, for subsequent books. I can't say if they are ever answered, because they are not in this book. Questions like "why are Bree and Declan linked?", "What are their dreams? Premonitions? Alternate realities?", "who are Declan's parents, and why are they killed?", "why are Bree and Declan being targeted?", "what's the source of the powers?", etc.
The book sets up question after question, but answers none of them. Either characters will give vague non-answers, or just leaves them there, twisting in the wind.
Even the ending is left open, like the end of a chapter, not the end of a book. Not quite cliff-hanger, but definitely "story is not over". It's even hard to say what's a plot hole, because I don't know how anything works.
The second story problem is how emotionally immature ALL of the main characters are. We have Bree and Declan, who are so in love that it's almost sickening. However, for vague "don't want to hurt the other" reasons, they won't get involved or even talk about it. It's not a cute "will they, won't they?" kind of relationship. It's a "will you just get over yourself and just get on with it?!" kind of relationship. Bree's mother and father have almost the exact same thing going on, and both the mother and Declan both basically broken in the same way and can see the issue in the other, but not themselves. Her father's situation really hit me. 20 Years with a woman who is indifferent to him, staying out of misplaced love and duty and obligation to the child. The worst thing is he has convinced himself he's happy, in some kind of Stockholm Syndrome, kind of way.
Then there's the body guard, who is an emotional wreck in a completely different way. She lashes out and gets defensive and distant because of more vague reasons from her past.
The only emotionally sound character in the book is the best friend, and she is left behind 1/3rd of the way in the book. When every character is an emotional wreck throughout the book, it's exhausting. I understand humans, for the most part, are emotional creatures who don't often act rationally. But when its every character, all the time, it's too much.
The story starts out with a chase and character deaths. I assume to grab the reader. A similar scene plays out throughout the first half of the book. However, it really is there just for background, as the situations never get explored or explained. I assume, in a subsequent book it will come to a head, with call backs to book 1. But as for this book, it's just filler.
The book is really divided into 2 sections, mystery and action, action meaning doing stuff not "action movie" type things.
The mystery was very enjoyable. The first half of the book deals with "why is this happening?" and "is it real?", etc. It is engaging, following the characters around and see how they spiral together.
An event kicks off the second half and a lot of activity happens, with little exposition and no excitement. A brief bit of excitement at the end, but mostly just internal monologues about the emotional state of the characters.
The voice narration, by Scarlett Mayson, was ok. Her differentiation between characters was good, she had a decent range of voices and did male voices, not convincingly, but well enough that it wasn't distracting. The issue with her was her speed. I had to check audible to make sure it was set to 1X playback. There was little in the way of pauses between characters, between paragraphs or even between dialogue. It was too fast. A slower, more practiced way of speaking would have been much better.
In the end, if you plan on reading book 1 and stopping, then don't bother. There is nothing new in this book, that you can't find elsewhere. The book not being finished is a huge issue for me, and none of the questions being answered means this book on its own is useless. If you will pick up subsequent books, then maybe it's fine, if the plot is finished elsewhere. This book had a great opening, then dropped the ball as the ending was left off the book. Voice narration is pretty good, but too fast to be a comfortable listen. If you normally listen on 1.1X or something like that, then you will probably be fine with this book.
I won't be continuing this series.
August 27, 2020
Just finished up another read through of this book. The characters are so well-developed and dimensional. And don't get me started on the ending. This whole series is really a hidden gem and I'm loving it all over again!!
August 2, 2018
I read a lot. And by a lot, I mean, every single day. It's not always pleasant or fun, but I do it. This book, the first in the series- made me take pause. There were times when I set it down, and times when I couldn't let it out of my hands. I loved it.
August 31, 2020
Provenance is a fantastic start to the Praetorian Saga; I was enthralled from the very beginning, all the way to the end. Besides the fantastic storyline and the world-building, the characters were fascinating and well-played out. This was my first Mary M. Wallace book, and I'm positively impressed by her style and imagination. She sets the foundation for the series and hooks you on the characters.
Scarlett Mayson's narration was excellent: she portrayed the characters very nicely, bringing them to life. I thoroughly enjoyed this audiobook, and I can't wait for the second book. I'm strongly recommending Provenance!
Scarlett Mayson's narration was excellent: she portrayed the characters very nicely, bringing them to life. I thoroughly enjoyed this audiobook, and I can't wait for the second book. I'm strongly recommending Provenance!
January 17, 2019
Good story
This book had a great story to tell. It was a little slow at times and even for a book in a series, had no proper ending to this first instalment. The Praetorians are interesting, and I'm curious to find out what happens next, but I have no follow-through when it comes to series.
This book had a great story to tell. It was a little slow at times and even for a book in a series, had no proper ending to this first instalment. The Praetorians are interesting, and I'm curious to find out what happens next, but I have no follow-through when it comes to series.
August 21, 2020
This book gets you hooked immediately from the beginning. The story was fast paced for me and I didn't want to stop till I got to the end. I NEEDED to know what was going to happen next. Great book. Can't wait to dive into the next.
September 8, 2020
My review is based on the audiobook. This is an intriguing story that kept me engaged from start to finish. I like how the characters abilities are portrayed. The narrator did a wonderful job bringing the story to life. There is a cliffhanger ending that definitely left me wanting to know more.
November 13, 2018
Just finished and cursed as I ran to Amazon to purchase book 2! From page one, my heart was pounding, eager to read on. Then there were a few chapters that, while necessary for character development, were beautifully descriptive but not as captivating and draw-you-back-in as the rest, but as soon as I got over that hump, I couldn't stop. I read the last 200 pages in one sitting, I just couldn't put it down! I cried at least 4 times, not because it was sad, but the author is amazing at writing raw, beautiful emotions. I've become so emotionally invested in Bree and Declan, Rylee and Jonathan, and of course the ever mysterious Sawyer. And damn that cliffhanger ending! I need to know what happens next!
Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews