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Sienna
Release date: 2021
I live in a world of chaos.
A world divided between humans and cyborgs.
A world where girls are snatched off the streets to become Marked Ones, their bodies inked with names and images. And now, now I am one of them.
I've been sold to a man called the Master. A notorious Hunter who kills cyborgs. I'm in the claws of the most feared man, trapped in a mansion with six other girls just like me.
I will find the way to escape this nightmare. To run from this world full of torture and death. And the Master's son, Ero, is going to help me. He'll help me save myself as well as the other girls. I will break the cage I'm trapped in, save the girl I'm falling in love with and destroy the evil that inhabits these four walls.
One way or another, I will be free.
Even if it means becoming the worst monster of them all.
I live in a world of chaos.
A world divided between humans and cyborgs.
A world where girls are snatched off the streets to become Marked Ones, their bodies inked with names and images. And now, now I am one of them.
I've been sold to a man called the Master. A notorious Hunter who kills cyborgs. I'm in the claws of the most feared man, trapped in a mansion with six other girls just like me.
I will find the way to escape this nightmare. To run from this world full of torture and death. And the Master's son, Ero, is going to help me. He'll help me save myself as well as the other girls. I will break the cage I'm trapped in, save the girl I'm falling in love with and destroy the evil that inhabits these four walls.
One way or another, I will be free.
Even if it means becoming the worst monster of them all.
Unknown Binding
First published January 1, 2021
1 person is currently reading
14 people want to read
About the author
J.F. Johns
11 books273 followersJ.F.Johns is 32 years old and was born and raised in Spain. She studied English Literature Creative Writing at ARU in Cambridge, UK.
In 2017, her novel “Eternal Darkness” won the “Indie Book Awards”. It was also a finalist for best cover.
She is an animal lover and spends her free time playing with her adopted dogs and cats, drinking too much coffee and reading.
She believes in the art of dramatic sighing and eye rolling. She works as a ninja at night, but has been told several times that she’s not very good at her job.
You can follow her on Instagram or Tiktok; @jfjohnsbooks
Or visit her website; www.authorjfjohns.com
Email: jfjohnsbooks@gmail.com
UPCOMING BOOKS;
A Kingdom of Sand & Ice(book2): Date to be confirmed.
In 2017, her novel “Eternal Darkness” won the “Indie Book Awards”. It was also a finalist for best cover.
She is an animal lover and spends her free time playing with her adopted dogs and cats, drinking too much coffee and reading.
She believes in the art of dramatic sighing and eye rolling. She works as a ninja at night, but has been told several times that she’s not very good at her job.
You can follow her on Instagram or Tiktok; @jfjohnsbooks
Or visit her website; www.authorjfjohns.com
Email: jfjohnsbooks@gmail.com
UPCOMING BOOKS;
A Kingdom of Sand & Ice(book2): Date to be confirmed.
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Displaying 1 - 29 of 29 reviews
October 7, 2021
I have received this ARC from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
Sienna seemed like it was going to be a pretty great book. It honestly had so much potential but definitely fell flat in certain areas for me. In it, you will meet Sienna and she is sort of thrown in to this world of confusion once she wakes up. She doesn't know why she is in this strange place or why she has a master all of sudden but she does have one thing on her mind: escaping.
Now I was pretty intrigued by Sienna in the beginning because of the mystery surrounding her and this place. I had endless questions forming in my mind while trying to get through all the chapters. The girls, the place, the family, the hunting, and the freaking world building could get confusing to a girl like me. I was just kind of waiting for things to make sense to me like a little lightbulb kind of moment.
That being said, things sort of got better towards the end of the book but that annoyed me. I like twists and turns but to wait so long for a good one just irks me. The only thing that kept this a page turner was the sister bonding moments because hot damn - these girls needed to escape the master.
In the end, this book had a lot of potential to be a fantastic book and I'm a disappointed that it didn't meet the mark for me.
Sienna seemed like it was going to be a pretty great book. It honestly had so much potential but definitely fell flat in certain areas for me. In it, you will meet Sienna and she is sort of thrown in to this world of confusion once she wakes up. She doesn't know why she is in this strange place or why she has a master all of sudden but she does have one thing on her mind: escaping.
Now I was pretty intrigued by Sienna in the beginning because of the mystery surrounding her and this place. I had endless questions forming in my mind while trying to get through all the chapters. The girls, the place, the family, the hunting, and the freaking world building could get confusing to a girl like me. I was just kind of waiting for things to make sense to me like a little lightbulb kind of moment.
That being said, things sort of got better towards the end of the book but that annoyed me. I like twists and turns but to wait so long for a good one just irks me. The only thing that kept this a page turner was the sister bonding moments because hot damn - these girls needed to escape the master.
In the end, this book had a lot of potential to be a fantastic book and I'm a disappointed that it didn't meet the mark for me.
June 5, 2021
Thanks to the publisher for providing an eARC of Sienna in exchange for an honest review.
Sienna feels like a plot driven book that was accidentally written as character driven even though there wasn't the source material there to make the characters developed. I think Sienna could have been a good concept with a nice plot twist, but Sienna just doesn't have enough world building to really cause any form of intrigue into the world and its large cast meant that everyone except Sienna felt like a cardboard cut out instead of an actual character meaning that in the final act where a lot of plot points that should be impactful are revealed, they felt lackluster at best since none of the characters felt like actual characters.
Sienna feels like a plot driven book that was accidentally written as character driven even though there wasn't the source material there to make the characters developed. I think Sienna could have been a good concept with a nice plot twist, but Sienna just doesn't have enough world building to really cause any form of intrigue into the world and its large cast meant that everyone except Sienna felt like a cardboard cut out instead of an actual character meaning that in the final act where a lot of plot points that should be impactful are revealed, they felt lackluster at best since none of the characters felt like actual characters.
November 3, 2021
requested sienna from netgalley after seeing the cover and description it had be curious and interested, its a scifi futuristc dystopian ya book, it has survival and a bit horror/creepy vibes too. it takes place in the future in a world devided by humans and cyborgs. theres hunters people who hunt kill and sell cyborgs. its about 15 year old human girl sienna who has just arrived at the mansion , which is where the master who is a notorious hunter lives along with his 6 daughters which are girls that have been sold to him, and are known as the marked ones. sienna becomes one of the daughters and a marked one. the girls are trapped there and ero,the masters real son, who is also a hunter, tries to help sienna and the girls escape. theres friendship and intense creppy moments, theres more or less romance, since sienna starts to have feelings for one of the girls. sienna is young and shes impulsive and brave and tries to help people/cyborgs even when she shouldnt and it brings trouble to her and her sisters. but i understand why she behaves the way she does, she didnt come across as annoying, just tryin to do what was right and help. so i liked her as our main character. she also did things when they needed to be done no matter how awful. she was also smart which i liked. i also liked the sisters and their relationships with each other and how each of them is good at a certain thing. i really didnt like the master and eros friend hunter . but i understand why both master and the girl hunter hated cyborgs. when we know their stories cant help bad feel bad for them. but then when they do somethin bad and are cruel and mean to the girls i hate them too. the book is all told in sienna point of view, sometimes we get the past scenes/memories, the book starts with a scene that takes place in the future which was interesting bc when the story is happenin in present we already know that that first scene will appear/happen sometime. that scene also started the book off well. the entire time reading this book i was hooked and i would thing/say omggg bc some parts/ scenes are so intense, stuff keeps happening..its fast pace and also easy to read and follow. very entertaining and i couldnt put the book down! i also liked the ending! soem things about it i didnt like and i wish they hadnt happened (ill go in details in the spoiler section of this review). but overall i really liked and enjoyed this book and would recommend it!!
SPOILERS AHEAD:
holy shit that twist of the girl sienna likes ends up being one of the bad guys and a crazy crazy one at that. i didnt see any of this coming!! she tries to kill sienna and is pregnant with masters baby ewwww :Cccccc and she hates cyborgs too bc of her mom sellin her to master so her mom starts a new life. she also ends up killin some of the sisters :Cccc she also kept sayin sienna shouldnt trust ero which made me like damm is ero a bad guy but he didnt seem like but maybe he would betray sienna etc, but no he was trapped in the mansion and being a hunter too. that scene with sienna saving the cyborg child atticus was crazy too bc she and one of her sis gets in trouble and then the master punishes them. that scene in the hallway was crazy and intense :C and that opening scene too where sienna fails at poisoning the master and he knows and says she came to mansion from her own free will. and not her brother who sold her, crazy too,and it set off the story so well. also when we know that sienna kills her brother i wasnt expecting it. sad that her brother killed the cyborg girl she liked :C also when we know that atticus tongue was cut was so sad,and that he ends up bein killed (which i kinda guessed would happened bc sienna defyed the master) and we never know what happened to him/to his body. also everytime sienna would defy the master etc i was like yess but nooo at same time bc i know someone will get punished. also was hoping that ero would be the one to bid on siennas. the scene where sienna is helpin the cyborgs in those houses the whole time i was hoping nobody would see her and catch her. specilaly that scene where sienna figths off the hunter girl to save a cyborg. the last scene with the girls dying and the servents was sooo crazy and creepy and sad bc i didnt want the girls to die.i wanted them to survive and escape :C and when master thinks ero wont shoot loool but ero shotos his own dad and the hunters are on his side. i didnt know how they were gonna get out of that scene when they walked in that room :c and when the master shot one of the twins :C only helena survived. the end when sienna goes back inside the mansion with the key and they find whats hiding and the money to change the world was pretty cool scene except all the bodies.also if she heard knocking that other time on the door in the wall..someone was alive but she couldnt save them :C so they died there alone :C
SPOILERS AHEAD:
holy shit that twist of the girl sienna likes ends up being one of the bad guys and a crazy crazy one at that. i didnt see any of this coming!! she tries to kill sienna and is pregnant with masters baby ewwww :Cccccc and she hates cyborgs too bc of her mom sellin her to master so her mom starts a new life. she also ends up killin some of the sisters :Cccc she also kept sayin sienna shouldnt trust ero which made me like damm is ero a bad guy but he didnt seem like but maybe he would betray sienna etc, but no he was trapped in the mansion and being a hunter too. that scene with sienna saving the cyborg child atticus was crazy too bc she and one of her sis gets in trouble and then the master punishes them. that scene in the hallway was crazy and intense :C and that opening scene too where sienna fails at poisoning the master and he knows and says she came to mansion from her own free will. and not her brother who sold her, crazy too,and it set off the story so well. also when we know that sienna kills her brother i wasnt expecting it. sad that her brother killed the cyborg girl she liked :C also when we know that atticus tongue was cut was so sad,and that he ends up bein killed (which i kinda guessed would happened bc sienna defyed the master) and we never know what happened to him/to his body. also everytime sienna would defy the master etc i was like yess but nooo at same time bc i know someone will get punished. also was hoping that ero would be the one to bid on siennas. the scene where sienna is helpin the cyborgs in those houses the whole time i was hoping nobody would see her and catch her. specilaly that scene where sienna figths off the hunter girl to save a cyborg. the last scene with the girls dying and the servents was sooo crazy and creepy and sad bc i didnt want the girls to die.i wanted them to survive and escape :C and when master thinks ero wont shoot loool but ero shotos his own dad and the hunters are on his side. i didnt know how they were gonna get out of that scene when they walked in that room :c and when the master shot one of the twins :C only helena survived. the end when sienna goes back inside the mansion with the key and they find whats hiding and the money to change the world was pretty cool scene except all the bodies.also if she heard knocking that other time on the door in the wall..someone was alive but she couldnt save them :C so they died there alone :C
June 3, 2021
I have read very few books with cyborgs in the plot and this one is an addition to that list.
J.F John’s “Sienna” proves to be a headstrong MC albeit OTT at times.
A story of a monster(aptly named Master) and his dolls, whom he punishes for certain reasons, Sienna is the one who wants to end it all though she is certain she might become a monster in turn.
What I liked- definitely the cover, which is why I really wanted to see what is inside!
The queer angle in the book was a pleasant surprise(I’ve never read any in this genre before Sienna). The plot was fast and action paced, though the characters seemed either very black or white. The ending was a little dramatic but I liked the effect!
This book is a quick read and a fun one in the YA genre. Overlooking certain typos and the not so fleshed out characters, I give it 3 stars out of 5.
J.F John’s “Sienna” proves to be a headstrong MC albeit OTT at times.
A story of a monster(aptly named Master) and his dolls, whom he punishes for certain reasons, Sienna is the one who wants to end it all though she is certain she might become a monster in turn.
What I liked- definitely the cover, which is why I really wanted to see what is inside!
The queer angle in the book was a pleasant surprise(I’ve never read any in this genre before Sienna). The plot was fast and action paced, though the characters seemed either very black or white. The ending was a little dramatic but I liked the effect!
This book is a quick read and a fun one in the YA genre. Overlooking certain typos and the not so fleshed out characters, I give it 3 stars out of 5.
August 22, 2021
I was provided a free copy of this story on NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. The premise sounded really fun and exciting. The idea of a cyborg world with a society that allows someone like the Master to thrive, who collects daughters, was pretty cool with lots of potential. I like that each daughter has a specialization or talent that makes them unique. I like the scenes in the market. The Master was the only intriguing character and his backstory was probably my favorite. There were small moments here and there that was nice or actually normal/decent but they were fleeting. I like the intro of the little boy but that was just a tool in the end, I think the author wrote the violent scenes (horror) of girls being bashed or abused by the Master (action scenes) better than the scenes between the ‘sisters’ (characterisation scenes).
The idea of the book cover was pretty nice too but I'd suggest putting a darker-skinned character because almost all characters are of dark skin. The ending was okay, I expected the twist so it wasn't really a twist to me and not surprising. The length and pacing were okay. The plot was okay but needed more depth. For example the start of the novel makes it clear that they are ‘sisters’ but the author never actually explores what sisterly love is or how they are sisters etc. Unfortunately, this is the limit to the positive elements of this novel. This novel needs a lot of work and I was sad that it didn’t achieve my expectations of an adventure into a cyborg world with mystery, murder, and slavery and strong female lead that is capable of becoming a respectable leader, or a group of girls that exhibit bravery, honour and a fight for better morality. It does not achieve any of this.
This novel was definitely not for me, and I found it underwhelming and a struggle to get through. There was a huge lack of world-building and the end result was just a watered-down average society that wasn't very colourful or enriching. I think ultimately many of my problems would be cured if the writing was astronomically better and themes further developed and articulated.
I took this novel very seriously because it deals with some very serious topics. If you are going to write a novel tackling things like: inequality of a minority (cyborgs), people of colour, child slavery or slavery of any kind, sexual content, physical and mental abuse, dealing with sexual identity etc I think how you execute this type of story should be very sensitive and careful to prevent shallow experiences or moral explorations of these issues which I think the current form of this novel has problems with. This led me to question who is this story for or who is your ideal audience? Children <15? Little girls? No considering the content is not appropriate or written in a way that is (i.e you don’t learn anything in this reading experience). The end result feels like the story is not written from a 15-year-old perspective and instead written from an adult pretending to be 15 and executing it badly. Is this for Adults? Its not complicated or extensive enough for an adult / mature audience. I was hoping for something of Stephen King quality or Cyberpunk or Dune tone so maybe my expectations were way too high.
Another question I had was what is your main striking theme that will guide how the novel will be marketed? Because in this state the way its being marketed is very misleading. This is definitely not a convincing cyberpunk/sci fi story, definitely not a fantasy or murder mystery or thriller. It’s main attraction is that it’s a lesbian romance which could have become a harem at any point with the amount of females the 15 YEAR OLD (A CHILD) MC goggled her eyes at (cant even believe a 15 year old would behave in the way Sienna does, and if that’s how children are now or in the future I literally will cry). It just feels like the author was not 100% certain of what this final work would be. If you wanted something with more intrigue, more wit and adventure I’d say that Stalking Jack the Ripper executed something like this much better.
Overall the execution was very poor and the writing was unbearable. I could only handle so much "cocking of head" or "blushing and looking away to feign innocence and purity while she thinks about tits". I could not handle how often the author refers to the skin in unflattering ways. Her character descriptions are just .....
"Her eyes are the deepest and darkest green I've ever seen. My brown eyes match my brown skin and brown hair" ---> language is just 1/5 “brown brown brown brown” “Skin skin skin skin” “beautiful gorgeous beautiful gorgeous” UGH boring
"Her skin is pale so pale" ---> yes pale I get it, very pale pale pale pale pale...
"Pretty in a classical way" ---> WHAT?
"A part of me wants to believe she finds me beautiful and is admiring my brown gorgeous skin" <---- PLEASE WHYYYYY? YUCK. OH PLEASE FIND ME GORGEOUS PLEASE I WANT PEOPLE TO LOVE ME I WNAT PEOPLE TO LOOK AT ME LIKE IM A GODDDDD -__-
"Lifting my chin up high as if I owned the place" ---> WHO DO YOU THINK YOU ARE???
"I stare at her dark skin against mine. (???????). Our hands clasped together look nice, two pieces of a puzzle that fit and match pefectly ( UM NO S**T THAT IS IMPLIED BY THE PUZZLE) , but I doubt thats why she's holding me" ---> this is just so creepy like she is sexualizing every moment with her female sister. Why does it have to be like that? Why cant we get some normal girl time, bonding time that has no sexual connotations, where is the friendships because I saw none.
I didn't like any of the characters (except the Master and Eros). While reading I felt like the author was hesitant or didn't fully understand how to authentically write males or masculine energy. Eros, the gay or bi or polyamorous male actually acts and is characterised more like the girls in the Masters cult (he has more feminine vibes than masculine). The two straight masculine men in this novel (sienna brother and the master) were represented as toxic, malicious, “abusive”, “not understanding” “racist” “unempathetic” “evil” as revealed countless times by the really silly inner dialogue of Sienna.
With all the female characters I had a huge problem with the characterization; it was not consistent and not logical. Sienna was so annoying, immature, unrealistic and most definitely not smart. Her inner dialogue or attention at times were so irrelevant to her situation or the moment. It felt like she was forcing her sexual attraction onto Clarissa which really turned me off. There wasn’t chemistry or build up; and it really was just all in her head in the end (which made me more annoyed).
Also the way she ended up in the situation is so unconvincing and unthoughtful I wish this was fleshed out more. There were some moments between the girls that were decent but it was quickly overshadowed by the horny incredibly selfish, vain protagonist who is supposed to come from humble beginnings but acts more like a privileged brat. She is constantly told “don’t do that” and she does it because she doesn’t actually care. She never thinks about others. It is just so unrealistic. I've lived through many challenges of life to confidently say that her mind/personality is not an accurate representation of someone who has had it tough in life. She is not relatable. The relationships with her family and brother were shallow and unimportant, not thoroughly explored and explanations provided for her situation not deep enough and immature for me to feel any empathy or learn something. I wanted a story that had really deep and meaningful backstories for each of the girls in this little cult to dictate their actions while in their predicament. There were occasional moments for Helena and Cryssila that were interesting but the others I can hardly remember as they were so bland.
The idea of the book cover was pretty nice too but I'd suggest putting a darker-skinned character because almost all characters are of dark skin. The ending was okay, I expected the twist so it wasn't really a twist to me and not surprising. The length and pacing were okay. The plot was okay but needed more depth. For example the start of the novel makes it clear that they are ‘sisters’ but the author never actually explores what sisterly love is or how they are sisters etc. Unfortunately, this is the limit to the positive elements of this novel. This novel needs a lot of work and I was sad that it didn’t achieve my expectations of an adventure into a cyborg world with mystery, murder, and slavery and strong female lead that is capable of becoming a respectable leader, or a group of girls that exhibit bravery, honour and a fight for better morality. It does not achieve any of this.
This novel was definitely not for me, and I found it underwhelming and a struggle to get through. There was a huge lack of world-building and the end result was just a watered-down average society that wasn't very colourful or enriching. I think ultimately many of my problems would be cured if the writing was astronomically better and themes further developed and articulated.
I took this novel very seriously because it deals with some very serious topics. If you are going to write a novel tackling things like: inequality of a minority (cyborgs), people of colour, child slavery or slavery of any kind, sexual content, physical and mental abuse, dealing with sexual identity etc I think how you execute this type of story should be very sensitive and careful to prevent shallow experiences or moral explorations of these issues which I think the current form of this novel has problems with. This led me to question who is this story for or who is your ideal audience? Children <15? Little girls? No considering the content is not appropriate or written in a way that is (i.e you don’t learn anything in this reading experience). The end result feels like the story is not written from a 15-year-old perspective and instead written from an adult pretending to be 15 and executing it badly. Is this for Adults? Its not complicated or extensive enough for an adult / mature audience. I was hoping for something of Stephen King quality or Cyberpunk or Dune tone so maybe my expectations were way too high.
Another question I had was what is your main striking theme that will guide how the novel will be marketed? Because in this state the way its being marketed is very misleading. This is definitely not a convincing cyberpunk/sci fi story, definitely not a fantasy or murder mystery or thriller. It’s main attraction is that it’s a lesbian romance which could have become a harem at any point with the amount of females the 15 YEAR OLD (A CHILD) MC goggled her eyes at (cant even believe a 15 year old would behave in the way Sienna does, and if that’s how children are now or in the future I literally will cry). It just feels like the author was not 100% certain of what this final work would be. If you wanted something with more intrigue, more wit and adventure I’d say that Stalking Jack the Ripper executed something like this much better.
Overall the execution was very poor and the writing was unbearable. I could only handle so much "cocking of head" or "blushing and looking away to feign innocence and purity while she thinks about tits". I could not handle how often the author refers to the skin in unflattering ways. Her character descriptions are just .....
"Her eyes are the deepest and darkest green I've ever seen. My brown eyes match my brown skin and brown hair" ---> language is just 1/5 “brown brown brown brown” “Skin skin skin skin” “beautiful gorgeous beautiful gorgeous” UGH boring
"Her skin is pale so pale" ---> yes pale I get it, very pale pale pale pale pale...
"Pretty in a classical way" ---> WHAT?
"A part of me wants to believe she finds me beautiful and is admiring my brown gorgeous skin" <---- PLEASE WHYYYYY? YUCK. OH PLEASE FIND ME GORGEOUS PLEASE I WANT PEOPLE TO LOVE ME I WNAT PEOPLE TO LOOK AT ME LIKE IM A GODDDDD -__-
"Lifting my chin up high as if I owned the place" ---> WHO DO YOU THINK YOU ARE???
"I stare at her dark skin against mine. (???????). Our hands clasped together look nice, two pieces of a puzzle that fit and match pefectly ( UM NO S**T THAT IS IMPLIED BY THE PUZZLE) , but I doubt thats why she's holding me" ---> this is just so creepy like she is sexualizing every moment with her female sister. Why does it have to be like that? Why cant we get some normal girl time, bonding time that has no sexual connotations, where is the friendships because I saw none.
I didn't like any of the characters (except the Master and Eros). While reading I felt like the author was hesitant or didn't fully understand how to authentically write males or masculine energy. Eros, the gay or bi or polyamorous male actually acts and is characterised more like the girls in the Masters cult (he has more feminine vibes than masculine). The two straight masculine men in this novel (sienna brother and the master) were represented as toxic, malicious, “abusive”, “not understanding” “racist” “unempathetic” “evil” as revealed countless times by the really silly inner dialogue of Sienna.
With all the female characters I had a huge problem with the characterization; it was not consistent and not logical. Sienna was so annoying, immature, unrealistic and most definitely not smart. Her inner dialogue or attention at times were so irrelevant to her situation or the moment. It felt like she was forcing her sexual attraction onto Clarissa which really turned me off. There wasn’t chemistry or build up; and it really was just all in her head in the end (which made me more annoyed).
Also the way she ended up in the situation is so unconvincing and unthoughtful I wish this was fleshed out more. There were some moments between the girls that were decent but it was quickly overshadowed by the horny incredibly selfish, vain protagonist who is supposed to come from humble beginnings but acts more like a privileged brat. She is constantly told “don’t do that” and she does it because she doesn’t actually care. She never thinks about others. It is just so unrealistic. I've lived through many challenges of life to confidently say that her mind/personality is not an accurate representation of someone who has had it tough in life. She is not relatable. The relationships with her family and brother were shallow and unimportant, not thoroughly explored and explanations provided for her situation not deep enough and immature for me to feel any empathy or learn something. I wanted a story that had really deep and meaningful backstories for each of the girls in this little cult to dictate their actions while in their predicament. There were occasional moments for Helena and Cryssila that were interesting but the others I can hardly remember as they were so bland.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
June 8, 2021
Sienna wakes in a house where a small group of girls explain to her she is a captive of The Master. It is super unclear why The Master keeps a collection of girls other than to be escorts for his friends/clients. Sienna obviously wants to escape and is aided by The Masters son who takes an interest in her for seemingly no reason. (I'm using the word girls for the young women because that is what they are called in the story. Sienna is the youngest at 15)
This book is in a connected universe with the authors Eternal Darkness series which I have not read so I have given it a pass on a lot of the world building aspect that I didn't fully understand. Including all details of keeping humans as slaves, the "marked ones" thing, and all details about the cyborgs.
The other girls make it very clear to Sienna that her life is at risk if she doesn't obey, showing her the cruel punishments they have suffered, yet she remains immature, snarky, and incredibly short sighted. She values her "virtue" above her life. All the other girls suffer punishments at the hands of The Master, but even after breaking the rules and disrespecting The Master, Sienna remains unharmed. She is being held captive as an escort, and yet it is made clear Sienna will not have to kiss someone. This felt very similar to Lauren De Stefano's Chemical Garden series (Wither, Fever, Sever). It is a YA book, with teenage characters, but the plot would be inappropriate and too dark for YA if it were to be told at all realistically.
Over and over there are examples of Sienna being treated differently and specials by both The Master and his son, but with no explanation or justification for why she is special.
The cyborgs: the description with cyborgs and hunting cyborgs is what hooked me initially, but, as you will notice from my description, the cyborgs do not play a role in this story. This is a story about a rich man who keeps women as slaves to entertain his friends. There is no reason it needed to be set in this world and if the cyborgs were removed from this story the plot would not change at all.
This was a very quick, fast paced read, but it was not the story it was advertised to be. The characters and the writing were too young for the plot which made there be a lack of consequences for the main character.
This book is in a connected universe with the authors Eternal Darkness series which I have not read so I have given it a pass on a lot of the world building aspect that I didn't fully understand. Including all details of keeping humans as slaves, the "marked ones" thing, and all details about the cyborgs.
The other girls make it very clear to Sienna that her life is at risk if she doesn't obey, showing her the cruel punishments they have suffered, yet she remains immature, snarky, and incredibly short sighted. She values her "virtue" above her life. All the other girls suffer punishments at the hands of The Master, but even after breaking the rules and disrespecting The Master, Sienna remains unharmed. She is being held captive as an escort, and yet it is made clear Sienna will not have to kiss someone. This felt very similar to Lauren De Stefano's Chemical Garden series (Wither, Fever, Sever). It is a YA book, with teenage characters, but the plot would be inappropriate and too dark for YA if it were to be told at all realistically.
Over and over there are examples of Sienna being treated differently and specials by both The Master and his son, but with no explanation or justification for why she is special.
The cyborgs: the description with cyborgs and hunting cyborgs is what hooked me initially, but, as you will notice from my description, the cyborgs do not play a role in this story. This is a story about a rich man who keeps women as slaves to entertain his friends. There is no reason it needed to be set in this world and if the cyborgs were removed from this story the plot would not change at all.
This was a very quick, fast paced read, but it was not the story it was advertised to be. The characters and the writing were too young for the plot which made there be a lack of consequences for the main character.
August 3, 2021
I received a free ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review. Thank you Netgalley!
First off, I need to talk about the marketing problems of this book. There are A TON. If you read the synopsis of Sienna, it sounds like a standalone. And the annoying thing is that it is. But only in plot, not world. And because the author assumes everyone else has read her other books, she doesn't properly explain the world in this one.
I'm not mad at this, it just needs to be made clear for marketing!
Also, why the heck does the front cover have a white girl on it? Within the first chapter it is made clear Sienna has dark skin, so what happened with the cover??
And one more marketing thing, more of a suggestion than a mistake, is why isn't this screaming about the fact it is about SAPHIC CYBORGS!!!!!! Just in the last couple months LGBT sci-fi books like Gearbreakers and Girls at the Edge of the World have done so well and Sienna should jump onto that hype train!!! I gave a whole extra star for Clarissa and Sienna because they had such a wholesome cute relationship and it made my heart happy.
Now onto the actual book. Honestly, it wasn't looking great up until the 80% mark. And while it is a huge pet peeve of mine for books to be boring AF and then have an amazing climax, I love a good plot twist. And I really didn't see that one coming! *mind blowing*
And to give this book credit, it did have a fair amount of action throughout. But is was all a bit safe? Mundane fighting- worlds only true fantasy lovers can relate to.
As a lead Sienna was pretty basic. Didn't make a lot of decisions and had the MC trade marked personality of a wet-cloth. But I can forgive this because of all the sister bond relationships! I will always love close friendships more than relationships (though Clarissa and Sienna were adorable too!) and I love the fact that this book included no 'mean girls'. Btw, I include Ero in the sister bonds too :) I love platonic male-female relationships!
This wasn't a great book, but I'm not mad I read it. Doesn't make me want to read more books in this world, but I would probably read a follow up to Sienna?
First off, I need to talk about the marketing problems of this book. There are A TON. If you read the synopsis of Sienna, it sounds like a standalone. And the annoying thing is that it is. But only in plot, not world. And because the author assumes everyone else has read her other books, she doesn't properly explain the world in this one.
I'm not mad at this, it just needs to be made clear for marketing!
Also, why the heck does the front cover have a white girl on it? Within the first chapter it is made clear Sienna has dark skin, so what happened with the cover??
And one more marketing thing, more of a suggestion than a mistake, is why isn't this screaming about the fact it is about SAPHIC CYBORGS!!!!!! Just in the last couple months LGBT sci-fi books like Gearbreakers and Girls at the Edge of the World have done so well and Sienna should jump onto that hype train!!! I gave a whole extra star for Clarissa and Sienna because they had such a wholesome cute relationship and it made my heart happy.
Now onto the actual book. Honestly, it wasn't looking great up until the 80% mark. And while it is a huge pet peeve of mine for books to be boring AF and then have an amazing climax, I love a good plot twist. And I really didn't see that one coming! *mind blowing*
And to give this book credit, it did have a fair amount of action throughout. But is was all a bit safe? Mundane fighting- worlds only true fantasy lovers can relate to.
As a lead Sienna was pretty basic. Didn't make a lot of decisions and had the MC trade marked personality of a wet-cloth. But I can forgive this because of all the sister bond relationships! I will always love close friendships more than relationships (though Clarissa and Sienna were adorable too!) and I love the fact that this book included no 'mean girls'. Btw, I include Ero in the sister bonds too :) I love platonic male-female relationships!
This wasn't a great book, but I'm not mad I read it. Doesn't make me want to read more books in this world, but I would probably read a follow up to Sienna?
November 27, 2021
For me, this book needs to be marketed slightly differently. When I requested to read this in exchange for an honest review, it was marketed as a standalone. I didn't realise it was linked to the Eternal Darkness universe. There was a lot of backstory that came to light that made me think, "Damn, this sounds interesting. I wish I'd read the Eternal Darkness series first." How I would have loved to dive into her story with Annalise and her brother. But I already know elements of that storyline and how that storyline ends, so there's no point going back.
The story itself was an interesting one. Some of her "sisters" were better developed than others. I actually found myself getting slightly confused on who was who a couple of times when they were mentioned. The way she ended up there actually wasn't what I expected. I knew it wouldn't be the "obvious" Sienna considered, but I still didn't guess the truth. The story of the little cyborg boy really grabbed me—that's where the author does brilliantly at bringing in emotional impact.
There were many brilliant points to this book but also... aspects that didn't completely fall together. Sienna received a lot of special treatment from the Master and his son. It's made clear to her from pretty early in the story that her life is at risk if she doesn't comply. The first time she steps out of line, one of her "sisters" is punished for it. So, why does she continually step out of line? I think I could understand it more if SHE was being punished. That way, her decisions affected her and she wouldn't come across as so selfish. Especially when her decisions led to disfigurements and even death. As a reader, it's the main character you need to connect with to keep you in the story. It's SO hard to like the main character when she's constantly making decisions that are affecting other characters and then somehow getting away with it. She'll show a ton of remorse and then do it again.
Honestly, Sienna has the makings to be an INCREDIBLE read, I think there are just some parts that aren't quite there yet. I definitely think showing the link between this and Eternal Darkness when marketing could help up the reviews.
The story itself was an interesting one. Some of her "sisters" were better developed than others. I actually found myself getting slightly confused on who was who a couple of times when they were mentioned. The way she ended up there actually wasn't what I expected. I knew it wouldn't be the "obvious" Sienna considered, but I still didn't guess the truth. The story of the little cyborg boy really grabbed me—that's where the author does brilliantly at bringing in emotional impact.
There were many brilliant points to this book but also... aspects that didn't completely fall together. Sienna received a lot of special treatment from the Master and his son. It's made clear to her from pretty early in the story that her life is at risk if she doesn't comply. The first time she steps out of line, one of her "sisters" is punished for it. So, why does she continually step out of line? I think I could understand it more if SHE was being punished. That way, her decisions affected her and she wouldn't come across as so selfish. Especially when her decisions led to disfigurements and even death. As a reader, it's the main character you need to connect with to keep you in the story. It's SO hard to like the main character when she's constantly making decisions that are affecting other characters and then somehow getting away with it. She'll show a ton of remorse and then do it again.
Honestly, Sienna has the makings to be an INCREDIBLE read, I think there are just some parts that aren't quite there yet. I definitely think showing the link between this and Eternal Darkness when marketing could help up the reviews.
December 5, 2021
Thank you to NetGalley for providing me with a free copy of Sienna!
When I read the synopsis, I straight away applied to review this book. But then I read the comments and my excitement disappeared. So many negative reviews! I was ready to read a very boring and bad book. But it wasn't! Yes, maybe the writing is not top-notch but it made my reading easier? I guess it's not a bad thing then?
My review is based on the storyline, not the writing. Each of us chooses different words to tell their story and I will not be a judge of J. F. Johns's choice.
The world is built-in, I'd say, future, with cyborgs roaming around. Not as freely as they would like, needed to say! They're hunted. Why? Because they're different. By who? By humans, who call themselves Hunters.
Sienna wakes up in an unfamiliar house with her new 'sisters' surrounding her. She did not remember how she got there, where she is or who those girls were. Sienna is the youngest of the sisters but may I say the bravest? Other girls seem scared, broken. Broken mentally, by a man who owns them, who is their master. The Master, who did whatever he desired and no one dared to stop him.
I found an interesting concept in this piece. Seven girls are bought or taken from their families by this mysterious man, who is all they have now. As long as they keep him happy, they're not harmed. If just one of them misbehaves, all of them are punished. How they were serving? It's even hard for me to answer. We don't see Master much in the story. Yes, he's there in the most important moments but we mostly see girls day to day life.
'Don't talk to the Master until talked to. Don't look at the Master directly until addressed to.' There were simple rules, which might be easily broken. Sienna broke them often. She wasn't timid like other girls, she wanted to escape. She never got punished but her 'sisters' did. Master broke one of the girl's hands, another one was cut. Sienna was furious but the girls tried to silence her. They told her she needed to behave and please Master.
I wasn't expecting the story to take such a dark turn. I thought that the Master couldn't be so nice all the time but his punishments were unnecessary. Especially the twisted obsession with marking girls. Their bodies were covered with tattoos. Tattoos represented the cyborgs they were involved with. Any connection with the cyborg could place you with another Master, who would take control of your life. Cyborgs were the dirt of the world, unwanted insects who needed to be destroyed. Just because they were different.
The ending shocked me. Be prepared for a plot twist, which you will not foresee. Don't mind the repetitions and sometimes weak words used in the book. The idea represented in this piece is amazing. I'd like the book to be longer and the ending to be different but it is the author's choice to end the book however they want.
When I read the synopsis, I straight away applied to review this book. But then I read the comments and my excitement disappeared. So many negative reviews! I was ready to read a very boring and bad book. But it wasn't! Yes, maybe the writing is not top-notch but it made my reading easier? I guess it's not a bad thing then?
My review is based on the storyline, not the writing. Each of us chooses different words to tell their story and I will not be a judge of J. F. Johns's choice.
The world is built-in, I'd say, future, with cyborgs roaming around. Not as freely as they would like, needed to say! They're hunted. Why? Because they're different. By who? By humans, who call themselves Hunters.
Sienna wakes up in an unfamiliar house with her new 'sisters' surrounding her. She did not remember how she got there, where she is or who those girls were. Sienna is the youngest of the sisters but may I say the bravest? Other girls seem scared, broken. Broken mentally, by a man who owns them, who is their master. The Master, who did whatever he desired and no one dared to stop him.
I found an interesting concept in this piece. Seven girls are bought or taken from their families by this mysterious man, who is all they have now. As long as they keep him happy, they're not harmed. If just one of them misbehaves, all of them are punished. How they were serving? It's even hard for me to answer. We don't see Master much in the story. Yes, he's there in the most important moments but we mostly see girls day to day life.
'Don't talk to the Master until talked to. Don't look at the Master directly until addressed to.' There were simple rules, which might be easily broken. Sienna broke them often. She wasn't timid like other girls, she wanted to escape. She never got punished but her 'sisters' did. Master broke one of the girl's hands, another one was cut. Sienna was furious but the girls tried to silence her. They told her she needed to behave and please Master.
I wasn't expecting the story to take such a dark turn. I thought that the Master couldn't be so nice all the time but his punishments were unnecessary. Especially the twisted obsession with marking girls. Their bodies were covered with tattoos. Tattoos represented the cyborgs they were involved with. Any connection with the cyborg could place you with another Master, who would take control of your life. Cyborgs were the dirt of the world, unwanted insects who needed to be destroyed. Just because they were different.
The ending shocked me. Be prepared for a plot twist, which you will not foresee. Don't mind the repetitions and sometimes weak words used in the book. The idea represented in this piece is amazing. I'd like the book to be longer and the ending to be different but it is the author's choice to end the book however they want.
September 1, 2021
Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for this ARC in exchange for an honest review.
Wow, really Wow!!
I don't know what to say after just finishing this book, well, I can say that it was different from your usual Sci-fi/Dystopia books. It's sure that this story won't be liked by many readers because it's dark with no mercy or apology to your sensible feelings. I might be a freak because I kind of liked it, why? Well, it wasn't boring, it was new and I like Cyborgs but even so, I still wasn't prepared to this freaking book. There are so many things that you could point out about this story and to criticize, or how you could interpret many things in relation to our actual society.
The female MC, Sienna, was a handful with her need to create problems ( mainly to the other characters) and so much drama, she wants so hard to be a hero for those girls but instead she ends up making things even worse. She is the one who makes us enter this crazy world and we are so curious to know what happened to her, why is she in this position and also what's gonna happen to them all. This book could also be considered as a Sci-fi thriller that got you hooked from the prologue and you can say whatever you want but you will just want to know.
A world were humans hunt Cyborgs, where girls are snatched off the streets or sold to become marked by The Master , a notorious hunter. Sienna is one of these girls and now she is the new daughter of this monster but she can't accept to live trapped in a mansion with six other girls, she has to escape from this evil man even if she has to kill him.
This was an insane story that reminded me of some Japanese tragic Sci-fi mangas with an ending that hurts like a B****. It was disturbing, odd, gore and hard to accept but you can't put it down. If you could stomach stories that hurt like SAGA or Alita, well you might accept Sienna.
Wow, really Wow!!
I don't know what to say after just finishing this book, well, I can say that it was different from your usual Sci-fi/Dystopia books. It's sure that this story won't be liked by many readers because it's dark with no mercy or apology to your sensible feelings. I might be a freak because I kind of liked it, why? Well, it wasn't boring, it was new and I like Cyborgs but even so, I still wasn't prepared to this freaking book. There are so many things that you could point out about this story and to criticize, or how you could interpret many things in relation to our actual society.
The female MC, Sienna, was a handful with her need to create problems ( mainly to the other characters) and so much drama, she wants so hard to be a hero for those girls but instead she ends up making things even worse. She is the one who makes us enter this crazy world and we are so curious to know what happened to her, why is she in this position and also what's gonna happen to them all. This book could also be considered as a Sci-fi thriller that got you hooked from the prologue and you can say whatever you want but you will just want to know.
A world were humans hunt Cyborgs, where girls are snatched off the streets or sold to become marked by The Master , a notorious hunter. Sienna is one of these girls and now she is the new daughter of this monster but she can't accept to live trapped in a mansion with six other girls, she has to escape from this evil man even if she has to kill him.
This was an insane story that reminded me of some Japanese tragic Sci-fi mangas with an ending that hurts like a B****. It was disturbing, odd, gore and hard to accept but you can't put it down. If you could stomach stories that hurt like SAGA or Alita, well you might accept Sienna.
January 2, 2022
In a world divided between humans and cyborgs, Sienna finds herself in the house of the enigmatic Master and the company of 6 other girls that call themselves and her, sisters. The malicious Master is a Hunter of cyborgs and his 'daughter' are the Marked Ones. She decides to escape and save her 'sisters', the girl she has fallen for, and the Master's own son Ero is going to help her.
Gripping from the very beginning, the world is built through Sienna's eyes and thoughts. John's writing is personal, honest, adventuresome and so damn readable. I enjoyed the intrigue, uncovering what is going on and learning more about the protagonist and the characters surrounding her. You can't help but root for feisty, determined Sienna. Her sense of right and wrong is to be admired. She fiercely stands up for others and often acts before thinking, getting into such much trouble. I don't blame her of course.
The Master is so sick and despicable you just love to hate him. I do wish some characters had been shown more like the twins, and others less like Aema (actually I think she was a needless character).
I kind of guessed something to do with a birthday, but it doesn't make it any less awesome when it happens. This book is far from predictable. Instead it's twisty-turvy and put your hand on your chest to hold in the gasps. It shows us the capacity humans have for cruelty but also to care. How bonds can be forged out of the oddest or most difficult situations. This story emphasizes the importance of freedom.
The truth is I wasn't that crazy about the ending. The pacing promises something big and then the reveals and final action feel too rushed. But I loved the story, the feel, the emotional tangibility.
Highly enjoyable sci-fi fantasy that feels more like contemporary and is full of humanity.
Gripping from the very beginning, the world is built through Sienna's eyes and thoughts. John's writing is personal, honest, adventuresome and so damn readable. I enjoyed the intrigue, uncovering what is going on and learning more about the protagonist and the characters surrounding her. You can't help but root for feisty, determined Sienna. Her sense of right and wrong is to be admired. She fiercely stands up for others and often acts before thinking, getting into such much trouble. I don't blame her of course.
The Master is so sick and despicable you just love to hate him. I do wish some characters had been shown more like the twins, and others less like Aema (actually I think she was a needless character).
I kind of guessed something to do with a birthday, but it doesn't make it any less awesome when it happens. This book is far from predictable. Instead it's twisty-turvy and put your hand on your chest to hold in the gasps. It shows us the capacity humans have for cruelty but also to care. How bonds can be forged out of the oddest or most difficult situations. This story emphasizes the importance of freedom.
The truth is I wasn't that crazy about the ending. The pacing promises something big and then the reveals and final action feel too rushed. But I loved the story, the feel, the emotional tangibility.
Highly enjoyable sci-fi fantasy that feels more like contemporary and is full of humanity.
December 5, 2021
Check out my review on my blog: http://thereadingdevil.blogspot.com/2...
Or read below!
Before diving into this book, I wasn't quite sure what to expect. I knew that I loved the cover, and I loved the blurb - so I was excited nonetheless. And I actually ended up really enjoying this! Basically we have regular human, Hunters (who are human but hunt cyborgs), and cyborgs (who are considered second class citizens). Sienna is a human captive of a Hunter who goes by Master, along with six other girls referred to as "sisters".
Now as some other reviews have mentioned, with the number of characters present in this book, it is true that we don't truly get to know all of them, other than superficially. We don't hear about the backstories of all of the sisters, for example so if you are really character driven in your book preferences, then this may not be the one for you. That being said, we do get to know Sienna herself pretty well, as well as the backstories of Ero, Aema, the Master, etc. And personally, that was enough for me!
Sienna is super headstrong, and always wants to fight for what is right. Despite knowing that others may be hurt for her actions, she goes ahead and does the right thing anyway. I actually really loved that about her - I didn't find her selfish, personally. I mean, she's put in a tough position regardless of what she does. If she stands by and does nothing, one person gets hurt. If she acts to save one, another gets hurt. Regardless of what she chooses, something will happen - so I think it's great that she acted on what was right in front of her every time. (This will make a bit more sense if you read the book lol).
Overall, I liked the storyline alot, I liked the characters we meet throughout the book, and I enjoyed the unique plot. There was alot of violence, which I wasn't expecting, but I thought it was written well and added to the story. Give it a shot!
Or read below!
Before diving into this book, I wasn't quite sure what to expect. I knew that I loved the cover, and I loved the blurb - so I was excited nonetheless. And I actually ended up really enjoying this! Basically we have regular human, Hunters (who are human but hunt cyborgs), and cyborgs (who are considered second class citizens). Sienna is a human captive of a Hunter who goes by Master, along with six other girls referred to as "sisters".
Now as some other reviews have mentioned, with the number of characters present in this book, it is true that we don't truly get to know all of them, other than superficially. We don't hear about the backstories of all of the sisters, for example so if you are really character driven in your book preferences, then this may not be the one for you. That being said, we do get to know Sienna herself pretty well, as well as the backstories of Ero, Aema, the Master, etc. And personally, that was enough for me!
Sienna is super headstrong, and always wants to fight for what is right. Despite knowing that others may be hurt for her actions, she goes ahead and does the right thing anyway. I actually really loved that about her - I didn't find her selfish, personally. I mean, she's put in a tough position regardless of what she does. If she stands by and does nothing, one person gets hurt. If she acts to save one, another gets hurt. Regardless of what she chooses, something will happen - so I think it's great that she acted on what was right in front of her every time. (This will make a bit more sense if you read the book lol).
Overall, I liked the storyline alot, I liked the characters we meet throughout the book, and I enjoyed the unique plot. There was alot of violence, which I wasn't expecting, but I thought it was written well and added to the story. Give it a shot!
November 20, 2021
Sienna is a stand-alone novel within the authors YA fantasy/sci-fi series Eternal Darkness and its quite a funky gothic novella. It seems pretty comfortable with its tropes - not least the the constant spectre of abuse from the antagonist here "The Master" who has bought our heroine Sienna. The world building is sporadic, but then this is not the first book in the series and its is still pretty clear that its a sci-fi dystopia were people are pitted against cyborgs but there is a whole patina of gothic romance dripped over the top. Since I have become a little more atuned to gothic recently I appreciated how it played with those tropes whilst still staying true to its own sci-fi world too. It also meant I wasn't all that surprised with where it went and how it got there, the clues were all laid up including - if you know the form - the betrayals.
I rather enjoyed SIenna, and thought that the lead character had a solid voice with is half the battle in Gothic. Modern writing being released from the shackles of innuendo about same sex relationships is also interesting with the buttoned down but often very gay world of gothic fiction, and its pretty clear here that this is YA that is dripping with sexual subtext. It is however quite a small contained story that exists in a much larger fictional world and so its own sense of "to be continued" did weaken it slightly - though equally I appreciated that the world felt realised enough it didn't need to explain itself (and patriarchy, gaslighting and controlling behaviour also explain some of the closed off feeling). Gothic, goth and short but fun.
I rather enjoyed SIenna, and thought that the lead character had a solid voice with is half the battle in Gothic. Modern writing being released from the shackles of innuendo about same sex relationships is also interesting with the buttoned down but often very gay world of gothic fiction, and its pretty clear here that this is YA that is dripping with sexual subtext. It is however quite a small contained story that exists in a much larger fictional world and so its own sense of "to be continued" did weaken it slightly - though equally I appreciated that the world felt realised enough it didn't need to explain itself (and patriarchy, gaslighting and controlling behaviour also explain some of the closed off feeling). Gothic, goth and short but fun.
May 31, 2021
No, just no.
I should note, I DNF this at 72% so my review is based on what I read.
I always feel awful reviewing a book - especially an ARC as a 1 star but this book, to put it bluntly, was terrible.
The premise sounded like a book I would really enjoy. I got Cinder meets Wilder Girl vibes and I was so here for it but everything from the moment I started it until the 70% mark where I put the book down was just the equivalent of '????'.
- I didn't get on with the writing style which is probably the biggest reason I didn't like this book. This author writes how I expect my twelve-year-old brother to write and I felt it lacked imagination, substance or even description.
- I didn't like the characters. None of them. The other girls, the master....everyone was so dull.
- I wanted more from the plot. I felt more confused than anything else and the plot holes were extreme. I didn't finish this book so I have no idea how it wraps up but that's a lot to cram into 30% to make everything make sense
.
The one redeeming quality? I like the cover.
This book just wasn't for me and I could see why some younger readers could enjoy this but it felt like something I would have read on Wattpad back in 2010 and I don't need that kind of unwanted nostalgia in my life.
I received this book via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
I should note, I DNF this at 72% so my review is based on what I read.
I always feel awful reviewing a book - especially an ARC as a 1 star but this book, to put it bluntly, was terrible.
The premise sounded like a book I would really enjoy. I got Cinder meets Wilder Girl vibes and I was so here for it but everything from the moment I started it until the 70% mark where I put the book down was just the equivalent of '????'.
- I didn't get on with the writing style which is probably the biggest reason I didn't like this book. This author writes how I expect my twelve-year-old brother to write and I felt it lacked imagination, substance or even description.
- I didn't like the characters. None of them. The other girls, the master....everyone was so dull.
- I wanted more from the plot. I felt more confused than anything else and the plot holes were extreme. I didn't finish this book so I have no idea how it wraps up but that's a lot to cram into 30% to make everything make sense
.
The one redeeming quality? I like the cover.
This book just wasn't for me and I could see why some younger readers could enjoy this but it felt like something I would have read on Wattpad back in 2010 and I don't need that kind of unwanted nostalgia in my life.
I received this book via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
July 27, 2021
Sienna by J.F. Johns was a very interesting concept.
The first chapter of the novel immediately captured my attention; I was in pursuit of the answers that were hidden within the pages of the book to find out why Sienna woke up in a room surrounded by girls that she had to refer to as "sisters" and wanted to know who this "master" was. Sienna is determined to leave the house that she is trapped in and put an end to the Master's cruelty.
This novel was unlike any other that I've read this year; the emotions that the author attempts to convey regarding the cyborgs being second-class citizens at the beginning of the novel really struck me and I was disappointed to see that this wasn't more fleshed out within the novel. Instead, the plot was driven around a wealthy man who hated the cyborgs, his son, and these girls that he kidnapped to entertain his rich friends and if they displeased him he would punish them.
Regardless, it was a face-paced read and I loved that Sienna wasn't simply a damsel in distress.
*Thank you NetGalley for this ARC*
The first chapter of the novel immediately captured my attention; I was in pursuit of the answers that were hidden within the pages of the book to find out why Sienna woke up in a room surrounded by girls that she had to refer to as "sisters" and wanted to know who this "master" was. Sienna is determined to leave the house that she is trapped in and put an end to the Master's cruelty.
This novel was unlike any other that I've read this year; the emotions that the author attempts to convey regarding the cyborgs being second-class citizens at the beginning of the novel really struck me and I was disappointed to see that this wasn't more fleshed out within the novel. Instead, the plot was driven around a wealthy man who hated the cyborgs, his son, and these girls that he kidnapped to entertain his rich friends and if they displeased him he would punish them.
Regardless, it was a face-paced read and I loved that Sienna wasn't simply a damsel in distress.
*Thank you NetGalley for this ARC*
June 3, 2021
Wow. Okay. Where do I start? Where there were a lot of things I liked about this book (the plot, pacing, etc.) a lot of aspects fell flat. For one, the MC constantly made stupid decisions and made it very frustrating to read the book. A lot of other characters were underdeveloped, there were plenty of convenient plot points and the whole book was written pretty much like a Wattpad novel.
That being said, I do love a good old Wattpad book. In some books, I can get over silly mistakes and just enjoy a fun book. This book was one of them. This novel was a quick read and very amusing, and if you can get over the stupidity and selfishness of the protagonist, I’d say give this book a go. Especially if you prefer plot-based over character-based books. I definitely didn’t expect the little plot twist at the end, so if you like a good surprise, this book delivers.
I read this book via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
That being said, I do love a good old Wattpad book. In some books, I can get over silly mistakes and just enjoy a fun book. This book was one of them. This novel was a quick read and very amusing, and if you can get over the stupidity and selfishness of the protagonist, I’d say give this book a go. Especially if you prefer plot-based over character-based books. I definitely didn’t expect the little plot twist at the end, so if you like a good surprise, this book delivers.
I read this book via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
December 10, 2021
Thank you to Netgalley and the author, J.F John's, for providing a copy of Sienna. I have reviewed honestly.
Sienna features, but is not limited to, the following themes:
○ Dystopian
○ Cyborgs
○ Slavery
○ LGBTQ+
○ Sci-Fi
○ YA fantasy
○ Violence
My overall rating for Sienna is…
4.5 Stars!
Sienna was a dark and gritty combination of the Selection meets Hunger Games. I loved how the author wove this impossible tale of cyborgs, slavery and rebellion. Sienna was a resilient character, filled with a sense of righteousness and independence that made her such a strong lead. I also love how LGBTQ+ was represented in this tale, not just in the lead but an important side character too. The world building was outstanding and unique, creating a world I'd love to visit again. Overall, a well written, exciting and unpredictable tale that is sure to open eyes and capture hearts.
Sienna features, but is not limited to, the following themes:
○ Dystopian
○ Cyborgs
○ Slavery
○ LGBTQ+
○ Sci-Fi
○ YA fantasy
○ Violence
My overall rating for Sienna is…
4.5 Stars!
Sienna was a dark and gritty combination of the Selection meets Hunger Games. I loved how the author wove this impossible tale of cyborgs, slavery and rebellion. Sienna was a resilient character, filled with a sense of righteousness and independence that made her such a strong lead. I also love how LGBTQ+ was represented in this tale, not just in the lead but an important side character too. The world building was outstanding and unique, creating a world I'd love to visit again. Overall, a well written, exciting and unpredictable tale that is sure to open eyes and capture hearts.
November 17, 2021
Thank you to Netgalley and the publishers/author for granting me an ARC of Sienna.
The author actually emailed me to inform me that Sienna is part of a series that they already have out, although the book does well as a standalone so it's not absolutely necessary to read the previous books. Having said that it's very likely I will.
Sienna finds herself trapped in a mansion with a group of other girls who she is told are her new 'sisters'. The man who has trapped them all goes by 'The Master' and sees them all as his daughters, though he is cruel and quick to punish the girls if he feels they have wronged him in any way. Sometimes he goes as far as to punish one of the other girls as he finds it hurts the girl more knowing that they got one of the others in trouble. Sienna then meets Ero, the Master's son and together the two form a plan to overthrow his father and rescue her 'sisters' with devastating consequences.
The author actually emailed me to inform me that Sienna is part of a series that they already have out, although the book does well as a standalone so it's not absolutely necessary to read the previous books. Having said that it's very likely I will.
Sienna finds herself trapped in a mansion with a group of other girls who she is told are her new 'sisters'. The man who has trapped them all goes by 'The Master' and sees them all as his daughters, though he is cruel and quick to punish the girls if he feels they have wronged him in any way. Sometimes he goes as far as to punish one of the other girls as he finds it hurts the girl more knowing that they got one of the others in trouble. Sienna then meets Ero, the Master's son and together the two form a plan to overthrow his father and rescue her 'sisters' with devastating consequences.
September 14, 2021
While there were some things about this book that I liked(mostly the plot and the character drama), this story fell flat for me and I am really struggling with this but, I had to DNF this book at 68%. I was getting really frustrated with this story and the plot holes and I felt like I was missing key pieces of a puzzle that were never going to be found. A kind of square peg, round hole scenario type puzzle maybe? In premise, this book shines. Cyborgs? Are there anything cooler? But I just couldn't stand it anymore. Sienna wasn't working for my reading style--which isn't to say the book is bad, it's just not for me. Maybe I'll come back to it again before publication, but I needed to put this out there.
**Thanks to Net Galley for an ARC in exchange for an honest review**
**Thanks to Net Galley for an ARC in exchange for an honest review**
July 21, 2021
Thanks to the author for providing me with this ARC and that I can give my honest review!
This was a very different type of book that I would usually read but I really liked the concept of this book. I’ve never read anything with this type of plot in it and it intrigued me from the very beginning! I was shocked at the plot twist and generally did not expect it!!!
I loved the MC, she was very relatable and really funny despite being in such a horrible situation.
Overall, I really enjoyed this book and am looking forward to reading more from J.F.Johns
This was a very different type of book that I would usually read but I really liked the concept of this book. I’ve never read anything with this type of plot in it and it intrigued me from the very beginning! I was shocked at the plot twist and generally did not expect it!!!
I loved the MC, she was very relatable and really funny despite being in such a horrible situation.
Overall, I really enjoyed this book and am looking forward to reading more from J.F.Johns
June 30, 2021
The premise of this story sounded really fun to me, and I have to admit it was an enjoyable read. I did find I disliked the main character for most of it, but then that was just some of the irrational things she did, and how she got away with them. There are some deep shocks in this book you do not see coming, and I was so pleased to see that the author did not follow the same stereotypical tropes that most books go with.
A good read with a good ending!
A good read with a good ending!
July 12, 2021
This book just was not for me.
Now I will not say this book is not good, but it simply was not my cup of tea. I thought the storyline was interesting, and the book was very fast-paced, but I did not like the characters. The book was a bit frustrating at times with how the main character thought and acted, but it was somewhat enjoyable at other times. I thought the plot was intriguing, and I would recommend this if you are looking for a book involving cyborgs.
Now I will not say this book is not good, but it simply was not my cup of tea. I thought the storyline was interesting, and the book was very fast-paced, but I did not like the characters. The book was a bit frustrating at times with how the main character thought and acted, but it was somewhat enjoyable at other times. I thought the plot was intriguing, and I would recommend this if you are looking for a book involving cyborgs.
February 20, 2022
I picked up this book because the blurb is so nice, and I’m very excited. Sienna seemed like it was a really great book though, it has a potential but it ended a fell flat story so I was kind of disappointed. Almost DNF but I finished it and it’s not my cup of tea.
**ARC received by the author and publisher of NetGalley in an exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion regarding the book.**
**ARC received by the author and publisher of NetGalley in an exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion regarding the book.**
December 29, 2021
This is my first kinda sci-fi Book. it was quite interesting in the beginning until i noticed the Mc has a crush on one of the girls. 'her sisters' i didn't like how it went on and on, her explaining how she imagined her.i think that clouded her judgment, not to realise that she was a mole. The ending was very sad tbh, all the other girls dying.
December 10, 2025
Sienna is dark, tense, and uncomfortable in all the right and wrong ways. The escape plot and suspense are gripping, but the sexual exploitation of the girls is central, and the cyborg storyline barely matters. I’ve written a full review digging into what works and what doesn’t: https://themagicfarawaytreenet.wordpr...
March 11, 2022
I read this book in one sitting and damn. I was left shocked. I got a very Sucker Punch vibe tho, wich made it all very much better. I kind of hope that it will be a second book, so that we can see Ero and Sienna reunited again. I`d really like that.
November 11, 2021
TW: Slavery, sexual abuse
Review to come.
Review to come.
October 1, 2021
The story is set in a world, where the worst thing you could be is a cyborg or someone who loves one. A long time ago people started to hate cyborgs, now the world is divided between them. Being cyborg means being hunted, displayed parts of you like trophies, or being sold into slavery or parts. If you are someone who liked them, you don't fair all that well either.
Sienna wakes up in a palace, as one of Masters daughters. There are many girls, each with different talent, sisters, who lives with her. Each time Master kills one of the cyborgs, he marks them to celebrate the occasion. He makes them perform for his friends and more.
She is determined to escape the nightmare. In the time she spends there, she became close with Masters son, Ero, who is in a way as trapt are they are. They form an alliance and have a plan to escape, but first, they have to survive.
I loved the story! It's very dark, twisty and so very intense. Sure, there are few problems, a few things I didn't like, but I was so drawn into the story, that I barely notice them.
Can't wait to see what happens next. :)
received from NetGalley
Sienna wakes up in a palace, as one of Masters daughters. There are many girls, each with different talent, sisters, who lives with her. Each time Master kills one of the cyborgs, he marks them to celebrate the occasion. He makes them perform for his friends and more.
She is determined to escape the nightmare. In the time she spends there, she became close with Masters son, Ero, who is in a way as trapt are they are. They form an alliance and have a plan to escape, but first, they have to survive.
I loved the story! It's very dark, twisty and so very intense. Sure, there are few problems, a few things I didn't like, but I was so drawn into the story, that I barely notice them.
Can't wait to see what happens next. :)
received from NetGalley
September 7, 2021
My expectations for this book were neither high nor low. Because in all honesty, I hadn't even read the blurb prior to reading it. I picked this story, purely because of how intrigued I was by the cover. A screaming girl wearing a crown tattoo just begged to be a top-quality horror story. I was thinking classic horrors like Carrie and instead, I got the ultimate teen fantasy similar to that of its ancestors: Girls of Paper and Fire by Natasha Ngan and The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins.
Sienna follows the narration of 15-year-old Sienna (duh). She is bold, brave, and extremely stubborn. This is a character that will have you fighting by her side and then rolling your eyes at her impulsiveness. She never does seem to learn that her action's have consequences - which, is in all honesty extremely frustrating as a reader.
The majority of the characters presented in this story, whilst all quirky and familiar in their own way, are all presented as shells. Empty shells that is, there is the expectation that the characters will be fully developed as you get into the story, but the ending only leaves more questions than when you start it. Some characters even have a complete 180 in a matter of chapters, expected for *one*, but for the rest, not so much.
There were times where the book was gripping, thrilling and enticing. Times where I was truly enthralled and entranced by the story. And yet there were still others where my brain became mentally numb and I was tempted to not finish it. This book, these characters and this plot shows true promise. I hope since the reader is left with an open ending, that the story of Sienna and others can be further developed and explored.
I received this book in exchange for an honest review courtesy of NetGalley and the author, J. F. Johns.
Sienna follows the narration of 15-year-old Sienna (duh). She is bold, brave, and extremely stubborn. This is a character that will have you fighting by her side and then rolling your eyes at her impulsiveness. She never does seem to learn that her action's have consequences - which, is in all honesty extremely frustrating as a reader.
The majority of the characters presented in this story, whilst all quirky and familiar in their own way, are all presented as shells. Empty shells that is, there is the expectation that the characters will be fully developed as you get into the story, but the ending only leaves more questions than when you start it. Some characters even have a complete 180 in a matter of chapters, expected for *one*, but for the rest, not so much.
There were times where the book was gripping, thrilling and enticing. Times where I was truly enthralled and entranced by the story. And yet there were still others where my brain became mentally numb and I was tempted to not finish it. This book, these characters and this plot shows true promise. I hope since the reader is left with an open ending, that the story of Sienna and others can be further developed and explored.
I received this book in exchange for an honest review courtesy of NetGalley and the author, J. F. Johns.
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