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The Seventh Layer
As if growing up Amish wasn't hard enough, Sarah Miller receives information just before her eighteenth birthday about a childhood she can't remember. Accompanied by long lost friends and a few unlikely relatives, Sarah learns of her supernatural destiny and the race to piece together the jigsaw of her life begins. Amidst the whirlwind of unanswered questions, one stands will the world meet the foreshadowing doom that lingers in the near future, or will Sarah complete the puzzle in time to save her people and ensure the continuance of mankind?
212 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 2012
2 people are currently reading
114 people want to read
About the author
Rachel A. Olson
8 books169 followersSomewhere amidst her forty-hour job and playtime with her three-year-old, Rachel finds time to walk the streets of worlds only existing on manmade paper. She resides in small college town Northwestern Nebraska with her young son, just across town from her parents. She enjoys socializing with adults, sipping strawberry wine, and head banging to music that doesn't carry a beat worth the effort of rock star hair slinging.
"The paranormal world is a much more desired realm. There's no limit to possibilities, no comparison to probabilities, no concept of actualities. There's no solid platform for racism, judgment, or hierarchy. It is exactly the manifestation you choose it to be, darkness and death included."
"The paranormal world is a much more desired realm. There's no limit to possibilities, no comparison to probabilities, no concept of actualities. There's no solid platform for racism, judgment, or hierarchy. It is exactly the manifestation you choose it to be, darkness and death included."
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Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews
November 5, 2012
It's really well written and takes an interesting turn about 20% in to the story when Sarah finds out that she isn't who she thinks she is. I really started enjoying it when that started happening. Until that point it seemed that she was normal everyday girl. I do recommend reading this, quite fascinating.
March 6, 2014
The concept and storyline were excellent in this book. I enjoyed it immensely.
So why only three stars?
When I read a book, I prefer that I can seamlessly read it, without my mind taking a hitch when it comes across continuous alternative word usage. This author obviously swallowed a thesaurus, and gave it tremendous overuse, sometimes using an alternative word that doesn't actually fit. For example, using the words 'I blinked repeatedly in an unsuccessful attempt to clear my optics' just stopped the story dead in its tracks for me, forcing me to reconcile having to replace erroneous words in my mind as I read. Another example would be the words, 'I was saturated in rouge fluid.'
My only other problem in the book was the dialogue. It was too 'proper'. No-one speaks this way, and it made the book unrealistic to me. The characters themselves were described brilliantly, but they all spoke exactly the same, in a monotone of perfectly proper English, which left them with no discernible individual personalities. If the author had not written exactly who was speaking at any given time, then I would have been completely lost.
For me, the book was trying too hard, and would have been a wonderful read if not for the two points above. I would dearly love to give this book four stars, but I cannot forgive the basic errors mentioned.
Saying that though, the book is definitely worth a read and I will be looking out for future releases from this author. I just dearly hope someone wrestles her thesaurus away from her and burns it, so that she can relax and let a brilliant story unfold, instead of forcing it to be something else.
There is an update available of this book on Amazon, so I will be downloading that and giving this book a re-read.
So why only three stars?
When I read a book, I prefer that I can seamlessly read it, without my mind taking a hitch when it comes across continuous alternative word usage. This author obviously swallowed a thesaurus, and gave it tremendous overuse, sometimes using an alternative word that doesn't actually fit. For example, using the words 'I blinked repeatedly in an unsuccessful attempt to clear my optics' just stopped the story dead in its tracks for me, forcing me to reconcile having to replace erroneous words in my mind as I read. Another example would be the words, 'I was saturated in rouge fluid.'
My only other problem in the book was the dialogue. It was too 'proper'. No-one speaks this way, and it made the book unrealistic to me. The characters themselves were described brilliantly, but they all spoke exactly the same, in a monotone of perfectly proper English, which left them with no discernible individual personalities. If the author had not written exactly who was speaking at any given time, then I would have been completely lost.
For me, the book was trying too hard, and would have been a wonderful read if not for the two points above. I would dearly love to give this book four stars, but I cannot forgive the basic errors mentioned.
Saying that though, the book is definitely worth a read and I will be looking out for future releases from this author. I just dearly hope someone wrestles her thesaurus away from her and burns it, so that she can relax and let a brilliant story unfold, instead of forcing it to be something else.
There is an update available of this book on Amazon, so I will be downloading that and giving this book a re-read.
May 3, 2013
I dove into The Seventh Layer not really knowing what to expect. Everything about this book pleasantly surprised me, the characters, the plot and the way it was written. I really enjoyed reading the book even though there were some parts where I had questions. However Rachel A. Olson managed to know when and where my questions would pop up, because simultaneously Adonia (Sarah) would be questioning the same thing. So when she got answers so did I, and that didn’t take away from the story but kept me intrigued the whole way through.
Another awesome aspect for me was that Sarah Miller starts out as a strong character and even when she’s thrust into the unknown, she remains strong and doesn’t all of a sudden change into a girl who needs to be saved. She’s backed by Nicoli, Ambrose, Gianni and more all of whom have their own distinct personalities and complement the story line, keeping you intrigued. Rachel A. Olson created some amazing concepts (which you’ll have to read to find out because I try not to do spoilers since I don’t think a review should be a summary) and I admire the time and effort she must have put into this debut novel.
My all-time FAVORITE part of this book was the description of rain in the very beginning. I read that part over and over again. I’ve never read another description of rain like how Sarah Miller saw it. The short passage about rain is going down in my book of all-time favorite and amazingly unique descriptions so that when I have Alzheimer’s I can read it again and again. The Seventh Layer was a great debut novel and I’m going to be keeping my eye on Rachel A. Olson so I don’t miss the chance to discover another good book.
Another awesome aspect for me was that Sarah Miller starts out as a strong character and even when she’s thrust into the unknown, she remains strong and doesn’t all of a sudden change into a girl who needs to be saved. She’s backed by Nicoli, Ambrose, Gianni and more all of whom have their own distinct personalities and complement the story line, keeping you intrigued. Rachel A. Olson created some amazing concepts (which you’ll have to read to find out because I try not to do spoilers since I don’t think a review should be a summary) and I admire the time and effort she must have put into this debut novel.
My all-time FAVORITE part of this book was the description of rain in the very beginning. I read that part over and over again. I’ve never read another description of rain like how Sarah Miller saw it. The short passage about rain is going down in my book of all-time favorite and amazingly unique descriptions so that when I have Alzheimer’s I can read it again and again. The Seventh Layer was a great debut novel and I’m going to be keeping my eye on Rachel A. Olson so I don’t miss the chance to discover another good book.
November 29, 2012
The seventh Layer was a refreshing read for me. I Really liked the characters! This book involved No vampires, Faeries, Werewolves. The characters were brand new! Romance, Action, Intrigue are all things I look for In a really good book! This book had all of that. And Gianni?? Yes Please. Abrax?? Of coarse! My Only complaint about this book.....Was that it wasn't long enough. I would have kept reading If I wouldn't have ran out of pages. And It could have had just a smidge, just a tiny smidge MORE romance between Gianni. And When I say more I mean detail! Their was a paragraph in the book, (which I will not post for anyone who hasn't read) Where Gianni, was just naughty with Sarah. More of that Please!! Great book all in all.
October 14, 2012
The book intrigued me from the first sentence. “It crept down the window like an epileptic spider, jittering from side to side, pausing ever so slightly before continuing its decent.” I too continued my decent into a world filled with courage and mythology. Even though the story was fiction, I felt that it was detailed and the author put in the time to make the story more authentic. Sarah turned out to be an amazing heroine full of intelligence and spunk, but also backed by many secondary, influential characters to make the complete package. I did feel the build up to the conclusion was slightly rushed, but enjoyed how the ending of the story came back full circle. Amazing debut novel, I would highly recommend it!
August 8, 2016
I received a free copy of this book to read and review for Wicked Reads.
The author adds a paranormal twist to the world. In this world, there are people who have a "Seventh Layer" which gives them the ability to persuade people to do certain things. The heroine, is an 18 year old, who knows she's different from the family in which she has been raised, but doesn't know anything about the seventh layer.
I really liked the premise of the story and the world-building. At times I thought the story was a little rushed, especially the ending.
I would like to see the author continue this writing stories in this world, giving us a true sense of a world that includes a seventh layer.
The author adds a paranormal twist to the world. In this world, there are people who have a "Seventh Layer" which gives them the ability to persuade people to do certain things. The heroine, is an 18 year old, who knows she's different from the family in which she has been raised, but doesn't know anything about the seventh layer.
I really liked the premise of the story and the world-building. At times I thought the story was a little rushed, especially the ending.
I would like to see the author continue this writing stories in this world, giving us a true sense of a world that includes a seventh layer.
January 25, 2013
As Rachel's debut novel, it was definitely a good start. The writing style was a bit wordy for my tastes, but that didn't take away from the experience. There are a few surprises, and some that will have you saying "I knew it!", but I won't spoil that for you! All in all, I enjoyed it and look forward to reading a sequel...hint, hint...
October 24, 2012
I could not finish this book. It was too wordy. Too many adjectives, too many details, and the whole thing was just confusing. I couldn't continue reading. I had no idea what was going on and I got like maybe 50/60 pages in? Sorry but I didn't enjoy it.
June 2, 2013
I love the book, it made me laugh a bit, cry a bit and kept me totally engaged throughout! I can't wait to read another of Rachel's books.
Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews