Ariele SielingBesprekingen
Auteur van Tentacles and Teeth
Besprekingen
I received a free copy and am leaving a review voluntarily.
Thank you to StoryOrigin and author.
Hello Fellow Readers,
I am a huge fan of retellings, So when I saw that this book I knew I wanted to read this, when I saw it was the first book in a series I grew excited. I've never read a science fiction retelling of Cinderella before, and while not my favorite fairy tale by far I still enjoy the twists I read when a author takes a hold of Cinderella's story.
Sieling's Cinderella is pretty different, in Midnight wings her name is El, and is a mechanic dreaming of becoming a jet pilot. El's stepmother, Patricia, and step-siblings, Lonnie and Bree are pretty horrid to El, as to be expected. Patricia is in fact very cruel and you will immediately hate her. The city and social structure of Rove is pretty interesting, I won't go into too much detail but they live on a ship traveling through space.
El and Ri's (Prince Charming) relationship is a bit fast, but with a page length of 128 pages it's hard to really develop or do slow burn. Also, because the short page length the ending did feel rushed. I felt like Sieling was setting up the story where it could go in different directions but ultimately just went for the fastest conclusion.
This book has a lot of surprisingly emotional layers to it, that was only hindered by the short length. Did I like? Yes, but I could have absolutely loved it had it only developed a bit more. We have a main female character dreaming about flying a jet, while also being a mechanic (I personally love any female characters where the author has them in a STEM career or hobby. I will read next book in the series where Jack and the beanstalk will be Sieling's next focus.
Overall, an interesting take on a old classic.
Hello Fellow Readers,
Since I liked Ariele Sieling's first book in the Rove City series, Midnight Wings, I decided to dive straight into the second book in the series. I was excited because it's based off of Jack and the beanstalk, which is not a retelling you really read to often. I was hoping to like this one more than Midnight Wings but it just didn't have the same magic the first book had. While this one had science fiction elements it also straddled the fantasy line as well.
In The Stalk you are not on Rove City but the planet Jord where Jack is a digger who feds the stalk everyday, until she is chosen to go up the stalk, only problem is that anyone who goes up the stalk kills themselves the next day. Jack doesn't want this to happen, so she does everything she can to fight against it. the idea behind the stalk is interesting and the horror that gets uncovered was interesting as well, but honestly I saw the twist a mile away.
I will say that unlike Midnight Wings this book did not end as abruptly, and didn't leave me yearning for more closure. It didn't appear to have a rushed ending, and was surprisingly action packed at the end. I did enjoy the book, and I will be reading the next in the series.
Overall, not as great as the first book, but still an interesting take on Jack and the Beanstalk.
Story (3/5): This story follows Askari, who is living in a post-apocalyptic monster infested future Earth. She is kicked out of her community for not following rules. She has to adventure through the monster-infested landscape on a mission for her village elders if she is going to be given sanction again. The story is okay but is fairly simple. It has a very middle grade tone to it, but also has some very viscous monster fighting scenes. There is adventure and a bit of a mystery as well. It was fairly predictable and I struggled with the monster names and descriptions, but I didn’t hate it.
Characters (3/5): The characters in here are fairly stereo-typical and show very little growth throughout the story. Askari is a hot-headed warrior, one of her friends in the typical female healer type, and her other friend is a typical weak, but super smart, male type. I really struggled with the monsters in here; they are given goofy names that are hard to remember and their descriptions make them hard to picture.
Setting (3/5): This is an interesting setting, even if it’s been done many times before. I enjoyed exploring this monster-infested post-apocalyptic world. The description was really lacking though and made the world and creatures in it very hard to picture and engage with. The story also takes place in a very small area, so there isn’t a ton of world-building here.
Writing Style (3/5): The writing here is okay but feels somewhat juvenile. Descriptions aren’t well done and characters feel very stereotyped. The story is very straight-forward and the language and dialogue are simple. This really feels like an early middle grade novel but with a lot of gorey descriptions and gory fights. Those things combined make this an odd book that doesn’t really fit well into an age category. It’s too simple for young adults but too gory and scary for younger kids.
My Summary (3/5): Overall this was okay, I liked the premise and enjoyed the adventure and the monsters. However, there is a lot lacking here as well. The story and characters are simple and the monsters are hard to picture. Some of the battles are very vicious and things the monsters can do are very gory. This makes it an odd book that doesn’t really fit well into any age group. I didn’t hate it but I don’t plan on reading any more books in this series.
Thank you to Book Sirens for providing me with a copy for an honest review! I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this book review voluntarily.
Askari is trying her best to follow the rules set down by her community, but she still struggles to truly believe in some of their decisions. When a hunt goes wrong she ends up being tracked by a monster that will kill her entire community. With Harcos and Shujaa by her side, they embark on a quest to kill the monster. But they will find a new threat with abilities they’ve never seen before, and discover long hidden truths about the end of the world.
City of Dod capitalized on world-building elements. New communities are brought to light and the history of the world before the invasion was revealed. I felt like there was a solid foundation for the third book to grow on. Askari’s character arc also steadily grew as her concept of the world and how she fits into it became more established. However, I still found the dialogue lacking in complexity. I felt that certain character reactions were younger than they should have been for their ages.
Arielle Sieling is highly talented when it comes to creature creation. The time and effort that went into building up the variety of monsters that are seen make this series all the while. She doesn’t slow down the pace explaining but puts just enough detail into each one. Watching Askari and her friends fight to survive against new monsters thrown into the mix was an entertaining read.
I did find that the sequence of events followed a bit too closely with the first book. And there were quite a few dream sequences that didn’t seem to add value to the story. Hallucinations were a common theme due to encounters the team had with monsters, and I felt that the less coherent moments should have been reserved for these.
Overall I enjoyed City of Dod. The battle scenes are on point and riveting. The world is bursting with potential and Askari has a worthy character arc to follow. Plus, with the way this book ended, I can’t wait to see how the next begins.
Thank you to Book Sirens for providing me a copy in order to give an honest review!
Civilization has collapsed under the invasion of monsters. Humans are now at the bottom of the food chain and fight to survive in whatever communities they can form. Askari’s community is bound by rules she doesn’t always agree with. When she breaks a few too many she is forced to leave to learn why the rules exist. In a fight to survive, Askari will find out just how strong she is and discover startling truths about herself.
Ariele Sieling has boundless creativity when it comes to creature creation. Each monster that was introduced was increasingly different and she wove in their behaviors and ecological backgrounds seamlessly within the story. But I would have liked to see more worldbuilding outside of the monsters. The reader relied on Askari’s lack of knowledge surrounding modern day conveniences and scene setting to show the current state of the world. I would have liked to know a bit more about the history of the world when the monsters first appeared to have a solid foundation. The beginning of the novel was a bit slow for me as I acclimated to the world in Tentacles and Teeth. But I do have to say, Asakri’s fascination with refrigerators was great attention to detail for her character.
Askari is a typical teenager who thinks she knows what’s best, and doesn’t see the full scope of the risks she takes. While she often thinks she is doing the right thing, even if it goes against the rules, she soon finds out that rules are there for a reason. Watching Askari on her journey, and learning for herself what works and doesn’t work in this new world was a great story. The dialogue at times was simplistic and filler, but overall Askari’s progression was an entertaining read. While she learns that some rules are necessary, she still questions the actions of her community. Askari’s constant struggle to discover what she believes is best added to her character development and the overall plot.
Tentacles and Teeth is a great read for those who enjoy both post-apocalyptic and monster stories. It is an imaginative and fast paced novel. I look forward to the next book in this series to see how Askari’s story continues.
In The Stalk, Jack lives on a planet called Jove and works as a digger, someone that throws everything into the bottomless hole in the city. When Jack is selected to learn more about the Stalk, what she finds will change her life, if it doesn't kill her first.
I wish this story were longer only because I barely got to know any of the characters, including Jack. This book is a quick read, and definitely leaves you wanting more. If you like fairy tale retelling, check this one out!
I received a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.
The only complaint I have is that there wasn't enough world building for me. I want to know more about where they are, how they got there and more about how their daily lives look. This is the first in a series, so hopefully we get more in the next book.
Overall, this is definitely a good read! I can't wait to read the next one.
Ace was an interesting character, the daughter of a rich family who rebelled and went rogue with access to the secrets of the galaxy and the refusal to take advantage of the privileges awarded to her social standing. Leroy, the helicopter pilot, was another fascinating character and I wish we could get a bit more backstory on him and his family. I didn't really like Jack, which is a bit problematic since she was the main character and needed to have my sympathy. But then all of the characters in the book were pretty static. The only real character change was when they gained new knowledge, but their response to that knowledge was exactly in line with the character they already were, so no surprises there.
I enjoyed the previous book in the series and think that Ms. Sieling has some intriguing ideas for her plots. It's unusual to read two books in the same series that felt like they were different genres. But having an entirely new cast of characters in each book may be part of the reason the characters don't develop - there's simply no time for it. Hopefully, this will change as the series progresses. And I am likely to pick up the next book, just to see where the story will go next.
I received an ARC from BookSirens and have reviewed it willingly.
Since the death of her father, El has lived with her cruel step-family. Not only do they invent chores and force El to be cook, maid, and repairman, but they also trash El's reputation on the social grid. Given such low stats and the limited space aboard their spaceship-city, El has no hope of moving out on her own. But then the Queen announces a competition to attract the next generation of fighter pilots, and El must decide if she's willing to risk hoping for the impossible.
I liked El and her story, they sit comfortably within the Cinderella framework. The step-sisters are cruel and bratty, and while they're right terrors, I understand why they're like that. I enjoyed the sci-fi setting, and I would read more of El's future adventures of more retellings.
The one place I do think this story missed out was in the descriptions of the space battles. Sure, they're all done via flight simulators, but the image of flying and dodging and spitting off lasers could have been super cool and hype. I'd have loved to see more imagery, and lingo for different types of ships and maneuvers, instead of the generally utilitarian descriptions.
**Thanks to BookSirens for the free copy**
I received an advanced review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.
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I received a free copy and am leaving a review voluntarily.
Thank you to StoryOrigin and author.