November 28, 2013

Reviewing... [47] Reaper's Rhythm

Reviewing... [47]


Source: Recieved for review...
Author: Clare Davidson
Recommended for: ...better to say who it's not recommended for. It tells you more. Like, not young children or... yup, that's all I've got.


This book is essentially about Kim, and her family, dealing with elder sister Charley's death... Kim isn't there to grieve like her family, or get irritated because suicide is selfish (he knows who I'm talking to here :P) she is literally on her own little murder mystery. When a girl wants to find out what happened to her sister, and is sure it wasn't suicide, you wouldn't expect it to unravel to Reaper's Rhythm. Actually, a saga: The Hidden Series. You can expect to relate to Kim, no matter what age you are; it's not about age. I think her Mum's reaction is, and even Chris' is. But I think some of the reactions of grief are not likely to happen just to teenage girls (this means Kim's, Amy's & other peers of Kim and her deceased sister, Charley). Obviously, they are ones I can imagine (and totally would not want to experience...) best but you will relate to other characters too, besides Kim. You may not ever react like that yourself, or hopefully be in a situation as stressful & upsetting, but you will.
(to be precise, this).
Kim just has what lots of people have: Faith in family and… curiosity. Why shouldn't she investigate? Sure, it's going to be sad & it can even beg the question regarding revenge.
 I expected it to be about justice but this series is going to be so much more. It's sensational- there is a mix of themes & I'm not sure which ones I need to cover. You do need to know that they all fit, there's space for all of them, as they develop & mature, forming lovely diverse, dynamic characters & reactions suitable for them. At least in my opinion, I recognize all this "crafting" & would happily read more about this family, and even the other characters (OK! Especially Matthew) as Davidson has really made them jump out from the age. If I was basing on the ending, you wouldn't expect sequels!
In series, it's hard to get the right ending. For the first book(s), where cliffhangers are common place & also to the last book where you have to try & wrap up the book, all the last books & tie all the strings together. Quite a lot of authors leave loose ends in a few of their books! But I loved the ending of Reaper's Rhythm a lot; I liked the whole thing but it was the ending that settled it for me. It was just: WOW. If I was just basing on the ending, 5 stars. But, I've got to be honest. I wouldn't tire of that ending, had I read it a dozen times. I could read it over & over. It's tempting to just leave it at that, if I rated books when I'd just finished them I'd honestly be basing it mainly on the ending (the part that can make or break you).
However, even though there was a lot of tension & lots of drama- highs and lows- there were even some fabulous paranormal aspects I hadn't seen coming at all... *spoiler* (you know I mentioned that Matthew guy- if not, look up & then get the blurb up, well...) The paranormal aspect is kind of, in short, angels. In long, Kim is confused too & I have proof: In the list of insane things, flying with an invisible not-angel is probably quite low down (loc 2134 of RR). I said it was a spoiler FYI *spoiler* Reaper's Rhythm it isn't quite worth 5 stars. There were only tiny bits when I wasn't 100% satisfied, or I didn't enjoy it as much. Overall, it's mainly the beginning. It was a little bit of a slow burner & I wasn't that interested in Matthew or Kevin or a certain horrible character *cough* Tee *cough* A... Bitch (quite a common word in this book, but if you don't mind it half a dozen times over 200+ pages then that's OK!)


I ended up liking them (well no, I didn't like Tia... she did seem mean-spirited from page 1, or whichever page she was introduced!) I guess. So, why should you read this?

Cos, overall it was...
(according to Amy Bookworm, and that's still pretty amazing, trust me).

You will especially like it if (goes with recommended for):
* Books which end up having quite a fast pace but take a while to go there don't bother you, or you like them (some like that build up, I know).
* You like serious issues being touched upon (ones that mean this book really is a teen read & a bit gritty at that :D)
* You are good at turning pages fast.
* You need more book boyfriends. Be warned: you can't actually have him as a book boyfriend... You'll find out, if you read it (not that you actually date them).
* You devour series like they're going to go out of fashion (slim chance of that, dude).

5 comments:

ClareMDavidson said...

Thank you so much. I'm glad you enjoyed it :-)

Karen said...

It's always weird to rate books that have epic highs but quite a few lows.

Sounds good overall though.

AwesomeAmy said...

@Clare: I know this is a late comment but thanks for showing your appreciation! I did enjoy it & will be glad to see Book 2... just keep me posted, OK?

@Karen: Yeah, sometimes I don't believe... you know, that the epic highs outweigh the lows but if they do, for me, they do & I try not to question my own head... It kinda makes me think people won't believe me but I do rate honestly & the people that matter know that :) It is good overall, I hope that if you read it you enjoy.

Karen said...

I like when reviewers just lay it all out there - good and bad. Like you did in this review.

If you follow a reviewer enough you can interpret the meaning and whether it will be a good fit for you.

I've bought a few books based on reviews that don't mention what they didn't like. I read it and tell them that I didn't love it because of such & such and they're like oh yeah I didn't like that either but didn't want to mention it because overall I liked it.

*shrugs* I guess I would rather get your full opinion and decide for myself.

AwesomeAmy said...

@Karen: Sometimes I mention more good points. I always say if I hate a character (like Tia) as it's something that affects your opinion on books & if it's something I feel strongly about, couldn't other people too? I'm glad you like that I say both. I try to do that, its sometimes easier to think of both than others. I would find it dishonest to think something is bad & not mention it. I hope there are some bloggers who follow me enough to interpret this review well as I think it'd be a good fit for quite a lot of people. It is truly, overall, a good book. Not perfect but few books I think are. I'm glad you decide for yourself, everyone has different tastes but there are some people who don't consider that? I never like reading books just based on recommendations myself as it's... less secure I'll like it I guess? But nonetheless, thanks for your contribution & I'm glad you popped by! This has been quite thought-provoking :)

Looking for something?...

#TBR

#TBR
My favourite hashtag.