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faeriesparks's review
3.0
3.5 stars
I've had this on my kindle for quite some time and randomly started reading it without remembering what it was about. For almost the entire first half of the book I couldn't figure out if it was a contemporary or fantasy/paranormal book. I'm not sure what to think about that - I think it took too long for the paranormal stuff to begin. Nonetheless I still enjoyed reading it. At some point all the different characters and their unique names were a bit confusing for me. I do want to find out how this series continues though so I will pick up the next book eventually.
I've had this on my kindle for quite some time and randomly started reading it without remembering what it was about. For almost the entire first half of the book I couldn't figure out if it was a contemporary or fantasy/paranormal book. I'm not sure what to think about that - I think it took too long for the paranormal stuff to begin. Nonetheless I still enjoyed reading it. At some point all the different characters and their unique names were a bit confusing for me. I do want to find out how this series continues though so I will pick up the next book eventually.
celjla212's review
2.0
2.5 STARS
It always feels so when when I completely feel the opposite of what the rest of the reviews do about a book--I feel like I missed something. But I just had a lot of trouble connecting with the characters and events in this book.
Allie is nice, but boring. She's got a crush on Ethan, yes, but ignores his advances because she believes he's a player. I didn't get that sense from him...I didn't sense much from him or any of the characters at all, actually. I also felt no spark between Ethan and Allie. They had one date and then pretty much didn't see each other for the entire rest of the book until the end. There was not that much relationship development for me to feel they belonged together as a couple.
The first fifty pages of the book were painfully boring. Things finally got interesting when Liam came into the the picture and told Allie the truth, but then a whole lot of confusing things kept happening very quickly. This is not the first fae book I've read with Gaelic and Irish names, but I was having a lot of trouble keeping characters straight in this novel. They were all introduced at a rapid pace and the names were difficult.
Allie never really rose to the occasion in the way I hoped she would, and the end was kind of quick and left me with a lot of questions. I applaud the author for great research and delving into the difficult fae world, but I don't think I'll be continuing with this series.
It always feels so when when I completely feel the opposite of what the rest of the reviews do about a book--I feel like I missed something. But I just had a lot of trouble connecting with the characters and events in this book.
Allie is nice, but boring. She's got a crush on Ethan, yes, but ignores his advances because she believes he's a player. I didn't get that sense from him...I didn't sense much from him or any of the characters at all, actually. I also felt no spark between Ethan and Allie. They had one date and then pretty much didn't see each other for the entire rest of the book until the end. There was not that much relationship development for me to feel they belonged together as a couple.
The first fifty pages of the book were painfully boring. Things finally got interesting when Liam came into the the picture and told Allie the truth, but then a whole lot of confusing things kept happening very quickly. This is not the first fae book I've read with Gaelic and Irish names, but I was having a lot of trouble keeping characters straight in this novel. They were all introduced at a rapid pace and the names were difficult.
Allie never really rose to the occasion in the way I hoped she would, and the end was kind of quick and left me with a lot of questions. I applaud the author for great research and delving into the difficult fae world, but I don't think I'll be continuing with this series.
amybraunauthor's review
4.0
Another book in the GODS AND MORTALS collection that I really enjoyed. The story was easy to follow, complex, the characters more engaging than I expected (I thought Ethan was waaaay too arrogant when first introduced, but he got to me sooner rather than later), and the mystery intriguing. I think my only real complaint is that the story was too short. I wanted to know more about the story and the new characters. I think it's safe to say that because of that, I'll be continuing with the next two books!
ema_callaghan's review against another edition
1.0
As I started this book, I thought I was in for fantasy and really glad that the main character wasn't a 16 year old like they always end up to be. I rushed through half the book in a matter of minutes, never gripped by the writing style and barely feeling attached to any character. I've stopped reading after being 56 % done through it. Nothing really meaningfull happened. That's why I'm not giving it more than one star. And there were grammar mistakes, but being a french reader first, I can't really say anything about it.
Sure, we have one angst girl with a schizophrenic mother. She thinks she's the cause of her family's problem and being 21, it's a bit farfetched. I study psychology and I know what goes with such a mental illness as schizophrenia. And I think that the girl should know that though it can starts from traumatic circumstances, though the person might look normal for years, it's an illness that generally appears during young adulthood, like from 20 years old to 30. There are many underlying reasons for it. Having a baby after being dumped is not exactly at the top of my list. Why isn't Allison more knowledgeable over the illness of her own mother if she wants to take care of her?
The whole fairy folklore felt like a mere layer of pictures tied over the teenager story. There's this guy who's a player, but I really like him in fact, so I'll just pretend not to be interested while secretly hoping that things could work out, except it won't because my mother is so sick and I need to take care of her.
If she was sixteen, I could understand. But she's 21. Maturity, guys? And what about that bunch of friends who don't seem exactly friendly, not even Nicole? What kind of town are they living in? I need the world to be a little more present in a story. Some people pass by in this novel only to give slight character development to Allison or an excuse for Ethan to flirt shamelessly with her, but always as if she was a traumatized little thing. It could be cute if I believed in any of it. If the romance was the main point of this story. But it's on the side. It feels empty.
Are every girl really that easy to sway? She can't stand to have Ethan touching her, grazing her skin or anything, because he's THE guy, huh? She pretend to despise him but she can't stop looking at him? Be consistant girl. If you write in the first person, at least, be aware of your real feelings. Don't let your cousin Nicole tell them to us in your place.
And what about Liam, the father? The man who disappeared? What about this sorry excuse for an irish fairy from way back in the past? He shows up suddenly, barely emotional, as if everything happened months away, not years away. I could see his reasons unraveling way before that he suddenly decided that he could give explanations to his daughter. And what an heel-turn too? One day, he tells her that he can't explain what's going on yet, the very next, he says that in the end, he can explain everything. And we have a detailled story that stand in three pages and descrive schizophrenia as an overdue addiction to a fairy creature. Wow. Can you believe that?
I sure can't. I love fairies, but I still need to find a book where they're exploited with an actual plot, not some subplot to turn a single book into a trilogy.
Sure, we have one angst girl with a schizophrenic mother. She thinks she's the cause of her family's problem and being 21, it's a bit farfetched. I study psychology and I know what goes with such a mental illness as schizophrenia. And I think that the girl should know that though it can starts from traumatic circumstances, though the person might look normal for years, it's an illness that generally appears during young adulthood, like from 20 years old to 30. There are many underlying reasons for it. Having a baby after being dumped is not exactly at the top of my list. Why isn't Allison more knowledgeable over the illness of her own mother if she wants to take care of her?
The whole fairy folklore felt like a mere layer of pictures tied over the teenager story. There's this guy who's a player, but I really like him in fact, so I'll just pretend not to be interested while secretly hoping that things could work out, except it won't because my mother is so sick and I need to take care of her.
If she was sixteen, I could understand. But she's 21. Maturity, guys? And what about that bunch of friends who don't seem exactly friendly, not even Nicole? What kind of town are they living in? I need the world to be a little more present in a story. Some people pass by in this novel only to give slight character development to Allison or an excuse for Ethan to flirt shamelessly with her, but always as if she was a traumatized little thing. It could be cute if I believed in any of it. If the romance was the main point of this story. But it's on the side. It feels empty.
Are every girl really that easy to sway? She can't stand to have Ethan touching her, grazing her skin or anything, because he's THE guy, huh? She pretend to despise him but she can't stop looking at him? Be consistant girl. If you write in the first person, at least, be aware of your real feelings. Don't let your cousin Nicole tell them to us in your place.
And what about Liam, the father? The man who disappeared? What about this sorry excuse for an irish fairy from way back in the past? He shows up suddenly, barely emotional, as if everything happened months away, not years away. I could see his reasons unraveling way before that he suddenly decided that he could give explanations to his daughter. And what an heel-turn too? One day, he tells her that he can't explain what's going on yet, the very next, he says that in the end, he can explain everything. And we have a detailled story that stand in three pages and descrive schizophrenia as an overdue addiction to a fairy creature. Wow. Can you believe that?
I sure can't. I love fairies, but I still need to find a book where they're exploited with an actual plot, not some subplot to turn a single book into a trilogy.
amethystbookwyrm's review
3.0
This and my other reviews can be found at http://amethystbookwyrm.blogspot.co.uk/
Allison wants to take on some of the her grandparents burden and help them take care of her schizophrenic mother, who has been like that since she returned from Ireland pregnant with Allison. This means she has always avoided relationships, even with Ethan, a friend of her cousins and the guy she has been crazy for since they were young. Allison’s life is turn upside down when her father, Liam, turns up saying he can help heal her mum. But when her mother goes missing, Allison is told about the Tuatha de Danaan, fairies, which Liam has been living with for centuries and now one of them has kidnaped her mum. Allison goes to another world, Tir Na Nog to save her mother and hopefully learn more about herself.
The Forgotten Ones is a good paranormal NA read with a very fast pace but a more YA feel about it. While I like this book as it is full of Irish folklore and the plot is interesting, I felt it had potential but was a bit let down as it didn’t reach it and was a bit confusing.
Allison is a normal hard working woman who I really liked and related to, but I felt she accepted the supernatural way too easily and quickly. I didn’t really feel much for Ethan as he was a player, and that would have been fine if he stopped so that he could try and win over Allison, but he didn’t really.
I am looking forward to the next book Stone of Destiny and seeing what happens next to Allison. I would recommend The Forgotten Ones to fans of Ever Shade by Alexia Purdy and Faelorehn by Jenna Elizabeth Johnson.
Allison wants to take on some of the her grandparents burden and help them take care of her schizophrenic mother, who has been like that since she returned from Ireland pregnant with Allison. This means she has always avoided relationships, even with Ethan, a friend of her cousins and the guy she has been crazy for since they were young. Allison’s life is turn upside down when her father, Liam, turns up saying he can help heal her mum. But when her mother goes missing, Allison is told about the Tuatha de Danaan, fairies, which Liam has been living with for centuries and now one of them has kidnaped her mum. Allison goes to another world, Tir Na Nog to save her mother and hopefully learn more about herself.
The Forgotten Ones is a good paranormal NA read with a very fast pace but a more YA feel about it. While I like this book as it is full of Irish folklore and the plot is interesting, I felt it had potential but was a bit let down as it didn’t reach it and was a bit confusing.
Allison is a normal hard working woman who I really liked and related to, but I felt she accepted the supernatural way too easily and quickly. I didn’t really feel much for Ethan as he was a player, and that would have been fine if he stopped so that he could try and win over Allison, but he didn’t really.
I am looking forward to the next book Stone of Destiny and seeing what happens next to Allison. I would recommend The Forgotten Ones to fans of Ever Shade by Alexia Purdy and Faelorehn by Jenna Elizabeth Johnson.
bookswritingandmore's review
2.0
I wanted to like this book so bad. When I got it from NetGalley I was beyond psyched. I finished this book in a day in a half. It's a short read about a girl who thinks her mom is a schizophrenic. She grows up wirh her grandparent's taking care of her and her mom and all she wants is to be able to look after her mom herself. The premise was a great one, but the author didn't develop the characters enough for the reader to really care what happens next. Inevitably the story for farfetched and annoying.
rmoon28's review
3.0
The Forgotten Ones is a light and entertaining read about a girl named Allison. Her mother is schizophrenic and her ultimate plan is to take care of her so that her grandparents won’t have to. Allison blames herself for her mother being schizophrenic because she was normal before her mother gave birth to her. Allison starts noticing strange things and all of a sudden her father comes and informs her that he will do anything he can to cure her mother.
The first part of the book was more a contemporary romance. We learn that Allison has always been in love with Ethan since they were children. Ethan also has feelings for Allison, but she has been keeping him at arm’s length, like everyone else in her life. I still don’t really understand why Allison kept pushing him away before she found out about her Fae heritage. I think the excuse was a poor one.
I thought Allison had some great qualities about her. She was brave in wanting to take care of her mother and trying to save her and the ones she loved. She did what she had to do in order to make sure everyone was ok. I also liked Ethan. I felt bad for him every time Allison blew him off. I liked the way he handled himself, he kind of made it into a game so that Allison would go out with him. But I have to say my favourite character would be Aodhan. He seems badass and I sensed he has some feelings for Allison and that’s one of the reasons he helped her. I liked how he doesn’t conform to anyone, especially not the king and queen of the Fae. He will do what he wants on his own terms. There is also this rare intensity about him. I hope we see him more in the second book.
The second half of the book is faster paced. Allison has to go the Tir Na Nog. The Fae she meets are definitely interesting to say the least. I would like to learn more about the history of some of the characters and how they got to be the way they are now. I would also like to learn more about the Fae customs and mentality. I thought the book was a little short and I found just when I was getting hooked, it ended abruptly for me. When meeting the fae, the names were hard to remember and I couldn’t remember who was who. I found I had to skip over most of the names.
The Forgotten Ones is an adventurous read with some romance. I would recommend this story to anyone who loves fantasy novels.
**This book was given to me for an honest review**
The first part of the book was more a contemporary romance. We learn that Allison has always been in love with Ethan since they were children. Ethan also has feelings for Allison, but she has been keeping him at arm’s length, like everyone else in her life. I still don’t really understand why Allison kept pushing him away before she found out about her Fae heritage. I think the excuse was a poor one.
I thought Allison had some great qualities about her. She was brave in wanting to take care of her mother and trying to save her and the ones she loved. She did what she had to do in order to make sure everyone was ok. I also liked Ethan. I felt bad for him every time Allison blew him off. I liked the way he handled himself, he kind of made it into a game so that Allison would go out with him. But I have to say my favourite character would be Aodhan. He seems badass and I sensed he has some feelings for Allison and that’s one of the reasons he helped her. I liked how he doesn’t conform to anyone, especially not the king and queen of the Fae. He will do what he wants on his own terms. There is also this rare intensity about him. I hope we see him more in the second book.
The second half of the book is faster paced. Allison has to go the Tir Na Nog. The Fae she meets are definitely interesting to say the least. I would like to learn more about the history of some of the characters and how they got to be the way they are now. I would also like to learn more about the Fae customs and mentality. I thought the book was a little short and I found just when I was getting hooked, it ended abruptly for me. When meeting the fae, the names were hard to remember and I couldn’t remember who was who. I found I had to skip over most of the names.
The Forgotten Ones is an adventurous read with some romance. I would recommend this story to anyone who loves fantasy novels.
**This book was given to me for an honest review**
postitsandpens's review
3.0
I am always interested in books dealing with faerie lore, so was very intrigued when I first read the synopsis for The Forgotten Ones. It's not often that you find a book that uses faeries in a slightly different way - most really tend to focus on the two courts, for example - so this book was very unique because it has the faeries as descendants of the pre-Christian deities of Ireland. (This is actually a "real" mythological group of beings; Google Tuatha Dé Danann if you want more information.) And actually, I very much enjoyed this glimpse into these mythological faeries; for me, the lore behind them, their abilities, and the ways they interact with humans was the main draw of this book for me personally.
One thing I want to state upfront is that this was a very fast read. The e-book is listed at 197 pages, but it felt much shorter than that. Because of the length, I found that I never really connected with any of the main characters. Allison, our narrator, is sympathetic to the reader, because her mother is mentally ill and obviously Allison has had to endure a lot with that. She also has a crush on the very attractive Ethan, but for reasons she explains but I sort of eye-rolled at, she keeps pushing him away, even after he makes it clear he's interested in her as well. While I felt for her at times, I never really felt drawn into her narrative or like I cared one way or the other about her. It was sort of just a surface interest, and I found myself more intrigued by the mysteries of the story - and the revelation regarding Aoife at the end - than Allison herself. One character I am definitely interested in, though, is Aodhan. He really seems to have an interesting past, and not just because of what happened to him upon entering the Fae world. I'm definitely looking forward to seeing more of him in book two.
This book was also very well written in terms of grammar and construction. I was extremely impressed with some of the turns of phrase and the solid narration provided by Allison. You can tell that the author has a firm grasp of language and nuance, and definitely knows how to tell an interesting story. While I didn't love Allison, I found her well-constructed, and liked how she was headstrong and stubborn, and also willing to fight for those she cares about. I also liked the way the story was slowly revealed, and truths and facts were brought to Allison's (and the reader's) attention. While the book isn't very long, and things happened at a quick pace, I felt like the way the story was written was done in an un-rushed way that kept the reader interested and focused on what came next. While I would have loved a bit more character development and a slower introduction to the plot and characters - particularly once all the rather unpronounceable names started getting thrown about - I still found the book very readable and entertaining.
The Forgotten Ones is a good book for folks who like faeries but want something a little different. While there were certainly things I would have liked to see more of - like the reason Allison likes Ethan and he her, and a bit more insight into Allison's character to make her more relatable to the reader - overall I found this to be a very quick read and definitely a good way to spend an afternoon. I'm also extremely curious as to what's going to happen next, particularly since the book ends on a bit of a cliffhanger. I will certainly be tuning in to check it out!
A copy of this book was provided via Xpresso Book Tours in exchange for an honest review.
***
To see more of my reviews, please visit me @ Read and Reviewed!
One thing I want to state upfront is that this was a very fast read. The e-book is listed at 197 pages, but it felt much shorter than that. Because of the length, I found that I never really connected with any of the main characters. Allison, our narrator, is sympathetic to the reader, because her mother is mentally ill and obviously Allison has had to endure a lot with that. She also has a crush on the very attractive Ethan, but for reasons she explains but I sort of eye-rolled at, she keeps pushing him away, even after he makes it clear he's interested in her as well. While I felt for her at times, I never really felt drawn into her narrative or like I cared one way or the other about her. It was sort of just a surface interest, and I found myself more intrigued by the mysteries of the story - and the revelation regarding Aoife at the end - than Allison herself. One character I am definitely interested in, though, is Aodhan. He really seems to have an interesting past, and not just because of what happened to him upon entering the Fae world. I'm definitely looking forward to seeing more of him in book two.
This book was also very well written in terms of grammar and construction. I was extremely impressed with some of the turns of phrase and the solid narration provided by Allison. You can tell that the author has a firm grasp of language and nuance, and definitely knows how to tell an interesting story. While I didn't love Allison, I found her well-constructed, and liked how she was headstrong and stubborn, and also willing to fight for those she cares about. I also liked the way the story was slowly revealed, and truths and facts were brought to Allison's (and the reader's) attention. While the book isn't very long, and things happened at a quick pace, I felt like the way the story was written was done in an un-rushed way that kept the reader interested and focused on what came next. While I would have loved a bit more character development and a slower introduction to the plot and characters - particularly once all the rather unpronounceable names started getting thrown about - I still found the book very readable and entertaining.
The Forgotten Ones is a good book for folks who like faeries but want something a little different. While there were certainly things I would have liked to see more of - like the reason Allison likes Ethan and he her, and a bit more insight into Allison's character to make her more relatable to the reader - overall I found this to be a very quick read and definitely a good way to spend an afternoon. I'm also extremely curious as to what's going to happen next, particularly since the book ends on a bit of a cliffhanger. I will certainly be tuning in to check it out!
A copy of this book was provided via Xpresso Book Tours in exchange for an honest review.
***
To see more of my reviews, please visit me @ Read and Reviewed!