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mirable's review
4.0
Booklist review:
Skater girl Rileigh is coming to terms with being awakened as Senshi, a reincarnated samurai warrior, by learning about her powers while avoiding being drawn into a shadowy government organization. Then her soul mate Kim’s former betrothed is awakened, throwing everything into question. Gibsen jumps right in with little backstory (Katana, 2012), which could be confusing to new readers. Alternating time lines—Rileigh battling ninja in contemporary St. Louis and Senshi’s journey to becoming a samurai in 1491 Japan—keep the story moving, with Rileigh tossing pithy quips Buffy-style and delivering kick-ass action. Gibsen leaves the ending wide open for Rileigh’s next adventure. Grades 7-10. --Charli Osborne
Skater girl Rileigh is coming to terms with being awakened as Senshi, a reincarnated samurai warrior, by learning about her powers while avoiding being drawn into a shadowy government organization. Then her soul mate Kim’s former betrothed is awakened, throwing everything into question. Gibsen jumps right in with little backstory (Katana, 2012), which could be confusing to new readers. Alternating time lines—Rileigh battling ninja in contemporary St. Louis and Senshi’s journey to becoming a samurai in 1491 Japan—keep the story moving, with Rileigh tossing pithy quips Buffy-style and delivering kick-ass action. Gibsen leaves the ending wide open for Rileigh’s next adventure. Grades 7-10. --Charli Osborne
hannahsophialin's review
4.0
Original Review posted on http://bookwyrming-thoughts.blogspot.com/2013/11/review-senshi-by-cole-gibsen.html
Original Rating: 4.5 out of 5 Owls
Note: Formatting may be lost due to copy and paste
Well, I'll admit Katana felt like a stand alone – with the "oh, hey, they lived happily ever after! There's no more!" And I actually did think Katana was a stand alone.
But then Goodreads spoiled everything. -_- I can't believe you would do that to me, Goodreads.
Well, not exactly. I really wouldn't have known Katana had a sequel without Goodreads, but with the announcements every single day (Katana was a book club read in October) at school about preordering Senshi, I'm bound to know eventually.
Or the county library would have said, "hey, there's a sequel!" right after I returned Katana in Ebooks Library Lend101. Go figure.
Moving on.
In Senshi, it's been a few months since the events left off in Katana. Going down memory lane in terms of nutshell spoilers, Rileigh's finally come to terms with her inner warrior self (go Rileigh!).
I must say, despite the fact Katana felt like a stand alone, Senshi had some nice surprises waiting for me when reading, and it was almost as good as the first novel. Okay, I almost always love the first novel before the sequels because it's not the end where you have to wave good bye to characters.
But I just love it when authors lead you down one road but then all of a sudden, they toss in a thing or two (or more) that throws the reader off balance. It makes everything less predictable. ^_^
The characters are just as amazingly written as ever, particularly Quentin, who I must admit has already landed on my favorite characters from the series next to Rileigh (of course, Rileigh. It's not like I can read Quentin's mind from Rileigh's view, even though I would love to, but I'm just one little opinion out of... hundreds). Then there's Sumi and also Dr. Wendell. I hope I'm not the only when I say the interaction between Rileigh and Dr. Wendell is pretty classic in the way Rileigh pushes Dr. Wendell's buttons all the time. Sumi, on the other hand, is a nuisance and a pain in the butt. Unfortunately, she's likely back in the next book: Shinobi. Fantabulous. A great way to make a Tuesday better. Good thing it's not a Friday. I think I'll survive.
My Two Cents of Randomness: Aliens didn't abduct Rileigh and change her up did they? I still find the cover really weird. O_o (But only the story matters in my humble opinion, so says the girl who can't even draw a pair of eyes that aren't lopsided.)
Original Rating: 4.5 out of 5 Owls
Note: Formatting may be lost due to copy and paste
Well, I'll admit Katana felt like a stand alone – with the "oh, hey, they lived happily ever after! There's no more!" And I actually did think Katana was a stand alone.
But then Goodreads spoiled everything. -_- I can't believe you would do that to me, Goodreads.
Well, not exactly. I really wouldn't have known Katana had a sequel without Goodreads, but with the announcements every single day (Katana was a book club read in October) at school about preordering Senshi, I'm bound to know eventually.
Or the county library would have said, "hey, there's a sequel!" right after I returned Katana in Ebooks Library Lend101. Go figure.
Moving on.
In Senshi, it's been a few months since the events left off in Katana. Going down memory lane in terms of nutshell spoilers, Rileigh's finally come to terms with her inner warrior self (go Rileigh!).
I must say, despite the fact Katana felt like a stand alone, Senshi had some nice surprises waiting for me when reading, and it was almost as good as the first novel. Okay, I almost always love the first novel before the sequels because it's not the end where you have to wave good bye to characters.
But I just love it when authors lead you down one road but then all of a sudden, they toss in a thing or two (or more) that throws the reader off balance. It makes everything less predictable. ^_^
The characters are just as amazingly written as ever, particularly Quentin, who I must admit has already landed on my favorite characters from the series next to Rileigh (of course, Rileigh. It's not like I can read Quentin's mind from Rileigh's view, even though I would love to, but I'm just one little opinion out of... hundreds). Then there's Sumi and also Dr. Wendell. I hope I'm not the only when I say the interaction between Rileigh and Dr. Wendell is pretty classic in the way Rileigh pushes Dr. Wendell's buttons all the time. Sumi, on the other hand, is a nuisance and a pain in the butt. Unfortunately, she's likely back in the next book: Shinobi. Fantabulous. A great way to make a Tuesday better. Good thing it's not a Friday. I think I'll survive.
My Two Cents of Randomness: Aliens didn't abduct Rileigh and change her up did they? I still find the cover really weird. O_o (But only the story matters in my humble opinion, so says the girl who can't even draw a pair of eyes that aren't lopsided.)
denizyildiz's review
3.0
This was fun and cute, lots of action and a revisit of all the characters from Katana.
There were parts of this book that were better than in the first book, and others that didn't work for the second time around.
But in my opinion it was too similar to Katana. Around halfway I was rolling eyes at Righley's snarky comments rather than laughing about them- they got old!
The charter building this time around was definitely better than Katana. While in Katana all of the characters were very cliche and even sometimes cartoon like, Gibsen definitely added different dimensions to them in Senshi
Righley was her snarky kick-ass self- and when things turned half way through, she acted more mature than i would have expected. In fact I could totally relate to her heartache.
Q character was such an improvement. While he still was the gay bestie stereotype- the overly superficial side to him was toned down to a pleasantly funny side effect. Still when he in one scene exclaimed: I am not just stereotypes! I couldn't help but scoff! YES you are!
Kim was again closed up but this time not so mysterious in the good way he was in Katana.
To be honest there isn't much to be said to the character even though they were a slight bit better than in the first book.
The writing style is fast, fun and lighthearted most of the times. Except when it comes to the scenes with Senshi. Then Gibson manages to evoke beautiful pictures, deep feelings and shows off a writing talent that seems lost in the rest of the book. What a pity! I felt the same in Katana, and this time around I felt the contrast even more. Gibson definitely knows how to write beautifully, sadly that wouldn't come through without the Senshi Scenes.
The plot line- was at first a bit of a re-run of the first book. Then there were actually quite interesting twists! The concept of soul mates and the one big love, was given a different look at. Which I really liked. I did find some of the story line a bit out there and definitely did wonder if this was worth a sequel.
All in all a fun light read. The second half definitely better than the first half. Fans of Katana will definitely enjoy it.
rockets2writing's review
4.0
Rileigh might finally be mastering her samurai skills and even fine tuning her ability to use her ki. Things are finally returning to normal and she's even excited to spend time with her boyfriend and soul mate Kim. But that doesn't stop a band of ninjas from chasing after her or her ki from going crazy. And to make matters worse, Kim suddenly leaves her for another and none of her friends seem to be around to care. Whoever said being a reincarnate fifteenth century samurai would be easy? As the ninja attacks increase, Rileigh realizes she can't do this alone, but with no friends in sight, she may have to team with someone unexpected just to stay alive long enough to track down who is behind the attacks.
While I found this second installment of the Katana series a bit predictable that didn't stop me from really enjoying the story and a few unexpected surprises along the way. I love the characters and following them through their journeys. I love that Rileigh is finally embracing every part of herself, including her connection to Senshi, her inner warrior. In Senshi, she's becoming a force to be reckoned with and it's fun and exciting to watch her continue develop and grow into a strong, confident person and warrior who doesn't take any crap from anyone. Sure she makes mistakes along the way, but she never stops fighting. I'm excited to dive into the third and final book to see what happens to all my favorite characters.
While I found this second installment of the Katana series a bit predictable that didn't stop me from really enjoying the story and a few unexpected surprises along the way. I love the characters and following them through their journeys. I love that Rileigh is finally embracing every part of herself, including her connection to Senshi, her inner warrior. In Senshi, she's becoming a force to be reckoned with and it's fun and exciting to watch her continue develop and grow into a strong, confident person and warrior who doesn't take any crap from anyone. Sure she makes mistakes along the way, but she never stops fighting. I'm excited to dive into the third and final book to see what happens to all my favorite characters.
pingoodle's review
5.0
GO RILEIGH!!!!!!
This book was amazingly fantabulous. With a cherry on top.
My favourite book moment EVERRRRR When Q kidnaps Kim's clothes and leaves a tuxedo and Rileigh's address GENIUS AHAHAHAHAHAHHAH
Rileigh is so amazing. She has failures and flaws instead of being a Bella. And I laughed at her when she said that she didn't want to be THAT GIRL who cried for weeks after her boyfriend broke up with her. At least she reaized she was doing it, and tried to get over it. LOL
Poor Kim. Being brainwashed can't be all that pleasant. He almost beat her though. :)
Lotsa spoilers LOL
I NEVER would have guessed this books villain. Well done! Rileigh was a little dim near the end on figuring out who was who and who had been who etc. but I forgive her since she just reeeeeaaalllllly didn't want it to be true.
Getting a view into pre-samurai past was awesome: it really developed Senshi.
READ THIS AWESOMENESS!!
Perfect theme song for this book: Let Me Go by Avril Lavigne
Love that once hung on the wall
(Her old katana and Kims sword were on his wall)
Used to mean something, but now it means nothing
(Self Explanatory, as is most of this stuff)
The echoes are gone in the hall
But I still remember, the pain of December
Oh, there isn't one thing left you could say
I'm sorry it's too late
[Chorus]
I'm breaking free from these memories
(Transcending memories)
Gotta let it go, just let it go
I've said goodbye
Set it all on fire
Gotta let it go, just let it go
You came back to find I was gone
And that place is empty,
Like the hole that was left in me
Like we were nothing at all
It's not what you meant to me
Thought we were meant to be
Oh, there isn't one thing left you could say
I'm sorry it's too late
[Chorus]
I'm breaking free from these memories
Gotta let it go, just let it go
I've said goodbye
Set it all on fire
Gotta let it go, just let it go
I let it go and now I know
A brand new life is down this road
And when it's right, you always know
So this time I won't let go
There's only one thing left here to say
Love's never too late
[Chorus]
I've broken free from those memories
I've let it go, I've let it go
And two goodbyes led to this new life
Don't let me go, don't let me go
Don't let me go, don't let me go, don't let me go, don't let me go
[4x]
Won't let you go, don't let me go
This book was amazingly fantabulous. With a cherry on top.
My favourite book moment EVERRRRR
Rileigh is so amazing. She has failures and flaws instead of being a Bella. And I laughed at her when
Poor Kim.
Lotsa spoilers LOL
I NEVER would have guessed this books villain. Well done! Rileigh was a little dim near the end on figuring out who was who and who had been who etc. but I forgive her since she just reeeeeaaalllllly didn't want it to be true.
Getting a view into pre-samurai past was awesome: it really developed Senshi.
READ THIS AWESOMENESS!!
Perfect theme song for this book: Let Me Go by Avril Lavigne
Love that once hung on the wall
(Her old katana and Kims sword were on his wall)
Used to mean something, but now it means nothing
(Self Explanatory, as is most of this stuff)
The echoes are gone in the hall
But I still remember, the pain of December
Oh, there isn't one thing left you could say
I'm sorry it's too late
[Chorus]
I'm breaking free from these memories
(Transcending memories)
Gotta let it go, just let it go
I've said goodbye
Set it all on fire
Gotta let it go, just let it go
You came back to find I was gone
And that place is empty,
Like the hole that was left in me
Like we were nothing at all
It's not what you meant to me
Thought we were meant to be
Oh, there isn't one thing left you could say
I'm sorry it's too late
[Chorus]
I'm breaking free from these memories
Gotta let it go, just let it go
I've said goodbye
Set it all on fire
Gotta let it go, just let it go
I let it go and now I know
A brand new life is down this road
And when it's right, you always know
So this time I won't let go
There's only one thing left here to say
Love's never too late
[Chorus]
I've broken free from those memories
I've let it go, I've let it go
And two goodbyes led to this new life
Don't let me go, don't let me go
Don't let me go, don't let me go, don't let me go, don't let me go
[4x]
Won't let you go, don't let me go
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