Full Review on my blog!
3.5 - 4 Stars
*a copy was provided by NetGalley*

Sci-fi, aliens, time travel, and futuristic things. Yes, YES, and YEsss. All things I love. But this, I liked it just enough, that it fell short of great.

Valiant is different and unique in its own way. A very quick, action packed, fast paced read. It definitely will grip you from the start. I'm excited for when it actually does come out.

Although the beginning of this book felt VERY rushed. A LOT happens in the first few pages that as a result, there is very little context given for the characters and the state of the world. But as the story progresses we do get a bit more of this.

Some times it was difficult to keep up with, there's just so much going on. I love the story, just wish it was told a little differently, I don't know why but it feels like the story is being told in such a way that everything is scattered, and you have to pick up the pieces and just make sense of it on your own terms. I mean between the alien invasion, time travel, portals, military conspiracies, romance, etc. I feel like the story could have been richer if there had been fewer of these elements.

Honestly, I just wish there was more explanations, descriptions, development, and maybe a bit more world building. But it's literally, Action, Action, Action. Hardly any character development.

Also, in a way, it reminded me of Venom , with the whole 'aliens on earth' or 'aliens trying to invade earth' thing, and this quote from the beginning of the book is a pretty good description of what I mean.

"A Xua can leave a host’s body and possess another person if it wants, but humans weren't built to withstand it. Our insides get ripped to shreds. Sometimes you can even see the claw marks on the body, torn apart from the inside out. Sometimes it’s a full-body explosion."

Mhmm, similar in ways but, different.

The bit of 'romance', I wouldn't even call it that, it was literally Justin & Sara having known each other in school for however long. There was no real build up, just Sara saying 'I love you' to him, when she thought he was dead/dying or whatever.

“You have to stay alive, Justin,” I whisper. “No matter what. I love you.”

AND THEN THE NEXT DAY.

He cups my face in his huge hands. “I heard what you said last night,” he whispers, so softly no one else can hear him. “I love you, too.”

Their relationship did develop a bit but, in an unnaturally fast way, imo.

“I was worried I would lose you, too,” he confesses as he lifts his head. He cups my face in his right hand. “The Xua took your brother, but he might not be dead, Sara. You said those doorways go to different timelines, right? Maybe he’s with Aerithin. Or maybe Aerithin will still come back—”

Also, the 'skin site' thing was a bit confusing. It seems like it's some kind of identification thing/something phone-like where you can call people? listen to music? listen/watch the news? -some kind of 'new' fascinating technology that everyone is crazy about; like when a new version of the IPhone comes out. Or something like that, not 100% sure, unless I'm missing something? - so I went back to my kindle and literally searched 'Skin Site' and it's mentioned A LOT, I'm realizing now, it was described a bit, but still really 'confusingly interesting'. I'm not going to give too much more away, though.

I feel like I'm just rambling on now....

I'm really hoping there will be a sequel, because I like where this story is going. I feel like if the story and universe was expanded on, it could be the next big sc-fi series/book. BUT only if universe was expanded on, like back story on the aliens, Justin, or any the other characters.
If you enjoy action-packed YA science fiction, then I highly recommend it!

NOTE: All quotes taken from this uncorrected copy are subjected to change in the final edition.

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AnaCarter | 2 altre recensioni | Feb 14, 2023 |

When Stars and Worlds Collide di Merrie Destefano

That title is amazing but doesn't really match what I read.

The story is set on an alien world, so it's all a bit foreign, but eventually I got a good enough sense of it.

It is as the description says, "tale of a mother’s love for her wayward son and the great lengths to which she’ll go to rescue him from another dimension."

If you want a quick read, in a unique SF world that's probably going to make you confused, happy and sad in equal parts, give this story a try. haha

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Corinne2020 | Jan 19, 2023 |

Writing Tips: A Creative and Practical Guide to… di Merrie Destefano

This is a short & sweet book with some good tips and reminders. Some the quotes in the book will be great as touchstones to remind me of things I have learned.

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ca.bookwyrm | Jul 1, 2021 |

Fairytale Christmas: A Fair Folk Saga (The Fair… di Merrie Destefano

*I was given this free review copy audiobook at my request and have voluntarily left this review.

We start with the banishing of the faery from Ireland by the Milesian. Then see through Eire's eyes and mind that the fair folk are dividing, and she's losing standing with her people. But, Eire will find another life years from now.

Sally has a slight accent that fits the tone and place of the story. It's not strong, but slight so to feel the story setting. The nice thing here is there are lyrics of songs for Eire to sing, and Sally does sing them. It's lovely to hear. I'm starting to think my iPod is acting up, but it sounds okay for other stories. At times it sounded as Sally was in a bucket and not near the microphone. Then the next chapter it's back to normal. There were a few small moments of mouth noise, closing or opening lips. There are moments that Sally sounded a different feel to her words than what felt to flow with words afterward or in the moment I would have thought would have fit. But these last two items were limited in listening. The lilt she uses to tell the story feels true to the characters and a lovely addition to the story.

This is a tale of the battle the faery folk have to fight, how it started. Not only do they have an enemy that comes to take their beloved land, but as they travel to exile their people start to divide between the queen who's lost her husband in battle and the man who's stepped up to control the army.

People, immortal and mortal, are not perfect but in terrible times what one experiences steers them to what they will do. Their actions then starts to drive who they are. We start to see this with the faery folk.

Eire is the Queen of Faery in Ireland, and who the story is focused on. When the faery are exiled and the betrayal of one of her own, it brings her to another life she'll live. Yet Eire still has some strong allies and carries a love for her people as she's on the run for her life and her twin boys.

I very much enjoyed the Celtic and faery feel to the story along with events that take place. It feels as the old stories were used to create this story and the world we find them in.

This is a short story but each chapter moves forward for Eire and tells how she comes to where she is in the end. And how she finds love. This story is not a light read. It's deeper with Eire's story and the events that come to pass. Each event important to move the story quickly along. There is also a dark blood magic that is present in the story as well.

The story does bring us to Christmas time, making it a very nice creation for a Christmas story. There's a blend of Christmas brought to an Irish Faery.… (altro)

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MelHay | Jan 20, 2019 |

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