Fred

Author made the rules, then broke them

Revisado: 01-20-25

The author made the rules and then, at the end, cheated on those rules. I would have preferred that she didn't, but I only docked a star for it. I will probably still read the series when I get a chance to continue.
I really liked the story and could appreciate the concept of "traiterous emotions." So many times people in society treat every situation so logically and dismiss what its like to live in a situation. I suppose I appreciated that the most about this story. We are human beings; we make mistakes, and we can learn from those mistakes. To assume otherwise is naive. Instead of applauding those who learn from their mistakes, it can seem like our society applauds those who cover up their mistakes and make the misstep disappear.
I enjoyed the dilemmas of political intrigue and how it can cause issues when attempting to stay neutral or on the good side of two sworn enemies.
There was also some fun attention to details on the magical duels side of things that were fresh and new, which added value to the story.
The voice actress was a good choice for this story. She did a great job of changing her voice for all of the characters (male voices included).

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A Decent Story

Revisado: 12-31-24

There were things I liked about the story, but in the end I didn't feel amazed. I leave the 5-star reviews for those kinds of books.

There were some intricate plot details that I enjoyed about the story, but in the end I don't feel like there was enough emotion involved. It felt more like a head-game kind of book. I understand that these are agents, but at some point one of these agents defected (let their emotions dictate their behaviour). I felt that could have been felt a bit more by the reader somehow. As it is, I just don't recall anything, so it must not have been that impactful (to me at least).

The use of Kilgore, Tabitha, Heather, Lowry confused me enough in the end that I didn't really know or care that much who won in the end. A fight between two skilled women agents with a random name thrown in means that one will win. Hopefully its the good one. At one point there was a lot of emphasis on "the redhead," but even that isn't used to actually help the reader out.

At the end, with the x-lover being still alive, it was anti-climactic since the agent didn't think it was very exciting to see him alive. It seems to me that the writer thought it clever, but it just made it less impactful to me. For as much as these women were scarred and basing decisions on their emotions, I finished the book feeling like there wasn't anything memorable about the book.

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Concise, but Worth It

Revisado: 12-12-24

This book doesn't do much more than give an introduction to the subject, but it was still what I needed right now. At 62 pages, it was around an hour-long read, which I needed. While I learned how to deal with the repercussions of being online and hardened myself to being inundated by things vying for my attention, I am realizing that others are still dealing with this in their own way and might not be as far on their journey as I am. They are more susceptible to its affects.

I remember when we used to say we needed to "unplug" for a bit. Looking back, there were some serious repercussions to the dopamine affect that I didn't understand and didn't have the language to discuss what was happening to me. Like a caveman with fire, I learned the hard way the good and bad affects of fire (the internet being the caveman's fire). I spent some serious cash uncontrollably online, for instance, until I learned how to deal with being online.

Yes, the internet can be a great boon. Yes, video games can be beneficial. Food and water are a necessity. However, too much of anything can destroy us.

I do feel that the author could have spent more time on some things. However, it might serve the content's audience better to have a short read. I suppose in the end, I did enjoy its conciseness.

The voice actor did a great job as well.

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Gonna have to take a break after this one

Revisado: 11-27-24

I can only handle so much of this fast-paced action and dark days before I have to take a break, but I will come back to the series some day.
I feel mentally drained after this book.
I skipped the sex scene because that is not why I read books, but I did like that he finally cared for someone. I'm not crazy about a character that keeps pissing off everyone in the world, though. It does get old after a while. I binged these last few, though. After a break, it might be better.
It was nice to see Gentry care about someone and protect them, but it still feels like he's lost and trying to find his way yet.
I really felt immersed in the culture of this author's fictional Mexico and want to commend the author for that.
I'm not sure if this is a polarizing book. I don't want to give too much away. I am starting to realize that I prefer books where the white knight
can have some grit and not be perfect, but a black knight who saves the day might be a little to dark for my tastes.
I do catch my mind swearing in a foreign language after this book as well, so I need to scrub some of that out.

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Not quite as good as the first book

Revisado: 11-27-24

The thing I like most about this one is Gentry helping someone he doesn't know or have any ties to. He just does it because its the right thing.
The culture feels immersive, and the action is still very fast-paced.
Its definitely an action-adventure-type story where the main character is the big bad dude. However, there were a few close calls where I wasn't so sure.
The voice actor does an amazing job too. He fits the part so well that it just seems natural and adds so much to the story. The character and everything comes alive.

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Fast Paced Action

Revisado: 11-27-24

I watched the movie before reading the book, and the book is better. I assumed as much, but mentioning it for others.
I don't recommend attempting to multitask with this audiobook. Its too hard to focus on anything else.
I have been fully immersed in the story and I am loving it. Sometimes I feel like I am panting after I get through some of the scenes, and I am only reading about what is going on, not participating.
There aren't any glaring mistakes that I can tell. It is unfortunate how the main character passes other characters by like a truck driver on a highway. They blur in and out of existence but don't stick around for long. Most characters anyway. You better believe the ones he does care about; the ones he can count on one hand will be protected.
Also, there are a lot of similarities in books 1 and 2 to the movie, but don't expect every detail to be the same.

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Too much cliché and witty banter for me

Revisado: 11-08-24

I don't like the no plan thing. Indecision by a main character, or in this case all of the characters, has always sent me far, far away.

Some authors think that cliché's are fun, but they just get annoying after pages and pages of it. The attempt at witty banter at every sentence or two gets tiresome. With that kind of conversation and the constant slang like "for sure", "wait what", and "no pressure", I just can't take it anymore. Its like living with a teenager or something. Maybe if there was a POV (point of view) shift for a full chapter or two, I could handle the book. Not sure, though.

I do like how the main character kept misunderstanding cultural references because of this, but then I was just ready to leave the ship (or book for that matter).

I liked the concept of the ship giving a part of itself to heal a human, but it just wasn't enough to keep me going through with the book anymore.

Maybe some other time, I don't know. Probably not, though. There are more books out there for me to try out.

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I Thought It Was Great

Revisado: 11-07-24

I wouldn't call this book the best thing since sliced bread, but I did enjoy it. I also can't really find anything bad to say about it, which is kind of unusual lately. There weren't any glaring errors when it came to the author sharing information about the world or any huge grammatical mistakes. I enjoyed a lot of the characters, although I realize that the voice actor can have a huge impact on my perspective of the characters.
Thinking about all of the information that is thrown at us about the world, I am impressed with how it is handed to us. There wasn't really any boring exposition that kicked me out of the story. I really hate it when an author wants to tell me someone's life story when bullets are flying. Very happy that wasn't happening in this book.
I liked the Rylaks and could kind of visualize what they were.
I guess I could kind of sense where some of the plot was going, but like I said, this book wasn't perfect.
It was still good enough sci-fi for me at this point in my life.

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A somewhat rough start, but a great book

Revisado: 10-26-24

I don't know for sure all of the things that I liked about this book, but the camaraderie was a huge plus. The authors captured that in a very good way. They got a lot of things right in this book from a military point of view.
I really liked the premise of the story. It all just kind of makes sense and fits together really well. I rarely found myself questioning why this or that was happening.
The first book in the series sets the stage for the world in a way that makes me want to continue the series. Some books don't do that very well. They leave out important details or leave the story on a cliffhanger. This book does not do that. I know that the series will continue with the main character as a soldier because of what is said in the epilogue (not because there are more books for sale).

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Write fast, write hard.

Revisado: 10-24-24

Things I liked about the book were "write fast, write hard." I also enjoyed the witty banter that reminded me of the film noir era. Also, although, it was genre-specific, the author gave some structure to start with for writing a book. For some of us, that can be helpful. I know creative types will press others to push the paint around, so to speak, with the mantra "just write," but will then critique what is missing. I don't recommend rigidly adhering to the rules, but the author mentions the structure is just a place to start. The structure was focused on crime fiction, but that makes sense since most pulp fiction was in the crime genre (to my knowledge).

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