RATING
3/5
STATS
- Paperback
- 1st Edition
- 620 pagesExpected publication: July 16th 2019 by Ruby & Topaz PublishingOriginal Title Glow: Book I, PotencyISBN0578419998 (ISBN13: 9780578419992)Edition Language English
STORY SYNOPSIS
“The Maasai Mara Sleeping Syndrome has returned after a six-month hiatus. This time, it’s popped up in New York, and it’s wiped out an entire homeless shelter.
The same night of the outbreak, Harper, a seventeen-year-old girl, stumbles across a glowing figure in the desert outskirts of her neighborhood. As her suburb goes on lockdown, Harper finds herself isolated from her friends and family, and soon begins to suspect that the events — though thousands of miles apart — may have something in common.
Harper must find her bravery and embark on a plot-twisting adventure that will have her looking for answers in unexpected places… and worlds.”
MY THOUGHTS
Sadly after a few false starts on this book, I have found that it wasn’t for me. This story has all the excellent markings of a solid book. Hadley does a great job laying the scene and creating the setting. Where I think this story ran into problems was with the characters and specifically the dialog. I found it stunted and unrealistic. Stunted in delivery and unrealistic in style. Harper, the main character, comes across as a generally normal tom-boy type teen girl. She plays soccer and fights with her mom. To confuse the situation, she is also half alien. Harper also lives within a world plagued by something called Maasai Mara Sleeping Syndrome. You go to sleep and don’t wake up. As I said, Hadley has done a great job setting the scene here. It sounds like it could be a fascinating story. It plods along with Harper having unrealistic interactions and illogical emotions. She isn’t a likable protagonist, someone I care about and want to get behind. She just existed in the story. She was flat. And, that made me fall flatly out of the story.
PROCUREMENT
Thank you to Netgalley and Ruby & Topaz Publishing for providing me with a copy of this in exchange for my open and honest review.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
I write, design full time, attempt to be healthy, and like dogs too much.
See what I’m up to:
Instagram: aubreyhadley
Website: http://author.aubrey-hadley.com