Unwept

See more reviews at <a href="http://yamidnightreads.com/" rel="nofollow noopener">YA Midnight Reads</a><br /><br /><b>DNF</b><br /><br />Unfortunately, another beautiful cover gone to waste. Be prepared for the over-usage of the word 'boring', because that's the only word that I can use to describe everything.<br /><br />Ellis, the main character, was boring. I definitely had an incentive to like this Ellis; to prove <a href="http://randomtransliterator.blogspot.be/" target="_blank" rel="nofollow noopener">Ellis @ The Random Transliterator</a> that her other life was so much better. Alas, I can come up with nothing to prove that her other life was better no matter how hard I tried to whip up something. Why? Because for most of this book, Unwept Ellis doesn't have any emotions. Sure, it's mentioned that she's flustered or confused but I never really felt those emotions dig into my skin. I honestly could not care less about Ellis because of this lack of connection between us, and same goes for all the other characters. Not one character, could catch my interest.<br /><blockquote>He whispered her name simply and yet there was a rushing wind in his breath that spoke of green summer, bitter winter, resigned autumn and a thousand glorious springs.</blockquote><br />The writing, was beautiful, but boooooooring. I mentioned the same problem in an earlier review this month--that while the writing was highly exceptional, but it dragged slowly and made me unquestionably bored. The long sentences and overly long descriptions just did not work.<br /><br />The plot and pace was slowly developed, and well, boring. The idea of a girl waking up to discover that all she could remember was her name was certainly haunting and mysterious, but that's the intrigue ended. Ellis, I feel, doesn't even act like a girl whose memories have been lost. She just didn't feel all that shocked, in my opinion. I expected Ellis to be so much more confused and withdrawn in general. Going on, the pace didn't work at all. I DNFed this book at 50% and at around 40%, nothing in regards to the plot moved. It was only around after this point, when Ellis began having eerie and strange dreams (and where the plot actually starts to pick up.) If you cannot deal with boring and slow writing for a good 50%, then I wouldn't be recommending this. While it is only a 272 paged book, it reads to feel so much longer.<br /><br />This book was boring, if you haven't gotten the message yet. If you want a good mystery with intrigue, this would not suffice. While these authors have great potential, the pace and slow writing and characters let this down.<br /><p> <em>~Thank you Tor Books for sending me this copy!~</em> </p>

3 of 5 stars at The BiblioSanctum <a target="_blank" rel="noopener nofollow" href="http://bibliosanctum.com/2014/07/15/book-review-unwept-by-tracy-hickman-and-laura-hickman/">http://bibliosanctum.com/2014/07/15/b...</a><br /><br />Some books start off with a shaky opening but then end up getting better as the story gains momentum, but other times there are books like Unwept that go the opposite way. These books manage to capture my attention right off the bat and get me invested with an interesting premise, but then they stumble and lose me about halfway through. The magic fizzles out and I can’t get it back.<br /><br />I have my inklings as to why this might have been the case with Unwept. Thing is, I love being teased with a bit of mystery. And this book did that very well, starting off by painting a baffling yet very intriguing picture. A girl named Ellis Harkington comes to herself in the middle of a train ride accompanied by a nurse and baby, but has no memory of how she got there or any of her life before this moment. She arrives at a remote seaside town named Gamin where everyone seems to know her better than she knows herself, but she can’t even recognize any of their faces. A group of young men and women called the Nightbirds — who claims to be a literary society – welcome her back into the fold with open arms, and yet for a literary society they don’t seem all that interested in books…<br /><br />Then there are the nightmares. Ellis dreams of clouds of moths and visitations from a strange soldier with a paisley-shaped mark on his face. There’s also talk of terrible things happening all over town, like a devastating fire, missing people, and the discovery of mutilated bodies pointing to a ruthless killer on the loose. And why are there no children in town? There this real sense of unease and foreboding. The atmosphere is practically humming with anticipation. The stage is set for something great, and you know deep down in your gut that this book has got to be building up to something huge.<br /><br />Well. It didn’t really happen. At least, not for me. You must understand, this book had me wrapped around its finger and I was completely under its control and prepared to fall head over heels in love with it. I cannot give enough praise to the first half of this novel; it was fantastically well written and constructed to give the reader a perfect foundation. I simply adored the first 150 pages or so. But not long after that, the plot started fraying at the edges.<br /><br />Unfortunately, being plied with all that escalation with ultimately not much payoff has a way of making me feel a bit grumpy. I’m also disheartened by the lost potential of this story. The book could only maintain the suspense for so long before I started questioning where it was trying to go and what it was trying to say. I had the sneaking suspicion that I was being led on a wild goose chase. Not long after that, I finally had to admit to myself that I really had no idea what was going on. By the time some answers were forthcoming, I don’t know if I felt as invested or engaged in the outcome anymore. The revelations were certainly eye-opening, but it’s a classic case of “too little too late.” I just can’t decide if the disappointment hurt more or less because the story had such a strong and promising start.<br /><br />Unwept is also the first book of a series, and – unsurprisingly, perhaps – it has the stamp of a “Book One” all over it. Don’t expect any satisfying or clear-cut answers. Instead of growing and expanding, the story seemed to shrink back in on itself. There is mystery at the beginning, and there will still be mystery at the end, and probably more blanks and question marks than you started out with. It’s hard to tell now, but I think I might have had a more positive reaction to the book if I had known to rein in my expectations a little.<br /><br />In the end, I don’t think Unwept is a bad book. The sheer enjoyment I got out of the first part of it is a testament to that. It’s also such a quick read that if you’re even remotely interested in the description, I would say it is well worth your time, as the average reader can probably knock it out in one or two sittings. It has a fascinating premise, and I have no doubt it’ll work for a lot of readers. I just personally wish I been better prepared for its peculiar pacing.

I received this as an ARC from Netgalley for an honest review.<br /><br />I really, really wanted to like this. I mean the cover was so pretty, and I had such high hopes. The problem is this book was SO boring, and I just couldn’t get into the characters. Then that ending happened, and it was a cliffhanger, and I just really didn’t care. There was no emotional connection for me to care to find out what happens in the next book.<br /><br />I guess I was looking for the magic Hickman had with Weis in the Dragonlance Chronicles and it wasn’t there.<br />

<blockquote> <b> <i>"You know, Ellie, Nightbird is just another name for 'moth'. Maybe that's where your dreams come from."</i> </b> </blockquote><br><br><b>I would like to thank Netgalley and Tor books for providing me this review copy for an honest review.</b><br><br>Where do I even start with this?<br>Until now my head is just overflowing with possibilities on what will happen on the next book. That's a bit of a spoiler isn't it?<br>Yes, there will be sequel!<br>And this baby, ended in a way that you will surely ask for more.<br><br>This is how I looked like as I was reading this. This is chronologically arranged, starting from when I started reading it up to when it ended.<br><br>STARTED READING:<br><img src="https://images.gr-assets.com/hostedimages/1404550354ra/10256008.gif" class="gr-hostedUserImg" loading="lazy"><br><br>AT ABOUT 30%:<br><img src="https://images.gr-assets.com/hostedimages/1404550354ra/10256009.gif" class="gr-hostedUserImg" loading="lazy"><br><br>AT ABOUT 60%:<br><img src="https://images.gr-assets.com/hostedimages/1404550354ra/10256010.gif" class="gr-hostedUserImg" loading="lazy"><br><br>AT ABOUT 80%:<br><img src="https://images.gr-assets.com/hostedimages/1404550354ra/10256011.gif" class="gr-hostedUserImg" loading="lazy"><br><br>AFTER FINISHING:<br><img src="https://images.gr-assets.com/hostedimages/1404550354ra/10256012.gif" class="gr-hostedUserImg" loading="lazy"><br><br><b>THIS BOOK WAS A SUCKER PUNCH TO THE GUT OR FACE... WHATEVER!</b><br><br>It will keep you guessing up until the last minute, even after they're already revealing the secret behind the mystery, you are still guessing if it's true or not.<br><br>For the <b>GIST</b><br><br><blockquote> <i>Ellis doesn't know how she got on that train going to Gamin, Maine. All she remembered was waking up from a nightmare, and in front of her was a nurse who knows her, but she had no memory of ever knowing her.<br><br>Upon her arrival to the town, she was greeted warmly by people she had never met, but knew her. Doctor Carmichael (who prefers to be called Uncle) picks her up from the train station and takes her to her cousin, Jenny, to recover from an illness she also does not have any memory of.<br><br>She still gets dreams, and the dreams are getting more and more vivid. She doesn't distinguish which is real and which is a dream anymore.<br><br>She wants to trust in someone, but she doesn't know who she can trust, especially now that everyone can't seem to tell her what happened to her. No one tells her anything. She wants answers, and she will find them no matter what it takes.</i> </blockquote><br><br><b>MY RATING</b><br><br><img src="https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/hostedimages/1404550354i/10256013.png" class="gr-hostedUserImg" loading="lazy"><br><br><b>WRITING:</b> 17<br><b>PLOT:</b> 20<br><b>CHARACTERS:</b> 17<br><b>UNPREDICTABILITY:</b> 20<br><b>PACING:</b> 5<br><b>ENJOYABILITY:</b> 8<br>----------------------------<br> <b>87 points</b><br><br><br><b>WRITING</b><br><br>I just have one thing to say about the writing, it was damn eerie. It has that mysterious vibe oozing through its pages. It will make you flip through its pages faster than you should. I usually don't like third person narration, except for maybe the Harry Potter series and Cassie Clare's books, but this one worked for me.<br><br>Waking up without a memory will cause you to be confused, puzzled, and lost. I've never lost my memory, so I couldn't really confirm if this was an accurate thinking of a person who had amnesia. But I kind of think it was as close as it could get to it.<br><br><b>PLOT</b><br><br>UNIQUE. The plot of this book is nothing I've ever read before. I wasn't exactly sure at first, if it was going to be a paranormal book, or just an otherworldly contemporary book. The story doesn't really giveaway too much of wha was going to happen until the last few pages of the book. This book was like a puzzle with missing pieces, that we were trying to complete. As the story progress, we get one piece of the puzzle at a time until the whole picture is revealed.<br><br>It was amazing.<br><br><b>CHARACTERS</b><br><br>Ellis was an admirable character. She may have lost her memory, but she doesn't give up in finding out the truth about who she was, and what was going on around her, because there was a lot going on in the background. There was a lot of thing we weren't able to see at first. She thinks before she speaks. Although everyone tells her she was sick or something, it didn't break her spirit. I liked that about her. She knew she'd be a fool to trust anyone, which was the right decision. Although, there was a point she misjudged someone, which I kind of thought she would.<br><br>I don't want to get too much on the details about the other characters because I'd probably give away too much if I did. There were a lot of secondary characters, but not all of them had a role, most of them are just pawns on the game that one of them was playing... So no, I wouldn't tell you guys anymore about the characters.<br><br><b>PREDICTABILITY</b><br><br>I still gave this a perfect score on my book, because majority of the time I was just shaking my head in disbelief that what I was thinking about is so far from the truth. I did guess one thing right though, I guessed who the evil villan was!!<br><br><b>PACING</b><br><br>It was too slow for my taste, but towards the last quarter of the book, all the truth came out in the open and hit you all at once.<br><br><b>ENJOYABILITY</b><br><br>I love my mystery so I definitely enjoyed this book!<br><br><b>FINAL RAMBLINGS</b><br><br>I am totally impressed with this book! I would have finished this earlier had I not been irritated with the Bluefire reader. *NOTE TO SELF: never send a galley through Bluefire!!*<br><br>Romance was not a big thing in this book so if you're looking for paranormal romance in this novel, better look for it some place else. There is pseudoromance I guess, but I'm not really sure until I get the next book which I want right now!!!<br><br>Oh and the cover's gorgeous! I should have given plus points for that. Publisher's should always remember that the cover gives the book additional pull to its audience.<br><br>What else am I missing? <br><br>I think that's all for my review of this book! Would I recommend it? Abso-fucking-lutely! I'm not really sure if this was supposed to be YA or adult or something, but younger readers could read this. No mature themes that I have read, just a little bit of gory stuff towards the end.<br><br><b>VERY FINAL NOTE</b> I don't get the title. Why was it Unwept? Maybe I missed it somehow. I'll probably skim through it at some point to figure it out!

I really put this at about 2.5 stars.<br /><br />Sometimes I’m in the mood for something different from my normal reads, something outside of the books I know are telling stories I want to hear in a style that I enjoy. Sometimes this results in a huge payoff as I read and enjoy something quite different. So, I will admit this is the mindset I was in when I decided to read Unwept. That, plus the gorgeous cover.<br /><br />The story intrigued me. A girl wakes up with complete amnesia, remembering nothing before a train ride that has brought her to be reunited with her friends and life from before her “accident” (whatever that may have been) that resulted in her memory loss. Imagine suddenly becoming aware of everything and everyone around you with no recognition or familiarity. A part of you has to ask if you should trust these people. That was my hook. The potential for a story that makes you question everything and everyone. What if these are not her friends? What caused her memory loss? What other possibilities exist? Those questions are why I chose this book. There could be some seriously suspenseful creepy things going on, and so I wanted to find out.<br /><br />I did find some of this with Unwept. We do wonder about this strange place she has awoken to. There are no children, the rules seem more lax and there is just something odd about the place and the people. You definitely can tell that this is not just a simple case of amnesia. But I also found some of the story terribly predictable. And the writing style is just one that tends to not work for me. I hate to say its “too YA” because YA can mean various things depending on who you are talking to, and there are so many different styles represented within it. It also makes it sound like an insult, which I would never want to do. There are some phenomenal YA books out there. But, I feel this was too typical of the common YA that most people think of when they hear the label. There’s an audience for those books, it just doesn’t typically include me. There’s nothing wrong with that and there are plenty of books I read that other readers would feel the same way about. It just comes down to different styles for different readers. I knew this book was going to be a bit of a gamble for me. And while I enjoyed the premise, I just never was as drawn in as I had hoped. I may have been just looking for more of a horror story than this turned out to be. And I can’t fault a book for not being something its not.<br /><br />It is quite a quick read, which in my case was a good thing. I may not have finished it otherwise. But, I was curious enough to see if my suspicions were correct to read on to the end. I guess I am glad I did, because now I know. I don’t think I enjoyed it quite enough to continue on with the series, but it wasn’t so disagreeable that I can completely rule out the possibility. <br /><br />

☆ ☆ ☆<br><i> Actual 3.5 </i><br><br><b> No spoilers and colorful language abound! I received this ARC from the publisher in exchange for an honest review.</b><br><br><a href="http://s1212.photobucket.com/user/PetiteAme/media/Halloween%20Upload/GIFS/anigif_enhanced-buzz-12025-1390243116-29_zps2d1fb006.gif.html" target="_blank" rel="nofollow noopener"> <img src="https://images.gr-assets.com/hostedimages/1401637592ra/9825753.gif" alt=" photo anigif_enhanced-buzz-12025-1390243116-29_zps2d1fb006.gif" class="gr-hostedUserImg" loading="lazy"> </a><br><br>Imagine coming into consciousness on a train, you remember nothing of your self at all but your own name. Your travel companion refuses to tell you anything, only referring to your uncle that you are traveling to see. When you arrive it turns out he isn't even your uncle, just someone who likes to be called "uncle" by the entire town <i>read: creepy as fuck</i>. None of the smiling faces at the station feel safe or remind you of home, no one will give you answers and keeps coddling you because of how unwell you are. The thing is, you don't feel unwell, you feel confused and angry because <i> who the hell are you and why won't anyone tell you?</i><br><br><b>Bonus: Interesting as hell premise.</b><br><br>Almost immediately I was absorbed into this interesting world Hickman had created and was quickly locked down by the mystery of it all. Each little hint of the truth was revealed <i>excruciatingly </i> slowly, all the while second guessing my hunches and realizing I actually have no idea what is happening. I have a deep love-hate relationship with mystery, I love it because when written well I can do nothing and see nothing else. <i>Nothing gets under my skin like a good mystery.</i> However, I get incredibly annoyed when it takes the entire book to get even the slightest sense of truth, but I suppose that's part of the seduction of it all. In retrospect the clues were obvious enough, at least to give you an <i> idea</i> of what it all meant, but as I said earlier, I was second guessing myself until the very end.<br><br><a href="http://s1212.photobucket.com/user/PetiteAme/media/Halloween%20Upload/GIFS/Noideawhatsgoingon_zpsf7c74c5a.gif.html" target="_blank" rel="nofollow noopener"> <img src="https://images.gr-assets.com/hostedimages/1402592882ra/9957406.gif" alt=" photo Noideawhatsgoingon_zpsf7c74c5a.gif" class="gr-hostedUserImg" loading="lazy"> </a><br><br>This reads very much like a first installment, which of course it is. However this is not an aspect I appreciate, but one I accept. The truth is that not many authors can carry an entire first book on the premise of <i>laying down the foundation </i> and follow it up with something spectacular,<i> that ending tho.</i> I do hope in the second installment there is a bit more character exploration, I was left with way more questions than answers.<br><br>Ellis gets off the train in Gamin, a strange but quant seaside town brimming with curiosities that speak of the life and times of the 1920's. She is swept up in a life she doesn't recognize filled with people she isn't sure she can trust. With aspects of a child-like secret society, a passion for music, and the ever present sensation that she <i> has to remember</i> you own't be able to put this down! I don't want to spoil so I'll keep this part vague, it's a fast and engrossing read that I read in one delightful sitting. <br><br><a href="http://www.ericapetiteame.blogspot.com" rel="nofollow noopener"> <img src="https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/hostedimages/1397955482i/9350858.jpg" class="gr-hostedUserImg" loading="lazy"> </a>

2.5 stars<br /><br />When I first started reading Unwept, I thought to myself, "What the heck is going on?" -- and I have to admit that this mystery factor was the driving force that kept me reading. I was unsure what kind of story this was going to be, and my guesses kept changing as new things happened (all without any explanations, somehow). By the end of this novel, I was still wondering what the heck was going on, and so I found myself rather frustrated. Confusion reigns supreme in this novel, which would have been fine if I'd gotten more of an answer by the end of this book. As it stands, I don't know that I'll continue the series.

<u>Unwept</u> by Tracy and Laura Hickman<br><br>First in the Nightbirds series<br><br><b>2 stars (DNF)</b><br><br><p>Ellis finds herself amidst a strange town with no recollection of who she is or what is going on around. Something feels off in the town she finds herself in and she can’t help, but feel as if she’s inside a nightmare. I was incredibly excited when I was approved for this on Netgalley because 1) the cover is absolutely gorgeous, 2) the summary is intriguing, and 3) it seemed like a book I would love. Sadly I didn’t even make it to the 50% mark of Unwept. I found myself enjoying the opening chapter. I thought it was creepy and the dream sequence left me feeling excited for more. This feeling quickly left me feeling unsatisfied. The tone of Unwept is very uncertain and while I don’t mind this tone I don’t like the feeling of being trapped while reading and that’s exactly how I felt. I felt like the opening chapter- trapped in a coffin and it was as if I couldn’t get out. I quickly began to dislike the book because the town felt like one giant coffin. I also didn’t understand the dual point-of-view aspect that was slowly thrown in. I wasn’t sure if this was because there are two authors and they wanted to take a gander at writing from different perspectives, but whatever the real reason behind it is- I don’t care. This book is as dull as the characters introduced. The characters are talking pieces of cardboard who exhibit no sign of emotion; even the main character who should be the most interesting character in the story. I DNFed and I’m sadly disappointed. Maybe one day I will give this another shot, but it seems very unlikely.</p><br><br><b>Whimsical Writing Scale: 2<br><br>Plotastic Scale: 2<br><br>Character Scale: 2</b><br><br><img src="https://images.gr-assets.com/hostedimages/1415773309ra/11844025.gif" class="gr-hostedUserImg" loading="lazy"><br><br><b>Cover Thoughts: This is another case of beautiful cover, crappy content. This cover is just so gorgeous. I love it. </b><br><br><i>Thank you, Netgalley and Tor Books for allowing me the chance to read this book in exchange for an honest review.</i><br><br>~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~<br>I got accepted for this on Netgalley.<br><img src="https://images.gr-assets.com/hostedimages/1401321031ra/9786231.gif" class="gr-hostedUserImg" loading="lazy">

I really thought this might be good, but unfortunately it wasn't. I feel like I was bamboozled. I almost don't know where to start with this book.<br><br>The pacing was way too slow. I was bored to tears at first, and very nearly put the book down. The characters were lackluster and uninteresting. It felt like a chore just finishing the book. The twist near the end of the book was kind of random, honestly. The whole book left me feeling crazy myself.<br><br><img src="https://images.gr-assets.com/hostedimages/1405692130ra/10436826.gif" width="400" height="260" class="gr-hostedUserImg" loading="lazy"><br><br><img src="https://images.gr-assets.com/hostedimages/1405691986ra/10436809.gif" width="400" height="260" class="gr-hostedUserImg" loading="lazy"><br><br>Ellis was just too passive aggressive, which infuriates me. I get that she is supposed to be suffering from some sort of amnesia, but dont act like you remember something and then backtrack later. Merrick needs to calm his butt down and quit acting like the smug, psycho dentist creeping around with ether. Jenny needs to take a hint and quit acting like a dog in heat. And every other character should just get a life. Oh right, easier said than done in this book. <br><br><img src="https://images.gr-assets.com/hostedimages/1398314899ra/9399184.gif" width="400" height="209" class="gr-hostedUserImg" loading="lazy"><br><br>I kept asking myself what was going every couple of pages. This story was hard to follow and not well written if I might add. The flow wasn't smooth at all. Too bland for my tastes.

<b>UNWEPT</b> strives to create an uncanny dreamworld of menace and meaning, but falls far short of its goal. After a gripping opening scene, the story bogs down under Alice in Wonderland levels of incongruity and silliness.<br /><br />Though the story lags after the incredible opening chapter, once Ellis arrives in Gamin the mystery manages to overpower the nonsense for a time. Unfortunately, the clues and hints scattered page by page don’t build to a satisfying trajectory, but rather pile up and become cacophonous. Like the reader, the characters are similarly overwhelmed. Rather than growing over the course of the story, book one of this series takes Ellis from confused and compliant to hysterical and obdurate. Despite glimmers of strength and intelligence, Ellis herself seems fed up with this story by book’s end.<br /><br />Fantastic opening chapter and interesting premise aside, the majority of this narrative doesn’t offer enough grounding to ever give the story weight. <b>UNWEPT</b> left me with a long list of questions and very little desire to spend any more time in this chaotic and frustrating world.<br /><br /><u>Sexual Content</u>: References to sex and sexual assault.