Mini Book Reviews | Netgalley Books of the Week


In my last Netgalley Books of the week post I mentioned that I haven't really been approved that much. Well, color me surprised when I suddenly got approved for multiple books in about a week. Now I am kinda on a self imposed request ban because I have yet to finish 3 books to be able to keep up with my 80% Review Rate. *Disclaimer: I received these books in exchange for an honest review

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Whisper
by Lynette Noni
Expected publication: May 1st 2018 by KCP Loft
Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐


“Lengard is a secret government facility for extraordinary people,” they told me. 


I believed them. That was my mistake.

There isn’t anyone else in the world like me.

I’m different. I’m an anomaly. I’m a monster. 

For two years, six months, fourteen days, eleven hours and sixteen minutes, Subject Six-Eight-Four — ‘Jane Doe’ — has been locked away and experimented on, without uttering a single word.

As Jane’s resolve begins to crack under the influence of her new — and unexpectedly kind — evaluator, she uncovers the truth about Lengard’s mysterious ‘program’, discovering that her own secret is at the heart of a sinister plot … and one wrong move, one wrong word, could change the world.

Review: I liked this book because of a few reasons. First, the setting of the story is in Australia. Totally different from the Typical North American Setting. I worked for an Australian company before and I could just imagine (hear?) the characters Australian accent. And second, because the powers of the characters are different and I love it. I don't want to mention spoilers so I just wanted to mention that the content was well written and it made me want for more of the story. It definitely sounds like there is more of this story to come. 
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Becoming the Dragon (The Dragon Inside Book 1)
by Alex Sapegin
Published December 5th 2017 by Litworld Ltd.


Rating: ⭐⭐⭐


From now on he’s got two hearts beating in his scale-clad chest, and two mighty wings on his back. In the faraway planet of two moons, he was born again as a dragon… but would it make him any less human? 

The Dragon Inside, a bestselling series by Alex Sapegin, is comprised of a total of four books: 
– Becoming the Dragon 
– Taking Wing 
– A Tale of Violence 
– Three Wars 

It is a saga of portal traveling, bodily transformations, reincarnation and epic combat, but first and foremost a story of discovering and reclaiming one’s true self. 
Having unwittingly stumbled into the site of a scientific experiment, Andy gets teleported to the faraway planet of Ilanta, inhabited by both human and supernatural beings. In this new world, he will encounter all kinds of exciting adventures and grim challenges, mastering his newly developed magic skills, befriending orcs, elves, and dragons, fighting the good fight, and eventually continuing on his quest for justice reincarnated as a dragon. 
It was obvious right from the get-go that destiny has something unique in store for Andy Kerimov, a small-town teenager who survives a direct strike from lightning which leaves him with immunity to electronic devices and extraordinary magic powers just waiting to be released. 
Teleported to the fairytale world of Ilanta, Andy gets no cordial welcome: he is captured, chained up and sold into slavery — but not before he accidentally activates an ancient artifact and sets Karegar the Dragon free, who would later become his mentor and foster father. When fatally wounded, Andy chooses to undergo an ancient ritual to be reborn as a dragon, a.k.a. a Master of Heaven. 
He will have to go a long way before settling into his new body and mastering his newly acquired powers. On his way, he will make loyal friends and bitter enemies, going through fire and ice, defending the right and taking the weak under his wing. Little does he know that he is destined to play a central part in an epic conflict soon to break out where the future of the two planets, as well as his now-faraway homeland, would be at stake… 
From now on he’s got two hearts beating in his scale-clad chest, and two mighty wings on his back. In the faraway planet of two moons, he was born again as a dragon… but would it make him any less human? 
The Dragon Inside, a bestselling series by Alex Sapegin, is comprised of a total of four books: 
– Becoming the Dragon 
– Taking Wing 
– A Tale of Violence 
– Three Wars 
It is a saga of portal traveling, bodily transformations, reincarnation and epic combat, but first and foremost a story of discovering and reclaiming one’s true self. 
Having unwittingly stumbled into the site of a scientific experiment, Andy gets teleported to the faraway planet of Ilanta, inhabited by both human and supernatural beings. In this new world, he will encounter all kinds of exciting adventures and grim challenges, mastering his newly developed magic skills, befriending orcs, elves, and dragons, fighting the good fight, and eventually continuing on his quest for justice reincarnated as a dragon. 
It was obvious right from the get-go that destiny has something unique in store for Andy Kerimov, a small-town teenager who survives a direct strike from lightning which leaves him with immunity to electronic devices and extraordinary magic powers just waiting to be released. 
Teleported to the fairytale world of Ilanta, Andy gets no cordial welcome: he is captured, chained up and sold into slavery — but not before he accidentally activates an ancient artifact and sets Karegar the Dragon free, who would later become his mentor and foster father. When fatally wounded, Andy chooses to undergo an ancient ritual to be reborn as a dragon, a.k.a. a Master of Heaven. 
He will have to go a long way before settling into his new body and mastering his newly acquired powers. On his way, he will make loyal friends and bitter enemies, going through fire and ice, defending the right and taking the weak under his wing. Little does he know that he is destined to play a central part in an epic conflict soon to break out where the future of the two planets, as well as his now-faraway homeland, would be at stake…

Review: This is one of those books that start out great and do have a promising story and then it gets confusing or all together overwhelming. It's written in the style of most Middle Grade books but the main characetr Andy is not Middle Grade Age. The elements of adventure, magic, inter-dimensional travel are present, and so does a little bit of sex which isn't appropriate for middle grade readers. This is the 1st book in a series but the whole book could have been divided into 2. If that was the case I guess it wouldn't be too overwhelming. 

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The Tremblers (Blackburn Chronicles #1)
by Raquel Byrnes
Published January 19th 2018 by Pelican Book Group


Rating: ⭐⭐


Charlotte Blackburn—a beautiful, intelligent, and gifted tinkerer—lives in a cloistered world of wealth and privilege beneath the Electric Tesla Dome that shields survivors of The Great Calamity. But when her father is abducted, and a strange sickness starts transforming men into vicious monsters, she discovers that technology is no protection at all.

Ashton Wells has a dire mission: Secure Colonel Blackburn and deliver his research to The Order of the Sword and Scroll. But the plan goes awry, and he is left with nothing but the colonel’s daughter who has a target on her back and is willing stop at nothing to rescue her father—including handing over to the enemy the only means to stop the monstrous plague.

Branded as traitors, Ashton and Charlotte brave the treacherous floating sky ports of Outer City to hunt down the elusive inventor, Nikola Tesla—the only person able to activate the strange device that harbors the secret to their salvation. With the government closing in, a rebellion brewing in the streets, and terrifying Tremblers attacking the innocent, the two must work together to stop their fragile world from crumbling once more into destruction.

Review: This is the book that I least liked from the 3 I read this past week. I did like the premise and setting of the story - Steampunk and Tesla. But the characters were very annoying, especially the protagonist Charlotte. I had to skip or skim through some paragraphs because it was a little dragging and too descriptive. I'm probably not going to read the next books in this series.


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