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Shadowbloom (Rhyme of the Willow #1)
by
Samuel Sullivan (Goodreads Author),
Justin Sullivan
SHADOWBLOOM
Rhyme of the Willow
(Book One)
When Axton and Aniva Rhyme were three years old, their parents disappeared. There were no letters, no bodies, no explanations of any kind – they had just vanished. All that remained was their car: a vehicle crashed against a willow tree.
Now, thirteen years have passed, and with the appearance of a woman with lime-green eyes and emer...more
Rhyme of the Willow
(Book One)
When Axton and Aniva Rhyme were three years old, their parents disappeared. There were no letters, no bodies, no explanations of any kind – they had just vanished. All that remained was their car: a vehicle crashed against a willow tree.
Now, thirteen years have passed, and with the appearance of a woman with lime-green eyes and emer...more
Kindle Edition
Published
December 6th 2011
by 3DAL, LLC
(first published December 1st 2011)
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Overall, I think this is a decent book. I've read a handful of the previous reviews and can't help but shake my head. This is the kind of book that takes you from your seat and into the pages, imagining what sort of world it is that Aniva and Axton have been sucked into. Some of the plantlore can get a little confusing, but in order to create an entire world based on plant life, there's got to be a lot of plants in the book.
For those who say they dislike Aniva because she's rude, you're compl...more
For those who say they dislike Aniva because she's rude, you're compl...more
Alright, so it took me most of the year to read this. I would pick it up in between books, but put it down as soon as something else came up. So to say it didn't really hold my attention would be an understatement.
I would have given this 2 stars up until about halfway through, then it got pretty interesting until about the 85% mark. I think one of the main issues was that Aniva was a horrible person, she is way too mean and aggressive all the time. By the end of the game, she was 13 in my mind,...more
I would have given this 2 stars up until about halfway through, then it got pretty interesting until about the 85% mark. I think one of the main issues was that Aniva was a horrible person, she is way too mean and aggressive all the time. By the end of the game, she was 13 in my mind,...more
Shadowbloom had a fantastic premise, and it was free for the Kindle, so I snatched it up. Upon reading, however, turns out that it's... less than fantastic.
Twin siblings Axton and Aniva, lost their parents in a mysterious car crash thirteen years before. The first turn-off for me was the characterization of the twins, which is completely flat; Axton, the studious, klutzy, dorky-but-sweet brother, and Aniva, the loud-mouthed, snotty, physically fit, adventurous sister. (Also, their names, seri...more
Twin siblings Axton and Aniva, lost their parents in a mysterious car crash thirteen years before. The first turn-off for me was the characterization of the twins, which is completely flat; Axton, the studious, klutzy, dorky-but-sweet brother, and Aniva, the loud-mouthed, snotty, physically fit, adventurous sister. (Also, their names, seri...more
2.5 stars
First half of the book--- half a star! aaaagh! exasperating, hard to get through, laboring to stay awake.
Second half--- 2 stars! whew! thank goodness, something's finally happened that I could care about.
The main problem is the main character Aniva. I don't want to have anything to do with her. This girl desperately needs a crash course on good manners and right conduct... and drastic lessons of HUMILITY. So when things started really going bad for her, I started feeling happy. That sou...more
First half of the book--- half a star! aaaagh! exasperating, hard to get through, laboring to stay awake.
Second half--- 2 stars! whew! thank goodness, something's finally happened that I could care about.
The main problem is the main character Aniva. I don't want to have anything to do with her. This girl desperately needs a crash course on good manners and right conduct... and drastic lessons of HUMILITY. So when things started really going bad for her, I started feeling happy. That sou...more
This is a very well-written book. The plot is well thought out, and there are interesting story lines and characters throughout. However, I can only give it three stars because the amount of information given is overwhelming and very difficult to remember. The authors create a vivid world, but it is an unfamiliar world and every new name/character/plant/event is simply too much to contain. I found myself skimming over sections full of unfamiliar names because they served no purpose to the plot;...more
The description of the book drew me in, but it wasn't quite what I expected.
What I liked:
1. The world that was built
2. The interesting characters
3. The fact that it wasn't vampires
4. The writing was well done
5. The intrigue of what happened to their parents and who the Green Witch is.
What I didn't:
1. Aniva - she seemed either irritated or angry all of the time, regardless if she was speaking to her brother, to Linnea, to Haze, or to Lotus. By the end, I kind of hoping they'd find out she was a B...more
What I liked:
1. The world that was built
2. The interesting characters
3. The fact that it wasn't vampires
4. The writing was well done
5. The intrigue of what happened to their parents and who the Green Witch is.
What I didn't:
1. Aniva - she seemed either irritated or angry all of the time, regardless if she was speaking to her brother, to Linnea, to Haze, or to Lotus. By the end, I kind of hoping they'd find out she was a B...more
A lot of people are rating this kinda low. Apparently it doesn't hold their interest. Apparently it doesn't have enough character development. Apparently they just don't like one of the characters.
Apparently the fact that they are adults judging a middle school book by an adult standard is entirely lost on them. Have I read better books? Yeah, but is that the point of the review? No.
The concept is great, though the characters could indeed a bit more development. That is entirely overshadowed by...more
Apparently the fact that they are adults judging a middle school book by an adult standard is entirely lost on them. Have I read better books? Yeah, but is that the point of the review? No.
The concept is great, though the characters could indeed a bit more development. That is entirely overshadowed by...more
SHADOWBLOOM Rhyme of the Willow, was an awesome read. I was taken to a whole new world of fantasy, a plant world. When Axton and Aniva Rhyme were three years old, their parents disappeared--they had just vanished. Now, thirteen years later, and with the appearance of a woman with lime-green eyes and emerald vines for hair, Axton and Aniva go back to where their parents disappeared, a willow tree. Axton places his hand on the tree, while saying a name and they are transported to a place through a...more
A strange and lovely book, with fascinatingly good world-building and a solid plot, but marred by flat characterization and stilted language.
The hero, Axton, came off like a 12-year-old, and his sister didn't seem much older. But in addition to the frenzy of misplaced commas, there's a lot of distinctly odd word use, like: "Lotus volted to one side." She...vaulted? No, because it's hand-to-hand combat in a small space. She...lit up like a battery? And don't get me started on the "graze" of a wo...more
The hero, Axton, came off like a 12-year-old, and his sister didn't seem much older. But in addition to the frenzy of misplaced commas, there's a lot of distinctly odd word use, like: "Lotus volted to one side." She...vaulted? No, because it's hand-to-hand combat in a small space. She...lit up like a battery? And don't get me started on the "graze" of a wo...more
Aug 16, 2012
Bunny
added it
Recommends it for:
Middle Grade level, chapter books level
Shelves:
ebooks-kindle
This book was just "ok" for me. Would be good for middle grade, I think.
The characters just weren't that likable to me (typical tomboy angry older sister, nerdy quiet younger brother)
the story line was ok. I just felt like I'd read it a thousand times in a thousand other books. Think Spiderwick & 13 Treasures, only no where near as developed or good. Take the other stories and replace bad fairies with "plants", and you've got the idea.
Notes:
This book could use a re-edit. Several typos, an...more
The characters just weren't that likable to me (typical tomboy angry older sister, nerdy quiet younger brother)
the story line was ok. I just felt like I'd read it a thousand times in a thousand other books. Think Spiderwick & 13 Treasures, only no where near as developed or good. Take the other stories and replace bad fairies with "plants", and you've got the idea.
Notes:
This book could use a re-edit. Several typos, an...more
view 2 comments
So, I really wanted to love this story. Mostly because the cover and the inside little chapter heading illustrations are so damn cool.
BUT, I only liked it. It was a fun read, but I probably won't pick up the further novels in the series. I think that this novel would be GREAT for a reader in their tweens/early teens, but as an adult I found the characters too flat and the storyline too predictable. The world creation is really great though. I did feel quite immersed in the world beyond the will...more
BUT, I only liked it. It was a fun read, but I probably won't pick up the further novels in the series. I think that this novel would be GREAT for a reader in their tweens/early teens, but as an adult I found the characters too flat and the storyline too predictable. The world creation is really great though. I did feel quite immersed in the world beyond the will...more
I really wanted to like this book more. The world building was great. The problem is that I hated most of the characters in this book. There was no one to pull for because none of them warranted it. Hopefully as it goes on, there will be some character development. Aniva was too aggressive and mean. Axton was too passive. Lotus was too simpering. Bluebeard was a big windbag. There were no sympathetic characters. The plot has so much potential. It's a shame.
While the setting is unique, and the overall story good, there are many things that bother me. The main characters are cliche/stereotypical. The storytelling is erratic - sometimes it flows and sometimes it's awkward, with word choice leaving me with the impression the authors were "thesaurus happy" and the word they settled on wasn't quite what should have been used. Dialogue sometimes left me scratching my head - it was forced in places and a little odd. Still, the concept was a good one.
Proba...more
Proba...more
While I didn't enthusiastically love this book, I did enjoy reading it. It was slow at first and I wasn't sure if I was going to like it but the more I read the more I enjoyed it and I was left wanting more by the end. Great read!
I'm not sure why I struggled through this work. I did not like any of the characters and had trouble with the action and location. Even the conclusion wasn't, it was just a hint of things to come...for other readers, not me.
This is a very good adventure and fantasy book not for just young adults but mostly for children, too. It's unique and original concept of the plant world makes it funny and sympathizing. It's a sequel so lots of answers I suppose will be answered in the next book:)
This book wasn't quite as good as I wanted it to be. The idea is a good one and the author did a great job of developing the world of the book, but it just didn't click with me.
Great book, very different. Lost me a bit in the beginning, but I eventually caught the thread back. The premises of a world entirely driven by plant life is great and the pacing is quite good.
This book had the potential to be good but just never hit the mark. I would recomend it because of the original story and world building even though I only rate it as a 3. Not the best but certainly not the worst.
This reminded me of Gregor the Overlander, in a way. Pleasant read, interesting little world.
This was a four star book but I gave it five stars because it was free. By chapter 5 I was hooked.
Pretty good book. It was frustrating how ornery Aniva was the whole time, but the author has a great imagination
I liked it. Interesting world with engaging characters who are not one dimensional. I'll be reading the second one...
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Samuel Sullivan is the co-author of the Rhyme of the Willow trilogy. For updates and more information on the Rhyme of the Willow books, visit www.rhymeofthewillow.com or www.facebook.com/rhymeofthewillow.
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“Lies and corruption are the natural progression when communities are ruled by fear”
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