Dissolve (Dissolve, #1)

Apr 26, 2012 Nick rated it 2 of 5 stars

Read more of my reviews at Nick's Book Blog

I was immediately mesmerized by the lovely cover and mysterious premise of Dissolve by Andrea Heltsley. Upon receiving my review copy, I immediately dived into the story with high expectations. However, my expectations were not fully met.

The story begins with the main character, Cora, feeling very ill after having a few drinks at a night club. Soon, her best friend, Nessa, decides that it's best for them to go back home. The next door, Cora wakes up sti...more Read more of my reviews at Nick's Book Blog

I was immediately mesmerized by the lovely cover and mysterious premise of Dissolve by Andrea Heltsley. Upon receiving my review copy, I immediately dived into the story with high expectations. However, my expectations were not fully met.

The story begins with the main character, Cora, feeling very ill after having a few drinks at a night club. Soon, her best friend, Nessa, decides that it's best for them to go back home. The next door, Cora wakes up still feeling very sick. She forces herself out of bed since she was meeting her fiance, his mother and her own mother for her wedding preparations. There, Cora faints and the next thing she knows is that she wakes with her fiance lying dead. Cora suddenly dissolves and somehow ends up naked at Nessa's place. Not understanding what's happening to her, Cora seeks Nessa's assistance in trying to find out the mystery surrounding her.

Cora was a fairly likable character. She was always nice and sweet to the people she cared, but I found her to be a little too naive for my liking. Also, when she gets these weird unexplainable abilities, her reactions to all of it was just too accepting. Moreover, I personally thought that she lacked back-bone. To be honest, I never could relate to her throughout the book. There were times when her actions or decisions did not really please me and I found them to be simply childish. Overall, Cora was not a main character, whose head I enjoyed being in.

In truth, none of the characters were to my liking. Somehow, I felt that they were not very developed. However, on my favorite aspect of the book was the friendship that Nessa and Cora shared. It was somewhat of a deep bond and the respect that they felt for each other was prevalent throughout the book. In my opinion, it's their friendship that really stood out in this book. I loved how supportive they were of each other. They stuck with each other through thick and thin. They shared all their thoughts and feelings and the trust that existed between them was truly admirable.

The plot was intriguing and highly original. It had huge potentials because it was somewhat unique. For that, I applaud the author. Her ideas were one of a kind and I don't I've ever read a book that had something similar to Dissolve. However, because of the way the story is executed, the book simply fell flat. There was a lot going on in the book and none of it was described in detail. What I'm trying to say here is that the book felt way too rushed for me. I suppose the author wanted to the story to be action-packed, but she didn't manage to do that. Plus, the writing style really didn't do it for me. There was something lacking in it. I suppose I wanted some excitement, but Dissolve didn't deliver.

To sum up, I feel that if you can disregard stuff like underdeveloped characters and rushed plot, then I recommend this book to you. Maybe I expected a bit too much from the book, but Dissolve failed to entice me and entwine in it's web. You never know, you might like it though !

*Disclosure of Material Connection: I am a member of Reading Addiction Blog Tours and a copy of this book was provided to me by the author. Although payment may have been received by Reading Addiction Blog Tours, no payment was received by me in exchange for this review. There was no obligation to write a positive review. All opinions expressed are entirely my own and may not necessarily agree with those of the author, publisher, publicist, or readers of this review. This disclosure is in accordance with the Federal Trade Commision’s 16 CFR, Part 255, Guides Concerning Use of Endorcements and Testimonials in Advertising*(less)

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Jun 21, 2012 Lissette rated it 3 of 5 stars

Cora's life was going just the way she wanted it to be. She had a wonderful fiancé and was looking forward to marrying him soon. Her best friend, while wacky at times, kept her in line, even if they got into mischief, every now and then. She had everything she could ever ask for, loving the little niché she'd carved out for herself. Yet never once did she imagine losing it all within the blink of an eye.

Plagued by dreams she can't explain, Cora dismisses them as if they're nothing to worry about...more

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Oct 06, 2012 Katrina (Kindred Dreamheart) rated it 4 of 5 stars Recommends it for: Fans of Heros and/or SAW

Shelves: amazon-freebie-promo, e-reader, blog-review, blog-tour

"Two days ago I never would have dreamed of grave digging........."

Cora is days away from becoming a newly wed. Well at least she was until her fiance is murdered. Now she and her best fiend, Nessa, are on the run and prime suspects. Cora didn't mean to run....
Together Cora and Nessa venture on a series of strange, unusual, and unfortunate events. They meet other characters equally displaced; and their motley crew of individuals are forced to race against time to find answers.

"I had dragged her...more

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Nov 24, 2012 Paula rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: r2r

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here. R2R: Dissolve

(I received a free copy, for a review)

Cora's life seemed to be going in the right direction. A wonderful fiancé, the best friend ever and the only stress seems to be planning her upcoming wedding. Then, it all takes a turn. She wakes up, after a night out with her best friend, to find her fiancé murdered and blood all over her. Not being able to remember what happened, she called 911 and then, for no apparent reason, dissolves, into a million particles, to land up in her best friend...more

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Sep 04, 2012 Erika rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: read-in-2012, dac-2012

Title: Dissolve
Author: Andrea Heltsley
Date of Release: April, 4th, 2012
Number of Pages: 424
Source: Author for tour review.
Summary from Goodreads:
Everything seemed to be going right for Cora. She had a wonderful fiance, a great best friend and a fulfilling life. One day, a tragic event caused that life to crumble around her. She turned to her best friend in her time of need. They embarked on a search for answers, delving deeper into a web of magic and destruction. The closer they got to the truth...more Title: Dissolve
Author: Andrea Heltsley
Date of Release: April, 4th, 2012
Number of Pages: 424
Source: Author for tour review.
Summary from Goodreads:
Everything seemed to be going right for Cora. She had a wonderful fiance, a great best friend and a fulfilling life. One day, a tragic event caused that life to crumble around her. She turned to her best friend in her time of need. They embarked on a search for answers, delving deeper into a web of magic and destruction. The closer they got to the truth, the more questions they had. To Cora, magic was the stuff of fairy tales. Immersed into a very different kind of world, the real storm was just beginning to take hold.
“It felt like I was nowhere yet everywhere all at once. I was invisible and completely panicked. The millions of pieces I had dissolved to drift on the breeze and away from my nightmares. It was kind of like floating weightless in a pool, perfectly relaxing. The warm breeze from the window embraced and soothed me. I let the air current carry me as far as it could through the summer city.”
“Defeated, I closed my eyes and took a few calming breaths trying to relax myself. I pictured the dandelion in the park today and took a deep breath as to blow the fluffy seeds in all directions. I pretended I was light and fluffy and started to feel a tingling in my body. I began to feel as light as the dandelion seeds and soon I felt like mist floating. This time, I tried to keep myself in the room, swirling in a humid block.”
Review: I was excited to read this book, because it is in the new genre loosely labeled New Adult. Also the cover sounded good and the plot interesting. I wouldn’t say it didn’t live up to all my expectations. I did enjoy reading Dissolve for the most part. Their were just parts that grated at me. Andrea Heltsley was able to capture my attention and keep me guessing.

I was fascinated to find out what was up with Cora. The sudden bouts of illness I knew meant something more. Not to mention the premise of the book is that she Dissolves. Anyways, I didn’t like that it felt like she brushed off her fiancé’s death. I loved the relationship between Nessa and Cora, but it was all a little unsettling, after that. When we were introduced to new characters I was fascinated. I watched the plot unveil with questions spinning in my head and all my answers were incorrect.

I still don’t know who the bad guy is in the novel. I thought I had it figured out, but I don’t!! That ending!!! MAN! That hasn’t happened in a long time!! There is set to be a sequel and I am just invested yet to want to read more.
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Sep 03, 2012 Tee loves Kyle Jacobson rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: atomr-book-tours, sep-2012

First I would like to thank AToMR tours for allowing me to be a part of this tour.I loved the book cover when I saw this and the story was great. In Dissolve we meet Cora who has everything going for her. She has a fiance and she is planing her wedding. She has a great best friend who shares everything with her. Life is going great until tragedy strikes and her fiance is murdered. Cora not knowing what else to do goes to her best friend for help.

As she and her best friend are on the run she will...more

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Jun 17, 2012 Mindy rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: dream-reader-dreamer2229-blo

This book was fabulous. Imagine going out with friends for drinks one night and waking up the next day with a throbbing headache… okay we can imagine that, but supposing the headache didn’t clear up by day 2? Then you hear something and wake up to discover your fiancé brutally murdered. Wouldn’t you just want to melt away and float through the air away from problem? Well what would you do if that actually happened? Yes, that’s right, you broke up into little molecules and floated away only to r...more

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May 05, 2012 Suzie rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: 2012, america, blog-tour-book, calibre, fantasy, fiction, kindle-book, modern, mystery, paranormal, romance, romance-modern, romance-paranormal, series

The following review is my own opinion and not a paid review. To form your own opinions please support the author and acquire you own legal copy of this book. I received a free copy of this book as part of a book blog tour. The gift of this book does not influence my opinion of this book. Please be aware that I try to write my reviews without spoilers but sometimes they get through so there might be a few minor spoilers in this review.

To purchase your own copy of this book please click the title...more The following review is my own opinion and not a paid review. To form your own opinions please support the author and acquire you own legal copy of this book. I received a free copy of this book as part of a book blog tour. The gift of this book does not influence my opinion of this book. Please be aware that I try to write my reviews without spoilers but sometimes they get through so there might be a few minor spoilers in this review.

To purchase your own copy of this book please click the title highlighted in blue

This book starts out with two females Cora and Nessa that are out in a club. Cora is intoxicated and gets sick on the dirty floor of the public restroom. Okay, maybe it is I but that is just revolting. I understand why the author added this to the book but still if I did not have a mysophobia or fear of germs before I did something like this then I would after.

The book then moves to Cora and Tom. Cora and Tom are planning their wedding, or Tom's mother is planning the wedding Cora and Tom just plan to attend the wedding. I honestly hope I am not like this when my son decides to get married. I am like wow; the wedding is for the bride and groom not the mother or mother-in-law to be.

Soon Cora is pale again at a lunch to assist in helping Tom's mother plan her wedding. Cora's mother is there also along with Tom and Nessa. Cora and Nessa go to the restroom and Nessa tries to talk Cora into telling everyone she is ill so she can go home and get some rest. After Cora and Nessa leave the restroom, Cora faints to the floor. She wakes up sitting on concrete. Okay this woman was supposed to faint. How can she be sitting (and the way I understand sitting is in an upright position) when she crumpled to the floor. There is no description of any person catching Cora when this happened. In the book, it does have that Nessa was holding Cora up when she came to but it does not describe Nessa catching Cora.

Sorry for ranting the author spoke several times that Cora did not have time to shave. Okay, shave what? Her face, her eyebrows, her legs, her armpits what is it she did not have time to shave.

While I did enjoy the plot of this book, I felt that the author either dragged one point along to far or did not describe something in further detail that needed describing. I feel that this would be an awesome book if it had some more editing. Please be aware that this is not a book to be read by teenagers, there is a hint of sexual relations, drinking, and drugs in this book.

I am looking forward to the next book in the series. The author left an amazing cliff hanger at the end of this book. I do not know the title of the next book or when it will be released but I will be looking for it. (less)

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May 02, 2012 Amy rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: fantasy, ya

I got this book because the cover sold me. Beautiful cover and I thought based on that this story would be more about the Fey. Instead this turned out to be more like the show Heroes. Ms. Heltsley has a vivid imagination and writes a unique story. She takes you on a supernatural road trip where the passengers are trying to save the world. It was entertaining but a little lacking.

Cora and BFF Nessa embark on a road trip to escape the authorities after Cora's fiance is mysteriously murdered. They...more

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May 01, 2012 Catie rated it 4 of 5 stars

Dissolve by Andrea Heltsley is another amazing book that I discovered thanks to a blog tour that I was asked to take part in. I am sure happy that I did take part in this tour because I was able to come in contact with another amazing author.

I would like to mention that the plot was original and the storyline was fast paced, so it was very easy to find myself caught up in this novel. I enjoyed seeing the characters develop before my very eyes. The friendship between Cora and her friends was so s...more

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Apr 27, 2012 Cami Hensley rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: ya-paranormal

This is one of those stories, that falls in between YA Paranormal and Adult Paranormal. There is definite behavior that you dont typically see in a YA book, the characters are quite immature and act like those in a YA book though.

Cora is a very easy character to enjoy reading about even though she was a little too unemotional at times for what was happening to her. I didn't believe the loss of her fiance had enough of an impact on her first of all, and then when everything turned supernatural sh...more

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Apr 19, 2012 Danica Page (One Page at a Time) rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: asked-to-review, blog-tour, paranormal, debut, out-in-2012, series, science-fiction, dystopia, terrorism, romance, road-trip, 2012-dac-read, 2012-debut-author-challenge

This is a condensed version. This review will appear in an extended form on April 20here.

My overall Thoughts/Impressions: First off I'd like to thank Cami Hensley from Reading Addiction Blog Tours for inviting me to be part of this tour. See disclosure at end of this blog post for more information on how this tour was set up.

Now for my review. I thought that Andrea Heltsley's idea was very original, engaging, and intriguing. I found myself getting sucked into the tale and found myself wondering...more

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Aug 31, 2012 Jessica rated it 2 of 5 stars

I received a complimentary copy of this book in return for my honest review.

Cora, the main character of Andrea Heltsley's Dissolve, had the type of life that would make anyone jealous. She had a loving mother, a great best friend, and was preparing to marry the man of her dreams. Then suddenly, after a night on the town, everything turns upside down. She awakes to find her fiance, Tom, lying in a puddle of blood and a strange, new super power to control: she can dissolve into thin air! Now Cora...more I received a complimentary copy of this book in return for my honest review.

Cora, the main character of Andrea Heltsley's Dissolve, had the type of life that would make anyone jealous. She had a loving mother, a great best friend, and was preparing to marry the man of her dreams. Then suddenly, after a night on the town, everything turns upside down. She awakes to find her fiance, Tom, lying in a puddle of blood and a strange, new super power to control: she can dissolve into thin air! Now Cora and her best friend, Nessa, must leave town to ensure their own freedom and search for some much needed answers.

The very first thing to catch my eye was the beautiful cover art. The jewel-blue tones and whimsical feel drew me in immediately. This coupled with the product description, left me expecting a story jam-packed with action, magic and mythical creatures. As I read, I discovered that the story itself was less about magic and mythical creatures and more about chemical warfare and unknown adversaries. The plot was unique and though it wasn't quite what I was expecting I enjoyed the story enough to continue reading. I've never been one to turn down a good mystery and there were just so many questions I was looking forward to having answered.

The characters were likable enough, though I felt as though I didn't really know them that well. Some of their dialogue seemed a bit stilted and unnatural and I couldn't fathom their calm reactions to some of the horrors they witnessed. It just seemed a bit weird to me. I couldn't really identify with them. Maybe I'm just a scaredy-cat, but I think there are a lot of people who would have gone into flat-out hysterics after seeing the demise of thousands of people. It would have been refreshing if at least one person in the entire story had a breakdown, wept, gone catatonic, cried for their mommy... anything to show some real emotion, instead of the eerie calm acceptance they all showed.

As the story progressed, and the characters continued on their "road trip", I found several sections to be little more than filler. The author pays close attention to detail when describing the mostly unimportant trips to dive motels and dirty, run-down gas stations (and what was bought or pilfered), but when a major event takes place the details seem glossed over, hurried. In the midst of this, I waded through a myriad of grammatical mistakes and typos. This happens sometimes with even the most seasoned of writers (especially in Kindle editions), so I was prepared to overlook it. What bothered me the most though, was the fact that the author habitually switched between the past and present tense, sometimes in mid-sentence. I found this to be very distracting.

As the end grew nearer, I became increasingly worried: Was there still time enough to answer my questions? Or, at the very least, a couple of them? The answer, it turns out, was no. In the end I felt very dissatisfied. None of the loose ends had been tied up; everything was still as uncertain as it had been from the very beginning. I truly hope that the sequel gives readers the answers they're looking for.

Overall, despite all of its flaws, the story is a very imaginative one and I believe with the help of a good editor and a little polish, it could be great. Ms. Heltsley is quite talented and I hope she continues to write and hone her craft.(less)

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Nov 15, 2012 Danielle (Dannie) rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: r2r-books-read

I wasn't quite sure what I expected when I started reading Dissolve, but it has proven to be an intriguing, mysterious, and exceptional story. From the very first page, I was sucked in and have not been able to put the book down! The character relationships and the plot are very different from anything I have read before and I cannot wait for the sequel in this series to be published!!

Dissolve begins with two main characters, Cora and Nessa, and evolves to include Noah, Shane, Mia, Liam, and Vie...more

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Sep 05, 2012 Krista rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: book-tour, cover-love, fantasy, indie-author, review-copy, review-on-blog, new-adult, sci-fi, would-be-a-good-comic-book, super-powers, bffs

3.5 Stars!

Cora was having a bad night. She was supposed to be out having fun dancing with her friends, but she ended up on the dirty floor of a public restroom, head spinning and stomach heaving. Not exactly what she had planned. She didn't even remember drinking that much, but if she felt this bad then she must have...right? Nessa, Cora's best friend, makes sure she gets home safely both thinking that sleep should help. However, when Cora awakens the next day, she doesn't feel any better. In fa...more 3.5 Stars!

Cora was having a bad night. She was supposed to be out having fun dancing with her friends, but she ended up on the dirty floor of a public restroom, head spinning and stomach heaving. Not exactly what she had planned. She didn't even remember drinking that much, but if she felt this bad then she must have...right? Nessa, Cora's best friend, makes sure she gets home safely both thinking that sleep should help. However, when Cora awakens the next day, she doesn't feel any better. In fact, she feels worse - not a good thing when she is supposed to be meeting with her fiancé Tom and both of their mothers to go over wedding preparations. And things seem to be getting worse. After passing out, Tom takes her home and holds her while she rests. But when she closes her eyes, the worst nightmares come to life. Literally.

Cora finds Tom dead, blood everywhere and has no recollection of what happened. What makes matters worse is that somehow she disappears. Her body becomes particles; she dissolves and reappears at Nessa's completely naked and covered in blood. Not knowing what to do, the girls make a plan to run. But when Nessa is pricked with a needle and starts to have similar symptoms that Cora experienced, well needless to say, things just got weird. Now they are not only running from the police, they are running for their very lives.

The premise to Dissolve was like nothing I had quite seen before. It is a mix of magic and super powers. Think X-Men meets the Fugitive. The story was extremely fast paced and kept me on the edge of my seat. There was mystery, intrigue, and a little romance. I liked the relationship between Cora and Nessa. There are very few people who would do anything for one another and they are the ultimate BFF combo. There is also some unpredictable plot twists and the book starts out very differently than it ends. I can't really elaborate because I don't want to give anything away.

I had such high hopes for Dissolve, but it just didn't grab me like I thought it would. The concept for the story was great, but I wish that there was more back story. We are shoved right into the action without much character building. I wanted to see more of Tom and Cora's relationship and have a chance to get to know the characters. I never felt like Cora was really sad about Tom's death. I also never got that connection to the MC like I usually do so despite the fast paced plot, I felt the story dragging. There were a few editing issues, but nothing too distracting. The ending was a big cliff-hanger and questions will be answered in book two that will release in 2013. Overall, Dissolve is a good book and people who like action, adventure, science fiction, fantasy and something a little different should pick this one up.(less)

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Jun 06, 2012 Abbey Ann rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: 4-out-of-5, books-reviewed-by-me

Also posted at http://abbeyannsbookland.blogspot.com/

I went into this book not knowing what to expect. Because of that, I didn't really have any expectations. I'm glad I didn't, because I think not having them made me enjoy this book a lot more.

The first thing about this book I noticed was the cover. I find it incredibly beautiful. Getting past the cover, I was surprised by how much I was able to connect with the characters. The author did a great job in writing relatable characters. Cora was in...more

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Nov 14, 2012 Tiana Lemons rated it 5 of 5 stars

This one was probably the most interesting one out of the three r2r's I got from this author. I LOVED all the characters (maybe less of Mia, no offence) as they were well-developed and special in their own ways. I support the couples in this story because they were all just to cute to resist. When I found out that Shane and Mia had gotten together instead of Nessa and Shane, I admit, I was kind of shocked and pissed because I had felt that Nessa had every right to go for Shane and blah blah blah...more

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Apr 27, 2012 Kimberly rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: blog-tour-reads, 2012-bookshelf

3.5 Stars

First I'd like to thank both the author Andrea Heltsley and the Innovative Online tours for providing me with the opportunity to read, review and help spread the word of this book.

The first thing that grabbed me about the book was the summary, at the time my computer was loading really slowly so I didn't have the opportunity to see the cover for awhile. The summary had me intrigued so I immediately signed up for the tour. Afterwards when my computer decided to cooperate with me I was st...more 3.5 Stars

First I'd like to thank both the author Andrea Heltsley and the Innovative Online tours for providing me with the opportunity to read, review and help spread the word of this book.

The first thing that grabbed me about the book was the summary, at the time my computer was loading really slowly so I didn't have the opportunity to see the cover for awhile. The summary had me intrigued so I immediately signed up for the tour. Afterwards when my computer decided to cooperate with me I was stunned by the cover it's bewitching, beguiling and stunning but of course it would have to be since it's designed by Phatpuppy Creations. As you can see the cover is really striking and fits remarkably well with the book in my opinion.

I don't know about the rest of you but for me, when I'm reading a new to me author I tend to read it slower in order to adjust to a new writing style but before I knew it I was 10% through the book and I was really enjoying it.

The book itself started well and I really liked Cora, and Nessa because they seem like really sweet characters, and most of all they aren't snobby which is something I hate in books. As the novel went on though I was still glad to see that the author had their attitudes change as the characters themselves grew. Though Cora did come off as being a little to goodie goodie and naive for me she was still a good character. Though all the characters could have been aided by a little more character development.

I thought that the whole idea of the book was really neat, different and a must needed departure for me. Forgive me if my review seems a bit more vague than I usually write them it's because the book is written in such a way that I don't want to give off any spoilers to future readers. The way the book is written was in my opinion quite good because while you're left going "What the heck just happened?" in some places it all works out in the end. You just have to read it to watch it come to pass.

However, though I did indeed enjoy the book there were a couple of area's that the author could work on in the future. At times like I said in the previous paragraph I was left puzzled and lost with the direction in which the story was going. There would be like in any other book times where the book would stop and good and it was as if the author had written some stuff in just as filler I could have done with more detail in the main parts of the book and less detail in the filler parts. This isn't an issue but I think at times there was a wee bit too much filler. She could also do with working on her conjugating as well. She would conjugate words like isn't, didn't, won't etc. but rarely if ever conjugated words like we're, they're, you're etc. and that made it a little harder for me to keep focus because I'm so used to authors conjugating maybe it's just a preference of mine.

All in all the book was pretty good, one that I'm glad I read because I enjoy trying new authors because you never know who may be the next big thing in the writing world. I'd recommend this to those who like a mixture of science fiction and fantasy. I would advise that if you find the book a little slower that the pace does pick up after awhile so I suggest sticking with it.
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Apr 27, 2012 Claire rated it 3 of 5 stars

Dissolve was a story with an awesome premise. I just didn't quite like the way the author went about telling her story. It suddenly when from one girl having powers and running from her fiances murder, to eventually seven other people having powers. I felt like the story wasn't really about Cora anymore, she was just part of the journey. I also found a lot of the dialogue to be quite simple, and that annoyed me more than anything I think.

The characters - they were all pretty cool and finding out...more

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Nov 01, 2012 Laura Sims rated it 2 of 5 stars

Shelves: laura-s-orange-cover-challenge

I received this book for free in exchange for an honest review.
Well here goes so many characters, Cora who lost her fiance Tom, Cora's friend Nessa, Noah, Shane, Mia, Vienna, and Liam. Lets not forget Stephan. They are traveling across the United States,all of them have special abilities and they are all hooking up (feel sorry for poor Vienna there just seems to be NO ONE for her). People are dying and turning to ash whole states are become human free. What is really going on? I have read the bo...more

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Nov 10, 2012 Helena Ferrell rated it 1 of 5 stars

Shelves: paranormal, 05-r2r, nov2012

Note : I received this book from the author in exchange for an honest review.

This book had so much potential to me. I found the storyline original and engaging. That being said, I can honestly say that I wish I had never read this book.

Now I know that it doesn't make sense that I found the plot original and engaging, yet still regret reading it. There were just other aspects of this book I could not tolerate.

1 - Dialogue - I'm not sure if I just talk to a bunch of unintelligent people, but come...more Note : I received this book from the author in exchange for an honest review.

This book had so much potential to me. I found the storyline original and engaging. That being said, I can honestly say that I wish I had never read this book.

Now I know that it doesn't make sense that I found the plot original and engaging, yet still regret reading it. There were just other aspects of this book I could not tolerate.

1 - Dialogue - I'm not sure if I just talk to a bunch of unintelligent people, but come on now. The dialogue was completely unrealistic. Everyone spoke so prim and proper. I understand that this does happen sometimes, but not so many random people. These people hardly used contractions. Seriously? No. I don't think so.

2 - Character Agreements - With each problem the characters faced, they all completely agreed on what to do next. There was never any disagreements on what they should do. Plus why would they just follow whatever the villian wanted them to do? That's silly, yet there was never discussion or disagreements on whether or not they were doing the right thing.

3 - Love - Oh God, the love. Cora lost her fiance in a murderer and she started having feelings for Noah in a week or so? Really? At that point, it's logical to think that she just didn't love her fiance, but she kept expressing turmoil over it. I understand that after the death of a loved one people often say, "He/She would want you to move on," but come on now. Maybe I'm selfish, but if I were to die, I'd want my husband to mourn for more than a week. It just seems that he feelings for her fiance weren't strong enough to really constitute having such emotional turmoil over being with Noah or not, if she's actually having these thoughts so quickly. Not to mention Nessa/Mia with Shawn. States are being vaporized, but it's important that they get with him? Mostly Mia, she just lost her entire family, PLUS found out it's all because of her cousin, and she's still just "Shawn! Shawn! Shawn!" It seems so fickle.

4 - The Villian - Okay. Stephan is a worthy advesary, and that's all great and all, but he dies like halfway through the book, and there's no real description or anything about who the new bad guy is. Really? I mean, it seemed at that point it was just Them Vs "THEM!" There should have at least been some hints as to what's going on other than, "He's just a pawn to a bigger bad guy!"

5 - Unanswered Questions - I left this book with the same answers I started with. WHY IS THIS HAPPENING? Still no clue.

6 - Super Powers - Cora's power is to dissolve. This is obviously important, as the book has her as a main character, and it's also named "Dissolve" after her power. Why is it throughout the book, she never actually uses this power for the good of the group? She used it once out of convience to get into the graveyard to save Shawn, but that's really it. Other than that it was a lot of accidental sleep dissolves. When I first started reading this book, I was super excited because this was such a creative power, but by the end I couldn't help think, "This is a stupid power." That's because she never used it! It just seemed pointless.

7 - THE END - Okay. Before I got near the end of the book, I still had hope. I actually started getting really excited near the end, and I thought that perhaps it was going to overcome the obstacles I've had, and just pull it all together. I'm not going to lie. I finished this book and immediately wanted to throw my kindle. I don't feel that I have anger issues, but this ending literally made me angry. I felt like I had just gotten a big, personal middle finger. There's just no ending, basically. There was a miniclimax, but that's really it. The climax itself was weak, "Oh we're stuck in this red lit room and we can't find our way out! How'd we get there?" No, they just get out, still have ZERO answers, then the cops find them. THE END. MIDDLE FINGER TO YOU AUDIENCE.

I have other books from this author, that I really have high hopes for, and that I will give a solid try. I will not judge just based on this book, but honestly? I wouldn't suggest this book to even my enemies.(less)

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Jun 23, 2012 Laurie rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: read-in-2012

Dissolve was an interesting read. This title falls into the upper YA or mature YA genre. Cora is the main character, a young woman who is planning her wedding to fiance Tom (and it's his mother who is really planning their wedding). Nessa is Cora's best friend, the type of friend any girl would love to call her bestie. When the story opens Cora is drunk and goes into the establishment's restroom where she sits on the floor of the stall. Anyone who uses a public restroom knows this is a definite...more

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Dec 11, 2012 cajunqueen rated it 5 of 5 stars

I thought this book was great!

It has a plot that was not easily forseen, and quite unique. The plot is really what made this book for me. I have never read anything like it, and could not predict what would happen next as I can with many books.

The characters are wonderful. You grow to love Cora instantly, and her relationship with her BFF is one mostly all of us can relate to.

The thing that gives this book a 5 star rating is when I flipped the last page I was upset it was the end. The cliffhang...more

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Nov 04, 2012 Denise rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: paranormal, young-adult, personal-2012-challenge-box-2, read-to-reveiw

I received a free copy of this book for an honest review.

I absolutely loved this book. I could not put it down. The only reason I did was I needed sleep.

This book starts out about a woman named Cora, but slowly starts to include others that end up like Cora including Cora's best friend. They all somehow end up with "superpowers" of some sort which they learn has to do with either a drink or an injection given by the same man.

All 7 people by the end of the book are all originally from the same a...more

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Apr 24, 2012 Redheaded Bookworm rated it 3 of 5 stars

The concept for this book is very unique. The characters were enjoyable, and the friendship between Cora and Nessa was sweet. It has a great villain, creepy and mysterious. I did however, find that the lack of contractions made the writing seem stilted and it didn't flow for me. I found the overall "voice" of the book to be flat. I would have liked to have seen more emotions from the characters. Some situations called for some histrionics, but the characters were too accepting. Having said that,...more

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Nov 11, 2012 Jennifer rated it 2 of 5 stars

Shelves: paranormal

Dissolve was given to me in exchange for an honest review. It is a downward spiral that takes its main characters and readers into a conspiracy fraught with danger. Cora and her makeshift band of friends quickly become your classic fantastical crew of misfits, journeying to a point of origin. Everything happened to her so quickly it wasn't as believable as a gradual unveiling might have been. Everyone seems to take very tragic circumstances in stride and almost too easily. But from a campier poi...more

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Dec 30, 2012 Preet rated it 3 of 5 stars

This is one of those stories that I enjoyed but felt like I needed something more. Dissolve by Andrea Heltsley was entertaining because as a reader you're trying to solve this mystery with the characters as they go through this adventure of trying to figure out what's happening to them. However, the story is so action packed that at times there wasn't enough development in areas. This left the book feeling choppy at some points and made the plot distracting.

Though there were problems, Heltsley e...more

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Apr 10, 2013 Kerry rated it 1 of 5 stars

Shelves: books-i-have, books-i-hated

This was listed with a lot of books I thoroughly enjoyed, so I thought I would check it out.

Awful. I can't believe I finally finished this. It was torture. I finally had to treat it as a horribly cruel joke, and even then it was painful.

This...story...was little more than sleeping, getting snacks, switching cars, staying in hotels, showering, getting dressed, and running.

There's something about powers in there, but it made little sense, and they rarely served a purpose. In fact, when they could...more

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Sep 03, 2012 Stephanie Ward rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: for-review

'Dissolve' is a paranormal/fantasy novel that begins with Cora enjoying life with her best friend Nessa, and planning her wedding to her kind and loving fiance Tom. All that is shattered one morning when Cora wakes to find her nightmares have come true: Tom has been murdered - and then the unimaginable happens - her body dissolves. Cora's seemingly perfect life has been turned upside down and she will never be the same again.

I found the description and concept of this book to be very original a...more

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Jun 13, 2012 Pragya rated it 2 of 5 stars

Shelves: 2012, review-request

The book starts in a totally different flavour than the one it takes on later, so that is a good surprise element.

It is fast -paced and has lots of action in it, you will also find some romance and of course the thrill and mystery are all there. Lots of genres there, right? Something for everyone.

I did have a few problems with the book like I didn't agree with the reactions of some characters and the reality of the situation. A lot of it was unreal to me and I could not identify with the situati...more

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