I really gave The Holders a hard time. There were countless opportunities for this novel to go in disappointing directions and make me hate the book and characters forevermore but, I have to say it, my low expectations were completely flattened by a story I really enjoyed, characters I loved, and a romance that felt genuine. There are some faults - one of which I think could be big for some readers - but I was so into this little world that Ms Scott has created that I didn't mind overlooking som More...

They always say you should write the story you want to read--so that's what I did. :-)

So, yeah, this is my book, and I kind of love it. But then, if I couldn't love it, I certainty would never expect anyone else to.

For my 'review', such that it is, I have taken inspiration from the lovely Laura Lam and the equally lovely Dana Collins, and have decided to use both pictures and quotes from the book to give you all a peak inside THE HOLDERS. Hope you enjoy! ;-D


THE HOLDERS is the story of Becca who More...

I received a digital arc of this novel from Netgalley on behalf of Angry Robot Publishing

The Holders was a great book. It was well rounded and interesting. I loved the characters and their dynamics with one another. I loved Becca's fiery personality and how fiercely she protected her family.

I thought the concept of the holders was not necessarily original, but was done well and interesting nonetheless.

For me, this was a novel that had simplicity and predictability, but I still immensely enjoye More...

Review on BookPics as well
My Thoughts?

I can't believe how many surprises I've had these last few months when books are concerned.
I'm always wary of accepting books for review from authors whose work I haven't previously read. But that's the point right?
Discovering new books to read and awesome authors to love.


And boy, did The Holders live up to what I expected from it.
I only read half of the book description before I said YES! To reading it.


Becca was an amazing character! One that definitely sti More...

*This book was given to me by Strange Chemistry in exchange for an honest review*
I don't even know where to start with this review. This book blew my mind, I couldn't put it down! It is such an incredibly book and a hell of a debut! Congrats, Ms. Scott :). All I can say to begin is thank you for writing this book, and thank you Strange Chemistry for sending me this book. I definitely do not want to give ANYTHING about this book away in this review, meaning it's probably going to be fairly short More...

The Holders was an easy, speedy read. Good things first, there was no unnecessary drama, no mean girls, no love triangle. The heroine was competent and her love interest was the definition of nice.

Now for the bad things, starting with the small issues working up to the big ones.

The Cons

+ the world building
I expected the world building to enthrall me because the book was a YA paranormal set in Ireland, a beautiful country with a beautiful culture. But nope. Didn’t get that. What I got was was mor More...

Becca has spent the past years watching over her younger brother Ryland, who hears voices. Every time she and her mother managed to scare away experts and doctors who wanted to take him. Until one day two men show up, claiming to know what's wrong with Ryland. He is a gifted Holder and belongs at St Brigid's School in Ireland, with his own kind. This time, their mother thinks it's best they let Ryland go. Becca is torn, but agrees on one condition: she gets to accompany him. In Ireland Becca dis More...

The Holders is such an awesome start what I expect will be a fantastic new series. I love how in-depth but easy to follow the storyline is and I was easily intrigued and sucked in from the first chapter!

What I really like is the setting for the book - Ireland! I'm from Northern Ireland, so I really enjoyed it being set here especially because it doesn't happen that often.

The writing is great and I was interested they whole way through. The world building is brilliant and I love how we got a goo More...

You know those books who stay with you long after you've read the last page? The kind of book you want to re-read the second you finish it. The Holders is that book for me. I adored it from the very beginning. It's almost a mix of X-men and Ireland which is just perfect!

The writing is amazing and I had a hard time putting the book down (sleep and food is overrated, right?). Even though the story has a slow pace at times, it's still riveting and filled with Irish myths and life on a boarding scho More...

The Holders captured my attention not wanting to put my Kindle down!! There was never a dull moment in this story. Becca is a fierce, loyal, and strong young woman, who would do anything for her brother, Ryland. He hears voices that no one else can & over the years of his young life, people have suggested mental facilities but Becca isn't having none of it. That is until a school in Ireland come calling for him claiming to help Ryland. Becca puts up a fight, but she agrees to go, making sure More...

I'll be honest, I wasn't sure what to expect at first, only because I'm not a huge fantasy fan, but THE HOLDERS was different. It was like Julianna took a contemporary story (lots of family drama, romance, friendship) and wove fantasy elements into it. The world building wasn't complicated or confusing (which is the number one reason why I don't read a lot of fantasy). Julianna kept it simple and easy to follow along, without skimping on the necessary details.

I know it sounds cliche, but this b More...

Forget glittery vampires and werewolves. Don’t give another thought to witches and wizards. Quench your appetite for the Hunger Games.

This is the year of The Holders.

Set among the rolling green hills of Ireland, The Holders follows 17-year-old Becca, who has spent her whole life protecting her brother - from their father leaving and from the people who say the voices in his head are unnatural. When two strangers appear with apparent answers to Ryland's ‘problem’ and details about a school in Ir More...

The Holders was so much more than I expected! From the cover, I think I expected more of a serious high fantasy---what I got was a fantastic story with some great Harry-Potter type fantasy elements, and a great plot surrounding a fierce heroine with a wicked temper, especially when it comes to protecting her little brother from, well, ...everyone!

Becca has always put protecting her brother, Ryland, first and foremost in her life. There father left them two weeks after Ryland was born and her mo More...

I am so glad I decided to read this book, because I had not planned on it. I had seen the book once or twice on the web both on the publisher's website and Goodreads, but I am ashamed to say that it did not look like the sort of book I would enjoy. I say 'ashamed' because I was making these assumptions based on the cover, which of course is wrong. It's not a bad cover as they go, but now having read the story, I can say that it is VERY misleading. I had assumed the story would be much deeper fan More...

Ok...I'm not going to give this book a star rating. It's a new thing I'm doing, I think. The thing is, I read so many books, at so many different skill levels (as far as the writing is concerned) that I have a hard time putting some of them in the same 5 star category. It's like the whole apples to oranges thing. Instead I will just write about how much I enjoyed it, and let you draw your own conclusions from that.

Ok. Hmmm, where to start?

Things I loved:

- The magic system
- the setting
- the c More...

Becca's younger brother Ryland hears voices. She doesn't believe he's crazy and has spent a great deal of time and effort protecting him from being committed. When another offer comes from a special school she's prepared to ignore it. But St. Brigid's is a school for other gifted people, known as Holders. Becca decides to let her brother go, as long as she can also attend in order to protect him. The only catch is that the headmaster Jocelyn is the father who abandoned Becca and Ryland when they More...

THE HOLDERS is a perfect book for an afternoon of light reading. When I started it, I was halfway through before realizing how much I’d read -- it’s a very readable book, without a lot of information to keep track of.

Almost all of the book is set in Ireland, at St Brigid’s, a boarding school for Holders. What are Holders? They are people who have magical abilities. But Holders aren’t super powerful. They have weaknesses, usually the opposite of their ability, and these days, many of them aren’t More...

Brought to you by OBS reviewer Dawn

*Beware of spoilers*

I might be on a roll this year. I’ve rated more books 5 stars than in any past years. I’m excited to rate books 5 stars because it means they’re authors to keep on your watch list. I will definitely be keeping up with Julianna Scott. I love her writing style. I was into the story within the first 10 pages. Most often, I’m trudging through useless information. It’s rare for me the be gripped from page 1 and compelled to continue reading the s More...

Just sometimes, I read a book on my Kindle that I really wished I owned a physical copy of. The Holders was one such book. I know there are bookmark functions etc, but nothing really beats flicking back through a book to sections you loved and rereading them. And there were a lot of sections I would have flicked back to in The Holders.

Interestingly, it took me about three days to get past the first chapter (not entirely the book's fault - I was very distractible at the time) but once Becca and h More...

Becca is seventeen years old and has looked out for her younger brother for his entire ten years. She has always felt responsible for him because their father abandoned them and their mother when Ryland was 2 weeks old. Unfortunately, Ryland has issues; he hears voices in his head. Parents won't let him play with his classmates, social workers and teachers believe he needs mental help and Becca is trying to keep the family together. Then two people come from a private school in Ireland, claim th More...

For years, the biggest focus of Becca's life has been protecting her younger brother Ryland. Because he hears voices, people call him crazy, a freak - but Becca knows there is so much more to him than that. So when two guys show up and offer to take Ryland to their Irish boarding school, Becca is more than a little wary. Because this time, it's not just a boarding school - it's the school where her dad disappeared to, and she is just not ready to deal with that.

Of course, though, she has to, whe More...

There is so much I could say about this book, however I will focus on my favorite aspect of it: it was simple. That is not to say the plot or particularly the lore of the story was simple, not at all. But is also wasn't some 'wham bam lets fit as much as possible in this book so that people will think it's great' book like so many are lately. YA has become so big that everyone seems to think they have to come up with something bigger, and better, and louder, and more outrageous, etc. to have a h More...

4.5 stars

Oh my goodness, The Holders by Julianna Scott is a debut that is going to take the world by storm. If you are looking for a kick-ass heroine and some epic mythology wrapped up in a unique fantasy world, look no further!

I loved Becca. She was such a strong heroine - she is just so genuinely good. I loved the lengths at which she was willing to go to protect her family. Chloe was just a doll - what a sweetheart! I also really adored Alex - from the first page he walked into the book, I j More...

This and my other reviews can be found at http://sally-annereviews.blogspot.co.uk/

Thanks to Netgalley and Strange Chemistry for giving this book to review.

Becca has spent all her life protecting her brother Ryland from people who though he is crazy, but when two representatives arrive from a school in Ireland called St Brigid, saying they can help Ryland, Becca does not trust them especially as their father who abandoned them when Ryland was a baby is at the school. However, one of the represent More...

Becca has protected her ten-year old brother Ryland since their father left ten years ago. Even though he hears voices, she believes he is nothing but normal. A number of "specialists" have tried to institionalized him, but Becca has refused to abandon him to that fate. Enter Alex from St. Brigid's Academy in Ireland. He knows Ryland is special and wants to help him with the voices. Thinking it is another trap to institutionalize her brother, Becca decides to go with her brother to Ireland. Also More...

Warning! This review is going to contain spoilers. But the good thing is, it won't really matter because everything in this book is bloody obvious.

Finally, a guy who blushes! One of the few saving graces that kept me from dumping that sole star upon the Holders.

The story follows... I'm sure you guys can read the blurb.

Sounds promising, right? It isn't.

My main problem was, the world of these "Holders" is too simple. Too cliched. Reminded me a lot of X-men. So there's this guy Professor XJocelyn( More...

While The Holders piqued my interest from the start due to the brother-sister relationship and hearing voices/mental illness mentioned in the cover copy, there were also some elements in the cover copy that made me wary. Two children off to boarding school, one of them a mysterious and prophesied saviour? How fantasy-clichéd can you get? So what I had absolutely not expected when starting The Holders was to be swept away by a main character with a voice all her own and a delicious romance. Becau More...

I really, really liked The Holders. It was a great read, very easy to fall for and follow. I had a very hard time setting the book down once I started reading it.

The Holders is about Becca, a seventeen year old girl who's very protective of her younger brother, Ryland, who can hears voices in his head. When Becca in visited by two men, claiming to be able to help her brother after years of people telling her that Ryland is crazy, Becca has to give them a chance, but she never expected for their More...

I feel so mean writing negative things about books that I read but the little blurb really doesn't leave much left out of the story. It's pretty easy to piece together the book from it and fill in the gaps. I didn't read that part, just that it was about a 17 year old and the cover looked spiffy :)
I really enjoyed the book as a whole and it was clean! I really enjoyed the banter between Becca and Alex. It was real. I don't usually root for relationships like that but I really felt the connection More...