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Solace and Grief (The Rare, #1)

by Foz Meadows (Goodreads Author)

3.87 · rating details · 61 ratings · 16 reviews

Solace Morgan was born a vampire. Raised in foster care, she has always tried to keep her abilities secret, until an eerie encounter with a faceless man prompts her to run away. Finding others with similar gifts, Solace soon becomes caught up in a strange, more vibrant world than she ever knew existed. But when the mysterious Professor Lukin takes an interest in her friend...more

363 pages

Published March 1st 2010 by Hybrid

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Feb 18, 2010

Steph Bowe rated it

Wow. Just, wow.

Solace & Grief got off to a slow start - the first third of the novel, while beautifully written, was somewhat stagnant. Solace runs away after a meeting with a faceless man, makes friends with a bunch of unemployed youths who live in a warehouse. She has some vaguely vampire-like traits - the sun tires her, she's strong, she can eat very few foods. It's all very mysterious, but not a whole lot seems to happen.

But then - we get to the second third of the no...more

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Oct 23, 2011

Lan (The Write Obsession) rated it

Solace and Grief is beautifully written novel and blends the concepts of vampires and other paranormals or Rare with social issues such as homelessness, alcoholism and general displacement and listlessness.
Solace grows up in a group home where for seventeen years she feels as if she doesn't fit into the world. After dozens of foster parents fail to materialise on the day they are meant to pick her up, Solace is resigned to living out the remainder of her teenage years with the eclect...moreSolace and Grief is beautifully written novel and blends the concepts of vampires and other paranormals or Rare with social issues such as homelessness, alcoholism and general displacement and listlessness.
Solace grows up in a group home where for seventeen years she feels as if she doesn't fit into the world. After dozens of foster parents fail to materialise on the day they are meant to pick her up, Solace is resigned to living out the remainder of her teenage years with the eclectic mix of other unwanted group home kids. That is, until the day the Faceless man begins to stalk her and for reasons unknown to Solace, she is compelled to run away. Solace encounters a ragtag group of youths in a club and almost immediately forms a bond with them. It isn't till much later that Solace learns that every member of her new found group of friends is a Rare and all have their own special Tricks.
Sound great at this point doesn't it? That's what I thought too at the beginning, and then the "getting to know you" bit went on and on and on. Much of the book is spent idly hanging around the Gadfly club where Solace initially meets her friends, or sleeping in the warehouse they all live in. While I was compelled to continue reading because of the premise and the writing, I have to admit that at times the story dragged and I almost thought it was a bit pointless. Things do pick up towards the end of the book though and I think the small twist was what saved it for me.
Character wise, there was a lot of scope for some great personalities in this book, what with the special powers and the sheer number of friends Solace makes. I really liked the idea of a group of ragtag teens coming together to fight evil. Unfortunately, this was one of the areas where I believe the author let herself down. Besides Solace's closest friend Manx (whose power is to turn into a giant house cat..LAME!), I can't remember anything distinguishing about any other characters. Even whilst I was reading the book, I kept thinking how interchangeable everyone was and there were times when I had no idea who a couple of the girls were. Solace herself was far from being a kickass heroine. Most of the action in the book was thrust upon Solace and she just reacted. Rather slowly I might add. For a vampire with super strength, I was disappointed with her if I were to be honest. Even the tiny bit of romance in the book felt incredibly out of place because of the previous disinterest shown by Solace and then when things started happening, Solace exhibited some overwhelming emotions that seemed to come out of nowhere.
I know it was meant to be a paranormal fantasy but I just couldn't suspend my belief for this book. If only because Solace's group of friends were meant to be street kids and vagrants and yet their dialogue was more befitting a high tea luncheon. I was also a tiny bit concerned with the very liberal portrayal of underage drinking, drug taking and general aimlessness. I'm not sure at this point if I'll check out book two. The writing as I've stated was incredible. That and the concept of the Rare has carried this book past the neutral rating mark. I'm not sure if I'm invested enough in the story to overlook the lackluster cast though.

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Aug 01, 2011

Juston rated it

... *very long silence* You have no idea how, fascinating I found this book to be. I have never seen or heard of Foz Meadows before, up until the time I was in my school library before school. I saw a book cover with a key on it, and the word 'Solace' caught my eye, adding on to that, the book wasn't just placed in any old random place, it was placed it the WAYBRA section of the library. That's the Western Australian Young Book Reader Award section. That morning I was bored so I waltzed into the...more... *very long silence* You have no idea how, fascinating I found this book to be. I have never seen or heard of Foz Meadows before, up until the time I was in my school library before school. I saw a book cover with a key on it, and the word 'Solace' caught my eye, adding on to that, the book wasn't just placed in any old random place, it was placed it the WAYBRA section of the library. That's the Western Australian Young Book Reader Award section. That morning I was bored so I waltzed into the library and saw the book, and just grabbed it of the shelf without thinking, just taking books for granted as usual, after school I flipped to the first page and began to read. It didn't take long reading until I reached chapter 5 'Lukin' and then the book basically reached out to me with a life of it's own, literally dragging me into the book and letting me experience the events as the characters themselves! I could feel their emotions and felt like I was THERE witnessing everything!

How often does a book do that!? You know, I've read a few book series, and I'm not the kind of guy that reads books everyday of the week, I"m more of computer freak, as I was saying I've read a few book series including:

Derek Landy's Skuldugerry Pleasant series

Anthony Horowitz's The Power of Five series

The Twilight Saga (Which compared to Foz Meadows work? Makes Solace and Grief look WAY higher class!)

and the Harry Potter series.

The series I just mentioned? Yeah, they were really intriguing the first time I read them, well, NOT ANYMORE! BECAUSE FOZ MEADOWS ALL THE WAY! *GRINS WIDELY*

Don't just read this and think,' Yeah, another random person praising the book and it's author, chucking a few comments around like 'It's an action packed read' yadi yadi da, because, and I truly mean it with emotion! This novel is by far... THE most A-M-A-Z-I-N-G out of all the novels I have read up until now! Also I'm now having a lot of trouble finding a book series that can even COMPARE to the quality of this book series that I'm basically sulking! *slumps*.

I can see that this novel has A-M-A-Z-I-N-G pontential! I can see it becoming a movie, a TV series, an anime *eyes widen*, a-a well basically this novel beats any other novel I have read! So if you're looking for a novel that has hints of: X-men, Twilight, Heroes (TV series), Harry Potter and all that amazing stuff then what are you waiting for just staring at this text!? GO OUT AND PURCHASE THE DAMN NOVEL (or borrow it from your local library) AND FREAKING READ IT!!! *laughs* Yep! Thats about it for my review and I hope you enjoy reading it just like I have enjoyed reading it.

*winks*

Review by Juston Ong -A grade 10 student-(less)

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Jul 27, 2010

Jenny rated it

Shelves: kids-ya

Twilight meets Supernatural meets Heroes meets... This one really does have it all. Inspired by Buffy the Vampire Killer reruns, Meadows came up with a prologue that will knock readers’ socks off. It’s possibly the most intriguing prologue I’ve ever read. Thankfully I was blessed with a rainy day and had nothing better to do than read. Even so, I’m not sure I could have put this book down.

Solace Morgan is a vampire. She has suspected this for some time; growing up, she knew she was d...moreTwilight meets Supernatural meets Heroes meets... This one really does have it all. Inspired by Buffy the Vampire Killer reruns, Meadows came up with a prologue that will knock readers’ socks off. It’s possibly the most intriguing prologue I’ve ever read. Thankfully I was blessed with a rainy day and had nothing better to do than read. Even so, I’m not sure I could have put this book down.

Solace Morgan is a vampire. She has suspected this for some time; growing up, she knew she was different given the array of food she’s allergic to and her body’s odd reaction to sunlight. She knows nothing of her parents, or lineage having been raised in a group home for kids no one wants. But on her seventeenth birthday all that will change.

Compelled by a voice in her dreams, Solace leaves the only home she’s known to trek through the suburbs of Sydney headed for the city’s heart. Once there she is drawn to an underground club where she meets a group of young people, others like herself who don’t quite fit into society. As Solace learns they are all members of a select group called the Rare, individuals with extraordinary talents: those who see the future, read minds, summon fire and manipulate the very fabric of reality. With these newfound friends—the first she’s ever had—Solace embarks on a dangerous path to discover her origins. But as she soon learns, there are others who have been watching and waiting for her, others who have absolutely no regard for her well-being.

Solace & Grief isn’t just a vampire story. Like so many of Ford Street’s titles, this is a story about difference, about how a group of young people bond through and come to terms with their differences. It is also a story about our own true nature: can Solace reject the thousands of years of vampirism encoded in her genes and choose not to feed on human blood? Or is she, and we, little more than pre-programmed flesh and blood machines set to follow a pre-determined path no matter how destructive?

Meadows’ language is descriptive and evocative and her imagination seemingly limitless. Through her well-crafted narrative she creates a sense of menace and mystery that is threaded through even the more light-hearted scenes. Her characterisation, too, is excellent. Foz Meadows is a name to watch.
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Dec 01, 2010

Alison rated it

I couldn't finish this book.

From the opening paragraph, which takes place on a four-poster bed with "tattered hangings of white gauze", thoughts akin to the video clip for "Total Eclipse of the Heart" came to mind and I knew that this was going to be a bit of a hackneyed read.

To my credit I read more than half the book before I gave up. Because it was so boring. The book is about Solace who is a vampire, but I didn't read anything to build upon or cont...more

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Sep 24, 2010

Lisa rated it

Shelves: paranormal, ya

A very different reading experience from what I was expecting.

It was more "edgy" and dark, for one thing, and gave me a glimpse into what I can only imagine life on the streets for a young person is like.

One thing that struck me is that a lot of the events in the novel happen to the characters rather than them causing things to happen, so it often seemed as if I was on a bit of a roller-coaster with things appearing in my line of sight that I had not seen coming...more

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Feb 22, 2010

Donna rated it

Shelves: young-adult, urban-fantasy, 2010-read

My Rating: 3.5

Solace Morgan grew up in a group home in Australia, that was more often than not filled with damaged and problematic kids. She was home schooled and spent much of her time by herself growing up, not having any real friends. During all this time she always knew she was different from the other kids because of her mysterious food allergies, low tolerance for the sun and special abilities. Solace suspects that she's a vampire.

The day before her birthday, Solace...moreMy Rating: 3.5

Solace Morgan grew up in a group home in Australia, that was more often than not filled with damaged and problematic kids. She was home schooled and spent much of her time by herself growing up, not having any real friends. During all this time she always knew she was different from the other kids because of her mysterious food allergies, low tolerance for the sun and special abilities. Solace suspects that she's a vampire.

The day before her birthday, Solace feels the urge to leave the group home after several mysterious messages saying "You don't belong here" and a harrowing experience with a man who instills fear in her without even seeing his face. So for the first time ever, Solace leaves the only home she has ever known on her seventeenth birthday.

Solace soon runs into a group of misfit teenagers at a club in downtown Sydney, and she ends up staying with them at an abandoned warehouse. Solace soon begins to realize that her new friends may just be as different as she is, thus begins her journey into new friendships, self discovery, and the excited world of the Rare.

Solace & Grief starts out at a good pace with a strong touch of mystery in the prologue. But I found the pace slows down after the prologue until about the middle of the book, then the pace explodes and the questions start getting answers plus the actions of certain characters are demystified, especially Solace’s actions.

I didn’t feel a connection with Solace at the beginning because there were a few times where her choices didn’t ring true and she didn’t strike me as a carefree personality who’d make those type of choices. One of those times is when she meets her new friends and takes up with them immediately, I felt she was entirely too trusting with them. But by the end of the novel I did find myself liking Solace a lot more.

I liked the eclectic cast of supernatural characters, who all had their own quirks and gave the story a sense of Alice in Wonderland feel, which I found to be entertaining. Even though the beginning was slow, I just loved the the ending. I’m just itching to tell my favorite part but I can’t because it’s a major part of the ending. The end left me feeling absolutely thrilled about where this series is heading.

Overall, Solace & Grief is a good setup novel for the start of what I see to be an excited and different take on the world of vampires, shifters and the magical. I think Solace & Grief has darker elements than what’s normally seen in YA urban fantasy, that older teens and many adults would enjoy reading.(less)

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May 28, 2010

Kalliste rated it

I'm finding this book quite hard going at the moment. It is interesting but I can't seem to care about Solace. I think I'll enjoy her friends more.
If I hadn't read other peoples reviews about this book I'd probably put it down right now...

... now that I've finished I still think I like Solace the least. But that is ok, I rarely ever like a main character but prefer the supporting characters because they are usually more likeable and less whiny. Probably because you don't have t...more

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Mar 05, 2011

Roslyn Gross rated it

First novel (I think) by an Australian writer. Takes the theme of super-persons in our midst, including vampires, psychics and people with other gifts, and mixes it with magic, coming-of-age and identity angst, and comes up with an immensely readable and original read. I did find it hard at first to differentiate some of the secondary characters, but by the end of the book they emerged as clear identities. I found the main character likeable and intriguing. The book ends on a cliffhanger and I c...more

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Apr 02, 2010

Kat at Book Thingo rated it

Shelves: ya-fiction, australian-authors, send-wandergurl, romantic-elements

This book is a good debut novel and I’d recommend it solely on the fact that it’s set in Sydney—except that there’s enough meat in the story to make it interesting beyond the setting.

The beginning of the novel is a little drawn out and seems to go nowhere for a while. I mean, interesting stuff happens to Solace, but I just didn’t feel like I cared too much until it turns out that Solace’s friends have their own peculiarities. Solace and her friends’ gifts are revealed slowly but del...more

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Jan 25, 2012

Tara rated it

Shelves: vampire, ya

The only reason it has two stars is because of the fact that I found it interesting. If the standard of writing had been better it would have been around a low four star. Instead, I found myself drawn to read more, only to be confused by muddled sentence structure and clumsy, fanfiction-esque descriptions and it felt as though it had too much going on at once. I might start the second in the series in hope that Foz Meadows improves, seeing as I'm genuinely interested in what happens next, but if...more

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Feb 15, 2011

Tanita S. added it

ABSOLUTELY FABULOUS 2011 Cybils nominee.

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Sep 25, 2010

Caroline Clifford rated it

Shelves: books-enjoyed

Really enjoyed it and eagerly awaiting the sequel

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Jul 05, 2011

Pearl rated it

Shelves: waybra

awsome

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Dec 01, 2010

Stellabella rated it

Really good book-I look forward to more

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About Foz Meadows

Though born in sunny Queensland, I grew up on the Central Coast of New South Wales in a very small place called Tascott, where I had many adventures and missed a surprisingly small number of trains, given my fondness for sleeping in. I currently live in St Andrews, Scotland, with my very own philosopher. Solace & Grief is my first published novel.

In no particular order, I like: spontan...more

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