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Fenestra #3
Speed of Light
Fans will be thrilled with the up and coming book in the Meridian trilogy as the romance between Meridian and Tens heats up. And Juliet returns, but her obsessions leave her open to evil exploitation.
Meridian Sozu is a Fenestra, an angel infused human, destined to transition souls into the next world. Together with Tens Valdes, her soulmate and Protector, they've made a home in Indiana, making sure the dead safely enter the light and aren't stolen by the Dark, known as the Nocti.
Upon rescuing Juliet Ambrose from her terrible childhood, Juliet has become vulnerable without her Protector and grasps at any hope to find her parents, even when it's offered by a proven Nocti, Ms. Asura. Juliet is now faced with the horrible choice between uncovering her past and having a future.
Meanwhile, time may be running out for the hundreds of thousands preparing for the festivities surrounding the Indianapolis 500 car race. As centuries of secrets are revealed, the battles will pit Light versus Dark. Not all with survive as Meridian, Tens, and Julie join forces to try to thwart a potential tragedy.
Meridian Sozu is a Fenestra, an angel infused human, destined to transition souls into the next world. Together with Tens Valdes, her soulmate and Protector, they've made a home in Indiana, making sure the dead safely enter the light and aren't stolen by the Dark, known as the Nocti.
Upon rescuing Juliet Ambrose from her terrible childhood, Juliet has become vulnerable without her Protector and grasps at any hope to find her parents, even when it's offered by a proven Nocti, Ms. Asura. Juliet is now faced with the horrible choice between uncovering her past and having a future.
Meanwhile, time may be running out for the hundreds of thousands preparing for the festivities surrounding the Indianapolis 500 car race. As centuries of secrets are revealed, the battles will pit Light versus Dark. Not all with survive as Meridian, Tens, and Julie join forces to try to thwart a potential tragedy.
546 pages, ebook
First published November 13, 2012
16 people are currently reading
2295 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 58 reviews
March 1, 2013
ARC supplied by NetGalley and Delacorte Books for Young Readers in exchange for an honest review.
Excuse the short review. This book was just so lengthy and boring, and I don't really want to talk about it for that long in this review. Also, this review is super old and rather humiliating, so I'd prefer if you just ignored it.
I liked the first two books in the Fenestra series well enough. I liked Ms. Kizer's writing and I enjoyed the books.
I don't know what went wrong in SPEED OF LIGHT, but something definitely did. This book was so needlessly long and uninteresting. I read half the book and then had to skim the rest, because I swear every time I tried to read it all I wanted to do was fall asleep... or throw it at the wall, which unfortunately I couldn't do, since it was on a Nook.
Damn.
Nothing remotely interesting happened, and a large part of the problem of this book was Juliet. Jesus. This girl, all she does is whine and cry and be a dull girl. I hated her with a passion. Speaking of, there was like, three parts (in a book of over five hundred pages, and the blurb said "as their romance heats up") where they kissed or straddled each other or .
Oh, please. The plot was so stretched out and just, plainly put, dull.
"Speed of Light"? I think not. More like:
"Snail in A Winter Storm"
At this point, if Meridian and Tens and Juliet fell into a roast stew and got eaten by a dragon I wouldn't give a shit.
Find more reviews at my blog:
Excuse the short review. This book was just so lengthy and boring, and I don't really want to talk about it for that long in this review. Also, this review is super old and rather humiliating, so I'd prefer if you just ignored it.
I liked the first two books in the Fenestra series well enough. I liked Ms. Kizer's writing and I enjoyed the books.
I don't know what went wrong in SPEED OF LIGHT, but something definitely did. This book was so needlessly long and uninteresting. I read half the book and then had to skim the rest, because I swear every time I tried to read it all I wanted to do was fall asleep... or throw it at the wall, which unfortunately I couldn't do, since it was on a Nook.
Damn.
Nothing remotely interesting happened, and a large part of the problem of this book was Juliet. Jesus. This girl, all she does is whine and cry and be a dull girl. I hated her with a passion. Speaking of, there was like, three parts (in a book of over five hundred pages, and the blurb said "as their romance heats up") where they kissed or straddled each other or .
Oh, please. The plot was so stretched out and just, plainly put, dull.
"Speed of Light"? I think not. More like:
"Snail in A Winter Storm"
At this point, if Meridian and Tens and Juliet fell into a roast stew and got eaten by a dragon I wouldn't give a shit.
Find more reviews at my blog:
March 8, 2012
Since this novel won't be out until later this year, I'm not going to go into massive details. I'm just going to state the facts. I was disappointed. I don't know if this is the last novel out of the series or if there are more. I can tell you however that this novel CRAWLED, seriously!
I felt like I was falling asleep and Mrs. Asura or whatever her name is, should of been dead in book two. It was like beating a dead horse.
The only time I perked up in this novel is at the second last chapter, that's when things started getting good. The end was rushed in my opinion, the emotions weren't very good. I had a hard time relating and I HATED that it showed Juliet's point of view. Yes she is part of the book, do I want to see stuff from her point of view? Nope, sorry, just don't. I want Meridian and Tens but apparently that sucked big time.
I can say for once in my life, I'm pretty tragically disappointed! I expected a heck of a lot more. Don't get me wrong, the story was well written in the sense of tying up lose ends, paragraphing, plot and paraphrasing even but I was just bored stupid.
I felt like I was falling asleep and Mrs. Asura or whatever her name is, should of been dead in book two. It was like beating a dead horse.
The only time I perked up in this novel is at the second last chapter, that's when things started getting good. The end was rushed in my opinion, the emotions weren't very good. I had a hard time relating and I HATED that it showed Juliet's point of view. Yes she is part of the book, do I want to see stuff from her point of view? Nope, sorry, just don't. I want Meridian and Tens but apparently that sucked big time.
I can say for once in my life, I'm pretty tragically disappointed! I expected a heck of a lot more. Don't get me wrong, the story was well written in the sense of tying up lose ends, paragraphing, plot and paraphrasing even but I was just bored stupid.
March 8, 2012
I love this series so much, I actually squealed when I saw that Speed of Light was available on NetGalley! I honestly didn't think that ARC's would be out till much later in the year!
This is this third book in the Fenestra series and just like the second book Wildcat Fireflies the story is told from alternating points of view, switching back and forth from Meridian and Juliet.
Speed of Light throws us right back into the story, straight away you are immersed in Meridian's world and all the crazy goings on that happens when she is around.
This time though Miss Asura is back and she is looking for something, something very important that she needs. She tries to enlist Juliet to help the search with promises of revealing the location of her mothers remains. While the others try to figure out what Miss Asura is looking for and why she needs it, human remains with links to DG are popping up which also need to be investigated, could any of them belong to Juliet's mother?
There are quite a lot of new characters introduced in this book, one being the group of Wood Hunters. These are people who protect Fenestra knowledge and family history.
At first I wasn't too sure what Amber Kizer was trying to do by introducing this new group, but as the plot plays out it soon becomes clear why they are a much needed asset to the story.
We also get to meet Fara, Juliet's protector who at first seems like a bit of an odd fit in the group. It also seems a little odd that she has taken almost forever to get there and was not there for Juliet's 16th birthday and her transition. I was thinking the same thing, all of these questions are explained in the book though.
I do like Fara, she seems strong-willed and acts like she really cares about Juliet. I don't know what is going to happen to them in the future as it's still early days but I think she is a great addition to the little group.
The plot in this book is awesome! There was so many massive plot twists that I totally did not see coming at all, even as things start to unfold around you you are still left guessing as to what is exactly going to happen. This book is not in anyway predictable.
I'm trying not to give too much away as I know this book isn't out for quite a while yet. But I do have to say this, Tens and Meridian finally get down to the dirty!
After all the talk about it in Wildcat Fireflies, it was really sweet to see them finally trusting in each other enough.
The ending did seem to me like the end of a series, everything is wrapped up and the reader is left on a happy note. Now I have noticed that there is going to be a fourth book in the series Counting Tens, due for release in 2013. I'm not sure where Amber Kizer could go with the story now, but from the title I have a feeling it will either be from Ten's point of view or about his past. I would love to learn about his past and everything he went through trying to reach auntie when he was young. I guess we'll just have to wait and see!
Overall to me Speed of Light was the perfect ending to this series (even if it isn't the final book), it was full of ups and downs, highs and lows and left me feeling thoroughly contented about the little group of characters I've come to grow and love.
This is this third book in the Fenestra series and just like the second book Wildcat Fireflies the story is told from alternating points of view, switching back and forth from Meridian and Juliet.
Speed of Light throws us right back into the story, straight away you are immersed in Meridian's world and all the crazy goings on that happens when she is around.
This time though Miss Asura is back and she is looking for something, something very important that she needs. She tries to enlist Juliet to help the search with promises of revealing the location of her mothers remains. While the others try to figure out what Miss Asura is looking for and why she needs it, human remains with links to DG are popping up which also need to be investigated, could any of them belong to Juliet's mother?
There are quite a lot of new characters introduced in this book, one being the group of Wood Hunters. These are people who protect Fenestra knowledge and family history.
At first I wasn't too sure what Amber Kizer was trying to do by introducing this new group, but as the plot plays out it soon becomes clear why they are a much needed asset to the story.
We also get to meet Fara, Juliet's protector who at first seems like a bit of an odd fit in the group. It also seems a little odd that she has taken almost forever to get there and was not there for Juliet's 16th birthday and her transition. I was thinking the same thing, all of these questions are explained in the book though.
I do like Fara, she seems strong-willed and acts like she really cares about Juliet. I don't know what is going to happen to them in the future as it's still early days but I think she is a great addition to the little group.
The plot in this book is awesome! There was so many massive plot twists that I totally did not see coming at all, even as things start to unfold around you you are still left guessing as to what is exactly going to happen. This book is not in anyway predictable.
I'm trying not to give too much away as I know this book isn't out for quite a while yet. But I do have to say this, Tens and Meridian finally get down to the dirty!
After all the talk about it in Wildcat Fireflies, it was really sweet to see them finally trusting in each other enough.
The ending did seem to me like the end of a series, everything is wrapped up and the reader is left on a happy note. Now I have noticed that there is going to be a fourth book in the series Counting Tens, due for release in 2013. I'm not sure where Amber Kizer could go with the story now, but from the title I have a feeling it will either be from Ten's point of view or about his past. I would love to learn about his past and everything he went through trying to reach auntie when he was young. I guess we'll just have to wait and see!
Overall to me Speed of Light was the perfect ending to this series (even if it isn't the final book), it was full of ups and downs, highs and lows and left me feeling thoroughly contented about the little group of characters I've come to grow and love.
December 25, 2012
This really pains me to write, but I was completely and utterly disappointed in this book :( I loved Meridian, and liked Wildcat Fireflies, so I was hoping for so much more with the third book in this series. I figured Wildcat Fireflies just suffered from 2nd-book-syndrome, so I was really excited for this book. However, I felt that this book was useless to the series for a number of reasons.
1)Juliet's POV...I understand that she's another Fenestra and therefore plays a major role, but do I want to read from her POV, no. I thought it might be interesting, but all Juliet did was whine, complain, and say how she ruined everyone's lives. She acted like a 5-year-old, not a 16-year-old! Let's just say I was extremely irritated every time I had to read a chapter with her narration.
2)This story was extremely slow. Not much actually happened until a good three-quarters of the book . I thought, Finally, this book is going to pick up! But I was wrong. I read through the rest of the book desperately wanting something to happen, and then in the the final stages of the book, everything happened at once. And then, just like that it was all over.
3)The plot of Ms. Asura just didn't really need to be brought into the story. I think it was tired and kind of boring.
4)The ending...the ending comprised of short chapters (about 3 pages each), and alternated between Juliet and Meridan. It ended up being a little confusing because there was so much happening and it was going back and forth between the characters.
My other complaint was that there was a title for Juliet's name when it was her POV, but none for Meridian. Granted, you can figure it out pretty quickly that the chapter is from Meridian's POV, but still. If you can put Juliet's name at the beginning of the chapter, you can put Meridian's name too. Additionally, there were many errors (punctuation, spelling, and grammar) that I found as I was reading. I hate when this happens because I find myself editing the book as I'm reading, and I end up paying attention to every little mistake. This ties in with errors, but I found a lot of incomplete or random sentences that made no sense in the story.
Overall, this book was a major letdown for me, and I'm extremely sad to say that. I LOVED Meridian, but it seems like as this series continues, the magic is just disappearing more and more. I don't even know if I'm going to read the fourth book. I guess I'll wait and see what it is about though.
Read Meridian because it is a great book, but you could probably stop after that :(
1)Juliet's POV...I understand that she's another Fenestra and therefore plays a major role, but do I want to read from her POV, no. I thought it might be interesting, but all Juliet did was whine, complain, and say how she ruined everyone's lives. She acted like a 5-year-old, not a 16-year-old! Let's just say I was extremely irritated every time I had to read a chapter with her narration.
2)This story was extremely slow. Not much actually happened until a good three-quarters of the book . I thought, Finally, this book is going to pick up! But I was wrong. I read through the rest of the book desperately wanting something to happen, and then in the the final stages of the book, everything happened at once. And then, just like that it was all over.
3)The plot of Ms. Asura just didn't really need to be brought into the story. I think it was tired and kind of boring.
4)The ending...the ending comprised of short chapters (about 3 pages each), and alternated between Juliet and Meridan. It ended up being a little confusing because there was so much happening and it was going back and forth between the characters.
My other complaint was that there was a title for Juliet's name when it was her POV, but none for Meridian. Granted, you can figure it out pretty quickly that the chapter is from Meridian's POV, but still. If you can put Juliet's name at the beginning of the chapter, you can put Meridian's name too. Additionally, there were many errors (punctuation, spelling, and grammar) that I found as I was reading. I hate when this happens because I find myself editing the book as I'm reading, and I end up paying attention to every little mistake. This ties in with errors, but I found a lot of incomplete or random sentences that made no sense in the story.
Overall, this book was a major letdown for me, and I'm extremely sad to say that. I LOVED Meridian, but it seems like as this series continues, the magic is just disappearing more and more. I don't even know if I'm going to read the fourth book. I guess I'll wait and see what it is about though.
Read Meridian because it is a great book, but you could probably stop after that :(
October 21, 2012
This book finds us in the same place as the last book, Meridian and Tens, along with the band of motley crew they put together, are still working to find more Fenestra, beat the Nocti, and most importantly help Julia with her new place in life.
Juliet is a hot mess in this one. I will fully admit to getting very tired of the way that she tried to isolate herself from the group, how she knew she was doing this, knew it was wrong, yet did it anyway. At times it seemed like Juliet was working on her own mission, not helping the others. Had she just sat down to talk to them she would realize that they would do anything to help her. It took so much to get through to Juliet and the person that did came in an unexpected form, her protector. Fara is not what I expected as a protector, yet she was perfect for Julia. I don't think that these two will have the same type of relationship that Meridian and Tens do, but it looks to be one that will have a deep friendship, something both girls need. I loved how Fara would mix up her American words on purpose get her point across, even better was Juliet calling her on it and Fara's response to her.
I loved that with this book we learned more about the world of Fenestra's. I really liked how new allies sprouted up, how the girl's learned they can do more than help people cross over, and how important they are in the whole scope of things.
There were some very touching scenes with some of our other characters, Gus and Faye, if you don't cry when you read about them I would be surprised. I loved what everyone did for them and how they were honored at the end. Nellie had a big part too. I hated how she feels so responsible for what happened to all the kids, it wasn't her fault. But in trying to atone for the past she finds love with someone who believes in this crazy world she lives in, I wanted things to stop right there for her, in a happy place.
I did find all the action amid the Indy 500 to be funny. Here is this big sporting event and there is a good vs evil battle going on around everyone, but they are oblivious.
All in all this was a fun read, one with lots of action, where our characters learned more about themselves and cemented bonds. I look forward to reading more!
Juliet is a hot mess in this one. I will fully admit to getting very tired of the way that she tried to isolate herself from the group, how she knew she was doing this, knew it was wrong, yet did it anyway. At times it seemed like Juliet was working on her own mission, not helping the others. Had she just sat down to talk to them she would realize that they would do anything to help her. It took so much to get through to Juliet and the person that did came in an unexpected form, her protector. Fara is not what I expected as a protector, yet she was perfect for Julia. I don't think that these two will have the same type of relationship that Meridian and Tens do, but it looks to be one that will have a deep friendship, something both girls need. I loved how Fara would mix up her American words on purpose get her point across, even better was Juliet calling her on it and Fara's response to her.
I loved that with this book we learned more about the world of Fenestra's. I really liked how new allies sprouted up, how the girl's learned they can do more than help people cross over, and how important they are in the whole scope of things.
There were some very touching scenes with some of our other characters, Gus and Faye, if you don't cry when you read about them I would be surprised. I loved what everyone did for them and how they were honored at the end. Nellie had a big part too. I hated how she feels so responsible for what happened to all the kids, it wasn't her fault. But in trying to atone for the past she finds love with someone who believes in this crazy world she lives in, I wanted things to stop right there for her, in a happy place.
I did find all the action amid the Indy 500 to be funny. Here is this big sporting event and there is a good vs evil battle going on around everyone, but they are oblivious.
All in all this was a fun read, one with lots of action, where our characters learned more about themselves and cemented bonds. I look forward to reading more!
January 26, 2019
I have to admit that this is my least favorite book out of this series (which is definitely one of my faves). It was a little slow until the very end (as many other reviewers have already stated). Granted, I understand WHY Kizer chose to write this book less action-centered and more character and information driven--we needed the characters to grow into themselves and we needed more background info about the Fenestra world. However, the majority of the book was Juliet feeling sorry for herself and doing bad things or Meridian and the others researching and visiting murder scenes.
Part of my dislike for the above stems from the fact that I still have a hard time connecting and sympathizing with Juliet, especially after what she does in the beginning half of this book
Another big problem I had was the ending; not necessarily what happened but how it happened. You'll know it when you read it but keep reading if you want an explanation:
Overall, I thought the way Kizer played out and expanded the storyline was brilliant. I still love this series and think this was just more of a filler book. I'm ready for the finale and please let it be epic!
Part of my dislike for the above stems from the fact that I still have a hard time connecting and sympathizing with Juliet, especially after what she does in the beginning half of this book
Another big problem I had was the ending; not necessarily what happened but how it happened. You'll know it when you read it but keep reading if you want an explanation:
Overall, I thought the way Kizer played out and expanded the storyline was brilliant. I still love this series and think this was just more of a filler book. I'm ready for the finale and please let it be epic!
July 29, 2013
I'll be honest. I loved the first one. I loved the second one, but I did not like the third one at all. After the intensity and the greatness of the first two, I was utterly disappointed in the final installment of this series. The spice and suspense that I found in the first two novels wasn't found in this one.
I think a big problem for some of us was that since we all read the second book the second it came out- we forgot some of the plot from the previous book. Therefore, I was a wee bit loss, but I remember the main things so that's what counts.
Now on to the writing. The plot wasn't really attracting to me. I didn't quite get into it and get the chance to fully dig my fingers into it. (Figuratively). It just didn't appeal to me as the first two did. I also found that this book was a lot longer than necessary and therefore it made the book slow and somewhat boring. I found myself skimming the pages a lot than I really wanted to. I especially skimmed at the end. One thing that really annoyed me was Juliet's POV. I'm all for Juliet, but I was looking for more of Tens and Meridian. Speaking of Tens and Meridian... I really wanted there relationship to grow more. The chemistry that I really enjoyed between the two in the first two novels kind of faded for me. I really felt like this book should have focused on Meridian and Tens more than the various POV's. The only part that I may have felt the chemistry is at the end where Tens and Meridian do the "deed," but even then I felt that the love that I once really appreciated between then turned somewhat shallow.
I'm somewhat dissapointed in the last installment of this series, but I will always remember the joy, tears, and thrills that the series gave me. I'll be looking out for future books by Kizer for sure though.
I think a big problem for some of us was that since we all read the second book the second it came out- we forgot some of the plot from the previous book. Therefore, I was a wee bit loss, but I remember the main things so that's what counts.
Now on to the writing. The plot wasn't really attracting to me. I didn't quite get into it and get the chance to fully dig my fingers into it. (Figuratively). It just didn't appeal to me as the first two did. I also found that this book was a lot longer than necessary and therefore it made the book slow and somewhat boring. I found myself skimming the pages a lot than I really wanted to. I especially skimmed at the end. One thing that really annoyed me was Juliet's POV. I'm all for Juliet, but I was looking for more of Tens and Meridian. Speaking of Tens and Meridian... I really wanted there relationship to grow more. The chemistry that I really enjoyed between the two in the first two novels kind of faded for me. I really felt like this book should have focused on Meridian and Tens more than the various POV's. The only part that I may have felt the chemistry is at the end where Tens and Meridian do the "deed," but even then I felt that the love that I once really appreciated between then turned somewhat shallow.
I'm somewhat dissapointed in the last installment of this series, but I will always remember the joy, tears, and thrills that the series gave me. I'll be looking out for future books by Kizer for sure though.
November 6, 2012
The title is a rather strange fit.
I had a hard time staying interested in reading this book. Between the Indy 500 and very slow progress it just dragged. I have no understanding or appreciation for the Indy 500. There was a vast wealth of information and a descriptive plethora about the experience of attending the Indy 500. Yet it didn't awake in me any desire to experience this sport for myself. More like it helped to solidify my belief that this is one sport I will never get into. Crowds, drinking, disrespectful and a desperate need to see carnage.
There were os many pages spent in trust issues. And the way those issues were resolved. Instead of making me more attached to Juliet I found her irritating and boring. Meridian and Tens also were dull. I think the first book was the best of the three.
There are some really strange super power developments in this book. On top of which it was annoying to have the good side so perpetually lacking in knowledge and any sense of confidence. Always broadcasting their worry that everything will go wrong around them. So much fear and doubt.
I recommend you read the first book which is excellent and skip the other two. There just wasn't anything all that satisfying. Especially if you like romance. Tens and Meridian get together in the first book after which it is obvious they are going to remain together. It doesn't matter how many times Meridian feels insecure or doubt tries to weave into the relationship there is no way they will break up. They have the whole soul mate protector thing going on.
Content:
Sexual: Moderate
Violence: Moderate
I had a hard time staying interested in reading this book. Between the Indy 500 and very slow progress it just dragged. I have no understanding or appreciation for the Indy 500. There was a vast wealth of information and a descriptive plethora about the experience of attending the Indy 500. Yet it didn't awake in me any desire to experience this sport for myself. More like it helped to solidify my belief that this is one sport I will never get into. Crowds, drinking, disrespectful and a desperate need to see carnage.
There were os many pages spent in trust issues. And the way those issues were resolved. Instead of making me more attached to Juliet I found her irritating and boring. Meridian and Tens also were dull. I think the first book was the best of the three.
There are some really strange super power developments in this book. On top of which it was annoying to have the good side so perpetually lacking in knowledge and any sense of confidence. Always broadcasting their worry that everything will go wrong around them. So much fear and doubt.
I recommend you read the first book which is excellent and skip the other two. There just wasn't anything all that satisfying. Especially if you like romance. Tens and Meridian get together in the first book after which it is obvious they are going to remain together. It doesn't matter how many times Meridian feels insecure or doubt tries to weave into the relationship there is no way they will break up. They have the whole soul mate protector thing going on.
Content:
Sexual: Moderate
Violence: Moderate
November 27, 2012
This is the third in Amber Kizer's Fenestra series, and I'm giving it three stars because while I enjoyed it well enough, I also see some weirdness in it.
Here's the thing: by the time we as readers get to the third book, we've already spent quite a bit of time with Meridian and Tens. We're very familiar with their background, and we're invested in their future. Yes, we've also gotten to know Juliet a bit, and we kind of care what happens to her, but we're (or at least I'm) not willing to sacrifice the investment in Meridian and Tens for her. But that's kind of what gets asked of us. So much of the story is centered on Juliet, with all of her insecurity and angst and dysfunction, that the story we've come to care about drifts into the background. Before we get any resolution with our "main" characters, we're switching lanes and following Juliet around. I didn't entirely mind Juliet's story, but I did find myself gazing over into the other lane, wishing we'd never switched because that other lane looks much cooler.
Without giving any spoilers, I can assure fans of the first two books that many of the things you've been hoping for since book one do happen. But sadly, they happen in an offhand, matter-of-fact way. I didn't hate it, but I had greater expectations for it. And that's kind of a bummer.
**I received an advanced copy of this book from the publisher via NetGalley.
Here's the thing: by the time we as readers get to the third book, we've already spent quite a bit of time with Meridian and Tens. We're very familiar with their background, and we're invested in their future. Yes, we've also gotten to know Juliet a bit, and we kind of care what happens to her, but we're (or at least I'm) not willing to sacrifice the investment in Meridian and Tens for her. But that's kind of what gets asked of us. So much of the story is centered on Juliet, with all of her insecurity and angst and dysfunction, that the story we've come to care about drifts into the background. Before we get any resolution with our "main" characters, we're switching lanes and following Juliet around. I didn't entirely mind Juliet's story, but I did find myself gazing over into the other lane, wishing we'd never switched because that other lane looks much cooler.
Without giving any spoilers, I can assure fans of the first two books that many of the things you've been hoping for since book one do happen. But sadly, they happen in an offhand, matter-of-fact way. I didn't hate it, but I had greater expectations for it. And that's kind of a bummer.
**I received an advanced copy of this book from the publisher via NetGalley.
April 12, 2013
I really wanted this book to be good because I loved the first book in the series but it just wasn't that great. Most of the book revolves around the Indy 500 which I could care less about. Also Juliet becomes really annoying in this book, she is basically a female human version of Grumpy Bear from the Care Bears. Tens gets a bit of his personality back that was missing in the second book but he is still a shell of what he was in the first book. I almost wish I hadn't picked up the first book so I could have avoided this one. I gave it three stars because there were still glimpses of the greatness from the first book but definitely one of the most awkward sex scenes I have ever read in a book took place in this one; and I don't think it was supposed to be. I would have preferred the author to have left the sex out all together rather than the sex and "almost sex" scenes she adds to her books.
March 9, 2012
It was not what I expected out of the last Fenestra novel. Trilogy's are always tricky, sometimes readers lose interest by the 3rd novel. I was excited to start this book, but after a while I lost interest. This book was significantly different from the first. Right from the beginning we were launched into an action packed novel, which was great. i didn't love the alternating POV's from Meridian to Juliet. I think I prefer Meridian's voice, and that is only because Juliet is far to depressing/mistrustful/self-pitying for my taste.
I was however correct about my assumption involving Sergio. He seemed fishy from the start, and I was insightful. The relationship between Tens and Meridian had few moments, but those were some treasured moments. Now, I thoight the epilogue as well as the ending was rushed, and should've been more detailed.
I was however correct about my assumption involving Sergio. He seemed fishy from the start, and I was insightful. The relationship between Tens and Meridian had few moments, but those were some treasured moments. Now, I thoight the epilogue as well as the ending was rushed, and should've been more detailed.
June 20, 2012
Uhhh...so slow. This book had none of the hot almost-sex scenes of the second book in the series and the main battlegrounds was the Indie 500. No good!
did-not-finish
November 5, 2012Could not remember enough to connect with meridian. Felt like being told too much rather than getting into plot.
Also, in the arc the formatting wasn't well done and distracting
Also, in the arc the formatting wasn't well done and distracting
yeah-uh-never-happening
March 19, 2017HIS FACE LOOKS LIKE THEY FUCKING USED THAT COLOR OVER WHERE YOU WANT TO CROP AND THEN PUT A HEAD TOGETHER WITH THE HAIR WHAT THE FUCK ARE THOSE PROPORTIONS
WHAT THE FUCK IS THAT CHIN
WHAT THE FUCK IS THAT HAIR
WHAT THE FUCK IS EVERYONE LOOKING LIKE A HOT TOPIC MODEL
WHAT THE FUCK IS THAT CHIN
WHAT THE FUCK IS THAT HAIR
WHAT THE FUCK IS EVERYONE LOOKING LIKE A HOT TOPIC MODEL
August 19, 2013
Review courtesy of Dark Faerie Tales.
Quick & Dirty: Slow paced didn’t balance the world building, and just wasn’t for me.
Opening Sentence: What if a young woman was both a girl to the living and a portal to the dying?
The Review:
Speed of Light is the third book in the Fenestra series by Amber Kizer. In the long list of paranormal young adult stories, Speed of Light was a good addition. Angels, the battle versus good and evil, and a romance fill the pages of this story. Unfortunately, it was hard for me to connect to the story. By the end of the book, it just wasn’t for me.
Many people adored this book, as well as the series. But before you agree with me, let me tell you a few things so you can try to formulate your own opinion. What doesn’t work for me doesn’t necessarily mean it won’t work for you.
The beginning of Speed of Light took a while for me to get into. I had to reread the first chapter twice before I could get the momentum going. The beginning had a good recap of the previous two books, but I think that ruined it a little for me. There were a lot of details, and I felt it slowed the pacing. But on the other side, there were moments were it was filled with action and fast-paced. To me, there wasn’t a good balance to absorb and comprehend the story, taking it all in to appreciate.
The protagonist, Meridian, was someone that I loved and disliked. It was hard to get past her personality to love her intelligence, ability, and power. I wanted to fall in love with her with as much gumption as she deserves, but at times I just couldn’t connect with her. She grew so much, but there was still something that I couldn’t get with. Juliet is the one she saved, and I didn’t have a relationship with her at all. Her personality was off-putting and her voice wasn’t something that I could stand behind. I felt she was strong in previous books, but a weak link in Speed of Light.
What I did love about this story was exploring the world of the Fenestras. The culture, the lore, the history was something that I always wanted to know about and I got it. There were pleasant surprises which definitely piqued my interest. Kizer showed me the grand scheme of things, and showed the importance of it all. I was much more interested in the macro versus the micro.
Overall, Speed of Light was just okay for me. There were a few things that I didn’t care for, in terms of reading preferences.
Notable Scene:
Someone cracked the door. “Juliet?” Meridian whispered.
I pretended I was already sleeping. She turned on a night- light and crept back out, flicking off the main fixture.
I opened my eyes and stared at the ceiling, thinking about DG. About my task, my choices. Are there more kids out there? Anyone who escaped and made it out of her
grasp? Can I shield those around me? No matter what I do, nothing good comes to people who spend time with me. My parents. The patients at DG. Kirian. No one and
nothing. I don’t know what to do. “Tell me what to do,” I whispered against Mini’s throat, but she stayed silent.
FTC Advisory: Random House/Delacorte Press provided me with a copy of Speed of Light. No goody bags, sponsorships, “material connections,” or bribes were exchanged for my review.
Quick & Dirty: Slow paced didn’t balance the world building, and just wasn’t for me.
Opening Sentence: What if a young woman was both a girl to the living and a portal to the dying?
The Review:
Speed of Light is the third book in the Fenestra series by Amber Kizer. In the long list of paranormal young adult stories, Speed of Light was a good addition. Angels, the battle versus good and evil, and a romance fill the pages of this story. Unfortunately, it was hard for me to connect to the story. By the end of the book, it just wasn’t for me.
Many people adored this book, as well as the series. But before you agree with me, let me tell you a few things so you can try to formulate your own opinion. What doesn’t work for me doesn’t necessarily mean it won’t work for you.
The beginning of Speed of Light took a while for me to get into. I had to reread the first chapter twice before I could get the momentum going. The beginning had a good recap of the previous two books, but I think that ruined it a little for me. There were a lot of details, and I felt it slowed the pacing. But on the other side, there were moments were it was filled with action and fast-paced. To me, there wasn’t a good balance to absorb and comprehend the story, taking it all in to appreciate.
The protagonist, Meridian, was someone that I loved and disliked. It was hard to get past her personality to love her intelligence, ability, and power. I wanted to fall in love with her with as much gumption as she deserves, but at times I just couldn’t connect with her. She grew so much, but there was still something that I couldn’t get with. Juliet is the one she saved, and I didn’t have a relationship with her at all. Her personality was off-putting and her voice wasn’t something that I could stand behind. I felt she was strong in previous books, but a weak link in Speed of Light.
What I did love about this story was exploring the world of the Fenestras. The culture, the lore, the history was something that I always wanted to know about and I got it. There were pleasant surprises which definitely piqued my interest. Kizer showed me the grand scheme of things, and showed the importance of it all. I was much more interested in the macro versus the micro.
Overall, Speed of Light was just okay for me. There were a few things that I didn’t care for, in terms of reading preferences.
Notable Scene:
Someone cracked the door. “Juliet?” Meridian whispered.
I pretended I was already sleeping. She turned on a night- light and crept back out, flicking off the main fixture.
I opened my eyes and stared at the ceiling, thinking about DG. About my task, my choices. Are there more kids out there? Anyone who escaped and made it out of her
grasp? Can I shield those around me? No matter what I do, nothing good comes to people who spend time with me. My parents. The patients at DG. Kirian. No one and
nothing. I don’t know what to do. “Tell me what to do,” I whispered against Mini’s throat, but she stayed silent.
FTC Advisory: Random House/Delacorte Press provided me with a copy of Speed of Light. No goody bags, sponsorships, “material connections,” or bribes were exchanged for my review.
November 2, 2017
Link: https://holedupinabook.blogspot.com/2...
I’m actually quite impressed with myself for finishing the last two books in the series. Mainly because after I read the first one, I couldn’t find the second two for quite some time that I almost gave up but then I moved to NYC and voila, the library had them. Also because I wasn’t 100% in love with the first one that it would’ve been simple for me to simply disregard the rest of the series but somehow I never got around to taking them off my TBR list on Goodreads so…here we are today lol.
I read the first book years ago so I don’t at all remember what it was about so the second book was mostly for me to refresh my memory and reacquaint myself with the characters specifically Meridian and Tens. It was also interesting for me to read about how much in love they are yet they talked about how when they first met, they hated each other and couldn’t stand each other whatsoever. It was quite difficult for me to believe that since they’re always stuck at the hip with each other and they’re usually all over each other too.
However, that being said, I can’t say that I’m a fan of any of the characters. Meridian was very uptight at times and she was quite bossy. Tens always succumbed to Meridian’s whims so even though he was a good guy overall, sometimes I felt that he didn’t have a strong personality. As for the other characters such as Juliet who didn’t really become super important aka have her own POV chapters, I guess they were adequate but after a while, I felt like Tens and Meridian kept collecting people that by the third book, it was hard to keep track of everyone other than the big names like Rumi and Juliet. And for Juliet, I was definitely not a fan of her. I liked her a lot more in the second book when she was still more of a secondary character but after she got saved and stuff, she became so whiney and unresponsive. She felt that Meridian and Tens were too bossy and Tens were too overbearing. Plus she was always so secretive and felt that everything was on her shoulders even though it really wasn’t. I just felt that there were a lot of situations that could have been avoided if Juliet had spoken up and shared.
Other than the lack of interest in the characters on my part, the plot was okay. There were a few times when I was a little confused because there was just too much going on and all the different terminologies for Nocti and Fenestra was getting to me. It was like the author wanted to just have about 10 different names for the same thing. Not only that but there were always new groups of people who came into play and then Meridian and Tens would become super suspicious about them and what they want.
I thought the ending was decent though; however, I just went back on Goodreads and found out that there’s apparently a fourth book? I thought the third was the last in the series…And another thing I dislike about this series is that each book is years apart. I mean, the third book came out in 2012. It’s now 2017 and there’s supposed to be a fourth book? Me thinks not. As in I doubt I’ll pick it up.
I’m actually quite impressed with myself for finishing the last two books in the series. Mainly because after I read the first one, I couldn’t find the second two for quite some time that I almost gave up but then I moved to NYC and voila, the library had them. Also because I wasn’t 100% in love with the first one that it would’ve been simple for me to simply disregard the rest of the series but somehow I never got around to taking them off my TBR list on Goodreads so…here we are today lol.
I read the first book years ago so I don’t at all remember what it was about so the second book was mostly for me to refresh my memory and reacquaint myself with the characters specifically Meridian and Tens. It was also interesting for me to read about how much in love they are yet they talked about how when they first met, they hated each other and couldn’t stand each other whatsoever. It was quite difficult for me to believe that since they’re always stuck at the hip with each other and they’re usually all over each other too.
However, that being said, I can’t say that I’m a fan of any of the characters. Meridian was very uptight at times and she was quite bossy. Tens always succumbed to Meridian’s whims so even though he was a good guy overall, sometimes I felt that he didn’t have a strong personality. As for the other characters such as Juliet who didn’t really become super important aka have her own POV chapters, I guess they were adequate but after a while, I felt like Tens and Meridian kept collecting people that by the third book, it was hard to keep track of everyone other than the big names like Rumi and Juliet. And for Juliet, I was definitely not a fan of her. I liked her a lot more in the second book when she was still more of a secondary character but after she got saved and stuff, she became so whiney and unresponsive. She felt that Meridian and Tens were too bossy and Tens were too overbearing. Plus she was always so secretive and felt that everything was on her shoulders even though it really wasn’t. I just felt that there were a lot of situations that could have been avoided if Juliet had spoken up and shared.
Other than the lack of interest in the characters on my part, the plot was okay. There were a few times when I was a little confused because there was just too much going on and all the different terminologies for Nocti and Fenestra was getting to me. It was like the author wanted to just have about 10 different names for the same thing. Not only that but there were always new groups of people who came into play and then Meridian and Tens would become super suspicious about them and what they want.
I thought the ending was decent though; however, I just went back on Goodreads and found out that there’s apparently a fourth book? I thought the third was the last in the series…And another thing I dislike about this series is that each book is years apart. I mean, the third book came out in 2012. It’s now 2017 and there’s supposed to be a fourth book? Me thinks not. As in I doubt I’ll pick it up.
February 26, 2013
Este review va para la trilogía completa, porque los otros dos los leí antes de empezar a hacer reviews y apenas me acuerdo de ellos.
En realidad la historia de Meridian me pareció mejor de lo que creí que sería en el primer momento. Entiendo que no se puede hablar de la muerte sin involucrar algo de duelo y angustia, pero la Meridian de los primeros capítulos me parecía insoportable y a duras penas logré llegar a la parte interesante. La historia es en unos momentos muy lenta y en otros llena de acción.
Este último libro me agarró más de lo que esperaba, considerando que en vez de meterme en la historia me la pasaba criticando lo que ocurría. ¡Honestamente odio a Juliet! Es un lastre para la historia y cada que llegaba un capítulo desde su punto de vista yo tomaba aire y me preparaba para contener insultos que en un lugar público me habrían ganado un par de miradas raras. Es cierto que la chica ha pasado por un par de momentos difíciles, pero a mí mis héroes me gustan resilientes, no necios y tercos. Era tanto el desdén que sentía por ella, comparada con mi conexión con Meridian, que me sentí increíblemente celosa. Además su fijación con los padres que nunca conoció me parecen de los detalles más decepcionantes de la historia.
De lo anterior se puede deducir que el punto mas fuerte del libro es la protagonista. La Meridian que conocemos en este tercer libro ha crecido y se ha convertido en el tipo de protagonista que es agradable leer. Por una vez no tenemos a una chica feminista completamente autosuficiente, ni a una damisela en peligro. No, Meridian tiene, en mi opinión, la combinación perfecta de inteligencia, poder, y capacidad de confiar en sus compañeros como para embarcarse en cualquier aventura. Amo su relación con Tens y con el gran grupo de apoyo que creó. Y eso es lo más importante: fue ella quien lo creó. Es una chica que empezó la historia sin un hogar, sin amigos, sin poderes o una misión, y desde eso, crea para sí misma un mundo lleno de personas amorosas, humor, paisajes y hobbies.
Aunque al principio estuve un poco recelosa, también me encariñe con el personaje de Fara, que tiene la mezcla perfecta entre héroe de acción y mujer insegura abriéndose camino como puede en el mundo. Yo tendría mucho que aprender de ella.
Sin más termino diciendo que el libro estaba lleno de momentos tan cursis que me hacían reír de incredulidad mientras los leía, pero que generalmente me dejaban sintiendo una calidez por dentro que hacía que tuviera que reconocer su valor. Cuando empecé este último libro de la saga no esperaba encontrarme con ese desasosiego que me embarga siempre que termino un buen libro y no quiero despedirme de la historia definitivamente.
En realidad la historia de Meridian me pareció mejor de lo que creí que sería en el primer momento. Entiendo que no se puede hablar de la muerte sin involucrar algo de duelo y angustia, pero la Meridian de los primeros capítulos me parecía insoportable y a duras penas logré llegar a la parte interesante. La historia es en unos momentos muy lenta y en otros llena de acción.
Este último libro me agarró más de lo que esperaba, considerando que en vez de meterme en la historia me la pasaba criticando lo que ocurría. ¡Honestamente odio a Juliet! Es un lastre para la historia y cada que llegaba un capítulo desde su punto de vista yo tomaba aire y me preparaba para contener insultos que en un lugar público me habrían ganado un par de miradas raras. Es cierto que la chica ha pasado por un par de momentos difíciles, pero a mí mis héroes me gustan resilientes, no necios y tercos. Era tanto el desdén que sentía por ella, comparada con mi conexión con Meridian, que me sentí increíblemente celosa. Además su fijación con los padres que nunca conoció me parecen de los detalles más decepcionantes de la historia.
De lo anterior se puede deducir que el punto mas fuerte del libro es la protagonista. La Meridian que conocemos en este tercer libro ha crecido y se ha convertido en el tipo de protagonista que es agradable leer. Por una vez no tenemos a una chica feminista completamente autosuficiente, ni a una damisela en peligro. No, Meridian tiene, en mi opinión, la combinación perfecta de inteligencia, poder, y capacidad de confiar en sus compañeros como para embarcarse en cualquier aventura. Amo su relación con Tens y con el gran grupo de apoyo que creó. Y eso es lo más importante: fue ella quien lo creó. Es una chica que empezó la historia sin un hogar, sin amigos, sin poderes o una misión, y desde eso, crea para sí misma un mundo lleno de personas amorosas, humor, paisajes y hobbies.
Aunque al principio estuve un poco recelosa, también me encariñe con el personaje de Fara, que tiene la mezcla perfecta entre héroe de acción y mujer insegura abriéndose camino como puede en el mundo. Yo tendría mucho que aprender de ella.
Sin más termino diciendo que el libro estaba lleno de momentos tan cursis que me hacían reír de incredulidad mientras los leía, pero que generalmente me dejaban sintiendo una calidez por dentro que hacía que tuviera que reconocer su valor. Cuando empecé este último libro de la saga no esperaba encontrarme con ese desasosiego que me embarga siempre que termino un buen libro y no quiero despedirme de la historia definitivamente.
March 13, 2014
More reviews at The Sirenic Codex
I deserve a medal for finishing this book. No seriously. Speed of Light was excruciatingly long with very little action and a serious case of overwriting.
The characters were stale. You couldn't really care about them because they were so clearly good that it was a little frustrating. Meridian's perspective was particularly boring. She was so sweet and seemed to have no personality beyond wanting to help everybody and being in love with Tens. Tens was perfect. He didn't screw up once. He never needed reassurance. He wasn't human, and I became increasingly apathetic over their relationship. They are in love, I get it. I don't need to be slammed with this fact over and over. I ended up skipping most of their unnecessary love scenes.
Speaking of unnecessary, I would say about 1/3 of this book should have been cut, and I'm being generous. The plot is crawling and so slow. Nothing happens. It's really badly written because so many scenes don't advance the story so that by the time you get to the end, I don't know why the ending is rushed and completely anticlimactic.
I always liked the mythology in the series, but this book failed it. It became too preachy and sweet. There was too much good versus evil and not enough why. I would have loved to know more about the inner psyche of a Nocti. And not like Ms. Asura. She was supposed to be scary, but she was the most pathetic villain ever. I didn't once fear her and so it made Juliet look a little weird to be so scared of someone like her. Her confrontations with the Fenestra were almost laughable because she was all "I'm a villain! WE WILL WIN!" And Meridian would say something cheesy like "Love is stronger than everything!"
You may wonder why I read this book? Well, Juliet was interesting in the beginning. By the end of the book I kind of tired of her. But just as my interest in her waned, a new character was introduced. Fara.
Fara is the only character I have any interest in by the end of Speed of Light, and that's because of one thing: she's Persian. Whoa! Diversity! How bad does YA need diversity? I read a whole 544 page book just because of one character who has the same heritage as me. Yeah, I'm Persian, and so Fara maybe interested me a lot more than she would others. It's just the cultural things I find interesting. I grew up with parents that were kinda lukewarm in sharing culture. I knew all about Nowruz and stuff, but I didn't know the stories behind it. That part was fascinating. The food part was cute too. Anyway, I connected with Fara and I have to applaud the author for successfully writing in some significant diversity.
Even with that though, the story was boring. I'm extremely disappointed with it. 1 star.
P.S. I just read that this isn't the end of the series. Interesting, because I thought it was. It even says "trilogy" in the synopsis. Either way, I'm done.
I deserve a medal for finishing this book. No seriously. Speed of Light was excruciatingly long with very little action and a serious case of overwriting.
The characters were stale. You couldn't really care about them because they were so clearly good that it was a little frustrating. Meridian's perspective was particularly boring. She was so sweet and seemed to have no personality beyond wanting to help everybody and being in love with Tens. Tens was perfect. He didn't screw up once. He never needed reassurance. He wasn't human, and I became increasingly apathetic over their relationship. They are in love, I get it. I don't need to be slammed with this fact over and over. I ended up skipping most of their unnecessary love scenes.
Speaking of unnecessary, I would say about 1/3 of this book should have been cut, and I'm being generous. The plot is crawling and so slow. Nothing happens. It's really badly written because so many scenes don't advance the story so that by the time you get to the end, I don't know why the ending is rushed and completely anticlimactic.
I always liked the mythology in the series, but this book failed it. It became too preachy and sweet. There was too much good versus evil and not enough why. I would have loved to know more about the inner psyche of a Nocti. And not like Ms. Asura. She was supposed to be scary, but she was the most pathetic villain ever. I didn't once fear her and so it made Juliet look a little weird to be so scared of someone like her. Her confrontations with the Fenestra were almost laughable because she was all "I'm a villain! WE WILL WIN!" And Meridian would say something cheesy like "Love is stronger than everything!"
You may wonder why I read this book? Well, Juliet was interesting in the beginning. By the end of the book I kind of tired of her. But just as my interest in her waned, a new character was introduced. Fara.
Fara is the only character I have any interest in by the end of Speed of Light, and that's because of one thing: she's Persian. Whoa! Diversity! How bad does YA need diversity? I read a whole 544 page book just because of one character who has the same heritage as me. Yeah, I'm Persian, and so Fara maybe interested me a lot more than she would others. It's just the cultural things I find interesting. I grew up with parents that were kinda lukewarm in sharing culture. I knew all about Nowruz and stuff, but I didn't know the stories behind it. That part was fascinating. The food part was cute too. Anyway, I connected with Fara and I have to applaud the author for successfully writing in some significant diversity.
Even with that though, the story was boring. I'm extremely disappointed with it. 1 star.
P.S. I just read that this isn't the end of the series. Interesting, because I thought it was. It even says "trilogy" in the synopsis. Either way, I'm done.
August 18, 2013
Review posted on Dark Faerie Tales.
Speed of Light is the third book in the Fenestra series by Amber Kizer. In the long list of paranormal young adult stories, Speed of Light was a good addition. Angels, the battle versus good and evil, and a romance fill the pages of this story. Unfortunately, it was hard for me to connect to the story. By the end of the book, it just wasn't for me.
Many people adored this book, as well as the series. But before you agree with me, let me tell you a few things so you can try to formulate your own opinion. What doesn't work for me doesn't necessarily mean it won’t work for you.
The beginning of Speed of Light took a while for me to get into. I had to reread the first chapter twice before I could get the momentum going. The beginning had a good recap of the previous two books, but I think that ruined it a little for me. There were a lot of details, and I felt it slowed the pacing. But on the other side, there were moments were it was filled with action and fast-paced. To me, there wasn’t a good balance to absorb and comprehend the story, taking it all in to appreciate.
The protagonist, Meridian, was someone that I loved and disliked. It was hard to get past her personality to love her intelligence, ability, and power. I wanted to fall in love with her with as much gumption as she deserves, but at times I just couldn’t connect with her. She grew so much, but there was still something that I couldn’t get with. Juliet, the one saved, and I didn’t have a relationship at all. Her personality was off-putting and her voice wasn’t something that I could stand behind. I felt she was strong in previous books, but a weak link in Speed of Light.
What I did love about this story was exploring the world of the Fenestras. The culture, the lore, the history was something that I always wanted to know about and I got it. There were pleasant surprises which definitely piqued my interest. Kizer showed me the grand scheme of things, and showed the importance of it all. I was much more interested in the macro versus the micro.
Overall, Speed of Light was just okay for me. There were a few things that I didn’t care for, in terms of reading preferences.
Speed of Light is the third book in the Fenestra series by Amber Kizer. In the long list of paranormal young adult stories, Speed of Light was a good addition. Angels, the battle versus good and evil, and a romance fill the pages of this story. Unfortunately, it was hard for me to connect to the story. By the end of the book, it just wasn't for me.
Many people adored this book, as well as the series. But before you agree with me, let me tell you a few things so you can try to formulate your own opinion. What doesn't work for me doesn't necessarily mean it won’t work for you.
The beginning of Speed of Light took a while for me to get into. I had to reread the first chapter twice before I could get the momentum going. The beginning had a good recap of the previous two books, but I think that ruined it a little for me. There were a lot of details, and I felt it slowed the pacing. But on the other side, there were moments were it was filled with action and fast-paced. To me, there wasn’t a good balance to absorb and comprehend the story, taking it all in to appreciate.
The protagonist, Meridian, was someone that I loved and disliked. It was hard to get past her personality to love her intelligence, ability, and power. I wanted to fall in love with her with as much gumption as she deserves, but at times I just couldn’t connect with her. She grew so much, but there was still something that I couldn’t get with. Juliet, the one saved, and I didn’t have a relationship at all. Her personality was off-putting and her voice wasn’t something that I could stand behind. I felt she was strong in previous books, but a weak link in Speed of Light.
What I did love about this story was exploring the world of the Fenestras. The culture, the lore, the history was something that I always wanted to know about and I got it. There were pleasant surprises which definitely piqued my interest. Kizer showed me the grand scheme of things, and showed the importance of it all. I was much more interested in the macro versus the micro.
Overall, Speed of Light was just okay for me. There were a few things that I didn’t care for, in terms of reading preferences.
July 2, 2012
Speed of Light is the third book in the Meridian series by Amber Kizer, a personal favourite of mine. I am always afraid that when I really connect with, really love a book that the follow up will disappoint in some way. Amber Kizer is one of those rare authors who never does.
Speed of Light continues where Wildcat Fireflies left off and delves deeper into both Meridian and Juliet's family history and what it means for them to be Fenestra. We meet new characters and lose some old ones. I wish I had been taking notes as I read because there were so many lines that I wanted to quote and I've forgotten them all.
Ms. Kizer writes as each Fenestra personality dictates so that Meridian's experiences are all about words and storytelling whereas Juliet's are focused on food and recipes. The descriptive phrasing is so vivid you can feel, hear, touch and taste the moments as they happen.
In this story the Fenestra and their friends are battling the Nocti at the Indy 500. Feeling alone and overwhelmed they come to realize that knowledge is power and at Rumi and Tony's insistence start "schooling" themselves in the history, mythology and everything else they can find out about themselves and others like them. They discover who has been changing the gravestones and how it is connected to what they do. They learn more about Protector's and what they can mean to a Fenestra. They learn to trust in themselves and each other more. And they do all this while fighting the dark, continuing the age old fight of dark against light, good against evil.
At times heart wrenching and distressing it is also filled with beauty and laughter a story brimming with family, friends, and acceptance of each other no matter their differences.
Be warned if you are going to read this book that you set ample amount of time aside and make yourself comfortable as it is incredibly difficult to put down.
5 out of 5 reads.
http://www.amberkizer.com
If you like the Fenestra series try the Gert Garibaldi series. Just like every 13 year old girl I knew had read Are You There God? It's Me, Margaret every 15 or 16 year old young lady you know should read One Butt Cheek at a Time.
May 25, 2013
I'll be honest, I'm being very lenient with my stars, this book deserves maybe 2 tops. I'm giving it the extra because I really liked the series and I have a soft spot for the author. I couldn't even finish this book and I was honest to goodness dragging my feet through what I did read. There were some very nice scenes that deserve praise but honestly, those were few an far between. I hated that the focus was so far removed from Tens and Meridian and every time the story flashed back to them I felt like I had missed something. They didn't feel nearly as close a couple and when Meridian didn't come off as demanding, she was complaining. Don't even get me started in Juliet, NO CHARACTER DEVELOPMENT! I kept waiting for there to be some breakthrough moment, some inkling of change in her character to become a little more trusting, but no, every time she got close to it she would immediately and inexplicably backslide so that she spent every second thinking that no one would ever love her and whenever somebody would say "I love you Juliet" she would think "you're a dirty rotten liar!" That aside, the plot seemed to drag on and on with new details that seemed to come out of nowhere. I really liked the first book of this series and a little of that magic went into the second book but the third seems to have lost all of it's passion. There was no zealousness, no effort to fight off a baddy, just a lot of waiting and mourning and trying to comfort people. Meridian and Tens didn't even seem to care about each other anymore. Frankly, if you were a huge fan of the first book like me, and you could stand the second book, you'll likely be disappointed by the third. I feel I read it only to try and close up the story, tie it with a nice little ribbon and all that but I'll just have to try again later. Honestly, if this is the caliber we can expect from Counting Tens, then I'll likely not read it at all. If you're satisfied with the fairly reasonable ending of Wildcat Fireflies, don't bother with this one unless your skipping the middle section. Personally I miss the crazy preacher from book 1. At least he was, you know, there!
November 4, 2012
This was the SLOWEST MOVING BOOK EVER. And that's kind of sad because even though it was the slowest book in the history of all book-kind, it still was better than book two in this trilogy. The plot wasn't that interesting, and the characters annoyed me. I'm not a big Nascar fan either, so I didn't feel the Indy 500 battle. Overall, I'm just not impressed with this entire series. I kept hoping this last book would redeem the series for me, but the entire trilogy just fell flat.
Meridian and Tens were kind of obnoxious. Their romance wasn't steamy at all. There was just no chemistry there, in my opinion. Everything was just dragged out and a bit ridiculous. It really didn't seem like they were anything more than friends for most of the book... other than Meridian's obnoxious thoughts, that is. So it was like she had a 5th grade crush on one of her friends for most of the book. I guess that'd be more accurate. Anyway, moving on... Juliet was super annoying, too. She was all emo, whiny, and angsty. Apparently she's the only person in the history of the world to have ever had a bad childhood. And her protector, Fara, was also obnoxious. Her personality just sucked. Yea, wasn't feeling the characters. It seemed like Kizer tried too hard to make each character unique and was so caught up on individual quirks that the characters lacked depth and personality.
The plot itself was just a drag. Same stuff different book. I have no idea why this book dragged on for over 500 pages. And THEN, somehow the ending actually felt rushed. 90% of the middle part could have been taken out and the ending could have been extended. That would have vastly improved this book. Also, I could have done without Juliet's POV, so that also could have eliminated some pages. The ending was wrapped up nicely, and the series came to a solid conclusion, but this entire book was just BORING.
Overall, I'd recommend this book only to those who have read the first two and must know what happens in the end. To everyone else, avoid this series. Trust me.
Meridian and Tens were kind of obnoxious. Their romance wasn't steamy at all. There was just no chemistry there, in my opinion. Everything was just dragged out and a bit ridiculous. It really didn't seem like they were anything more than friends for most of the book... other than Meridian's obnoxious thoughts, that is. So it was like she had a 5th grade crush on one of her friends for most of the book. I guess that'd be more accurate. Anyway, moving on... Juliet was super annoying, too. She was all emo, whiny, and angsty. Apparently she's the only person in the history of the world to have ever had a bad childhood. And her protector, Fara, was also obnoxious. Her personality just sucked. Yea, wasn't feeling the characters. It seemed like Kizer tried too hard to make each character unique and was so caught up on individual quirks that the characters lacked depth and personality.
The plot itself was just a drag. Same stuff different book. I have no idea why this book dragged on for over 500 pages. And THEN, somehow the ending actually felt rushed. 90% of the middle part could have been taken out and the ending could have been extended. That would have vastly improved this book. Also, I could have done without Juliet's POV, so that also could have eliminated some pages. The ending was wrapped up nicely, and the series came to a solid conclusion, but this entire book was just BORING.
Overall, I'd recommend this book only to those who have read the first two and must know what happens in the end. To everyone else, avoid this series. Trust me.
July 20, 2016
I believe that this is the last book for this series and honestly, I hope it is. It was a nice and good ending. It was one that made you smile after reading it. The biggest thing? It satisfied!
I have to say that I was having problems with Juliet at the beginning. I'm not a big fan of people doing the self sacrificing thing. I think that it is plain dumb. Let people choose the outcome of their lives please. Anyways, as she became more and more trusting, she started to change. That was really good.
I also liked how we learned more about Fenestras. Through out the entire series we were in the dark about the extent of their power and what they did. In this book, we learn way more. It explains their powers and how the window thing works in more detail. It clears up all the confusion about Fenestras and even about their Protectors.
Meridian and Tens really learn how to depend on each other in this novel too. My favourite thing about them was that they didn't rush anything. They went at their own pace and that was nice to see. In most books you don't see that. There is always some rush, something that needs to be proven. It was a nice change to see the time taken to work at their relationship and learn more about each other before they did something monumental.
The way that this book turned out was perfect. There was just enough sadness and happiness to make it a satisfying end to Meridian's story. I'm telling you right now that if there is another book in this series, I will not be reading it.
I have to say that I was having problems with Juliet at the beginning. I'm not a big fan of people doing the self sacrificing thing. I think that it is plain dumb. Let people choose the outcome of their lives please. Anyways, as she became more and more trusting, she started to change. That was really good.
I also liked how we learned more about Fenestras. Through out the entire series we were in the dark about the extent of their power and what they did. In this book, we learn way more. It explains their powers and how the window thing works in more detail. It clears up all the confusion about Fenestras and even about their Protectors.
Meridian and Tens really learn how to depend on each other in this novel too. My favourite thing about them was that they didn't rush anything. They went at their own pace and that was nice to see. In most books you don't see that. There is always some rush, something that needs to be proven. It was a nice change to see the time taken to work at their relationship and learn more about each other before they did something monumental.
The way that this book turned out was perfect. There was just enough sadness and happiness to make it a satisfying end to Meridian's story. I'm telling you right now that if there is another book in this series, I will not be reading it.
January 14, 2013
SPOILER ALERT
I can't but feel as though I missed out on something great. I was expecting so much from this book and I guess I technically received everything I was hoping for but in the wrong way. The first two books blew me off my feet, I loved them so much and then the third book came out and I was honestly disappointed.
I just had no problem at all with closing this book and setting it down for hours on end, there were no real cliff hangers that kept me up late into the night like the first two books did for me. Yes it had action, yes it had romance, yes it had resolutions. But I felt like the delivery was all wrong. Juliet was portrayed as somewhat of a whiny brat, and I don't like to view Juliet in that light at all. Tens was just kind of...there. Which really upset me, he's Meridian's protector for Pete's sake! He needs to be more "protective", maybe I'm just a sucker for a good knight in shining armor.
My biggest upset was how much Meridian has changed into this too-old-for-her-age-oh-wise-fenestra-that-knows-everything-about-everything. I really do miss the Meridian we knew in the first two novels who had weaknesses, who had trouble with finding her window, who was a more realistic character. I understand that characters need to change over time but I feel like Meridian progressed in the wrong direction.
It was a generally good read, but it did leave a bland taste in my mouth.
I can't but feel as though I missed out on something great. I was expecting so much from this book and I guess I technically received everything I was hoping for but in the wrong way. The first two books blew me off my feet, I loved them so much and then the third book came out and I was honestly disappointed.
I just had no problem at all with closing this book and setting it down for hours on end, there were no real cliff hangers that kept me up late into the night like the first two books did for me. Yes it had action, yes it had romance, yes it had resolutions. But I felt like the delivery was all wrong. Juliet was portrayed as somewhat of a whiny brat, and I don't like to view Juliet in that light at all. Tens was just kind of...there. Which really upset me, he's Meridian's protector for Pete's sake! He needs to be more "protective", maybe I'm just a sucker for a good knight in shining armor.
My biggest upset was how much Meridian has changed into this too-old-for-her-age-oh-wise-fenestra-that-knows-everything-about-everything. I really do miss the Meridian we knew in the first two novels who had weaknesses, who had trouble with finding her window, who was a more realistic character. I understand that characters need to change over time but I feel like Meridian progressed in the wrong direction.
It was a generally good read, but it did leave a bland taste in my mouth.
November 16, 2012
First, some words of warning. You should definitely start with the first book in this series. I still haven't exactly figured out the mythology of this series, and I feel like it'd be better if I knew. Second, it's marketed as young adult, but there are some surprisingly graphic adult scenes in it. Just a couple, and it's not Fifty Shades of Grey or anything, but it's something you should be aware of.
Now, on to the real review. Despite the things I just mentioned, I did enjoy this book. It's action-packed and fast-paced. The author does a great job of portraying realistic internal lives for both main characters. The interactions are realistic, given the totally fantastical situations the characters find themselves in. I felt a lot particularly for Juliet, who has had a pretty rough life and behaves as though she has. I also have some sneaking suspicions about a character who passed through in this novel and where he will go in the future that I'd like to see if I'm right about. If you like books that are really more "new adult" than "young adult" with an urban fantasy feel, this one's for you.
Now, on to the real review. Despite the things I just mentioned, I did enjoy this book. It's action-packed and fast-paced. The author does a great job of portraying realistic internal lives for both main characters. The interactions are realistic, given the totally fantastical situations the characters find themselves in. I felt a lot particularly for Juliet, who has had a pretty rough life and behaves as though she has. I also have some sneaking suspicions about a character who passed through in this novel and where he will go in the future that I'd like to see if I'm right about. If you like books that are really more "new adult" than "young adult" with an urban fantasy feel, this one's for you.
February 19, 2016
I found this overlong, boring and both Juliet and Meridian were irritating as was Rumi's vocab. Juliet was extremely irritating, Meridan mildly so. I think Rumi 's quirk of using obscure words was supposed to be amusing but I found it interupted the flow of the narrative(I don't want to have to go look up words every other sentence when I am reading). In the second book Juliet was almost saint like in her suffering, in this book she is stupid and annoying with her whining, nobody loves me I am useless attitude along with her dumb decision to listen to the villian over her friends. Fara was an interesting and likeable addition and I would have enjoyed hearing a lot more about both hers and Tens experiences as they made their way to their respective charges rather than the long winded and repetitive ode to death and all that this means for those dying and those left behind that made up a significant portion of this book.
April 21, 2014
It drags on a bit with Juliet's uncertainty and her ability to not trust and want to protect everyone. It gets quite boring while they are searching, not much happens. It gets a bit confusing going from Meridian's to Juliet's point of view and repeating the same scene again is no fun. The ending leaves you confused, yes they are gonna go to another one of them, but then what? I wished she would of explained more of Juliet's dad and write about what him and Roshana went through, if Fenestras and their protectors are soul mates.. just explain more of everything. Tell us all the things Fenestras could do and such, but what done is done. I believe she could of written one book more to the series just to give a full conclusion. All of them couldn't just be fighting Nocti and looking for Fenestras all the time. There must be a balance between good and evil and each one of them had to settle.
February 6, 2013
I give this 3.5 stars.
It's been so long since I read the last book I almost forgot what happened. Good thing here was so much reviews of the past in this one.
I enjoyed the writing and I love Meridian and Tens but this book kind of dragged for me. Juliet was a little annoying with her self loathing and trust issues. I can't really say that I liked the change of POV from Meridian to Juliet, it got confusing at times.
I guess as much as I enjoyed this series, this one was a little boring. I just wanted more of Meridian and Tens but got more Juliet than I needed. I'll still read the next book if there's more to come but I hope the next one is more exciting, less confusing and more romance.
It's been so long since I read the last book I almost forgot what happened. Good thing here was so much reviews of the past in this one.
I enjoyed the writing and I love Meridian and Tens but this book kind of dragged for me. Juliet was a little annoying with her self loathing and trust issues. I can't really say that I liked the change of POV from Meridian to Juliet, it got confusing at times.
I guess as much as I enjoyed this series, this one was a little boring. I just wanted more of Meridian and Tens but got more Juliet than I needed. I'll still read the next book if there's more to come but I hope the next one is more exciting, less confusing and more romance.
December 3, 2012
I'm pretty much addicted to this series- the mythology is interesting & I adore Meridian & Tens. I also liked getting Juliet's perspective in this book because she is so different from Meridian. Fara is a fun character too. It was great to learn more about Meridian's powers and the setting of the Indy 500 was fun. Plus there were some hot scenes between Meridian & Tens *fans self* I love seeing their relationship grow, it's so different from the first book, lol! They are definitely a favorite couple of mine!
January 15, 2013
Currently reading this, nearly half-way through, and I am NOT impressed. The book is completely boring, there's absolutely no sign of a plot and so far all I can tell is that the author is rather unintelligent. However, I've read interviews with Amber Kizer and she seems quite lovely, so I feel guilty saying that. But it's not like she'll read this, so why should I be concerned? Not even two-star worthy. I couldn't give less of a fuck about Juliet; she's whiny and annoying and I wouldn't care if she were to be killed off.
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