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Desperation Is The New Hope
Enter the magical fantasy world of Patico in this new Fantasy fiction drama for Young Adult.
'Desperation Is The New Hope' follows the life of a young girl who, having grown up in the future world of Patico, is forced by her family to move to the other side of the kingdom. What ensues is a stop-at-nothing battle for Eiara to decide where her trust and loyalty lies. Above all, Eiara empowers readers to take control of their life, choose their destiny and pursue it with gusto. With the help of bad boy, Mert, and the boy-next-door, Eddero, things are about to take a turn!
Set in a future world, emotion and circumstance collide as one young woman is left to pick up the pieces of a move she never intended to make.
'Desperation Is The New Hope' follows the life of a young girl who, having grown up in the future world of Patico, is forced by her family to move to the other side of the kingdom. What ensues is a stop-at-nothing battle for Eiara to decide where her trust and loyalty lies. Above all, Eiara empowers readers to take control of their life, choose their destiny and pursue it with gusto. With the help of bad boy, Mert, and the boy-next-door, Eddero, things are about to take a turn!
Set in a future world, emotion and circumstance collide as one young woman is left to pick up the pieces of a move she never intended to make.
294 pages, Kindle Edition
First published June 1, 2014
1 person want to read
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Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews
March 1, 2015
Eiara is a normal teen living in the Kingdom of Patico. After being moved with her family to a new district, she finds that outside of making new friends and going to school, strange things are happening both to her and to the kingdom. Who can she trust?
I found this book interesting, with a world that needed more exploration and a main character who could have been fascinating. Let's start with the good: The world is interesting and it's nice to see a 'hidden' dysotopia. There is no obvious oppression in this world, everything works and the writer has managed to drop enough hints of underlying trouble that grabs the imagination. I liked the fact that it wasn't a 'dead parent' scenario. Having a main character with both parents living is unique in YA and I appreciated that. The main character has potential and I liked reading about her.
However the above is not helped by poor editing. There are several issues that really let this book down. The main character is introduced to her 'love triangle' interests with no subtlety, they may as well have been carrying 'love interest' badges. There is also no build up in the relationships, I have no idea of what the main character thinks about these two guys, particularly when they're suddenly kissing, and I'm supposed to be in her head. The main character mentions far too late an important fact about herself and almost as an afterthought. Similarly other characters spill the 'I have special powers me' beans for no discernible reason. There are also a number of typos and grammatical errors which could have been picked up earlier.
Don't get me wrong, I did enjoy what I read, but it's disappointing when it has the potential to be so much more. I would strongly recommend that the author approach someone to edit her text, not just for typos but for readability. A good editor will help the pacing problems and issues mentioned above.
Shedloads of potential, let down by poor editing.
I found this book interesting, with a world that needed more exploration and a main character who could have been fascinating. Let's start with the good: The world is interesting and it's nice to see a 'hidden' dysotopia. There is no obvious oppression in this world, everything works and the writer has managed to drop enough hints of underlying trouble that grabs the imagination. I liked the fact that it wasn't a 'dead parent' scenario. Having a main character with both parents living is unique in YA and I appreciated that. The main character has potential and I liked reading about her.
However the above is not helped by poor editing. There are several issues that really let this book down. The main character is introduced to her 'love triangle' interests with no subtlety, they may as well have been carrying 'love interest' badges. There is also no build up in the relationships, I have no idea of what the main character thinks about these two guys, particularly when they're suddenly kissing, and I'm supposed to be in her head. The main character mentions far too late an important fact about herself and almost as an afterthought. Similarly other characters spill the 'I have special powers me' beans for no discernible reason. There are also a number of typos and grammatical errors which could have been picked up earlier.
Don't get me wrong, I did enjoy what I read, but it's disappointing when it has the potential to be so much more. I would strongly recommend that the author approach someone to edit her text, not just for typos but for readability. A good editor will help the pacing problems and issues mentioned above.
Shedloads of potential, let down by poor editing.
March 4, 2015
Today, I am reviewing the YA Paranormal story Desperation is the New Hope by Jessica Simone. This is a post-apocalyptic novel set in the isolated kingdom of Patico, which is kept from the rest of the presumably-destroyed and barbaric world by a giant wall and governed by a King whom everyone believes to be doing his best to protect them from situations they can’t understand. During the novel, some of the characters begin to develop paranormal powers and control over the elements…something which doesn’t sit well with the established authority.
I give this book a 2.75/5. Here is my breakdown.
Characters: 3/5. The characters were interesting, but hardly unique. Many book tropes were filled in the writing of this novel – the love triangle, the hidden mentors, the new discovery of powers, and the prophesied hero. Jessica pulls it off reasonably well, but I didn’t find myself very invested in the individuals themselves.
Plot/Storyline: 3/5. More of the same. The story is interesting, and as the book went on I wanted to see more of what was going on, but it feels like several other things I’ve read or seen. It’s derivative, is what I’m trying to say, and many of the points were either predictable or hard to understand (like the sudden influx of people who knew what was going on), forcing me to swallow my disbelief to continue the story.
Flow: 4/5. The author’s use of language is solid and the story flows reasonably well. I didn’t have any major hitching-points or places where I just flipped through the pages to get through. Kudos!
Spelling/Grammar: 2.5/5. Many typographical errors. Tenses are switched in several places. This book needs a professional editor/proofreader to go through and clear up these issues.
Overall: 2.75/5. For a debut novel, this is a fairly decent work. I’ve seen much worse from many sources. However, I think there is also a lot of room for improvement, and I hope that Jessica takes the opportunity to do more with her sequel. Good luck!
I give this book a 2.75/5. Here is my breakdown.
Characters: 3/5. The characters were interesting, but hardly unique. Many book tropes were filled in the writing of this novel – the love triangle, the hidden mentors, the new discovery of powers, and the prophesied hero. Jessica pulls it off reasonably well, but I didn’t find myself very invested in the individuals themselves.
Plot/Storyline: 3/5. More of the same. The story is interesting, and as the book went on I wanted to see more of what was going on, but it feels like several other things I’ve read or seen. It’s derivative, is what I’m trying to say, and many of the points were either predictable or hard to understand (like the sudden influx of people who knew what was going on), forcing me to swallow my disbelief to continue the story.
Flow: 4/5. The author’s use of language is solid and the story flows reasonably well. I didn’t have any major hitching-points or places where I just flipped through the pages to get through. Kudos!
Spelling/Grammar: 2.5/5. Many typographical errors. Tenses are switched in several places. This book needs a professional editor/proofreader to go through and clear up these issues.
Overall: 2.75/5. For a debut novel, this is a fairly decent work. I’ve seen much worse from many sources. However, I think there is also a lot of room for improvement, and I hope that Jessica takes the opportunity to do more with her sequel. Good luck!
December 10, 2014
Like many young adult books in the fantasy genre, the main character of this tale is a young girl with gifts that push her to confront a destiny greater than she could have ever imagined.
This format is used so much because it’s a tried and tested story model that works well, with this book being no exception to that; Desperation is the New Hope is definitely something that fans of books like Twilight will enjoy, embracing the fine line that is walked between being a fully-fledged fantasy world with new rules and complicated rules that the reader has to discover and the fantasy books that have one foot in reality with some fantastical elements that make them somewhat more believable.
The writing style is really easy to connect with that makes the pages of this book fly by coupled with the fashionable one girl with two boys dynamic that worked so well for Harry Potter and The Wind on Fire.
There are moments when the plot seems to be more important than the characters and as such the characters rely a little too much on what is going on around them rather than who they are, but on the whole this book is extremely fun and it doesn’t drag out anything that happens to the point that you wish the author would just move on already.
The pace is good too, not too quick or slow throughout and the characters are well written so that they are easy to relate to and ground enough in normality that teenagers can identify with them as easily, if not more so than adults reading the book.
On the whole this is a book that fans of modern fantasy will enjoy, especially if they are avid young adult fiction readers, with a great plot and narrative voice, this is a highly agreeable read.
This format is used so much because it’s a tried and tested story model that works well, with this book being no exception to that; Desperation is the New Hope is definitely something that fans of books like Twilight will enjoy, embracing the fine line that is walked between being a fully-fledged fantasy world with new rules and complicated rules that the reader has to discover and the fantasy books that have one foot in reality with some fantastical elements that make them somewhat more believable.
The writing style is really easy to connect with that makes the pages of this book fly by coupled with the fashionable one girl with two boys dynamic that worked so well for Harry Potter and The Wind on Fire.
There are moments when the plot seems to be more important than the characters and as such the characters rely a little too much on what is going on around them rather than who they are, but on the whole this book is extremely fun and it doesn’t drag out anything that happens to the point that you wish the author would just move on already.
The pace is good too, not too quick or slow throughout and the characters are well written so that they are easy to relate to and ground enough in normality that teenagers can identify with them as easily, if not more so than adults reading the book.
On the whole this is a book that fans of modern fantasy will enjoy, especially if they are avid young adult fiction readers, with a great plot and narrative voice, this is a highly agreeable read.
July 10, 2014
Great book.
What happened when a girl (Eiara) meets new friends in a new place? But Eiara is not a regular girl. This one has powers. Can she trust them? Can she tell her secret?
Jessica Simone is currently a college student majoring in psychology and it's seems she is on the right way…Like !
What happened when a girl (Eiara) meets new friends in a new place? But Eiara is not a regular girl. This one has powers. Can she trust them? Can she tell her secret?
Jessica Simone is currently a college student majoring in psychology and it's seems she is on the right way…Like !
March 2, 2015
I'm really sorry but I really didn't like it. The writing, the characters. I just wasn't feeling it. (And oh the grammar! Needs fixing!)
Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews