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Before I Shatter #1
Before I Shatter
Seventeen-year-old Vita is the next step in human evolution.
The daughter of two prominent scientists, Vita is content to live in the spotlight. After all, it affords her a lifestyle most only dream of: living in a Lunar Colony, luxurious gifts, and her unique ability to project her consciousness onto different planes without the aid of injections.
Succeeding where others have failed has a price. A growing population of Shells - people whose minds have shattered from the stress of experimentation - shows just how ruthless the Director can be in pursuit of his goal.
When Vita makes a startling breakthrough, the ambitious Director takes over her development, and he wants to see just how far she can go. It's up to Vita's young Processor, James, to catch her before she breaks.
But he's keeping a dangerous secret.
Someone is playing games with her.
A game where the loser ends up shattered.
Vita must make the choice:
Continue risking her life for a cause she doesn’t believe in
or make an unprecedented escape?
The daughter of two prominent scientists, Vita is content to live in the spotlight. After all, it affords her a lifestyle most only dream of: living in a Lunar Colony, luxurious gifts, and her unique ability to project her consciousness onto different planes without the aid of injections.
Succeeding where others have failed has a price. A growing population of Shells - people whose minds have shattered from the stress of experimentation - shows just how ruthless the Director can be in pursuit of his goal.
When Vita makes a startling breakthrough, the ambitious Director takes over her development, and he wants to see just how far she can go. It's up to Vita's young Processor, James, to catch her before she breaks.
But he's keeping a dangerous secret.
Someone is playing games with her.
A game where the loser ends up shattered.
Vita must make the choice:
Continue risking her life for a cause she doesn’t believe in
or make an unprecedented escape?
298 pages, Paperback
Published July 30, 2016
1 person is currently reading
574 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 15 of 15 reviews
March 10, 2017
Good beginning to a YA sci-fi series. I was hooked by the end of the book and can't wait to learn what will happen next in Vita's life as she discovers lies and deception in those close to her in the Lunar Colonies and on Earth. As a member of the ARC team, I voluntarily reviewed a complimentary copy of this book.
March 30, 2017
Before I Shatter is such an original unique story about the human mind. I really loved the story and how it was built up, and I couldn't help but fall in love with this story! The characters are strong, and the story is just great! I would totally recommend this story to everyone who loves fantasy and sci-fi stories!
September 7, 2016
This is a true page turner! Keeps you on the edge of your seat demanding to know more. The characters and relatable and perfectly imperfect. Love interests , war , scandalous subplots , all perfectly balanced and beautifully written. This book has something for everyone. Highly anticipating the second installation!!!!!
September 24, 2016
This book had me captured from the very beginning. It was hard to put down. And when I wasn't reading it I was thinking about the storyline and couldn't wait to get back to it. The author has a way with words that keeps the reader captivated and hard to put down. A couple of places in the book are very emotional and I caught myself crying. I would recommend this book to anyone either gender.
March 28, 2017
Mostly Spoiler free review but little tidbits of information will be included to solidify my review.
I had high hopes for this novel, but I found too many faults to enjoy the novel fully. My biggest issue was that the ending was too abrupt and felt very rushed. Additionally, the chapters were too short with too many internal breaks that cumulated to a very disjointed story. The characters development was very sparse even for the main character. There should have been more meat added to the back story of Vita to help us build a connection with her.
There were a couple of interesting characters in the book, and I would have like to see more of them, but this was not so. The overall plot felt very rushed even though the book was over 300 pages. I do like the premise of the story, but it fell short on its delivery.
The writing was a bit juvenile and simplistic which made it impossible to delve and get lost in the book.
As I have mentioned before, the ending was the biggest let down for me in that, I was not very surprised by the ending, and I was left feeling unmoved and not really looking forward to the next book.
Alert: mild spoiler ahead!!!
The best part of the book, for me, were all the scenes with Vita and James, you can tell that he loves her from both his covert and overt behaviors. Vita feelings for James is believable in that it wasn't an instant love connection but that she acknowledges that she could develop something deeper for him if given time.
I think the author as great potential, and I would read other books by her, but this one fell short of the mark.
I am giving this book 3 stars for its potential to become something better if the author spends more time on fully developing her characters and giving them more personality (hopefully this will be done in the next book).
A copy of this book was provided to me in return for an honest review.
I had high hopes for this novel, but I found too many faults to enjoy the novel fully. My biggest issue was that the ending was too abrupt and felt very rushed. Additionally, the chapters were too short with too many internal breaks that cumulated to a very disjointed story. The characters development was very sparse even for the main character. There should have been more meat added to the back story of Vita to help us build a connection with her.
There were a couple of interesting characters in the book, and I would have like to see more of them, but this was not so. The overall plot felt very rushed even though the book was over 300 pages. I do like the premise of the story, but it fell short on its delivery.
The writing was a bit juvenile and simplistic which made it impossible to delve and get lost in the book.
As I have mentioned before, the ending was the biggest let down for me in that, I was not very surprised by the ending, and I was left feeling unmoved and not really looking forward to the next book.
Alert: mild spoiler ahead!!!
The best part of the book, for me, were all the scenes with Vita and James, you can tell that he loves her from both his covert and overt behaviors. Vita feelings for James is believable in that it wasn't an instant love connection but that she acknowledges that she could develop something deeper for him if given time.
I think the author as great potential, and I would read other books by her, but this one fell short of the mark.
I am giving this book 3 stars for its potential to become something better if the author spends more time on fully developing her characters and giving them more personality (hopefully this will be done in the next book).
A copy of this book was provided to me in return for an honest review.
May 31, 2017
In this YA Sci-fi, we are brought to the Lunar Colony where they are making breakthroughs with human evolution. Here we meet Vita, the daughter of two scientists keen on seeing these evolutions through and intrigued at how much Vita can do. She's face of the project to further human evolution, trying to push to achieve more, but without shattering into a Shell (a human body who's mind has shattered and is no longer completely there). The Director pushes her more as she makes breakthrough after breakthrough, but as many bodies start falling and turning into Shells around her, she starts questioning what's really going on. Until she finally realizes that she needs to either stop it or get out before it's too late.
I have to admit, at the beginning of the story, I liked the whole concept of the story, but it wasn't really doing much for me, until I got about 1/3 into it; that's when I really got hooked and couldn't put it down, finishing the rest of the book in one sitting. Although I can't really relate to the characters in this sci-fi, it still had me on edge wondering what was going to happen to each person. Honestly can't wait for the next book!
I have to admit, at the beginning of the story, I liked the whole concept of the story, but it wasn't really doing much for me, until I got about 1/3 into it; that's when I really got hooked and couldn't put it down, finishing the rest of the book in one sitting. Although I can't really relate to the characters in this sci-fi, it still had me on edge wondering what was going to happen to each person. Honestly can't wait for the next book!
March 2, 2017
First : I received and ARC of this book in exchange of a review.
Second : I chose this book because of the cover which is totally misleading. See I thought Vita was a black woman/girl, or at the very least a WOC. But the more I read about her "hazel green" turned "emerald" eyes, and about her mother with her long flowing auburn hair, and some other tidbits like those, the more I suspected I got tricked!
Now, that was a bit annoying, but had the book been good, I would at least have enjoyed a good SciFi story. But the next unpleasant surprise I got the more I read the book is that the writing didn't match the interesting premise. Vita was just not a strong enough leading character : her level of cluelessness got irritating fast, especially since she spend most of the book doing nothing much...except being a very stereotypical "Chosen one"/"Golden child". She was way too uni-dimensional, she was mostly ok with everything happening so I am not sure what I was supposed to root for. And even when she learn the truth about the Director she just shrugged and kept going until Brenda had to metaphorically smack her over her head with what this meant. By that time I was mostly bored and didn't buy her "revenge" arc. Fromzero to finish, she just felt like the wale, there was no character development,
Unimpressed with the lead character I couldn't muster any interest for the secondary ones either : Vita's mother is just...there. I don't understand why Vita never ask her any real, deep questions about the whole situation. James was slightly interesting for a minute but he just went' nowhere as a character. Plus the way he obsessed about Vita felt creepy and their relationship was so unprofessional never could buy it. As for "hot" Evan and that weak ass triangle, it was just that : a weak ass triangle. There was absolutely no chemistry either between Vita and James or Vita and Evan. I mean even the "villain" was boring !
The other major weak point of the story is that there is hardly any "world building" : 80% of the story happen indoors and inside some alternate "plane" where Vita and her companions spend there time wandering around looking for who knows what for no actual reason, playing soldiers more than anything else. We hardly get to know how's life in the Colony, and the brief scenes depicting Vita visiting and "living" in real life can't make up for the lack of any substantial context to the Gemini project and everything. I am still scratching my head wondering what is the actual point of all that plane jumping. And then the "big" confrontation just fizzled and the "scandal" was resolved in 5 minutes and then, out of nowhere...cliffhanger ! Like, really??!!! SMDH...I mean, it wasn't BAD bad, but I sure won't be waiting frantically to read about what happen to bland emerald eyed "curvy in all the right places" (yeah, the author managed to put THAT sentence in there, out of nowhere! Lame!) may be a little bit of a WOC Vita and her blond Thor. Just meh.
Second : I chose this book because of the cover which is totally misleading. See I thought Vita was a black woman/girl, or at the very least a WOC. But the more I read about her "hazel green" turned "emerald" eyes, and about her mother with her long flowing auburn hair, and some other tidbits like those, the more I suspected I got tricked!
Now, that was a bit annoying, but had the book been good, I would at least have enjoyed a good SciFi story. But the next unpleasant surprise I got the more I read the book is that the writing didn't match the interesting premise. Vita was just not a strong enough leading character : her level of cluelessness got irritating fast, especially since she spend most of the book doing nothing much...except being a very stereotypical "Chosen one"/"Golden child". She was way too uni-dimensional, she was mostly ok with everything happening so I am not sure what I was supposed to root for. And even when she learn the truth about the Director she just shrugged and kept going until Brenda had to metaphorically smack her over her head with what this meant. By that time I was mostly bored and didn't buy her "revenge" arc. Fromzero to finish, she just felt like the wale, there was no character development,
Unimpressed with the lead character I couldn't muster any interest for the secondary ones either : Vita's mother is just...there. I don't understand why Vita never ask her any real, deep questions about the whole situation. James was slightly interesting for a minute but he just went' nowhere as a character. Plus the way he obsessed about Vita felt creepy and their relationship was so unprofessional never could buy it. As for "hot" Evan and that weak ass triangle, it was just that : a weak ass triangle. There was absolutely no chemistry either between Vita and James or Vita and Evan. I mean even the "villain" was boring !
The other major weak point of the story is that there is hardly any "world building" : 80% of the story happen indoors and inside some alternate "plane" where Vita and her companions spend there time wandering around looking for who knows what for no actual reason, playing soldiers more than anything else. We hardly get to know how's life in the Colony, and the brief scenes depicting Vita visiting and "living" in real life can't make up for the lack of any substantial context to the Gemini project and everything. I am still scratching my head wondering what is the actual point of all that plane jumping. And then the "big" confrontation just fizzled and the "scandal" was resolved in 5 minutes and then, out of nowhere...cliffhanger ! Like, really??!!! SMDH...I mean, it wasn't BAD bad, but I sure won't be waiting frantically to read about what happen to bland emerald eyed "curvy in all the right places" (yeah, the author managed to put THAT sentence in there, out of nowhere! Lame!) may be a little bit of a WOC Vita and her blond Thor. Just meh.
March 18, 2017
Received an ARC copy for an honest review.
This book was hard to get into at first and then only slightly entertaining after that. There were quite a few characters in this book and none of them had the depth I look for in characters I've grown to love and care about over time. I felt like with a smaller cast and more focus on character growth this book would have been far better.
The love story in this book also left a lot to be desired. I just wasn't moved and I guess I expect more when there's even an inkling of a romance budding in a book. Love is something many readers can connect with, or desire for themselves, so there was a lot of room to grow here.
The antagonist of the book was by far my favorite character and though I am usually a villain lover, I love a female lead. However, this one grew but not enough. Her relationships with other characters also didn't grow and didn't seem genuine.
Sadly, I'm not sure I'll be continuing this journey with Vita.
March 17, 2017
"I voluntarily reviewed an advance copy of this book. All opinions expressed are my own."
It took me a bit to get into this book, but once I did, I found it enjoyable. It's an exploration of the potential of the human mind. It was also interesting to compare the mind jumps to reality. Reality held the deceptions, betrayals, and intrigues.
Vita was a lovely female character. It was nice to watch her growth during the book. It was harder to connect with many of the other characters. There were several who needed to be developed a bit more or just were not likable. I would have liked a stronger connection between Vita and the other characters as well. I also would have liked a true love connection, but that's a personal preference.
The pacing was mostly good throughout the book, but I felt that it was off at the ending. It seemed abrupt. All in all, it's a pretty good start to a potentially entertaining series.
It took me a bit to get into this book, but once I did, I found it enjoyable. It's an exploration of the potential of the human mind. It was also interesting to compare the mind jumps to reality. Reality held the deceptions, betrayals, and intrigues.
Vita was a lovely female character. It was nice to watch her growth during the book. It was harder to connect with many of the other characters. There were several who needed to be developed a bit more or just were not likable. I would have liked a stronger connection between Vita and the other characters as well. I also would have liked a true love connection, but that's a personal preference.
The pacing was mostly good throughout the book, but I felt that it was off at the ending. It seemed abrupt. All in all, it's a pretty good start to a potentially entertaining series.
April 2, 2017
Earth as we know is not the same and colonies have been formed on the moon. Vita's parents are both scientist her father stays on Earth whilst Vita and her mother move to the moon. But what happens when one parent has a Hilter complex???
Life for Vita will never be the same.
I loved this story was different from the books I've been reading and I throughly enjoyed the story.
Would I recommend this book YES
Life for Vita will never be the same.
I loved this story was different from the books I've been reading and I throughly enjoyed the story.
Would I recommend this book YES
February 24, 2017
3.5 stars.
Quite creative with fairly good character development. Interested to see what happens next!
Quite creative with fairly good character development. Interested to see what happens next!
September 22, 2016
This review is honestly looooong overdue, and even now I don't have a full one typed out yet argh.
2.5 stars
I think I wasn't in the right mood when I read this book but I remember not really liking it. I found it confusing, there were too many characters and not all were well-developed, and the romance was just #NOPE. Somehow, the one character I remember the most clearly is the antagonist, and he's probably the most well-developed character in the book.
I had planned to do a re-read of it. I just don't know when. Could be December. Or next year's December.
full review to come... someday?
2.5 stars
I think I wasn't in the right mood when I read this book but I remember not really liking it. I found it confusing, there were too many characters and not all were well-developed, and the romance was just #NOPE. Somehow, the one character I remember the most clearly is the antagonist, and he's probably the most well-developed character in the book.
I had planned to do a re-read of it. I just don't know when. Could be December. Or next year's December.
full review to come... someday?
dnf
January 30, 2017Rating : none
DNF 47%
Why ? Simply because "I had forgotten how effervescent his hair was."
and the other sentences like that. I couldn't take it, I had to stop for my sanity to remain intact -as intact as it is.
And also because it was written part first person and part third person.
DNF 47%
Why ? Simply because "I had forgotten how effervescent his hair was."
and the other sentences like that. I couldn't take it, I had to stop for my sanity to remain intact -
And also because it was written part first person and part third person.
June 24, 2017
I was captured immediately by this story. It's about a teenager named Vita - a strong female character who's strength is tested over and over as she battles her own fears while facing different dimensions in space. Mandy does a great job with her descriptive prose that helps one visualize what it would be like to live on the moon and a life wracked with being one big science experiment. There's a little bit of love, dysfunction, and intrigue in this very addicting book that I didn't want to end.
November 21, 2017
Mandy is a master story-teller. Action packed and full of adventure. Love!
Displaying 1 - 15 of 15 reviews