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Niki Hawkes - The Obsessive Bookseller's Reviews > A Local Habitation
A Local Habitation (October Daye, #2)
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I’m going to need some encouragement to keep reading this series.
I really want to like it, but I’m struggling. The first book was a bit mediocre (something I don’t hold against introductory UF novels), but had a lot of promise. I was expecting this second book to show some improvements, but ended up liking it less.
First off, the storyline didn’t have anything to do with what happened in the first novel. October was sent off on a tangent mission that, from my initial impression, had absolutely nothing to do with the main trajectory of the series. It lost the sense of momentum I was hoping it would nurture.
A tangent in itself wouldn’t have necessarily been a bad thing, but unfortunately I thought it was an incredibly boring tangent. Mostly due to its predictability.
If I, as the reader, have exactly the same amount of information as the main POV character, I should NOT be able to reason out who the killer is almost half a novel before said character figures it out for herself. The mystery was excruciating long-winded. I even accidentally skipped ahead several chapters and, after flipping back, realized I hadn’t missed much at all. And to make matters worse, there were multiple things the character remained oblivious about for the sake of plot extension, which did not endear me to her sustainability as a leading lady.
BUT… I still don’t absolutely hate it. I like October’s general personality and am really interested in all of the side characters. I like the framework for the world. And I like the small ideas throughout that set this series slightly apart from all the other UFs I’ve read. I think that’s why I’m willing to field conversations to convince me to keep reading. After all, I almost abandoned Kate Daniels at the first book, and now I’m an IA superfan. Series turnarounds happen, especially within the first few books.
Series status: I have the third book already and am planning to read it. However, I don’t have access to free copies from my library for the rest of the series, so it’s going to take some serious persuasion to get me to invest almost $10 per book going forward. I’m hoping for some spoiler-free endorsements from all my fellow UF addicts. :)
Recommendations: at this point, I’m the one looking for recommendations on whether or not this series is worth continuing. So far the first book was mediocre and this one was an even bigger let down… but both offer enough promise to keep me from abandoning it outright. Please help. :)
Via The Obsessive Bookseller at www.NikiHawkes.com
Other books you might like:
I really want to like it, but I’m struggling. The first book was a bit mediocre (something I don’t hold against introductory UF novels), but had a lot of promise. I was expecting this second book to show some improvements, but ended up liking it less.
First off, the storyline didn’t have anything to do with what happened in the first novel. October was sent off on a tangent mission that, from my initial impression, had absolutely nothing to do with the main trajectory of the series. It lost the sense of momentum I was hoping it would nurture.
A tangent in itself wouldn’t have necessarily been a bad thing, but unfortunately I thought it was an incredibly boring tangent. Mostly due to its predictability.
If I, as the reader, have exactly the same amount of information as the main POV character, I should NOT be able to reason out who the killer is almost half a novel before said character figures it out for herself. The mystery was excruciating long-winded. I even accidentally skipped ahead several chapters and, after flipping back, realized I hadn’t missed much at all. And to make matters worse, there were multiple things the character remained oblivious about for the sake of plot extension, which did not endear me to her sustainability as a leading lady.
BUT… I still don’t absolutely hate it. I like October’s general personality and am really interested in all of the side characters. I like the framework for the world. And I like the small ideas throughout that set this series slightly apart from all the other UFs I’ve read. I think that’s why I’m willing to field conversations to convince me to keep reading. After all, I almost abandoned Kate Daniels at the first book, and now I’m an IA superfan. Series turnarounds happen, especially within the first few books.
Series status: I have the third book already and am planning to read it. However, I don’t have access to free copies from my library for the rest of the series, so it’s going to take some serious persuasion to get me to invest almost $10 per book going forward. I’m hoping for some spoiler-free endorsements from all my fellow UF addicts. :)
Recommendations: at this point, I’m the one looking for recommendations on whether or not this series is worth continuing. So far the first book was mediocre and this one was an even bigger let down… but both offer enough promise to keep me from abandoning it outright. Please help. :)
Via The Obsessive Bookseller at www.NikiHawkes.com
Other books you might like:
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message 1:
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Rlygirl
(new)
Sep 01, 2020 06:28PM
The premise sounds really good on this one! I hope you like it!
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Rlygirl wrote: "The premise sounds really good on this one! I hope you like it!"Thank you! I've heard great things about this series, so fingers crossed! :D
Yay! I really need to get back to this series. I haven't read any since last year. If you catch up to me before I get back to it, want to Buddy Read?
Elizabeth wrote: "Yay! I really need to get back to this series. I haven't read any since last year. If you catch up to me before I get back to it, want to Buddy Read?"Absolutely! For some reason UF titles I can read with a lot more reliability than anything else, so I can commit to that without as much fear haha. How far did you make it?
I'm on book 6. I really like the series, I just think I got involved in so many buddy reads since last year that I lost track of how long it had been since I picked one of this series up.
Elizabeth wrote: "I'm on book 6. I really like the series, I just think I got involved in so many buddy reads since last year that I lost track of how long it had been since I picked one of this series up."I'll keep you posted. You have been doing a ton of BRs, I don't know how you manage it all..
I don't know either. XD I've already read way more this year than I ever have before. I've been working the entire time, so I can't say the pandemic helped me read more.
Elizabeth wrote: "I don't know either. XD I've already read way more this year than I ever have before. I've been working the entire time, so I can't say the pandemic helped me read more."Haha, that's awesome! You're just killin it naturally. ;P
A little more than half have been audio books, but still...Will I be able to do this again next year? No clue.
Elizabeth wrote: "A little more than half have been audio books, but still...Will I be able to do this again next year? No clue."If I can make it 6 full months without burying myself, I'll be happy.
I've definitely felt buried a few times when I signed up for too many.
Well, considering we agree on most books hopefully my recommendation helps. Book 3, if I remember, was one of my favorites.Also, check out bookfinder.com to see if you can find them cheaper. The site will search a bunch of others for cheapest new and used copies.
Elizabeth wrote: "Well, considering we agree on most books hopefully my recommendation helps. Book 3, if I remember, was one of my favorites.Also, check out bookfinder.com to see if you can find them cheaper. The ..."
That helps a lot, thank you :)
I'm actually after the audio versions for this, but I'm grateful to now know that website because I've been needing a good resource to find some of my older fantasy titles.
I didn't listen to these but is the narrator part of the problem at all or are they okay?I've bought way too many books since finding that website earlier this year.
Elizabeth wrote: "I didn't listen to these but is the narrator part of the problem at all or are they okay?I've bought way too many books since finding that website earlier this year."
The narrator is just fine so far. I wish I could blame that lol.
Yeah I'm scared to start searching stuff... I just did a purge.
I found the next book a lot better than this one, Niki. I am glad I persevered.
Oh good, Miche, thank you! I want to like this one, really.
Niki Hawkes wrote: "Oh good, Miche, thank you! I want to like this one, really."I think you will like the next one. :)
I still haven't continued on from where I was, it's been 2 years. I want to continue, I just have so many books.
I´ve tried this series as well and the only word I can use here is, mediocre. I wanted it to live up to the hype around -15 when everybody raved about it but alas.
I don't remember exactly when this series gets really good but at some point the overarching plot deepens and gets really engaging and the side characters are fantastic. October's powers also get alot more interesting.
Elizabeth wrote: "I still haven't continued on from where I was, it's been 2 years. I want to continue, I just have so many books."I'm just now compiling all of the halfway finished UF series. So many. And they are all just "okay" series. All the ones I loved I've already devoured. I do have a few new ones on the lineup though.
Br1cht wrote: "I´ve tried this series as well and the only word I can use here is, mediocre. I wanted it to live up to the hype around -15 when everybody raved about it but alas."That's how I feel about it so far. People talk about it so praisingly and I just do see the magic yet. Maybe with the third one (which I already own) lol.
Jaime wrote: "I don't remember exactly when this series gets really good but at some point the overarching plot deepens and gets really engaging and the side characters are fantastic. October's powers also get a..."That's the momentum I'm craving from this. Thank you - I think I'll keep at it until I hit that turning point then reassess...
If you haven´t already checked out Larry Correia´s Monsterhunter series(I take it for granted that you read the Dresden Files already) for some witty and action-packed Urban Fantasy that will suck you in right at the start I recommend that you do. If you look for a more romance bend then Kat Richardson´s "Greywalker" series manages to deliver some good stuff as well.
Br1cht wrote: "If you haven´t already checked out Larry Correia´s Monsterhunter series(I take it for granted that you read the Dresden Files already) for some witty and action-packed Urban Fantasy that will suck ..."Yes I've done Dresden haha. Thanks for the recs! I've had Greywalker on my shelves for.. how old is it? That long. And I didn't realize the Monsterhunter series was urban fantasy - I attended a couple of writing seminars featuring Correia and was incredibly impressed at his knowledge of story construction. Thanks for popping his works onto my radar.
Much the same for me. Some good elements but it’s very generic
Sarah wrote: "Much the same for me. Some good elements but it’s very generic"Do you think the people who are raving about it just haven't read like Ilona Andrews, Briggs, Butcher, Harrison, etc.? Idk, perhaps I'd be more enthusiastic to give it a try if my library carried them, lol.
