Aug 02, Llewellyn rated it it was ok. Sky is a little boy who is being chased by monsters and by monster hunters. His family teaches him very little about monsters. They teach him very little about monster hunters. And they teach him nothing about fighting. Then they move him to a town that's known for having a lot of monsters and monster hunters. There were a ton of characters in this book. Way more than there needed to be. And at least half of them have nicknames, as if there weren't al The plot: And at least half of them have nicknames, as if there weren't already enough names to keep track of.
There were so many characters that even in roughly pages, it was difficult to get to know any of them. Since I never felt like I got to know any of them, I didn't really care about any of them or what happened to them. The dialogue was downright bizarre. It felt like the author wanted the characters to come across as funny and witty. But when the characters were constantly cracking tired and forced jokes, all their interactions just felt goofy. Even the bad guys felt kind of goofy and cartoony. And a lot of important plot details were unveiled not as they happened, not by Sky or his friends figuring them out, but by the bad guys just randomly telling Sky about them.
It came across as very, "Ha, I caught you! Now let me tell you about the time when I In short, this book was goofy. And I don't mean in a good, lighthearted, fun, funny, Roald Dahl kind of way. I mean in a bad, ridiculous, this was almost painful to read, I don't recommend this to anyone of any age group kind of way. Patten courtesy of Simon and Schuster via Shelf Awareness. It's a young adult novel that is reminiscent of the author's literary interests. There is a lot of monsters and action. Let your imagination run wild! Sky Weathers is a boy who loves puzzles and studies with his uncle, Phineas T.
Pimiscule, about the Hunters of Legend, botany and all sorts of strange things. Sky and his family return to the city of Exile and uncover many secrets. Pimiscule has protected Sky many years from enemies. Now it's Sky's turn to protect not only his uncle but his family, town, and the legacy of the Hunters. This novel is profound. You have to pay attention, or you'll drift into utter confusion similar to Stephen King's Dark Tower series. Although, at the end of the book I noticed there was a cheat sheet of all the monsters, or you can visit the website. So if you do happen to get confused, don't fret.
As a YA novel, it contains enough monsters and twists to keep the mind working for all plus pages. I love the website! Aug 21, Steven rated it liked it. I did enjoy this book thats why i hate that i can't rate it a 3. Jan 18, Dylan Jones rated it it was amazing. I liked this book especially because it has fantasy. However, this book did have some flaws.
For one thing, I think it would have been better if Sky was an orphan. Most good fantasy books, including Harry Potter, have the protagonist grow up in harsh conditions, including bad parent or school bullies, and then they find out that they are much more than just an average person. The gear that the monster hunters had were pretty cool though.
This is a book I would definitely recommend to other peopl I liked this book especially because it has fantasy. This is a book I would definitely recommend to other people. This book is way cool. It is very confusing, jumping from topic to topic. A warning for every one: Aug 10, Samantha rated it really liked it. At first when you start reading this book it's intriguing, with all of the cool creatures and Sky's fun uncle.
This is a really cool book by a guy from Utah. Nov 12, Aberrant rated it it was ok. Eh it was just alright. A great example of why books can be categorized as juvenile fiction. If you know what I mean. Nov 30, Kyle Teter rated it it was amazing. Great book I loved reading this book. May 26, Nicholas rated it did not like it. One of the worst books to ever read. Jul 16, Quin P rated it it was ok. Nov 06, Brittany rated it really liked it.
I enjoyed this a lot actually. Aug 01, Tabitha rated it really liked it Recommends it for: Oddly this is the same time I found out about the book blogging world. It took quite some time for the ARC to arrive — in fact it arrived just one week before the actual book was to be released. Given how fat this book is for middle-grade fiction, it took me quite some time to finish it — 20 days in fact. So my thoughts on this book — I enjoyed it, I really did.
I know I do — heck I collect them! I really liked that and I think the younger audience will enjoy that. It helps you to get into the story and think you are solving the puzzles right along with the main character. I think I was turned off to the fact that it was so thick for the genre it is aimed at. Though I do think they would enjoy it if I read it aloud to them accompanied with all the funny voices of course. I could only successfully conjure up mental pictures of three of the characters. A few times I went back to the physical descriptions of the children so I could better get a mental grip of them again.
The small bits of back story you got on each character helped add mystery to the story but I often wished there were a bit more by the time the book ended. One in particular I felt lacked in background so much so that it made it difficult for me to latch onto her emotionally Crystal. In the end, I would definitely recommend this book to readers that enjoyed the Harry Potter series.
I really like the main character Sky a lot as well as his supporting cast and think he was a well rounded out character. He had a good balance of redeeming qualities and flaws which made him very endearing. I definitely plan to read the next one in this series! Aug 16, An Abundance of Books rated it it was amazing Shelves: Featured at An Abundance of Books eturn to Exile was an excellent mix of characters, tension, monsters, mayhem, and humor.
While I didn't find it to be "scary" per se and some things were a bit predictable, it was a well paced read that I could not put down and read it in one sitting. Seriously, I stayed up until 3: Sky was a great kid, so full of heart even though the world seems to work against him. He is rescued by classmates who have take Featured at An Abundance of Books eturn to Exile was an excellent mix of characters, tension, monsters, mayhem, and humor. He is rescued by classmates who have taken it upon themselves to protect the town from monsters. These four mini MacGyvers have cobbled together body armor and effective weapons from garbage.
They really don't know what they're fighting and are pretty much flying by the seat of their pants. One character, Hands, is turned onto vampire romance novels by his grandfather as a source of monster fighting techniques. As a vampire romance reader myself, I found these bits very funny. Sky has an older sister who just seems horrible at first, but you get to like her.
Loved Hannah and Tick in the final battle. There are adults, who unfortunately work at Sky's school, that hate him. They're not deliciously evil teachers like Snape, they are vile and you want to beat them over the head with a chair. Really, the more Miss Hagfish talked, the more I gasped in outrage. Sky's monster books and bestiaries are a bit absurd but add some fun.
The fight scenes in Return to Exile are great and some of the funniest I have ever read. Patten has created some great monsters and Rocco's small illustrations were a nice touch. It was at times a bit predictable, but never so much so that it ruined the story.
There were some things that could be negatives. There was a bizarre bit with the janitor and I hope it's explained in the next book, otherwise it's totally pointless and weird. Also, some of the technical talk about plasma and force fields was a bit too much for me. My brain generally turns off in those situations, but it's something I would mention to a student.
Basically you could skim those few bits and be ok. The Return to Exile is a great middle grades book and a good fit for the age group. I'm not sure how much adult readers will like it, but the majority middle and high school audience should enjoy it. It had some of the best fight scenes ever and I loved the mix of seriousness and humor. I would recommend this book to readers who liked the Percy Jackson or Alex Rider series. I'm looking forward to the sequel. I give it 5 out of 6 stars. Read full review HERE Aug 04, Tracy Poff rated it really liked it Shelves: All Sky's life, his family has been moving from place to place, never staying long enough for him to make real friends.
So, his best friend is his monocle-wearing uncle Phineas, who has taught him to solve puzzles and set and elude traps, and attempted to teach him botany. He has also taught Sky more esoteric knowledge--of monsters, and how to hunt or avoid them. Sky's parents have always insisted that monsters aren't real.
Now that they are moving back to Exile, where his parents lived before he All Sky's life, his family has been moving from place to place, never staying long enough for him to make real friends. Now that they are moving back to Exile, where his parents lived before he was born, Sky will discover just how real monsters are, and some secrets about himself, as well.
Pity that the worst monster of all the Arkhon, will be released on the world in just three days, unless Sky can find a way to stop it. Return to Exile by E. Patten is a middle-grade fantasy novel, the first book in The Hunter Chronicles. It's filled with fantastical monsters and exciting adventure, and characters with plenty of secrets of their own. With his uncle missing, Sky must decide who to trust and solve the riddles his uncle left for him, if he's to find Phineas and prevent the Arkhon from escaping its prison.
Patten is a bit wordy, initially. The first few chapters read like he was trying a bit too hard to make an impression, rendering the first few dozen pages something of a chore. Once the story picks up, though, you'll find it hard to put the book down. There are mysteries and problems to solve right up until the end, and there's always enough going on to keep you interested.
The world of Return to Exile is very well-realized, with a variety of monsters, plants some monstrous , and monster hunters, forming a coherent world and history. If anything, Patten has created a world that's too interesting--I found myself wishing that I could read some of the in-universe books like The Evil Echo of Solomon Rose , so as to learn more about the history of the world. Hopefully, we can look forward to more details in future entries in the series. Return to Exile is a great middle-grade fantasy book. It goes on sale September 6, in both hardcover and electronic formats.
This review is based on a free advance reader's copy. Apr 06, Heidi rated it really liked it. Sky doesn't belong anywhere, not at home and not at school, and he has no idea why. Long nights wandering spent looking for something he cannot name have left his parents sensitive to the slightest abnormal behavior. Sky can't explain his behavior except for the 'little monster' he has in his head and the marks on his hands. But when his family returns to Exile without his Uncle Phineas and the black mark on his hand bleeds black blood, Sky knows something is very wrong, and he starts to realize Sky doesn't belong anywhere, not at home and not at school, and he has no idea why.
But when his family returns to Exile without his Uncle Phineas and the black mark on his hand bleeds black blood, Sky knows something is very wrong, and he starts to realize that what he always assumed were made-up stories about monsters may very well be real. With the reluctant help of some teenage monster hunters, Sky sets out to find his Uncle Phineas and the answers he has been searching for his whole life, which may in the end, cost him his life.
Boy, once this story started moving, it moving rapidly. There is plenty of excitement and the underlying mystery of Sky's identity and what happened to him that makes so many people want him dead pervades the book from page one. The only real problem I had was with some of the explanations of how the world worked, I found them somewhat confusing.
But this did not detract from the exciting events or the development of the characters. Sky is a really sympathetic character as he struggles to control his 'little monster' and then his struggles once he discovers some answers. This aspect of the story I found unique in that it adds some uncertainty about Sky and his past and his future. This will clearly be explored throughout the series. I have to say that I'm not really a monster person.
And this book has many monsters in it, despite that fact I found the book compelling and the different monsters intriguing. I also appreciated the fact that the monsters were not all evil as they are often portrayed. Some of these monsters, as Sky learns, aren't all bad, and even play an important role in Sky's search. I recommend the book for those who appreciate longer more detailed fantasies with great characters and an intricate plot that twists and turns.
The numerous traps and puzzles make for a nice touch. I definitely will be reading the sequel. Sep 06, Jessica Bronder rated it it was amazing. I had posted a review then got a copy of it from the Amazon Vine Program. Here is my updated review after having finished the book. His uncle Phineas goes missing and he has to move to Exile. Now he feels like something is wrong. A shifter and three cloaked people save Sky from these creatures. The next day, Sky learns that kids his age are the ones that saved him and they have no knowledge of what they are fighting.
Sky is a great asset to them since he knows about the creatures that they are fighting. The hunters that Sky grew up learning about are no longer around. Now the kids are going to have to work together to keep the prison from being unlocked and deal with the disappearances of local children all the while relying on Sky and his stories. Sky also has to work with Errand, a boy that can help him talk to the monsters with his hunters mark but Sky is the only on that can see him.
I loved this story. All the hunters that are supposed to keep the regular people safe have disappeared and left the kids to use trash to make tools in their fight against the monsters. Sky gets his eyes opened about what defines a Monster. And the ending leaves it open for several more books to come.
This is geared to younger teens but any one of any age will enjoy it. I recommend this to anyone that enjoys fantasy and young adult books. Dec 30, Aelvana rated it really liked it. Sky Weathers has always liked his eccentric uncle Phineas. It was Phineas that taught Sky how to build traps and solve puzzles, and talks to him about a variety of weird creatures only Phineas seems to know about. And Phineas is generally reliable about showing up for Sky's birthday, even if he is flaky. Which is why Sky worries when Phineas doesn't show up for Sky's twelfth birthday party.
Nor does he reappear later. Sky knows something bad has happened, but he has no idea how serious the probl Sky Weathers has always liked his eccentric uncle Phineas. Sky knows something bad has happened, but he has no idea how serious the problem isor that Sky himself is at the heart of it. The story blossoms from its quiet beginning to a complex web of puzzles, lies, and mysteries.
What are the two marks on Sky's hand, and why are they so important? Who was Phineasthe man that everyone has met but no one really knows? Exile holds more questions than answers. The monsters Phineas always talked about are not only real, but here. Which people are people and which might be one of the many monster shifters assuming the form of a person? The intriguing world of monsters unfolds slowly and richly.
Patten eschews the more traditional vampires and werewolves with a few amusing nods to them anyway for a menagerie of monstrosities more menacing still. The sheer number of shifters was impressive, both for the range and variety in their skills and the way impersonation played such a big role in the plot. Then there are monsters like the Jack, whose size and fury pose a threat to man and monster alike.
Overall, though it took a little while to grab me, the story turned into a roller coaster of action and suspense. Sky solved a few mysteries and made a few friends, but some of the larger puzzles are still waiting for a sequel. Either way, enough of it wraps up that the ending does feel like an end. I rate this book Recommended.
Aug 05, Janice rated it liked it Shelves: I must say that I am glad I stuck with this past the first painful pages as the story is quite good. Sky makes for an engaging main character and I think the story shows a lot of promise. I received an ARC of this through Goodreads First Reads program, so I am hoping someone stepped in to rid the author of his tendency towards atrocious metaphors and similes.
And please--let's hope someone take away this guy's thesaurus already! A few painful samples--note that I'm using examples from later in I must say that I am glad I stuck with this past the first painful pages as the story is quite good. A few painful samples--note that I'm using examples from later in the story as others have already mentioned some from early chapters.
I wish I had an opportunity to visit a place like Derrydun the small town in Ireland where her inheritance awaits her and hear the stories of these people firsthand. They really make the book shine. Aug 10, Jessica Tarrats rated it it was amazing. I voluntarily received an ARC copy of this book for an honest review.
This was a fun read. Skye Williams was in a tough patch in her life. Unexpectedly, she is approached by a stranger informing her that the mother who abandoned her years earlier passed away and left her an inheritance. She seemed like a person that I would truly enjoy hanging out with and she had flaws like any normal human being.
Being the last of the Crescent Witch line was very interesting to me and throw in the Irish charm, it was a nice mix of fictional familial history, a dash of romance, mystery, humor and a bit of magic. I am anxiously awaiting the next part of this story. Aug 01, Jessica Woods rated it liked it. Crescent Calling was my first book my author Axelle Chandler. I enjoyed the story but felt it was like a Reader's Digest condensed edition. The characters are likeable but their interactions are skimmed over and seem light. Skye's life seems to fall apart and then she learns her mother died and left her the inheritance of being the Crescent Witch.
But the story doesn't really intel what that means before Skye starts fighting villains and discovers magic by herself and begins to use spells.
But on the rare occasion when I feel passionately about the reason why I don't like a book, I write a review. I'm already ordering the second. The small bits of back story you got on each character helped add mystery to the story but I often wished there were a bit more by the time the book ended. A newly turned succubus, she has an unbeatable enemy. Her sexy demons go to the other female succubus Luci and make a deal for them to serve her but Luci lies.
This Crescent Calling was my first book my author Axelle Chandler. This book feels like a prequel to another that will hopefully tell more of the history of the Crescent witches and the town of Derrydun and its fae. My voluntary review is based upon an advance reviewers copy. Skye's life is falling to pieces, first her mother leaves when she's 2, her dad dies, she losses her job, and now her boyfriend broke up with her. What's next, she asks? Life changes dramatically for Skye as she finds out she's the last of the Crescent witches.
Boone, a friend of Skye's mother, helps guide and protect her as they fight the fae battling for the magic Skye has. This book is creative and sucks you in for the ride. The only downfall of this book is waiting for Fantastic beginning The only downfall of this book is waiting for the next in the series to come out. I voluntarily reviewed an advanced readers copy of this book. Good, but not great An interesting story, but just a little long winded at times. Aug 02, Delacey rated it really liked it. A good introductory novel to the world of the Crescent witches. As this is a series, not all our questions have been answered, so I expect more background on the witches as the series progresses.
The characters were likeable, though the h seemed a little flat- we have an idea of her personality from her interactions and responses to conflict, but we have very little idea of her interests and passions from her life in AU. Overall, an enjoyable and immersing read. Mar 18, T. I downloaded Crescent Calling as a free ebook from Amazon.
While the writing was relatively clean, with no annoying errors, I dislike two of the author's tactics to draw out conflict: I just couldn't get into the story and the protagonists choices. A very different way of looking at things I love it when I find a tale that is just different enough for me to enjoy it for the first time. The characters were fun and developed. While not perfect, the story made me smile and think, at least once or twice. Boone is an absolute treasure and it is that relationship that I will be interested in watching develop.
Feb 21, L. Decent read This book was a good read, with some interesting characters. I will say that I'm interested to know what happens next. I felt there was way to much repetitive information. I have mixed feelings about the MC's main characters. I'm struggling with how to describe them. This is an interesting book, just needs some polishing. Partners with a shapeshifter Skye finds her calling in this Irish village as the witch she never knew she was. I enjoyed the book but sometimes found the plot a little predictable. I thought Axelle Chandler had a great writing style. Aug 13, Amanda "Megan" Koehnlein rated it really liked it.
I voluntarily received an advanced ARC copy of this book for an honest review. So that being stated: Overall the book was a good light read for a young adult reader. Not so intense as other books like this. I also can't wait to read the other books in the series to find out where Skye and Boone are headed If you love mysteries, surprises, magic, suspense and coming out on top THAT'S what you'll find here!
Just the first in the series, you'll make friends that you'll follow through the rest of it. Jul 30, Vicky Quenault rated it liked it. The premise of the book is good but the execution was a little lacking. The character development needs a lot of work as does the pacing and building of suspense. A couple of mistakes in wording were quite annoying. Using sheik instead of chic was one of the instances that particularly stood out. Overall a sweet book, but not a series I will look to finish.
Aug 23, Michael Mardel rated it liked it. Crescent calling by Taylor. I can't quite pin down my ambivalence about this story. Was it too predictable with Skye and Boone pairing up? Was it the shallowness of Skye from being dumped by her boyfriend and being uprooted to Ireland? There's some good imagery with hawthorn trees and Boone shapeshifting.
I found Boone to be the more likeable of the pair. Very good fantastic shifter romance. The storyline is interesting and fascinating. Some mystery and suspense with magic, shifter and romance. Very well written characters. This story end with cliffhanger that leaves the story open for the next book and a HEA for now.
I will most certainly be looking for more books from this author. I voluntarily reviewed an Advanced Reader Copy of this book. I was given an advance copy of this book for an honest review. Good first in series paranormal. The last in a powerful witch line, Skye is totally unaware of her legacy until inheriting it from her mother. The story has shapeshifters, fae, and magical trees. It hooked me enough to want to read the second book.
Good read This is a quick read infused with humor, sarcasm and some language that could offend some that do not live in our current times. The beginning was similar to something I had read some time ago but took a turn into it's own direction. Apr 16, Pat Raab rated it really liked it. Thoroughly enjoyed the way the magical threads start pulling together from Page 1. Mar 11, MJ rated it really liked it Shelves: Excellent story This was a great story and I enjoyed it.
I coulhardly put it down. It was a quickly read story. Sep 05, Leslie Ronish rated it it was amazing. I loved this book. I'm already ordering the second. The characters are dynamic and the plot is thrilling. Aug 14, Angala Fox rated it it was amazing. A very interesting paranormal book about witches. I loved this and can't wait to read the rest of the series. Taylor is an Australian Urban Fantasy author. She lives in the western suburbs of Melbourne dreaming up nail biting stories featuring bad-ass witches, duplicitous vampires, hunky shape shifters and devious monsters. She likes chocolate, cat memes and video games.
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