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IFICS #1
Freak of Nature
Donate Body to Science. Check.
When seventeen-year-old Kaitlyn checked the box, she never suspected she’d have her life–and her body–stolen from her. She awakens one day in a secret laboratory to discover that her body is now half-robot and is forced to hide her own secret: that she still has human emotions and a human mind. If the scientists who made her find out, they’ll erase what remains of who she was.
Kaitlyn finds an unlikely ally in Lucas, a handsome, brilliant scientist who can’t get over the guilt he feels knowing she was once a vibrant, beautiful young woman. He never expected a science project to affect him the way she does. As he tries to help her rediscover her past, he finds himself falling for the brave girl struggling to find her place and acceptance between the human and computer worlds.
When seventeen-year-old Kaitlyn checked the box, she never suspected she’d have her life–and her body–stolen from her. She awakens one day in a secret laboratory to discover that her body is now half-robot and is forced to hide her own secret: that she still has human emotions and a human mind. If the scientists who made her find out, they’ll erase what remains of who she was.
Kaitlyn finds an unlikely ally in Lucas, a handsome, brilliant scientist who can’t get over the guilt he feels knowing she was once a vibrant, beautiful young woman. He never expected a science project to affect him the way she does. As he tries to help her rediscover her past, he finds himself falling for the brave girl struggling to find her place and acceptance between the human and computer worlds.
284 pages, Paperback
First published January 9, 2013
About the author
Julia Crane
68 books973 followersJulia crane is the author of the Keegan’s Chronicles, IFICS. She has a bachelors degree in criminal justice. Julia has believed in magical creatures since the day her grandmother first told her an Irish tale. Growing up her mother greatly encouraged reading and using your imagination.
http://juliacrane.com
http://juliacrane.com
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 581 reviews
September 3, 2013
I received this book in return for an honest review via Netgalley.
You can also see a copy of this review, and others, on my blog, thisisjustabookblog.tumblr.com
The blurb of this book kind of reminded me of Mila 2.0, and actually brought up the idea of Cinder - a cyborg that’s treated as a second class citizen. However, this book didn’t really turn out how I expected, and I was quite disappointed, to be honest.
Unfortunately, this book reads just like many of the independent books I’ve read. The writing is sub-par; too simplistic, too annoying. There are cliches strewn all over the place, and though there were one or two moments that did make me laugh, in general I was just irritated by the main character’s narration. It was quite melodramatic too, if I’m honest. There were a few grammatical errors - effect and affect were often mixed up - and overall it just didn’t read very well.
The characters were alright. I think there was potential - especially with Kaitlyn - but in the end, they just felt flat. Kaitlyn and Lucas’ interactions were nothing more than cringey, and they were in love from the very first page, which meant that I didn’t really have any idea why they were in love. All of the things Lucas described about liking about her were the things that she was because of all the robotic parts, which doesn’t sound very romantic, if you ask me. They were declaring their love from the very first moment that they could, and it just didn’t ring true.
The plot was probably the best part of the novel, but there wasn’t much of it. The book was only 160-odd pages, which is very short compared to the books that I usually read. It meant that it didn’t seem like very much happened, at all. This is added to the fact that the ending was too easy. Everything was too well wrapped up and happy, and I kind of felt like there was going to be a sequel.
So, as you can probably tell, I didn’t enjoy this book very much. Nothing really drew me in or appealed to me - I considered it a chore to read rather than something I wanted to.
You can also see a copy of this review, and others, on my blog, thisisjustabookblog.tumblr.com
The blurb of this book kind of reminded me of Mila 2.0, and actually brought up the idea of Cinder - a cyborg that’s treated as a second class citizen. However, this book didn’t really turn out how I expected, and I was quite disappointed, to be honest.
Unfortunately, this book reads just like many of the independent books I’ve read. The writing is sub-par; too simplistic, too annoying. There are cliches strewn all over the place, and though there were one or two moments that did make me laugh, in general I was just irritated by the main character’s narration. It was quite melodramatic too, if I’m honest. There were a few grammatical errors - effect and affect were often mixed up - and overall it just didn’t read very well.
The characters were alright. I think there was potential - especially with Kaitlyn - but in the end, they just felt flat. Kaitlyn and Lucas’ interactions were nothing more than cringey, and they were in love from the very first page, which meant that I didn’t really have any idea why they were in love. All of the things Lucas described about liking about her were the things that she was because of all the robotic parts, which doesn’t sound very romantic, if you ask me. They were declaring their love from the very first moment that they could, and it just didn’t ring true.
The plot was probably the best part of the novel, but there wasn’t much of it. The book was only 160-odd pages, which is very short compared to the books that I usually read. It meant that it didn’t seem like very much happened, at all. This is added to the fact that the ending was too easy. Everything was too well wrapped up and happy, and I kind of felt like there was going to be a sequel.
So, as you can probably tell, I didn’t enjoy this book very much. Nothing really drew me in or appealed to me - I considered it a chore to read rather than something I wanted to.
January 13, 2013
"I don't want to be just a weapon," Kaitlyn said firmly. "I want to be a solution,"
I am a huge fan of Julia Crane's work, with writing that always flows really nicely and characters that I always get attached to, it would be hard for me to not love something she comes out with. When she warned me that Freak of Nature was different than her norm, I was a little nervous going into it. I was worried I wouldn't like it as much as her past novels, I am happy to report though, that Freak of Nature was amazing. It may even be my new favorite novel of hers.
After reading Freak of Nature I can easily say I will be looking into reading some more cyborg novels. The whole idea of being half human, and half robot, is well, awesome. Kaitlyn is a weapon, and she is not to be messed with, but what the lab that created her doesn't know about their weapon is that she still has feelings, and thoughts. Everything about this novel made me so happy, the cyborg aspect, Kaitlyn as person, the romance between Kaitlyn and Lucas, how it ended, the alternating pov, everything.
Characters are one of the most important things to me when I'm reading a book, so of course I have to talk about them for a bit. Kaitlyn was an awesome character, I found myself really liking her, and worrying that she was going to be found out and shut down. I also felt really sad for her, she was having these feelings and emotions, but couldn't let anyone but Quess know about them. Moving onto Quess, she was a great best friend, she kept Kaitlyn's secrets and tried to help Kaitlyn find out who she was in her past. She was also hilarious, which is always a plus! Then there was Lucas *swoon* he was such an amazing love interest Before he even finds out that Kaitlyn still has feelings and thoughts, he feels drawn to her and feels horrible for turning her into the robot she has become. The romance between Lucas and Kaitlyn was romantic and steamy and I cannot wait to see where it goes in the next installment! (There was also a new character added in to the mix at the very end of Freak of Nature who of which I am VERY curious about!)
Freak of Nature was a great quick read, I would say my only complaint about it was that I wish it would've gone more in depth on some things, and I wish it would've been a longer story. Thankfully though this is just the first book in the series, so I believe the future books will be even better!
Overall I would recommend Freak of Nature to anybody looking for an awesome quick read, something unique, and something that has a good romance. I enjoyed Freak of Nature immensely and am really looking forward to the next installment, I believe since this is just the introduction book, that the next one will be even more suspenseful and exciting, and hopefully steamy!
I am a huge fan of Julia Crane's work, with writing that always flows really nicely and characters that I always get attached to, it would be hard for me to not love something she comes out with. When she warned me that Freak of Nature was different than her norm, I was a little nervous going into it. I was worried I wouldn't like it as much as her past novels, I am happy to report though, that Freak of Nature was amazing. It may even be my new favorite novel of hers.
After reading Freak of Nature I can easily say I will be looking into reading some more cyborg novels. The whole idea of being half human, and half robot, is well, awesome. Kaitlyn is a weapon, and she is not to be messed with, but what the lab that created her doesn't know about their weapon is that she still has feelings, and thoughts. Everything about this novel made me so happy, the cyborg aspect, Kaitlyn as person, the romance between Kaitlyn and Lucas, how it ended, the alternating pov, everything.
Characters are one of the most important things to me when I'm reading a book, so of course I have to talk about them for a bit. Kaitlyn was an awesome character, I found myself really liking her, and worrying that she was going to be found out and shut down. I also felt really sad for her, she was having these feelings and emotions, but couldn't let anyone but Quess know about them. Moving onto Quess, she was a great best friend, she kept Kaitlyn's secrets and tried to help Kaitlyn find out who she was in her past. She was also hilarious, which is always a plus! Then there was Lucas *swoon* he was such an amazing love interest Before he even finds out that Kaitlyn still has feelings and thoughts, he feels drawn to her and feels horrible for turning her into the robot she has become. The romance between Lucas and Kaitlyn was romantic and steamy and I cannot wait to see where it goes in the next installment! (There was also a new character added in to the mix at the very end of Freak of Nature who of which I am VERY curious about!)
Freak of Nature was a great quick read, I would say my only complaint about it was that I wish it would've gone more in depth on some things, and I wish it would've been a longer story. Thankfully though this is just the first book in the series, so I believe the future books will be even better!
Overall I would recommend Freak of Nature to anybody looking for an awesome quick read, something unique, and something that has a good romance. I enjoyed Freak of Nature immensely and am really looking forward to the next installment, I believe since this is just the introduction book, that the next one will be even more suspenseful and exciting, and hopefully steamy!
December 8, 2015
This book is free on ibook (YAY!). It looks awesome! I've heard great things about it! I will give it a shot soon, you should too :)!
Update: I read it!
I didn't like it as much as I expected to like it, but oh well. I found it a bit too cheesy for me. The good guy and the naive girl seems to appeal to a lot of people, but not me. I like bad boys, different couples, strong personalities (and a lot of things like that, haha)! I liked the plot, it was a good idea! I also liked the revelations, the memories, but not the choices. The character is a bit dumb (sorry), in my opinion. Yes, she is partly a robot, but doesn't that make her more intelligent? She keeps on making stupids choices, on doing wrong moves. It gets really frustrating at one point. Also, that ending? I felt like the author wanted to put a frecken end to the book (she probably wasn't that tired of her story since there are sequels). It was all too easy.
Plus point: Quess. Good character, but not developped enough. Ugh... Oh well, I guess it's a good read for younger readers. Maybe for 10 to 15 years old.
Update: I read it!
I didn't like it as much as I expected to like it, but oh well. I found it a bit too cheesy for me. The good guy and the naive girl seems to appeal to a lot of people, but not me. I like bad boys, different couples, strong personalities (and a lot of things like that, haha)! I liked the plot, it was a good idea! I also liked the revelations, the memories, but not the choices. The character is a bit dumb (sorry), in my opinion. Yes, she is partly a robot, but doesn't that make her more intelligent? She keeps on making stupids choices, on doing wrong moves. It gets really frustrating at one point. Also, that ending? I felt like the author wanted to put a frecken end to the book (she probably wasn't that tired of her story since there are sequels). It was all too easy.
Plus point: Quess. Good character, but not developped enough. Ugh... Oh well, I guess it's a good read for younger readers. Maybe for 10 to 15 years old.
February 11, 2020
“I don’t want to be just a weapon,” Kaitlyn said firmly. “I want to be a solution,”
― Julia Crane, Freak of Nature
I wish I could have liked this book more.
I liked the premise so much. Kaitlyn accidently checks a box that says "donate body to science". She wakes up in a lab to discover she has been turned into a robot.
I am coming to the conclusion that these "cloning" books are n ot for me. I dug the premise but I thought it would be more of a dark adult oriented story. Boy, was I wrong.
To begin with, Kaitlyn sure does not seem to mind the fact that she is a robot. She does not miss her family..or if she does she gets over it might fast..she is in pretty good spirits all things considered.
Then there is the insta love thing that was not believable and that frankly bored me.
I do not think I was the target audience for this book. I think maybe it was a bit TO YA for me..I happen to like realistic young adult but this story, although well written was just too out there for me.
It is a quick read and does keep your attention. Author did a good job with the character development. But it just had no basic in reality and the whole instalove thing bored me. I wanted a dark edgy story. I am sure I c an get that but not with this book.
― Julia Crane, Freak of Nature
I wish I could have liked this book more.
I liked the premise so much. Kaitlyn accidently checks a box that says "donate body to science". She wakes up in a lab to discover she has been turned into a robot.
I am coming to the conclusion that these "cloning" books are n ot for me. I dug the premise but I thought it would be more of a dark adult oriented story. Boy, was I wrong.
To begin with, Kaitlyn sure does not seem to mind the fact that she is a robot. She does not miss her family..or if she does she gets over it might fast..she is in pretty good spirits all things considered.
Then there is the insta love thing that was not believable and that frankly bored me.
I do not think I was the target audience for this book. I think maybe it was a bit TO YA for me..I happen to like realistic young adult but this story, although well written was just too out there for me.
It is a quick read and does keep your attention. Author did a good job with the character development. But it just had no basic in reality and the whole instalove thing bored me. I wanted a dark edgy story. I am sure I c an get that but not with this book.
July 14, 2019
I love SciFi! The geek in me loves to read books that involve space ships, aliens, robots and androids. This one fits the bill.
Our heroine checked the box to donate her body to science. And in the realm of science fiction, this was a mistake. Now she is an android. What they don't know is that she still has feelings.
A well written story with tons of potential for the rest of the series!
Our heroine checked the box to donate her body to science. And in the realm of science fiction, this was a mistake. Now she is an android. What they don't know is that she still has feelings.
A well written story with tons of potential for the rest of the series!
October 16, 2013
This review and other cool stuff can also be found on http://www.addicted2heroines.com/2013...
I was drawn to the book by the cool cover. I mean, how can you not love that? You can't. Really, great job to whoever came up with it.
As for what's inside? Well, it was entertaining enough for me to want to finish it (which is my personal requirement to earn three stars), but it was missing that something that makes a story awesome.
There's a lot of moral ambiguity in the characters, which kind of makes it hard to love or hate anyone. Even the evil scientists aren't super-duper bad. Or good.
Take the love interest, Lucas, for example. I wanted to like him, but he just came off as a total creeper at first. He switches back and forth between helping Kaitlyn and helping his boss so many times, that by the end of the book I really couldn't work up any warm fuzzy feelings for the guy. Sorry. Just not exactly what I was looking for in my next book-boyfriend.
But there was no one to really hate enough to make the guy look good, either. Even the head of the evil corporation wasn't so bad by the end of the book.
Quasi-evil. Not evil enough.
Maybe that's what the author was going for, but it didn't work for me.
However.
It might be different for someone who is just absolutely into stories about cyborgs. Like I said, it was entertaining enough to want to finish, so you might have a different experience with the characters than I did.
At far as the plot goes, it had a lot of interesting ideas. Kaitlyn donated her body to science, but assumed that she would be dead when they used it. Well, she did die, but these guys managed to bring her back and turn her into a top secret project. None of the scientists realize that she has retained any of her old self, and Kaitlyn isn't about to let them in on it. She believes (rightly) that if she betrays any of her emotions they will erase the rest of her personality. She has very few memories of her former life left, mostly just feelings and a few leftover bits of dreams.
Her one friend and ally is the granddaughter of one of the scientists working on her project, a young girl named Quess. Quess is the one who warned her not to let on about her lingering personality, and she is the only one who is willing to help Kaitlyn figure out her past.
Lucas is the young hot-shot researcher who came up with all of the programming for Kaitlyn's project. He waffles back and forth between guilt over what they've done to her, and pride that he did such a good job in the first place. Also, he thinks she's hot.
There's no real urgency to the story, because Kaitlyn seems to accept her fate. Even when she escapes, it's not really because she decided that she'd had enough. I think I would have liked it better if she was a bit more angry at her circumstances, and lashed out at the people responsible.
Anyhoo. The ending has a decent sense of closure to it, but it looks like this one is the first in a series, so I'm sure there are more stories to come about these characters.
Thanks to NetGalley for a copy of this book.
I was drawn to the book by the cool cover. I mean, how can you not love that? You can't. Really, great job to whoever came up with it.
As for what's inside? Well, it was entertaining enough for me to want to finish it (which is my personal requirement to earn three stars), but it was missing that something that makes a story awesome.
There's a lot of moral ambiguity in the characters, which kind of makes it hard to love or hate anyone. Even the evil scientists aren't super-duper bad. Or good.
Take the love interest, Lucas, for example. I wanted to like him, but he just came off as a total creeper at first. He switches back and forth between helping Kaitlyn and helping his boss so many times, that by the end of the book I really couldn't work up any warm fuzzy feelings for the guy. Sorry. Just not exactly what I was looking for in my next book-boyfriend.
But there was no one to really hate enough to make the guy look good, either. Even the head of the evil corporation wasn't so bad by the end of the book.
Quasi-evil. Not evil enough.
Maybe that's what the author was going for, but it didn't work for me.
However.
It might be different for someone who is just absolutely into stories about cyborgs. Like I said, it was entertaining enough to want to finish, so you might have a different experience with the characters than I did.
At far as the plot goes, it had a lot of interesting ideas. Kaitlyn donated her body to science, but assumed that she would be dead when they used it. Well, she did die, but these guys managed to bring her back and turn her into a top secret project. None of the scientists realize that she has retained any of her old self, and Kaitlyn isn't about to let them in on it. She believes (rightly) that if she betrays any of her emotions they will erase the rest of her personality. She has very few memories of her former life left, mostly just feelings and a few leftover bits of dreams.
Her one friend and ally is the granddaughter of one of the scientists working on her project, a young girl named Quess. Quess is the one who warned her not to let on about her lingering personality, and she is the only one who is willing to help Kaitlyn figure out her past.
Lucas is the young hot-shot researcher who came up with all of the programming for Kaitlyn's project. He waffles back and forth between guilt over what they've done to her, and pride that he did such a good job in the first place. Also, he thinks she's hot.
There's no real urgency to the story, because Kaitlyn seems to accept her fate. Even when she escapes, it's not really because she decided that she'd had enough. I think I would have liked it better if she was a bit more angry at her circumstances, and lashed out at the people responsible.
Anyhoo. The ending has a decent sense of closure to it, but it looks like this one is the first in a series, so I'm sure there are more stories to come about these characters.
Thanks to NetGalley for a copy of this book.
January 11, 2013
I'll start off by telling you if you haven't read a book written by Julia Crane, you are missing out. This lady has got the goods. Obviously, after saying that, I had high expectations, and boy oh by, were they met.
"How could you possibly think I'm beautiful? I'm repulsive - a freak of nature."
From the minute I 'met' Kate, I felt her loneliness, confusion and sadness. Not only those emotions though. I felt her kindness & adored her inquisitive nature. Being the first 'Freak of Nature' aka cyborg - half human, half machine -, she had no idea what the future held for her - only that she believed death would be preferred to the existence she was in after checking the 'donate body to science' box. Her body was controlled by science & computers, but her mind, aside from missing memories, was still mostly intact.
Enter Lucas - her scientist/creator and also the object of her fantasises. I loved him, I felt he was so much more than I was first expecting. I really enjoyed hearing about his own demons from his childhood & felt such peace when I realised he loved her & wouldn't allow her fears to become reality.
Now, I must mention Quess. She had a direct line to my heart & mind. I giggled so any times at her references & choice of wording. She's my kind-a girl! And let's not forget that 'He's on fire' bahahahahahaha
"That's impressive, Quess. How do you know all of this?"
"I told you. Facebook. It's like a peek into someone's private world."
I read it in one sitting and besides have a minor freak out that this project seemed so achievable & wondering how much longer until this would become a reality in our own world, I couldn't put it down. Ms Crane has such a way with words you begin to wonder, and question your own opinions and closemindedness. I can not wait for book 2. I need it. Like yesterday! I am eagerly anticipating the answers to the questions I have rolling about my thoughts...
Kudos to you Ms Crane for mentioning Aspergers and bringing the condition to light and showing that it's just a new way of thinking. Bravo - always thinking outside the box and giving me things to think about. You rock!!!
"How could you possibly think I'm beautiful? I'm repulsive - a freak of nature."
From the minute I 'met' Kate, I felt her loneliness, confusion and sadness. Not only those emotions though. I felt her kindness & adored her inquisitive nature. Being the first 'Freak of Nature' aka cyborg - half human, half machine -, she had no idea what the future held for her - only that she believed death would be preferred to the existence she was in after checking the 'donate body to science' box. Her body was controlled by science & computers, but her mind, aside from missing memories, was still mostly intact.
Enter Lucas - her scientist/creator and also the object of her fantasises. I loved him, I felt he was so much more than I was first expecting. I really enjoyed hearing about his own demons from his childhood & felt such peace when I realised he loved her & wouldn't allow her fears to become reality.
Now, I must mention Quess. She had a direct line to my heart & mind. I giggled so any times at her references & choice of wording. She's my kind-a girl! And let's not forget that 'He's on fire' bahahahahahaha
"That's impressive, Quess. How do you know all of this?"
"I told you. Facebook. It's like a peek into someone's private world."
I read it in one sitting and besides have a minor freak out that this project seemed so achievable & wondering how much longer until this would become a reality in our own world, I couldn't put it down. Ms Crane has such a way with words you begin to wonder, and question your own opinions and closemindedness. I can not wait for book 2. I need it. Like yesterday! I am eagerly anticipating the answers to the questions I have rolling about my thoughts...
Kudos to you Ms Crane for mentioning Aspergers and bringing the condition to light and showing that it's just a new way of thinking. Bravo - always thinking outside the box and giving me things to think about. You rock!!!
February 4, 2013
2.5 Stars-average
I was drawn to this book because of the very interesting premise and the equally interesting cover. I was left more than a little disappointed. There were so many things this book could have been. Exciting, emotional, and meaningful. Unfortunately, there were many flaws that got in the way with that.
The flaws:
*Kaitlyn is supposedly highly advanced physically and intellectually. Awhile the reader is certainly able to see how advanced she is physically we are only told that Kaitlyn is intellectually advanced. I was expecting for her to be more clever and sly but she is terribly naive and most of the planning is done by Lucas
*The great amount of romance is something that this novel could of done without. It is unrealistic and it quickly takes over the story leaving everything great this book could have been in the dust.
*The characters were flat. I didn’t find much personality in Kaitlyn. She did have a strong sense of justice but that was all. The rest of her character is devoted to be naive and swooning over Lucas. Lucas is not much different. I felt the most bored whenever the story switched to his point of view(yes, there are two different point of views: Kaitlyn’s and Lucas’). Most of the time he is either tearing himself apart for what he did to Kaitlyn or admiring Kaitlyn’s body. Quess was just…there.
*Nothing exciting happens.
*There were a couple of grammar errors in the kindle version.
*The last sentence in the book: To be continued. I know that this might seem a bit nit-picky but I find it very irritating when nothing exciting happens in a novel and then it just ends like that.
The good:
*The writing is strong and solid.
*This book is very readable and a little bit entertaining.
*There are a couple of short sweet, cute, and romantic scenes.
*There was a certain fight scene in which Kaitlyn beats up a group of perverts.
Conclusion:
Freak of Nature was just not my cup of tea. I felt that awhile this book did well in some areas there were many in which it did not. I will say that I am sure that this book will be loved by many people. I am just not one of them. To me this book was just average.
I was drawn to this book because of the very interesting premise and the equally interesting cover. I was left more than a little disappointed. There were so many things this book could have been. Exciting, emotional, and meaningful. Unfortunately, there were many flaws that got in the way with that.
The flaws:
*Kaitlyn is supposedly highly advanced physically and intellectually. Awhile the reader is certainly able to see how advanced she is physically we are only told that Kaitlyn is intellectually advanced. I was expecting for her to be more clever and sly but she is terribly naive and most of the planning is done by Lucas
*The great amount of romance is something that this novel could of done without. It is unrealistic and it quickly takes over the story leaving everything great this book could have been in the dust.
*The characters were flat. I didn’t find much personality in Kaitlyn. She did have a strong sense of justice but that was all. The rest of her character is devoted to be naive and swooning over Lucas. Lucas is not much different. I felt the most bored whenever the story switched to his point of view(yes, there are two different point of views: Kaitlyn’s and Lucas’). Most of the time he is either tearing himself apart for what he did to Kaitlyn or admiring Kaitlyn’s body. Quess was just…there.
*Nothing exciting happens.
*There were a couple of grammar errors in the kindle version.
*The last sentence in the book: To be continued. I know that this might seem a bit nit-picky but I find it very irritating when nothing exciting happens in a novel and then it just ends like that.
The good:
*The writing is strong and solid.
*This book is very readable and a little bit entertaining.
*There are a couple of short sweet, cute, and romantic scenes.
*There was a certain fight scene in which Kaitlyn beats up a group of perverts.
Conclusion:
Freak of Nature was just not my cup of tea. I felt that awhile this book did well in some areas there were many in which it did not. I will say that I am sure that this book will be loved by many people. I am just not one of them. To me this book was just average.
June 9, 2022
Can a cyborg have emotions? A nice sci-fi ending and plot.
5/5 Chev's picks
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5/5 Chev's picks
Like my post to be mentioned ;) (and get a shoutout if you follow my bookstagram, wattpad and pinterest
I am usually found here: https://beacons.ai/chevreads (check it out:))
Find me on:
Instagram: @chevreads
Wattpad: @writerthursday
Pinterest: @thursdayfrappe
Youtube: @chevreads
P.S. Add me as a friend :) I like to read romance novels and mystery stories
August 25, 2015
I have no idea how to review this book without being mean. After slogging through nearly three hundred pages, I'm cranky and exhausted. I feel like I wasted my time, and I feel disrespected as a reader. This book never should have been published. Had I paid any money for it, this review likely would have been full of swearing; as it is, I'm having a hard time trying to stay polite.
Please, dear author, I want some more...
There is absolutely nothing I like about this book. I didn't go into it thinking I was going to hate it; the synopsis is somewhat intriguing, after all. But the actual story only vaguely resembles what we were promised, so it was a huge disappointment.
It's all a matter of taste...
I have no idea where to start when describing what's wrong with this book. (Maybe the title? How is a robot a "freak of nature"?) It has fairly high ratings on Goodreads, so some people must like it. But if you're like me and you want decent writing that's been properly edited, three-dimensional characters, consistency, and an actual plot... well, you're going to be disappointed. There isn't even a climax! Well, I guess if there's no plot it's kind of hard to have a climax...
None of the characters are engaging. They're all emotionally stunted, even though the cyborg girl is the only one who's supposed to be. None of them are particularly realistic, and some of the dialogue is laughably bad. The villains turn out not to be villains (at least, they're so easily dealt with that they aren't any sort of a threat). Kaitlyn is apparently so beautiful that any man who sees her wants to rape her; she's threatened with sexual assault no less than three times during the course of the story... including the final time, when it's decided that she doesn't understand the rules of society because she tries to defend herself. What the hell?!
We spend most of the novel believing Kaitlyn is seventeen, and she hangs around with a fourteen-year-old girl... leading to the assumption that this is a young adult novel. But then we're hit with an actual sex scene, thrown in during the male love interest's point-of-view chapter (which seems an odd choice). It feels out of place in the book, since the writing style is so juvenile. It also made me really uncomfortable, since Kaitlyn comes across as so naive and childlike that it was like watching a little kid beg an adult for sex... and then have him give it to her.
The science is awful and makes no sense. Somehow, Kaitlyn's memories are stripped away and put onto a hard drive. How this is done is never explained. Then we're supposed to believe that she has feelings, even though her emotions are just... off. She can eat, but doesn't have to... and yet it's never explained how she stays alive. What's nourishing her human cells? What's keeping her machinery going? We're told that her heart was replaced with an artificial one, but then her heart is mentioned multiple times in very human ways, as if the author forgot that she no longer had one. The use of the word "sensors" drove me to distraction. Sensors, by definition, sense... but in this book, they do all sorts of other things, too, like regulate bodily functions. (The author has some brainwave-measuring "sensors" sending currents of electricity buzzing through the main character's head, though, so I suspect she just doesn't understand what a "sensor" is.) There's also the question of why anyone would do what they did. The IFICS (which is an acronym for nothing; it's simply "sci-fi" backwards, which the author seems to think is really clever) seems to have wanted an unfeeling killing machine. So why didn't they just build a robot? Why go to all the trouble of procuring a dead body (though she wasn't actually dead, which is a huge plot hole; how can you donate your body to science if you're just in a coma?) and removing its memories and emotions if you could just build a robot in the first place? And why is a seventeen-year-old girl allowed to sign her life away to a top-secret organization? (Parents played zero role in this book. Kaitlyn could have gone back to hers, but she thinks it's kinder to let them think she's dead. Yeah... I could not connect with this girl at all.)
And then there's the style. It's simplistic and unsophisticated, confused (and confusing) in places, and prone to jarring jumps through time. There are also weird info-dumps that slow the story (what story there is) to a crawl. The whole thing with Kaitlyn loading her gun had me gritting my teeth. (see quote below) The author used over a hundred words to say what she could have said with four: "She loaded the gun." I haven't been this annoyed by info-dumping since Jenny Davidson's perseverating ramblings about dynamite in The Explosionist .
Let's get technical...
I am absolutely appalled at the writing and editing in this book. For most of the time I was reading it, I thought that the author had just published a first draft... without beta readers, without editors, without even reading it over herself after jotting it down. I suspected that I would spend more time reading the book than was put into writing it. But in the acknowledgments, she thanks beta readers and an editing service! Really? As a reader, I find such shoddy work insulting; if you want people to spend time reading your book, you should at least spend some time making sure it's the best it can be. There are grammar errors and more punctuation mistakes than I can count. Verb tenses are all over the place. The characters' names aren't consistent. The text obviously wasn't even run through a spell-checking program; there are outright spelling mistakes that nobody caught. I'm tempted to call BS on the claim that this book was seen by anyone other than the author before it was published, but I don't know for sure. Just be forewarned.
The verdict...
My Kindle edition is a mass of highlighted passages and notes... and none of them are for anything good. I basically did what Crane's editor should have done in the first place, and corrected the text as I went. Readers shouldn't have to do that. My advice to Crane: slow down, take your time, and make sure your books are edited properly before you put them out there and ask for money.
Quotable moment:
http://theladybugreads.blogspot.com/2...
Please, dear author, I want some more...
There is absolutely nothing I like about this book. I didn't go into it thinking I was going to hate it; the synopsis is somewhat intriguing, after all. But the actual story only vaguely resembles what we were promised, so it was a huge disappointment.
It's all a matter of taste...
I have no idea where to start when describing what's wrong with this book. (Maybe the title? How is a robot a "freak of nature"?) It has fairly high ratings on Goodreads, so some people must like it. But if you're like me and you want decent writing that's been properly edited, three-dimensional characters, consistency, and an actual plot... well, you're going to be disappointed. There isn't even a climax! Well, I guess if there's no plot it's kind of hard to have a climax...
None of the characters are engaging. They're all emotionally stunted, even though the cyborg girl is the only one who's supposed to be. None of them are particularly realistic, and some of the dialogue is laughably bad. The villains turn out not to be villains (at least, they're so easily dealt with that they aren't any sort of a threat). Kaitlyn is apparently so beautiful that any man who sees her wants to rape her; she's threatened with sexual assault no less than three times during the course of the story... including the final time, when it's decided that she doesn't understand the rules of society because she tries to defend herself. What the hell?!
We spend most of the novel believing Kaitlyn is seventeen, and she hangs around with a fourteen-year-old girl... leading to the assumption that this is a young adult novel. But then we're hit with an actual sex scene, thrown in during the male love interest's point-of-view chapter (which seems an odd choice). It feels out of place in the book, since the writing style is so juvenile. It also made me really uncomfortable, since Kaitlyn comes across as so naive and childlike that it was like watching a little kid beg an adult for sex... and then have him give it to her.
The science is awful and makes no sense. Somehow, Kaitlyn's memories are stripped away and put onto a hard drive. How this is done is never explained. Then we're supposed to believe that she has feelings, even though her emotions are just... off. She can eat, but doesn't have to... and yet it's never explained how she stays alive. What's nourishing her human cells? What's keeping her machinery going? We're told that her heart was replaced with an artificial one, but then her heart is mentioned multiple times in very human ways, as if the author forgot that she no longer had one. The use of the word "sensors" drove me to distraction. Sensors, by definition, sense... but in this book, they do all sorts of other things, too, like regulate bodily functions. (The author has some brainwave-measuring "sensors" sending currents of electricity buzzing through the main character's head, though, so I suspect she just doesn't understand what a "sensor" is.) There's also the question of why anyone would do what they did. The IFICS (which is an acronym for nothing; it's simply "sci-fi" backwards, which the author seems to think is really clever) seems to have wanted an unfeeling killing machine. So why didn't they just build a robot? Why go to all the trouble of procuring a dead body (though she wasn't actually dead, which is a huge plot hole; how can you donate your body to science if you're just in a coma?) and removing its memories and emotions if you could just build a robot in the first place? And why is a seventeen-year-old girl allowed to sign her life away to a top-secret organization? (Parents played zero role in this book. Kaitlyn could have gone back to hers, but she thinks it's kinder to let them think she's dead. Yeah... I could not connect with this girl at all.)
And then there's the style. It's simplistic and unsophisticated, confused (and confusing) in places, and prone to jarring jumps through time. There are also weird info-dumps that slow the story (what story there is) to a crawl. The whole thing with Kaitlyn loading her gun had me gritting my teeth. (see quote below) The author used over a hundred words to say what she could have said with four: "She loaded the gun." I haven't been this annoyed by info-dumping since Jenny Davidson's perseverating ramblings about dynamite in The Explosionist .
Let's get technical...
I am absolutely appalled at the writing and editing in this book. For most of the time I was reading it, I thought that the author had just published a first draft... without beta readers, without editors, without even reading it over herself after jotting it down. I suspected that I would spend more time reading the book than was put into writing it. But in the acknowledgments, she thanks beta readers and an editing service! Really? As a reader, I find such shoddy work insulting; if you want people to spend time reading your book, you should at least spend some time making sure it's the best it can be. There are grammar errors and more punctuation mistakes than I can count. Verb tenses are all over the place. The characters' names aren't consistent. The text obviously wasn't even run through a spell-checking program; there are outright spelling mistakes that nobody caught. I'm tempted to call BS on the claim that this book was seen by anyone other than the author before it was published, but I don't know for sure. Just be forewarned.
The verdict...
My Kindle edition is a mass of highlighted passages and notes... and none of them are for anything good. I basically did what Crane's editor should have done in the first place, and corrected the text as I went. Readers shouldn't have to do that. My advice to Crane: slow down, take your time, and make sure your books are edited properly before you put them out there and ask for money.
Quotable moment:
Automatically, Kaitlyn removed her pistol from its holster and locked the slide to the rear. She quickly checked the chamber to ensure it was empty, then removed a full magazine from the carrier on her left hip, inserting it into the pistol, the motion so smooth and practiced it felt natural. With a flick of her thumb, the slide slammed forward, loading a round into the chamber of the pistol. She then conducted a 'press check,' reaching underneath the pistol, pinching the slide, and moving it to the rear just enough to see that a round was actually in the chamber. Seeing the brass, she released the slide and holstered her weapon.
http://theladybugreads.blogspot.com/2...
August 27, 2020
The premise of the story is great. Yet the story didn't grab me quite like I had hoped. Not that it was bad! I still enjoyed it but I far from loved it.
My main issue was Kaitlyn. I felt strangely detached from her. She was created to not have emotions or feelings yet she does. but how that came across to me as a reader was empty. I didn't feel much curiosity and for all she is suppose to feel and understand she goes along with what everyone else tells her WAY to easily. So I got no distinct personality. No idea what she does or doesn't like. At the VERY end I get a brief glimmer finally but the rest was just being told what she felt. I was definitely an audience member and not a part of this story.
Lucas' perspective was a bit better but even he was rather dull. I like getting to really know the main characters. Their personalities and quirks and this book is void of that for just about anyone.
The story itself was easy to read. It seemed shorter than it was and I had hoped a bit more what happen, but it still moves along reasonably well. Scenes like the paintball war I would have loved to see elaborated on. Simply hearing That she ran and within a few seconds had tagged everyone is not that exciting to read. Again, being told the story from a detached place. The writing is simple and decent enough, but seemed to target more a middle grade reading level.
This is suppose to be a series but I am unsure if I will continue. I don't like not finishing a series but I just had a hard time really enjoying this one. While it isn't bad, I felt like I was reading simply to say I read. No deep pleasure which I love felling with a book.
2020- So I restarted this without reading my own review. I had decided to continue the series. It nagged at me for a couple years. I had completely forgotten the end but I guess that was because of the pace change, it when into the "contemporary romance" zone with less science or action parts. I liked Lucas's character and Quess a lot. I hope Quess plays a bigger role in future books. She is a clever young lady! Harrington confused me and I just could never peg down his character. Maybe more clarity in the next book.
My main issue was Kaitlyn. I felt strangely detached from her. She was created to not have emotions or feelings yet she does. but how that came across to me as a reader was empty. I didn't feel much curiosity and for all she is suppose to feel and understand she goes along with what everyone else tells her WAY to easily. So I got no distinct personality. No idea what she does or doesn't like. At the VERY end I get a brief glimmer finally but the rest was just being told what she felt. I was definitely an audience member and not a part of this story.
Lucas' perspective was a bit better but even he was rather dull. I like getting to really know the main characters. Their personalities and quirks and this book is void of that for just about anyone.
The story itself was easy to read. It seemed shorter than it was and I had hoped a bit more what happen, but it still moves along reasonably well. Scenes like the paintball war I would have loved to see elaborated on. Simply hearing That she ran and within a few seconds had tagged everyone is not that exciting to read. Again, being told the story from a detached place. The writing is simple and decent enough, but seemed to target more a middle grade reading level.
This is suppose to be a series but I am unsure if I will continue. I don't like not finishing a series but I just had a hard time really enjoying this one. While it isn't bad, I felt like I was reading simply to say I read. No deep pleasure which I love felling with a book.
2020- So I restarted this without reading my own review. I had decided to continue the series. It nagged at me for a couple years. I had completely forgotten the end but I guess that was because of the pace change, it when into the "contemporary romance" zone with less science or action parts. I liked Lucas's character and Quess a lot. I hope Quess plays a bigger role in future books. She is a clever young lady! Harrington confused me and I just could never peg down his character. Maybe more clarity in the next book.
May 3, 2019
Freak of Nature was honestly a random book that I picked off of my romance package on the audible app. I did, however, enjoy the book and it definitely flew by this morning.
Now I don't think I've read a book about a person donating themselves (and their body) to science.. so this was intriguing. Then when I met the main characters, Kaitlyn and Lucas, I was interested to say the least.. but I wasn't fully invested in them. More so in Kaitlyn, I don't know what it is but there was something about her that rubbed me the wrong way. It had nothing to do with what she did and how she was different than before but something was off about her. I guess it's hard to explain.
Then there's Lucas, who was ally towards her and they sort of had this little romance going on but I wasn't into it. Maybe because it felt a bit forced to my ears but I was definitely taking a step back to go with the flow of everything. I wish my opinion on them would've changed but it really didn't.
Overall, it was a nice short book and I might dive into the next one if I come across it in either KU or my audible but I wont go out of my way to look for them.
Now I don't think I've read a book about a person donating themselves (and their body) to science.. so this was intriguing. Then when I met the main characters, Kaitlyn and Lucas, I was interested to say the least.. but I wasn't fully invested in them. More so in Kaitlyn, I don't know what it is but there was something about her that rubbed me the wrong way. It had nothing to do with what she did and how she was different than before but something was off about her. I guess it's hard to explain.
Then there's Lucas, who was ally towards her and they sort of had this little romance going on but I wasn't into it. Maybe because it felt a bit forced to my ears but I was definitely taking a step back to go with the flow of everything. I wish my opinion on them would've changed but it really didn't.
Overall, it was a nice short book and I might dive into the next one if I come across it in either KU or my audible but I wont go out of my way to look for them.
September 10, 2013
(Source: I won a digital copy of this book. Thanks to author Julia Crane.)
17-year-old Kaitlyn was in an accident, and ended up getting turned into some kind of half-human, half-robotic freak.
Kaitlyn does have some emotions, and she thinks that Lucas – one of the boys who works with her, is hot. She also knows the lab doesn’t feel like home, but she doesn’t know where home is.
Where is home for Kaitlyn? How can she feel something for Lucas when she’s mostly robot? And will her life ever be her own?
I wanted to like this book, but right from the beginning I knew I wouldn’t.
Kaitlyn was just a robot. I mean seriously. Even without the blue patches and stuff – she was a robot. She claimed to have feelings, but I didn’t feel them. She supposedly loved it when Lucas kissed her – I didn’t feel it. For me Kaitlyn was a robot, and one that I couldn’t connect with or understand at all. I have felt more empathy for a toaster than I felt for her.
The storyline for me was pretty dull. I don’t know why, this should have been good, but I just couldn’t get into the story, I couldn’t bring myself to care, and the whole thing just felt like a lead weight around my neck. I put this book down so many times it was ridiculous.
Another problem was that there was so little explanation, which started to really annoy me. Kaitlyn was supposed to be mostly robot, yet then they sampled blood from her arm. So her arm is still human is it? Or are they running blood through the robot parts? Her heart was supposed to be robotic, so then was it just for show? Or did it really pump blood? Because surely her brain still needed blood? But then if her brain is human – how do they ‘upload’ stuff to it?
I could seriously go on all day with these types of questions, and they’re the sort of questions that really annoy me. I am so annoyed with how poorly thought out all this sci-fi stuff was, that I want to scream.
Then there was the romance. OMG. What an utter load of tosh. Kaitlyn who is supposed to have ‘feelings’ (I don’t believe it) claims to like Lucas – yet hang on a minute, she doesn’t even know what that word means does she? Then there’s Lucas, who thinks that Kaitlyn is a robot, but wants to get it on with her anyway. I mean what? Does he get all hot and bothered in an electronics shop? Does the latest Dyson model make him want to get his rocks off? Because I really don’t see how he had this fascination with Kaitlyn. This wasn’t a romance, or love, it was some kind of kinky robot fetish, and I wasn’t impressed.
I also wasn’t impressed with how believable this book was, the whole thing was just an unbelievable fantasy-fetish mess, and I didn’t even believe the sincerity of the characters. Lucas would say something, and I would just be like ‘what?’, I had a hard time believing anything that came out of his mouth to be honest, and most of the other characters were just downright annoying.
For me this whole book was unbelievable, unentertaining, and downright annoying, and I really wish I hadn’t be swayed by the pretty cover – because that’s the best part of this book unfortunately.
Overall; unbelievable, unentertaining, and annoying.
1.5 out of 10.
17-year-old Kaitlyn was in an accident, and ended up getting turned into some kind of half-human, half-robotic freak.
Kaitlyn does have some emotions, and she thinks that Lucas – one of the boys who works with her, is hot. She also knows the lab doesn’t feel like home, but she doesn’t know where home is.
Where is home for Kaitlyn? How can she feel something for Lucas when she’s mostly robot? And will her life ever be her own?
I wanted to like this book, but right from the beginning I knew I wouldn’t.
Kaitlyn was just a robot. I mean seriously. Even without the blue patches and stuff – she was a robot. She claimed to have feelings, but I didn’t feel them. She supposedly loved it when Lucas kissed her – I didn’t feel it. For me Kaitlyn was a robot, and one that I couldn’t connect with or understand at all. I have felt more empathy for a toaster than I felt for her.
The storyline for me was pretty dull. I don’t know why, this should have been good, but I just couldn’t get into the story, I couldn’t bring myself to care, and the whole thing just felt like a lead weight around my neck. I put this book down so many times it was ridiculous.
Another problem was that there was so little explanation, which started to really annoy me. Kaitlyn was supposed to be mostly robot, yet then they sampled blood from her arm. So her arm is still human is it? Or are they running blood through the robot parts? Her heart was supposed to be robotic, so then was it just for show? Or did it really pump blood? Because surely her brain still needed blood? But then if her brain is human – how do they ‘upload’ stuff to it?
I could seriously go on all day with these types of questions, and they’re the sort of questions that really annoy me. I am so annoyed with how poorly thought out all this sci-fi stuff was, that I want to scream.
Then there was the romance. OMG. What an utter load of tosh. Kaitlyn who is supposed to have ‘feelings’ (I don’t believe it) claims to like Lucas – yet hang on a minute, she doesn’t even know what that word means does she? Then there’s Lucas, who thinks that Kaitlyn is a robot, but wants to get it on with her anyway. I mean what? Does he get all hot and bothered in an electronics shop? Does the latest Dyson model make him want to get his rocks off? Because I really don’t see how he had this fascination with Kaitlyn. This wasn’t a romance, or love, it was some kind of kinky robot fetish, and I wasn’t impressed.
I also wasn’t impressed with how believable this book was, the whole thing was just an unbelievable fantasy-fetish mess, and I didn’t even believe the sincerity of the characters. Lucas would say something, and I would just be like ‘what?’, I had a hard time believing anything that came out of his mouth to be honest, and most of the other characters were just downright annoying.
For me this whole book was unbelievable, unentertaining, and downright annoying, and I really wish I hadn’t be swayed by the pretty cover – because that’s the best part of this book unfortunately.
Overall; unbelievable, unentertaining, and annoying.
1.5 out of 10.
November 12, 2013
How far I got: 16%
I don't usually stop reading a book so early, but I just can't continue. This book is chalk-full of mistakes and it feels as though nobody even proofread it! Seriously... I mean, they can't even get the narration straight. It is told in third person narration, but look at this quote:
A part of Kaitlyn was curious to find out more about her past, but another part didn't want to know. What good would it do to find out she had family and friends who thought she was dead? It wasn't like she could just stroll back into her old life and start over. No, that life was dead and buried. It should stay that way.
I think.
"I think"??? Who the f**k is "I"????? And why is he/she thinking when he/she is supposed to be telling us a story?? Holy man, this is a mistake that just should not slip through the cracks.
A homonym mistake:
Jimmy thinks your sexy...
Really?!? This is my biggest pet peeve! If Jimmy thinks you're sexy, then he thinks you are sexy and an abbreviation needs to be used: you are=you're! "Your" is used like this: "I'm not finishing your book." It's possessive. It does not mean you are!
A typo that should have been caught:
She had never given it much though. It didn't really mater to her where she was from.
Do I need to continue? And I only got to the 16% mark. Oh my. I know I'm being incredible hard on this book, but these things really, truly bother the heck out of me! I mean, a couple mistakes, fine. But a whole whackload of super obvious ones (especially that narration boo-boo), c'mon. Get a freaking proofreader! Sorry. I could rant about this all day!
Okay, so it wasn't just about the sloppiness. I also really wasn't into the novel. There were too many things I instantly didn't like and I just know that it will take me forever to get through and I will be constantly wishing I wasn't forcing myself to read it. Having said that, I may have continued -- begrudgingly -- if it weren't for the lack of proofreading.
I didn't care for the way in which the perspectives switched. The third chapter suddenly switches perspectives from Kaitlyn to Lucas with no warning and nothing saying that we are switching. Normally, this is okay and doable. BUT, the first paragraph didn't even say a name. It just said "him". Well, "him" could be any freaking dude! So, that wasn't very well done, in my opinion.
I also didn't like the way that the story just jumps right into Kaitlyn and Lucas being hot for each other. It's rather hard for me to get into the romance when I know nothing about the characters. How about a little character development first?! I found it odd that Kaitlyn was even capable of having feelings for Lucas, considering she is incapable of feeling emotion (she is part human, part robot)!
So, all these reasons plus the fact that I was bored pushed me to putting it down for good.
I don't usually stop reading a book so early, but I just can't continue. This book is chalk-full of mistakes and it feels as though nobody even proofread it! Seriously... I mean, they can't even get the narration straight. It is told in third person narration, but look at this quote:
A part of Kaitlyn was curious to find out more about her past, but another part didn't want to know. What good would it do to find out she had family and friends who thought she was dead? It wasn't like she could just stroll back into her old life and start over. No, that life was dead and buried. It should stay that way.
I think.
"I think"??? Who the f**k is "I"????? And why is he/she thinking when he/she is supposed to be telling us a story?? Holy man, this is a mistake that just should not slip through the cracks.
A homonym mistake:
Jimmy thinks your sexy...
Really?!? This is my biggest pet peeve! If Jimmy thinks you're sexy, then he thinks you are sexy and an abbreviation needs to be used: you are=you're! "Your" is used like this: "I'm not finishing your book." It's possessive. It does not mean you are!
A typo that should have been caught:
She had never given it much though. It didn't really mater to her where she was from.
Do I need to continue? And I only got to the 16% mark. Oh my. I know I'm being incredible hard on this book, but these things really, truly bother the heck out of me! I mean, a couple mistakes, fine. But a whole whackload of super obvious ones (especially that narration boo-boo), c'mon. Get a freaking proofreader! Sorry. I could rant about this all day!
Okay, so it wasn't just about the sloppiness. I also really wasn't into the novel. There were too many things I instantly didn't like and I just know that it will take me forever to get through and I will be constantly wishing I wasn't forcing myself to read it. Having said that, I may have continued -- begrudgingly -- if it weren't for the lack of proofreading.
I didn't care for the way in which the perspectives switched. The third chapter suddenly switches perspectives from Kaitlyn to Lucas with no warning and nothing saying that we are switching. Normally, this is okay and doable. BUT, the first paragraph didn't even say a name. It just said "him". Well, "him" could be any freaking dude! So, that wasn't very well done, in my opinion.
I also didn't like the way that the story just jumps right into Kaitlyn and Lucas being hot for each other. It's rather hard for me to get into the romance when I know nothing about the characters. How about a little character development first?! I found it odd that Kaitlyn was even capable of having feelings for Lucas, considering she is incapable of feeling emotion (she is part human, part robot)!
So, all these reasons plus the fact that I was bored pushed me to putting it down for good.
January 27, 2013
Read it on my blog, in both English and Romanian.
http://vanillamoonblog.com/2013/01/27...
Actual rating: 3.5/5
I would like to start this review by thanking Lizzy Ford, who gifted me this ebook on Amazon. Without her, I wouldn't have discovered this great series and author.
I usually know right from the start when I'm holding a good book in my hand... or a Kindle with a great ebook on the screen. I was hooked right from the very first pages. Kaitlyn is a very intriguing character, after all she's half human, half robot. The most interesting thing is that those who have created her have tried to erase all of her human personality, her memories, her entire being and her feelings. But humans don't work like that. You can't switch a button and turn off how someone is. So Kaitlyn, despite losing her memories and all, still has feelings, but she has learnt to hide them, to put on a blank look so she doesn't lose what little she has left.
Feeling is one thing, however understanding what each emotion means is another. Kaitlyn is struggling to understand why sometimes she feels like doing certain things that currently don't mean anything to her, like rolling her eyes.
"Kaitlyn reminded herself. Human emotions and reactions are nothing more than synapses firing, telling the brain what to do. For Kaitlyn, though, they weren't as strong anymore - the ghosts of feelings, just beyond her reach. But she knew they were there, and she knew she had them for Lucas - good feelings."
Luckilly for her, Quess is there to help. She knows Kaitlyn is more than a robot and I must say that the dialogues between the two are hilarious as Kaitlyn doesn't understand the slang expressions Quess uses. More interesting is the relationship Kaitlyn develops with Lucas once he learns that she still has feelings. While I think is a little unrealistic for a man to fall in love with a robot designed to be a perfect killing machine, this whole concept intrigues me. And since I got to experience the story from Kaitlyn's and Lucas' points of view, I was actually cheering for them.
Now as much as I loved the story development and characters, I was a little bothered by how simple everything ended. I think I was expecting a more dramatic turn of events, but even so, the book let me wanting for more, which is a good thing since this is a first in a series. There were a few typos that found their way into the book, but I think I can count them using my fingers, so I will not make a big deal out of it.
All in all, I highly recommend this book to all SF/Romance lovers who want to engage in a new and unique series. And since it is a quick read of only 167 pages, I think you should give it a try.
http://vanillamoonblog.com/2013/01/27...
Actual rating: 3.5/5
I would like to start this review by thanking Lizzy Ford, who gifted me this ebook on Amazon. Without her, I wouldn't have discovered this great series and author.
I usually know right from the start when I'm holding a good book in my hand... or a Kindle with a great ebook on the screen. I was hooked right from the very first pages. Kaitlyn is a very intriguing character, after all she's half human, half robot. The most interesting thing is that those who have created her have tried to erase all of her human personality, her memories, her entire being and her feelings. But humans don't work like that. You can't switch a button and turn off how someone is. So Kaitlyn, despite losing her memories and all, still has feelings, but she has learnt to hide them, to put on a blank look so she doesn't lose what little she has left.
Feeling is one thing, however understanding what each emotion means is another. Kaitlyn is struggling to understand why sometimes she feels like doing certain things that currently don't mean anything to her, like rolling her eyes.
"Kaitlyn reminded herself. Human emotions and reactions are nothing more than synapses firing, telling the brain what to do. For Kaitlyn, though, they weren't as strong anymore - the ghosts of feelings, just beyond her reach. But she knew they were there, and she knew she had them for Lucas - good feelings."
Luckilly for her, Quess is there to help. She knows Kaitlyn is more than a robot and I must say that the dialogues between the two are hilarious as Kaitlyn doesn't understand the slang expressions Quess uses. More interesting is the relationship Kaitlyn develops with Lucas once he learns that she still has feelings. While I think is a little unrealistic for a man to fall in love with a robot designed to be a perfect killing machine, this whole concept intrigues me. And since I got to experience the story from Kaitlyn's and Lucas' points of view, I was actually cheering for them.
Now as much as I loved the story development and characters, I was a little bothered by how simple everything ended. I think I was expecting a more dramatic turn of events, but even so, the book let me wanting for more, which is a good thing since this is a first in a series. There were a few typos that found their way into the book, but I think I can count them using my fingers, so I will not make a big deal out of it.
All in all, I highly recommend this book to all SF/Romance lovers who want to engage in a new and unique series. And since it is a quick read of only 167 pages, I think you should give it a try.
January 29, 2013
I received a ARC copy of Freak of Nature by Julia Crane. In my opinion this was her best book to date. It is considered NA instead of the usual YA that she usually writes but it was done emotionally and beautifully. I feel in love with each and every character in the story. Kaitlyn was a character that you watched bloom from a cyborg freak of nature into a young woman falling in love with Lucas and wants her previous life death not to be in vain. Lucas starts out as one of her creators but through the journey he felt guilty for the life that was taken from her too early in her life. Her friendship with Quess helped her in gaining the bits and pieces of her past but also helped shape her future. The author always shows so much love and care into each and everyone of her characters as if they were her children. Through my following of her writing career I love how she is able to create spin-offs of her books focusing on a different character as lead but each one an intricate part of the story. I hope to see more of Kaitlyn story with Lucas and hope to see more of their love story develope along with her growth and independence in her new role in life along with her friendship with Quess.
March 1, 2014
I honestly wish that I could give this book more than 2 stars. I've never had this dilemma where I feel that a book has so much potential but it just isn't reached. I adore sci-fi. Terminator is one of my all time favorite movies. Hell, wrap me up Sam Worthington from Terminator Salvation in a bow. But, I digress. The cover of this book captivated me, as did the synopsis. Kaitlyn is a great character. She basically has been turned into a cyborg after donating her body to science. The conflict in her, human emotions infiltrating her when she should be devoid of any, her almost childlike ignorance of things, I enjoyed. I liked our main man too. Just not enough. I truly believe that if these characters were more developed, this would be such an incredibly awesome series. I needed Lucas to be a bit more badass, more tough, and perhaps show his damaged side a bit more. We get a glimpse at the end of the book when he gets jealous of Kaitlyn training with another man (Cue in love triangle for book 2). I was like, ahhhhhh, finally, some Rawr! But no, basically the book was over. And the way it was ended? No. Too neat in a little bow. I like my endings two ways. Either an HEA but with the utter and complete knowledge that the story is not over by any means and I MUST know what happens next. Or, setting two. An agonizing rip my intestines out cliffie (gah! I hate that). The ending didn't give me that hunger I need to read the next one. All this being said I must give a huge positive. This book series has so much potential. It just needs a kick in the ass a bit. It is well written and an easy read which I love. I will continue to follow the series just because I'm so intrigued by the originality and how it will turn out. Thank you to Ms. Crane, Indie Ink, and NetGalley for the arc. I received no cookies in exchange for this unbiased review.
January 10, 2013
Freak of Nature
By Julia Crane
“The world is the same as it has always been but one split second decision could change everything; one choice to check one box will undeniably change your life.”
Freak of Nature allows you to venture with Kaitlyn, the world’s first cyborg. When she checked the box while getting her drivers license stating she would donate her body for science, she never thought it could actually happen to her. Kaitlyn had died and she had no idea how or why but the people who have added mechanical parts and computers have failed to notice that Kaitlyn is very aware of what has been done to her. Her friendship with Dr. Adam’s granddaughter, Quess, reveals that she has to keep her emotions in check or they can take them away, forever.
Lucas is the resident whiz kid that helped create Kaitlyn but he allows her to feel human again. She realizes that she cannot comprehend her emotions towards Lucas and all of the logic that they inputted into her memory banks cannot change the fact that she was irrevocably drawn to Lucas on an emotional level. What can Kaitlyn do when she falls harder for Lucas, and builds a friendship with Quess, but cannot express or show that she is in fact still human even with her mechanical parts?
They train her to be stealth and her sensors allow her to be even better than any soldier, the question is why?
Freak of Nature will have you on the edge of your seat and with a lump in your throat the whole time. How do you fit into a world that won’t accept that you too have emotions? This book is Sparring Stepsister approved with a raving 5 stars!
By Julia Crane
“The world is the same as it has always been but one split second decision could change everything; one choice to check one box will undeniably change your life.”
Freak of Nature allows you to venture with Kaitlyn, the world’s first cyborg. When she checked the box while getting her drivers license stating she would donate her body for science, she never thought it could actually happen to her. Kaitlyn had died and she had no idea how or why but the people who have added mechanical parts and computers have failed to notice that Kaitlyn is very aware of what has been done to her. Her friendship with Dr. Adam’s granddaughter, Quess, reveals that she has to keep her emotions in check or they can take them away, forever.
Lucas is the resident whiz kid that helped create Kaitlyn but he allows her to feel human again. She realizes that she cannot comprehend her emotions towards Lucas and all of the logic that they inputted into her memory banks cannot change the fact that she was irrevocably drawn to Lucas on an emotional level. What can Kaitlyn do when she falls harder for Lucas, and builds a friendship with Quess, but cannot express or show that she is in fact still human even with her mechanical parts?
They train her to be stealth and her sensors allow her to be even better than any soldier, the question is why?
Freak of Nature will have you on the edge of your seat and with a lump in your throat the whole time. How do you fit into a world that won’t accept that you too have emotions? This book is Sparring Stepsister approved with a raving 5 stars!
March 11, 2020
OH LOOK another book that I thought would have a plot ,but instead it's all about hormones. * How very typical YA of you *
At about five chapters in I was over it . Some people think that DNFing a book so early on is SACRILEGIOUS or something , but honestly ,I'm lucky I even made it that far. 😂😂
In my humble opinion if the author had started writing later in the story , there would be a lot more going on than testing , learning how to be human , and just general ... Snooze fest material ???
When people read a book they want to read about something exciting happening , especially when said book is not supposed to be a ROMANCE novel . There was so much potential for something interesting happening instead we were reminded at every opportunity that ;
" THE MC IS HOT " 😎😲* mind blown *
" The MC is a cyborg but she has *GASP * electric pulses though her when this dude touches her AND SHE'S NOT SUPPOSED TO FEEL !! " * So much scAnDaL !!* 😲🤯
How many times do we need to hear it we're not stupid . Also we don't really care if she's hot or he's hot because that's NOT EVEN THE POINT !! I'm so sick of the stupid cookie cutter regurgitated characters we're given .
It seems like that's all we ever really get to know about the characters , like that's they're personality they're HOT ??? That's the reason that I'm supposed to be ROOTING for them ??
March 4, 2013
The moment I set my eyes on that cover, I knew I had to read it. Yes, I am cover crazy like that. Good thing is that the book did not disappoint.
This book had me hooked from the very first page. What got my attention was the really innovative and mind-boggling plot. It sparked an interest in me instantly. I finished reading this book in less than two days as I couldn’t pull myself away from it.
Another brilliant work on the author’s part was the attention to minute details which I heartily applaud. Writing about a non-human, a robot and making sure all the facts you mention collaborate with one another is a huge task and Julia Crane carried it amazingly well on her able shoulders. I have a sharp editing mind and can easily catch such errors in the writing, so to find a lack of it was icing on the cake.
The characters – I especially like the fact that there were less characters (less to keep track of, I have a bad short-term memory. :-p ) and very well etched out.
The story moves at a rapid pace (just how I like it). There’s no lag and no pages that should have gotten rid of.
Overall, a very well-written book that has it all. I strongly recommend it.
This book had me hooked from the very first page. What got my attention was the really innovative and mind-boggling plot. It sparked an interest in me instantly. I finished reading this book in less than two days as I couldn’t pull myself away from it.
Another brilliant work on the author’s part was the attention to minute details which I heartily applaud. Writing about a non-human, a robot and making sure all the facts you mention collaborate with one another is a huge task and Julia Crane carried it amazingly well on her able shoulders. I have a sharp editing mind and can easily catch such errors in the writing, so to find a lack of it was icing on the cake.
The characters – I especially like the fact that there were less characters (less to keep track of, I have a bad short-term memory. :-p ) and very well etched out.
The story moves at a rapid pace (just how I like it). There’s no lag and no pages that should have gotten rid of.
Overall, a very well-written book that has it all. I strongly recommend it.
August 31, 2014
Cyborg girl falls in love with one of her creators. Awww!
Not creepy at all. He just took her dead body and brought it back to life with computer parts, stripped her of her memories, programmed her to be the ultimate killing machine, and disconnected any parts of her brain that could feel pain, taste food, or feel emotions. And yet, he feel in love with his creation (because she was hot).
When he found out that she was hiding the fact that she could feel emotions too, and that she loved him....omg! Dilemma time! His job meant that he needed to shut down her emotions, but his heart - oh his heart! The feels! What does a poor evil scientist who creates a freak of nature do when he's in loooove?
This book is all about identity, and a girl's desire to find hers when it has all been stripped away. Interesting, but very short. It could be the origin story of a cool new super hero. Maybe. We will have to see.
Not creepy at all. He just took her dead body and brought it back to life with computer parts, stripped her of her memories, programmed her to be the ultimate killing machine, and disconnected any parts of her brain that could feel pain, taste food, or feel emotions. And yet, he feel in love with his creation (because she was hot).
When he found out that she was hiding the fact that she could feel emotions too, and that she loved him....omg! Dilemma time! His job meant that he needed to shut down her emotions, but his heart - oh his heart! The feels! What does a poor evil scientist who creates a freak of nature do when he's in loooove?
This book is all about identity, and a girl's desire to find hers when it has all been stripped away. Interesting, but very short. It could be the origin story of a cool new super hero. Maybe. We will have to see.
Want to read
December 13, 2012Whatever is going on with this cover..I want to find out!
July 28, 2017
Nope, nope, nope, noooope.
Trigger Warnings for rape.
I don't even know where to start with this book. Ok, let's start with the story itself. Girl gets turned into a robot --well, half a robot, though I was never sure what of her was the robot and what wasn't-- but surprise, surprise, she still has feelings. Somehow, she decides that she needs to hide those feelings otherwise the scientist will take them away from her. Ok, that makes sense. However, some chapters after that, we are told that her friend Quess told her to hide it... It might have been me, but I was confused by almost everything in this book, very few things were clear to me.
This book is so unrealistic, and the worse thing is that the unrealistic part of it doesn't really come from the Scifi part the book, rather it comes from the real, modern day humans.
Let's talk about Quess. She's supposed to be 13-14 years old and was sent to her grandparents' house for bad behaviour. Well, the Quess in this book behaved sometimes like a 10-year-old, and yeah I guess that would be considered "bad behaviour." But why on earth Also, the name of the corporation and the series... that was just annoying.
Another thing I didn't like was the romance (if it could even be called that). Kaitlyn (the main character robot with feelings) wakes up and sees this gorgeous doctor, Lucas, and is all she can think about through the entire damn book. And Lucas?
Although I didn't love Lucas, I definitely think this book would've been a lot better with just his narrative.
Now let's talk about that trigger warning. This is a YA sci-fi of a half robot girl with feelings.
It's all about her hiding and dealing with her new life when out of nowhere there's a rape going on. No clues or anything (which could've been included earlier in the book). The synopsis on goodreads says "*For mature teens due to some sexual content." Now, it says some sexual content,
and earlier in the story, there was the prospect of sex, I figured that was it and would happen again and again until the lovebirds could finally get it done. "some sexual content is not enough of warning when the book contains (while not too explicit) a rape scene and threats.
In short:
-Characters: Unrealistic.
-Plot: Unrealistic.
-Kaitlyn's "birth:" Unclear. Everything from how she comes to exists and how they program her is unclear and confusing.
-Writing style: Boring and confusing.
In case you hadn't noticed, no I do not recommend this book.
Trigger Warnings for rape.
I don't even know where to start with this book. Ok, let's start with the story itself. Girl gets turned into a robot --well, half a robot, though I was never sure what of her was the robot and what wasn't-- but surprise, surprise, she still has feelings. Somehow, she decides that she needs to hide those feelings otherwise the scientist will take them away from her. Ok, that makes sense. However, some chapters after that, we are told that her friend Quess told her to hide it... It might have been me, but I was confused by almost everything in this book, very few things were clear to me.
This book is so unrealistic, and the worse thing is that the unrealistic part of it doesn't really come from the Scifi part the book, rather it comes from the real, modern day humans.
Let's talk about Quess. She's supposed to be 13-14 years old and was sent to her grandparents' house for bad behaviour. Well, the Quess in this book behaved sometimes like a 10-year-old, and yeah I guess that would be considered "bad behaviour." But why on earth Also, the name of the corporation and the series... that was just annoying.
Another thing I didn't like was the romance (if it could even be called that). Kaitlyn (the main character robot with feelings) wakes up and sees this gorgeous doctor, Lucas, and is all she can think about through the entire damn book. And Lucas?
Although I didn't love Lucas, I definitely think this book would've been a lot better with just his narrative.
Now let's talk about that trigger warning. This is a YA sci-fi of a half robot girl with feelings.
It's all about her hiding and dealing with her new life when out of nowhere there's a rape going on. No clues or anything (which could've been included earlier in the book). The synopsis on goodreads says "*For mature teens due to some sexual content." Now, it says some sexual content,
and earlier in the story, there was the prospect of sex, I figured that was it and would happen again and again until the lovebirds could finally get it done. "some sexual content is not enough of warning when the book contains (while not too explicit) a rape scene and threats.
In short:
-Characters: Unrealistic.
-Plot: Unrealistic.
-Kaitlyn's "birth:" Unclear. Everything from how she comes to exists and how they program her is unclear and confusing.
-Writing style: Boring and confusing.
In case you hadn't noticed, no I do not recommend this book.
October 13, 2013
Excuse me while I run around my house and share awesome scenes of this book with my brother...
This book was incredible.
I nearly passed it up because it fell in the doomed category of New Adult, which if I'm being honest has become saturated with so much cliches and tropes that I have started to lose faith in it.
Well, then Freak of Nature came along!
This story was amazing.
To the point where I believe I read this in total for about 12 hours (I had to sleep don't judge me)
The story-line flowed effortlessly. The lead character was amazingly likable. The author did something that is very rarely done in this New Adult genre--she wrote in third person and she got into all the characters heads. She made you totally empathetic to Kate and what had been done to her (against her will), and how no matter how much they made Kate a Cyborg her own human mind overrode programming to maintain her emotions and her free mind.
I don't think I have seen a Cyborg movie as good as this book was. I was totally drawn into this world that appears to be set in now--2014 I believe, but still, the really current future.
I loved the subtle romance element that they tossed in. They didn't beat you over the head with it like a sledgehammer they eased you into the idea.
Kate is a powerfully written female lead that I would LOVE for my daughter to read when she got old enough to read this book with the slight sexual content that is in it. It is very hard to put into words why I think people should read this book. Mainly, it was a great journey. The author is just a damned good writer and weaved a story that showed you the evolution of not just one character but all of them.
I am very intrigued by Erik--her new partner.
I keep thinking of Ray Stevenson when I think about him. I see Ksenia Solo as Kate, and I kinda see Kellen Lutz as Lucas because I think he could pull off 'pretty nerd'. I am so glad I decided to jump my netgalley list and read this. The only problem is, I am not waiting on book two, and I now have to read all Julia's other books!
This book is so far the best book I have read in 2013. I promise I'm not gushing, it is just fact. It is everything a new adult book should be.
*I received a copy of this book from Julia Crane/Indie Inked via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.*
This book was incredible.
I nearly passed it up because it fell in the doomed category of New Adult, which if I'm being honest has become saturated with so much cliches and tropes that I have started to lose faith in it.
Well, then Freak of Nature came along!
This story was amazing.
To the point where I believe I read this in total for about 12 hours (I had to sleep don't judge me)
The story-line flowed effortlessly. The lead character was amazingly likable. The author did something that is very rarely done in this New Adult genre--she wrote in third person and she got into all the characters heads. She made you totally empathetic to Kate and what had been done to her (against her will), and how no matter how much they made Kate a Cyborg her own human mind overrode programming to maintain her emotions and her free mind.
I don't think I have seen a Cyborg movie as good as this book was. I was totally drawn into this world that appears to be set in now--2014 I believe, but still, the really current future.
I loved the subtle romance element that they tossed in. They didn't beat you over the head with it like a sledgehammer they eased you into the idea.
Kate is a powerfully written female lead that I would LOVE for my daughter to read when she got old enough to read this book with the slight sexual content that is in it. It is very hard to put into words why I think people should read this book. Mainly, it was a great journey. The author is just a damned good writer and weaved a story that showed you the evolution of not just one character but all of them.
I am very intrigued by Erik--her new partner.
I keep thinking of Ray Stevenson when I think about him. I see Ksenia Solo as Kate, and I kinda see Kellen Lutz as Lucas because I think he could pull off 'pretty nerd'. I am so glad I decided to jump my netgalley list and read this. The only problem is, I am not waiting on book two, and I now have to read all Julia's other books!
This book is so far the best book I have read in 2013. I promise I'm not gushing, it is just fact. It is everything a new adult book should be.
*I received a copy of this book from Julia Crane/Indie Inked via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.*
February 21, 2013
Julia Crane has created magic, again in her introduction to her new series, IFICS! While still a Young Adult novel, there is a disclaimer saying it is for mature teens, nothing graphic, but probably a good warning.
A vibrant seventeen-year-old girl has 'checked' the box saying she wants her body donated to science if anything happens to her, never thinking she would become a science project for a group trying to develop cyborgs. From page one, after Kaitlyn wakes up to find herself half-human, half-machine, we are taken into another world, where science rules over humanity. Kaitlyn, cut off from the world, functions as a machine to those around here, processing only what they have programmed into her, or so it seems. She is stronger, faster, has keen sensors imbedded, making her an almost invincible perfect fighting machine with no memory of her past. But somewhere inside of her, there are faint whisperings and images of a boy, Evan. She shares this only with her one human friend, the quirky and loyal Quess.
The young genius, Lucas, one of the masterminds behind her creation and 'success' is finding he has feelings for Kaitlyn. He in turn, stirs something in Kaitlyn that she does not understand, after all, her brain is pretty much just a computer, right? When there is a possibility that Kaitlyn will be sold to the government as a secret weapon, Lucas helps her escape, but she is unprepared for the world and must adapt quickly. He also gives her back her memories with a new chip implant.
How does Kaitlyn react to these memories? What will she do? Where will she go? Where will she be truly safe?
Every character is unique and play their part beautifully. The world-building flowed seamlessly along and the action gets intense with very emotional scenes. If you like Sci-fi, this is for you! If you like fantasy, this is for you! If you like some romance, this is for you! Or, if you just want a good read that is hard to put down, its right here! Loved. It!
A vibrant seventeen-year-old girl has 'checked' the box saying she wants her body donated to science if anything happens to her, never thinking she would become a science project for a group trying to develop cyborgs. From page one, after Kaitlyn wakes up to find herself half-human, half-machine, we are taken into another world, where science rules over humanity. Kaitlyn, cut off from the world, functions as a machine to those around here, processing only what they have programmed into her, or so it seems. She is stronger, faster, has keen sensors imbedded, making her an almost invincible perfect fighting machine with no memory of her past. But somewhere inside of her, there are faint whisperings and images of a boy, Evan. She shares this only with her one human friend, the quirky and loyal Quess.
The young genius, Lucas, one of the masterminds behind her creation and 'success' is finding he has feelings for Kaitlyn. He in turn, stirs something in Kaitlyn that she does not understand, after all, her brain is pretty much just a computer, right? When there is a possibility that Kaitlyn will be sold to the government as a secret weapon, Lucas helps her escape, but she is unprepared for the world and must adapt quickly. He also gives her back her memories with a new chip implant.
How does Kaitlyn react to these memories? What will she do? Where will she go? Where will she be truly safe?
Every character is unique and play their part beautifully. The world-building flowed seamlessly along and the action gets intense with very emotional scenes. If you like Sci-fi, this is for you! If you like fantasy, this is for you! If you like some romance, this is for you! Or, if you just want a good read that is hard to put down, its right here! Loved. It!
December 31, 2016
I received a copy of this book from Netgalley.
It has taken me several years just to read this book but I finally got around to it. The cover is fantastic. But sometimes with a nice cover comes a bad book.
Apparently, others disliked this book. I can see why but I ended up liking it. I don't know, I guess I'm strange.
I do think the book needed some more polishing. I think Crane needed to add more information to her story. I was able to follow that Katelyn is a human turned robot. I pictured more of a Robocop type. I was under the impression that they kept half of her brain and her skin and outer parts but mostly took away her organs, and such, inside to make room for the robotics they added to her body. This picture or thought, allowed me to accept the part where Katelyn had emotions. She felt love, attraction, desire and disliked things. She had an opinion about her life and how she wanted to live it but never shared this with others because she didn't want to compromise herself.
I felt like Crane had a good idea. The first half of the book was a little better. Crane was setting up her story and her characters but by the later half of the book, things took a bit of a strange direction for me until the end.
Overall, I think this book was a fun escape. I think a younger audience would enjoy it more but parents beware there is mention of sex. I think Crane needed to add more information thus, adding more depth to the story. However, by adding more depth and length to the book and creating deeper concepts in the book, it perhaps would change the audience the book was intended for.
Content: There is kissing, nakedness and talk of sex. Scene fades to black.
I received a copy of the book from Netgalley.
It has taken me several years just to read this book but I finally got around to it. The cover is fantastic. But sometimes with a nice cover comes a bad book.
Apparently, others disliked this book. I can see why but I ended up liking it. I don't know, I guess I'm strange.
I do think the book needed some more polishing. I think Crane needed to add more information to her story. I was able to follow that Katelyn is a human turned robot. I pictured more of a Robocop type. I was under the impression that they kept half of her brain and her skin and outer parts but mostly took away her organs, and such, inside to make room for the robotics they added to her body. This picture or thought, allowed me to accept the part where Katelyn had emotions. She felt love, attraction, desire and disliked things. She had an opinion about her life and how she wanted to live it but never shared this with others because she didn't want to compromise herself.
I felt like Crane had a good idea. The first half of the book was a little better. Crane was setting up her story and her characters but by the later half of the book, things took a bit of a strange direction for me until the end.
Overall, I think this book was a fun escape. I think a younger audience would enjoy it more but parents beware there is mention of sex. I think Crane needed to add more information thus, adding more depth to the story. However, by adding more depth and length to the book and creating deeper concepts in the book, it perhaps would change the audience the book was intended for.
Content: There is kissing, nakedness and talk of sex. Scene fades to black.
I received a copy of the book from Netgalley.
January 8, 2013
This book was amazing! I wasn't really sure what to expect when I started reading it but I soon found out! Freak of Nature was my second Julia Crane book and Julia is quickly becoming an author who's books are making an amazing impression on me! This book was so original! I have never read anything like it before and this is what made me love it! The plot held my interest and I zoomed through it! The plot had quite a bit of action in it and I also loved the development of it! Kaitlyn was the main character of Freak of Nature and I felt so sorry for her! She couldn't remember anything about her past and she had suffered so much! I loved how brave and determined she was though to do good in the world! Lucas was so sweet! He was amazing with Kaitlyn and I loved how protective he was of her as well! I loved that Freak of Nature was told from both Kaitlyn and Lucas's pint of view as you got to see how much Lucas cared for Kaitlyn and also just how strong his feelings for her were! The ending of this book was amazing! It left so much open as to what could happen in the next book which I cannot wait for! The cover gives off the perfect impression of Kaitlyn and I love it! Big thank you to Julia and of course Allison for an ARC of Freak of Nature!
January 21, 2013
4.5 Stars!
I've heard that cyborgs are this new kind of trend thing in YA literature, but I'd never really read anything about them. But when I saw this cover, I knew I had to get my hands on this book.
Kaitlyn is half woman, half robot, and what no one else knows? She's still got her human emotions. And Lucas, the man who has taken care of her since her creation, feels guilty for taking her humanity away. the love story here is so interesting. I loved having both sides of the story from Kaitlyn and Lucas, and seeing them together made me want to melt *swoon*
Another thing I really liked about this book was the huge issue of "donating the body to science." It's a very controversial topic, and I love how central it is to the book. Kaitlyn feels betrayed, empty, robbed of who she was...all because of science using her to create the ultimate super soldier. Deep stuff, and well worth the read.
I loved Kaitlyn's character. She was so strong, indestructible, and fearless, and yet there were moments where she was naive, rash, and jealous...things a robot shouldn't be capable of. I can't wait to see where the rest of this series goes, and I'm excited to see more of Lucas and Kaitlyn! Very highly recommended!
I've heard that cyborgs are this new kind of trend thing in YA literature, but I'd never really read anything about them. But when I saw this cover, I knew I had to get my hands on this book.
Kaitlyn is half woman, half robot, and what no one else knows? She's still got her human emotions. And Lucas, the man who has taken care of her since her creation, feels guilty for taking her humanity away. the love story here is so interesting. I loved having both sides of the story from Kaitlyn and Lucas, and seeing them together made me want to melt *swoon*
Another thing I really liked about this book was the huge issue of "donating the body to science." It's a very controversial topic, and I love how central it is to the book. Kaitlyn feels betrayed, empty, robbed of who she was...all because of science using her to create the ultimate super soldier. Deep stuff, and well worth the read.
I loved Kaitlyn's character. She was so strong, indestructible, and fearless, and yet there were moments where she was naive, rash, and jealous...things a robot shouldn't be capable of. I can't wait to see where the rest of this series goes, and I'm excited to see more of Lucas and Kaitlyn! Very highly recommended!
October 12, 2013
*ARC received via Netgalley*
A great cover and a good story who made me want to read some more.
This is the first book of Julia Crane and I am definitely curious about her other writings after reading Freak of Nature.
Kaitlyn is a science project. When she agreed to donate her body to science when she'll die, she never thought about these consequences. She's still alive, but different. She lives in a boring laboratory or in a cell if you prefer, cameras are watching her at all moments. She's evolving into a robot, a perfect weapon. They're erasing her memories and emotions to be more efficient, or so they said. But they must have missed something because sometimes, she can still feel emotions when Lucas is around her. She must hide it or they'll erase the last piece of humanity inside her too.
More and more, Lucas feels guilty about this 'experiment'. He knows the girl in front of him never agreed to this, but he's the brain of this operation. To whom his loyalty belongs? He's struggling with his feelings.
The end of the book was nicely done, I amlooking forward to the next instalment. I really want to know more about Erik, about the duo and their missions. Lucas's jealousy is also nice to see :).
A great cover and a good story who made me want to read some more.
This is the first book of Julia Crane and I am definitely curious about her other writings after reading Freak of Nature.
Kaitlyn is a science project. When she agreed to donate her body to science when she'll die, she never thought about these consequences. She's still alive, but different. She lives in a boring laboratory or in a cell if you prefer, cameras are watching her at all moments. She's evolving into a robot, a perfect weapon. They're erasing her memories and emotions to be more efficient, or so they said. But they must have missed something because sometimes, she can still feel emotions when Lucas is around her. She must hide it or they'll erase the last piece of humanity inside her too.
More and more, Lucas feels guilty about this 'experiment'. He knows the girl in front of him never agreed to this, but he's the brain of this operation. To whom his loyalty belongs? He's struggling with his feelings.
The end of the book was nicely done, I amlooking forward to the next instalment. I really want to know more about Erik, about the duo and their missions. Lucas's jealousy is also nice to see :).
September 10, 2013
(I received a copy from Netgalley, in exchange for an honest review)
I didn't like this one, it was boring.
The main character, Kaitlyn, was a really boring character.
She really was a robot. She talked like one, thought like one, and most of the time, acted like one.
The way Kaitlyn talked reminded me of my year ten science teacher. His voice always stayed on one boring level, and would even make "i won one million pounds" sound depressing.
Every time Kaitlyn said something, i felt really sleepy.
The romance aspect was also boring. I didn't feel their love for each other at all.
I also really hated the lack of explanations.
I only liked two things, and one of them didn't have anything to do with the story at all.
I liked how she helped the woman who was getting attacked, and the robot at the end of each chapter.
That robot was seriously cute.
This wasn't a fun read at all for me, and i wont be reading book two.
I didn't like this one, it was boring.
The main character, Kaitlyn, was a really boring character.
She really was a robot. She talked like one, thought like one, and most of the time, acted like one.
The way Kaitlyn talked reminded me of my year ten science teacher. His voice always stayed on one boring level, and would even make "i won one million pounds" sound depressing.
Every time Kaitlyn said something, i felt really sleepy.
The romance aspect was also boring. I didn't feel their love for each other at all.
I also really hated the lack of explanations.
I only liked two things, and one of them didn't have anything to do with the story at all.
I liked how she helped the woman who was getting attacked, and the robot at the end of each chapter.
That robot was seriously cute.
This wasn't a fun read at all for me, and i wont be reading book two.
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