I wish I had liked this book more. The magic-building is quite interesting in concept and I enjoyed the parts that delved into the system and world surrounding it. But the characters are obnoxious. I could not connect with a single one and I actively disliked a few. The prose itself was also clunky and all the characters' voices sounded the same when the point-of-view would change. Unfortunately, this one was not for me.

"This was an entertaining read to share with the children. They found it fun and easy to listen to while I read it to them. This was an entertaining read for children, but I felt that it fell short on the comprehensive levels of young adults (mature) and adults that enjoy this genre. I took the time to let this soak in and read one chapter at a time per evening and on weekends we would get two or three chapters done each day.

I still found the read to be more on the level of the younger children and then I still had one of my pre-teens ask why this happen or why that occurred the way it did. "

I couldn't finish the book; I had to give up 11% into it. The female MC is obviously in love with herself. One second she'd be all like, her kind is blessed -cursed?- with unnatural beauty and the next she'd be like, Why is that boy staring at me? Was something stuck in my hair, some gigantic bug? etc... She'd suddenly go all clueless. The writing style is poor. So is the world building. I know I haven't even reached 25% but that much was clear.

*I received a free copy by NetGalley*

"Well at least it got better"
That's the sentence I would use to define this book. I can honestly say that if it wasn't for my reviewing count, I would have probably left it at DNF at 20%.
Fortunately, everything went up from there. The characters got better, the plot more intrincate, well everything got better in general.

So my advice to fellow readers is do not give up!

Thank you to NetGalley and Kristin Ping for a copy of Hinder in exchange for an honest review.

I was excited to read this novel because it was about "benders" and magic. The whole story was thrilling and there were a lot of great moments that kept my attention. Throughout the novel, Kristin does an excellent job developing her characters and their relationships making it easy connect with them on many levels.

I loved the idea of the benders and wielders and the history of their kind. I can see this being a really fantastic series (although I'm not sure if it will be or not as this could easily be a stand alone novel). Either way, I really enjoyed the novel and could read more!

The only thing that was a little irksome and annoying was the fact that there were quite a few grammatical or punctuation errors that for me were distracting. This is just a pet peeve of mine when it comes to novels. However, I do understand that mistakes happened, but too many just shows that another round of edits needs to happen.

I was intrigued by the premise, but this one lost me from the opening pages... There is a VAST information-dump in the beginning of the book, which made it very hard to follow. In those few pages, I found myself checking repeatedly to be sure that I had started the actual story, not a prologue/teaser. The concept is an interesting one, and the young Ethan presented in the opening pages has potential, but unfortunately once I finally got past the hurried explanations of the entire world underpinning the stories, I was dumped into a teenage Ethan's "camp for supers" and the YA drama and angst over young love (lust?) lost me as surely as the confusing opening... This was not a book for me - it felt all over the place from the start and I couldn't get into it, so had to put it aside.

Mini review:

DNF

I received this E-ARC via the publisher and Netgalley in exchange for an honest review. I saw this book on Netgalley. It sounded interesting and I requested. Unfortunately it wasn't for me.

This book was so annoying! The love stuff was ridiculous. Even the parents were involved. It was just one cliche after another. It truly annoyed me no end.

Do not recommend. Seriously there are better books out there.

Oh how I wanted to so badly love this book! But I can't honestly in good conscious say that this book had me gripped from page one till the very last sentence. It just isn't so. I do think with some more time that this would become a enjoyable experience to read but as it is the story is lack luster and is in need of a character overhaul.. The cover is beautiful though. I do wish I could really offer more but I think at this point it is better to keep it plain and simple.

This is just a fabulous spin in the Supernatural world. I can't say enough of how much I loved reading this one. It's fast paced. It's action packed. Has a slight romance twist. I love the uniqueness of Hinder. I don't think I have yet to come across one that is based on Benders and Wielder side of witches yet. I love the magic that comes to life in this one. Ethan and Alex have this amazing pull together. But in this world it could be deadly. Ethan and Alex had me rooting for them to not only figure out how to work together but the fight they had not only for each other but the enemy in the Necrocretors. This is may have been my first read by Kristin Ping but she just became a one click for my need of the Supernatural.. This is just an amazing book. I'm so glad I took a chance on it. Hinder is one of those books that should be taken a chance on.

I found myself pushing to get through this one and it's never good when that happens for me. I'm usually a reader that finished a book within 24-48 hours at most. This took me almost a week to finish. The beginning was too info heavy and I kept having to go back and reread to refresh my memory - would have been better spread throughout. The heavy info also made it hard to grasp my interest. I just could never connect to the story and I REALLY wanted to love this one.

This is the story of a teenage boy and girl, with abilities, hidden with a group of like abilitied people from the outside world.
The premise of the story is that they need each other but if they get together it will kill one of them - with a side story reminding us it's about who you are not what you look like.
For me the story was a little tired, big events happen but it didn't really feel like anything did.. the time span of the book is likely over about three to six months but for me it felt like it was a day or two.
If you like the paranormal you might enjoy this but be aware it doesn't feel original or different

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for a free ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I really struggled on my rating for this.

Hinder, according to the author, is part of an overarching series that focuses on the witch branch: the Wielders and their Benders. Alex Burgendorf is an Earth Wielder, a rare and powerful witch wanted by those that use their powers for their own gain. She has spent the last sixteen years in her aunt's locket, hiding from the dark powers that want her. Ethan Sutcliff is an Earth Bender, a rare and powerful Guardian that is able to control, bend, or move his Wielder's magic away from harming humans. And now the time has come for Alex and Ethan to meet...for Wielder and Bender to train, prepare, and become strong before the threat reaches their door.

This sounded totally up my alley. It had so much potential and yet fell hopelessly flat.

I think the largest issues I had with the book is that it felt like a YA that the author didn't want listed as a YA and the Wielder/Bender relationship didn't feel completely thought out. Here are some of my major thoughts.

A Wielder and Bender being romantically involved is forbidden. You find out the result of the what (finally) towards the end of the book but you never find out the metaphysical reason of the why. And why it only happens to pairs when love is involved. Sure, it's hinted that it's a "curse" but this feels like a cop-out and provides an easy way to throw in sex to bring this book into the New Adult category rather than the YA category it should be in.

Earth Wielders, on top of being the most rare and powerful class have another ace up their sleeve:

"She said whoever my Bender was would never be able to resist me. That I had to be the strong one. Because earth Wielders were blessed–cursed?–with unnatural beauty."

Yup. They're insanely beautiful. Why? I have no earthly idea. So what does her mom do? Completely wrecks her life because she requires Alex to wear an unattractive glamour (with white hair...because that's definitely going to blend in) instead of her usual sun-kissed, lean, Amazon beauty to help hide her in plain sight. She's bullied at school, dubbed the Ugly Duckling, and she hates her glamour with a vengeance.

The amount of self-hate and insecurity about looks was completely unnecessary. It added way too much teen angst to this book (hello, YA) that could have been avoided by simply making her average. Not insanely beautiful but not insanely ugly...you know, like most of us readers. Or, you know, not making the MC insanely beautiful in the first place.

The whole book is supposed to explore the relationship between the Wielder and the Bender. How they work together to wield and bend the magic that they connect with. But there is one major question that never gets answered. Ethan can't do squat without Alex. From what I can see, Alex can do fine without Ethan. So what is the Bender there for? Do they act as a focus? Do they magnify what's there? The training sessions and battles were all over the place and I really couldn't get a good bead on this.

Less teen angst, less focus on sex, more focus on the mechanics, and a thorough edit. Hopefully by release this will be cleaned up but at this point I cannot recommend it.

2.5 stars
I have started and stopped reading this book for almost a month and still haven't finished. Usually, it takes me a day or two to finish a book. I don't often read YA but I get that sometimes the writing and content may not appeal to me, but I try to give it a chance. I need things to happen or I need to care about the characters and at this point, I don't care about the characters and I'm bored. I'm not giving up I'm at 62% and when I complete it I'll revise my review and hopefully will have had an aha moment.

I was given an ARC for my honest review.

"Hinder" followed Ethan, Alex, and their parents through their adolescent journey of being Wielders/Benders. In this book, Wielders are "witches" who have control over a specific element, but they need a Bender to help control and use their powers. In their case, Ethan and Alex have control over earth, which is the most rare and dangerous of elements, as they are hunted by Necrocretors who will try to kill them. Until they come into their full powers at 25, they are vulnerable. There is also an internal danger, as Wielders/Benders are attracted to each other, but being romantically involved is forbidden and dangerous (we learn very early that it is dangerous, but it takes most of the book to learn the why). We get pretty much all of this information in the first chapter, which felt like an information dump that sets up the rest of the book in a rather predictable way.

As for Ethan and Alex, our main characters, I found them hard to like. They are both shallow and immature. Ethan thinks of women in terms of animals (when he first sees Alex, he calls her "Fox" because she's... foxy), and his view on women doesn't get any better. Alex's life is ruined when her mother has her wear an unattractive glamour. She is bullied at school, but her hatred of the alternative appearance will not help anyone who has ever felt insecure about their own looks. She's also immediately dubbed a nerd, because glasses. I found them to be hard to like and rolled my eyes a few times at some of the lines. It felt a little like the YA tropes we see, and for me personally, it took away from the overall interesting plotline of Wielding and Bending, which could have been so awesome if it weren't constantly weighed down by so much teen drama.

I think the ideas in this book were great and this new idea of magic and this alternate world was fascinating. However, I got lost with the characters (even the parents, whose point-of-view we sometimes followed, did not seem much better), and so for me, it was overall "just OK" which is the reason for my rating. If it weren't for the sexual content which has given it the 'new adult' suggested audience and the cursing, I would actually suggest this might have made a decent middle grade book with some extra notes about bullying/resolution of bullying (but this would be a different tone overall).

Please note that I received an ARC from the publisher through netgalley. All opinions are my own.

This book was really exciting and fast paced. I really enjoyed the different elements of wielding and bending. I was holding my breath in anticipation of Alex big reveal and being able to show her true self. It was a bit awkward reading about high schoolers having sex but it wasn't too explicit to make the story unenjoyable. Especially since it was pretty realistic depicting teenage hormones. All in all it was a good read.

3.5 stars - Creative spin on elemental magic in a YA Fantasy book.

Many supernatural beings exist in the fantasy world created by author Kristin Ping; vampires, shifters, sentinels, and so on. This story focuses on witches, or magic Wielders, and their Benders. In a refreshing twist on the classic understanding of witches and witchcraft, Ping designed a ying-and-yang type relationship whereby Wielders have power over an element (earth, wind, fire, water, metal, etc), but not enough control to use it safely. Benders cannot generate their element from nothing (as Wielders can) but once their Wielder calls on their element, Benders control the flow and result of the magic.

Pair this new system of magic with your average high school drama, and you’ve got ‘Hinder.’ All around well-liked handsome jock, Ethan the Bender, has felt incomplete without his element, as his Wielder has been in hiding their whole lives. Shy and timid Alex the Wielder has been hunted since birth for her ability to wield Earth, and gets picked on relentlessly upon joining Ethan’s public-school due to her magically altered appearance.

Earth Wielder and Earth Bender meet, attempt to fight their attraction to one another, train together, discover secrets from their parents’ youth, and try to make it to the end of the book alive. With some colorful language and sexual innuendo thrown in for fun.

I voluntarily read a Review Copy of this book. All opinions stated are solely my own and no one else’s.

Recommended for YA fantasy readers. 'Hinder' will be available in May 2018.

I was expecting a lot of magic from this book. I mean elemental magic! YES. Two people having to work side by side to make it work. Yes. Their journey to finding each other and making it work. Heck yeah.
Alex annoyed me only for 40% of this book. After living in a locket for sixteen years, with only her family as company, you’d think she would be a little more socially awkward. Not in this case. Yes, she went through some embarrassing stuff but that’s not what bothered me. Since she was so drop dead gorgeous, her family made her go under a glamour to keep the bad guys away. Her new face was very unattractive in many people’s eyes and adopted a sick nick name. And while she tried to stick up for herself, she agreed with people. She was, despite her many attempts to not be, vain.
One of my highlights of this novel was definitely the magic. In this book, magic is controlled in pairs! You have the source or “wielder”, who can conjure the magic and the doer or “bender” who can control and do all the wicked tricks! So I really liked that part! I also liked the story behind the villains and that there was mention of other types of magical beings!!! The magic just really made this book for me.
I did not like Ethan, I thought he was very selfish and irritating. Especially his tendency to label girls as animals.
There was also a very over-powering romantic plot. I would have been alright with this had there been less emphasis on the drop dead gorgeous looks. While I like to think that teenagers go for more than just looks, I know that I’m talking about a very small demographic of teenagers.
Overall, I liked it. However, I think it could have used a little more umph.

In a world where witches have power to control an element to their will in teams of a Wielder and a Bender, those who manipulate Earth are rare. Having been hunted by evil forces for much of their lives, the pair of teenagers who can control Earth are finally brought together in Hinder by Kristin Ping.

Ethan is an Earth Bender, but his power has been dormant for three years, indicating that his Wielder is either dead or deep in hiding. Training with fellow witches, Ethan hones his fighting skills and attends high school alongside unsuspecting humans. Alex is an Earth Wielder who has been on the run with her parents, hiding inside her aunt's locket for the past sixteen years. Thinking that the time is right for her to find her Bender, they reappear in the real world, sparking a string of fatal attacks on girls who share a similar appearance to Alex. Navigating the real world behind an appearance glamour that masks her natural beauty and allure, Alex starts training with Ethan so both of them can develop their powers while trying to resist the romantic pull between them. As nefarious witches hunt them both down, they're faced with dangers, both bodily and of the heart. 

Despite being quickly paced with sequences of intense action and drama, this story could use more time to develop both the supernatural world and characters beyond broad strokes. A majority of the book was split between Alex and Ethan's perspective, providing plenty of insight into their hormonal teenage minds; however, there were two sections from one of each of their parents, which was a bit strange and broke up the overall narrative flow. While set in America, there were word choices in the dialogue and text that felt unnatural as they would be more traditionally associated with British English, such as "daft" and "mad" for stupid or crazy, and were, therefore, out of place in the chosen setting. A fair amount of tense shifting was present throughout the narrative, which will hopefully be addressed (along with other grammatical and typographical issues) before the book is released in 2018. 

Overall, I'd give it a 3 out of 5 stars.

I absolutely loved this book I recieved from netgalley for an honest review! It was the perfect mix of action, supernatural, violence, and romance that I absoultely love and Kristin Ping was very refreshing to read from. She makes her characters feel alive and truly there instead of just on the pages and it was beautiful.

I can't wait to see more!