While I appreciate the foundation of this book, solid world-building and a great idea, the execution made this a struggle to read. When I have to sit down with the intention of forcing myself to read a book just so I can get it over with and write a review, it's obvious there's a problem. If this book had been written as well as it's synopsis, this review would be very different.



All the elements for a fun adventure romp are there, the execution was just not up to snuff. The pacing and character development was inconsistent, most characters were two dimensional or changed their values too quickly or without a good enough basis for the decision. The story ended up feeling like a hodge-podge of key words the author randomly generated and had to incorporate into the story. I would be interested to read something by this author when her style has matured and has an editor who will work with her to iron out these issues.

What an exciting and fun read! Heist books are really neat, because you never know what kind of characters your going to get and this rag-tag group was funny and special in their own way.

I tried to finish this book, but life is too short for bad reads and this one was bad for me. I put it down and didn't really want to pick it back up. I did not like the heroine. She often made no sense and said and thought mean/stupid things. When I did finally decide to try it again at about 62% one of her team members was discussing what he was going to order and said soup and something light to go with it like a salad, no that's too light... and I was thinking bread.... she rolls her eyes... which reminds her of her first graders... and quits listening because he is so idiotic... meanwhile she is drinking her supper. I hate to think of this woman with anyone's impressionable 5 year old and if they are rolling their eyes in first grade... she probably taught that to them. Also, the way she brought up sex immediately with the soothing hummer guy was just weird and contradictory. https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/2409580975https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/2409580975

#EyeOfTheColossus:ASteampunkSpaceOperaAdventure #NetGalley

publisher synopsis: Some think the City of Jade Spires is a utopia. It very much isn’t.
Holly Drake is in prison for defending herself from a murderer. That’s the kind of corruption thriving in the city where evidence is destroyed and the innocent go to jail.

But everything’s about to change.
Someone exonerates Holly and she walks free. She has no idea who. Or why. But they have a job for her. Steal back the Eye of the Colossus, a priceless jewel. It’s about to be moved off-planet, and when that happens, the trail will go cold.

Out of prison with no other work on the horizon, the job is a gift. If only she knew how to pull off a heist. The clock is ticking. If she can assemble a team and pretend like she knows how to do this, maybe she can fake it long enough to do a job better suited to a master-thief. Why Holly? Who’s pulling her strings? And just how far across the moon system will she have to go to finish the job?

This is Holly Drake. Someone tried to kill her once. She survived. This time, she’ll conquer or die trying.

The Eye of the Colossus features a snarky, strong, bad ass heroine on her way from the bottom of her game to the top.

If you don't like seeing a woman experience self-doubt, overcome obstacles, and then dominate, this book is not for you.

Love strong female leads, an entertaining cast of characters, and adventure? Then grab your copy today!



I had a really hard time getting into this book and a hard time liking the main character. You pretty much need to memorize or print out and keep close the beginning of the book that lists all the species, character traits, etc. This book is weighted down with politics of the the different species in the beginning of the book so much so, the storyline gets lost. Also there was A Lot of cussing, which in this case seemed to take away from the plot instead of adding to it.



I received an advance reader copy in exchange for a fair review.

I appreciate the imagination, creativity and originality of Eye of the Colossus. The background/world development is strong. BUT, there was a lot of character dialog verbal and internal, creating a reader disconnect. I can admit part of it was the third person narrative, a lot of she said, and he said, and part of it was conflicting statements made within minutes of each other. The vacillation in the characters thoughts, actions and comments just kept me from loving it.

Teacher to wrongfully imprisoned inmate to hired thief to vigilante justice seeker, Holly Drake is definitely reinventing herself.

I received this ARC copy of Eye of the Colosus from Nicole Grotepas. This is my honest and voluntary review.

I received this novel from net galley and the publisher for an honest review. Thank you!!
This novel was better than I expected. It addresses issues such as abuse and child trafficking. Holly Drake was sent to prison even though is was self defense. There is much corruption in the police force that they made evidence "disappear". Holly gets released from her sentence early and learns that someone wants her to find a jewel that was stolen from him. Holly cannot go back to her old job and needs money. From old friends to new acquaintances, Holly begins together a team of four other individuals, each having skills she needs to pull off the job and secrets of their own. Holly is struggling to overcome her own issues and has to lead her team, which is a challenge for her. As Holly and her team dig deeper into the jewel they are trying to recover, they begin to unravel something that they did not expect, which leads them to believe the corruption is so entrenched that you do not know who can be trusted. I am looking forward to the next novel in the series!