Member Reviews
-- I received an eARC of this novel via NetGalley in exchange for a honest review --
I am rather torn about this book. It was a fine read, but there wasn't anything extraordinary about it. At times, it felt like the concept was not fully thought through, and there are a ton of open questions at the end. It also felt like the characters did not react to things naturally, but rather stayed very one-dimensional. I really tried to like it, but can't manage to feel anything but neutral towards it.
THE REVOLUTION OF JACK FROST is a creative retelling that’s fresh on ideas, but rather frosty on the delivery.
Enjoyed:
- The concept is amazing. I love the notion of a snow-globe world, and there are so many elements of it to explore.
- The opening of the novel hooked me right away. The prologue—and the epilogue, for that matter—were beautifully written, and those were my favorite parts.
- The banter between Gen and Jack was fun and cute. Possibly TOO cutesy, but I do know couples like that in real life, so it’s believable enough to me.
- I know some readers might want a more traditional romantic arc, where you see the build-up to the relationship. But I actually appreciated that the story started with these characters already in love. For me, traditional romantic arcs all seem the same after a while; they get boring and predictable. But when the characters start in a relationship, well, who knows where they might end up? (With that said, some things WERE predictable. The author made it incredibly obvious what Jack was up to, and I would’ve preferred for that to be more of a surprise twist. However, I imagine it will work for younger teen and tween readers.)
- I love genre-bending stories. This is primarily a dystopian/sci-fi novel, but it has fairy-tale elements that are skillfully woven throughout.
- That cover is gorgeous!
Didn’t enjoy:
- Nearly the entire book was dialogue. Thankfully, it wasn’t just talking heads; the characters did interact with the setting. Still, the excessive dialogue grew sooo tedious, and I found myself wondering what happened to the beautiful prose that the prologue had seemed to promise me. (I’m a survivalist, yet even I didn’t care about the characters talking and talking and talking about the minute details of their sheltering strategies.)
- Gen, the main character, is largely defined by being Jack’s girlfriend. I know virtually nothing about her as an individual, which is disappointing on many levels.
- There are a whole bunch of side characters, but we don’t get to know the majority of them. They’re all pretty flat.
- There were many technical errors such as typos, misspellings, action erroneously being used as dialogue tags, etc. I’m hoping these will be fixed before publication, but they were so numerous that I found it distracting. The writing definitely needs some polish.
- I would’ve liked to see more diversity (handled with nuance and respect, of course, not just thrown in). There weren’t any queer or trans/nonbinary characters, and I can only think of one POC in the whole book.
The bones of an amazing story are certainly here. This is one of the most fascinating concepts I’ve come across in a while. The execution needs a lot of work, though, and I hope it can get there.
ARC provided from the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. Thank you, Bleeding Ink Publishing!
I cannot keep on reading books that Don't captivate me. I was so exited to read that book, and the story itself sounds good...but the execution is so bad, that i could not finish it.
I'm a very simple girl, I see a Jack Frost retelling, I request.
So the basic gist of this book is that the characters are living in a snow globe where weather's changing however it wants. The winter lasts the longest, so they need to harvest as much food as possible during spring, summer and fall. The characters are unaware to the fact that they are a part of a science experiment. The weather in this "snow globe" is controlled by Morozoko Industries in a desperate attempt to improve the way humans react, prepare and survive different weather scenarios.
Now, Genesis and Jack are in a relationship from the start - but the thing is, this doesn't feel like a relationship or a romance. There are no spark between the characters and if it wasn't for the one sentence kissing from time to time, I wouldn't even have thought that they were in a relationship (Gensis constantly pointing out that Jack is her boyfriend might have helped as well). Since the romance was already established, there was nothing to lead up to it and then it is important to create a good chemistry between the two characters instead, but they severely lacked any personality or interesting traits.
How does the authority and leadership in this book even work? From the beginning I thought Adam was the one in charge, but the people listen to Jack all the time? Why even have someone else in charge if everyone is going to listen to Jack anyway? There are so many characters from the start with little to no introductions that it is so hard to keep up with who is who - either try and shrink it down or make the characters more distinguishable.
One of my main complaints around this book revolved around the dialogue. The dialogue just seem so forced. There is no way that this is how normal people talk to each other. Our main girl, Genesis, and even most of the other characters, keep on saying the name of the person they are addressing and it is almost constant.
To conclude, this book does need some polishing. The characters, the story itself and how it is executed need work. For me, it is the dialogue that needs more developing - it felt unnatural and forced at times and the constant name-dropping eventually got on my nerves. This book just felt so juvenile in the way it was executed.
I’m not going to lie, the cover and title are what initially caught my attention with this book. Then I read the synopsis and it sounded like it was going to be a really interesting read. Jack Frost has always been a concept that I would like to see more of in literature. The idea of this group of people unknowingly trapped in a giant environmentally controlled globe was a very interesting concept to me as well. I thought that the two of these combined had the potential to make a great story.
I wanted to enjoy this one. I really did but, sadly it didn’t happen. It just never had that moment where it truly hooked me. The beginning was VERY slow. I got about half way through and started skim reading, which I hate and almost never do as a rule unless I’m doing a reread.
I couldn’t stand the characters. Jack and Gen both just really annoyed me and were very flat. Gen was just so oblivious and it drove me crazy. The side characters had the potential to be interesting, and I was more interested in them than Jack and Gen but, they still weren’t great characters. The amount of random extra characters was also overdone and unnecessary.
The writing style was very jarring at some points and dry and drawn out at others. I loved the concept of this story and the idea of Jack Frost intrigued me but, the execution was just awful. This could have been such a cool story and I was disappointed by how bad it ended up being.
I spent the evening reading this book. The title sucked me in to checking it out. My bad. I could not for the life of me figure out what the heck I was reading the first few chapters. I've read stories based on snow globes, and the people in them, as picture books, and some how hoped this was an grown up version of the same. I mean, really, Jack Frost. Well, it wasn't. I can't really say too much without giving away the story, but basically a big company is behind the snow globe these folks are the guinea pigs in as the outside world is being destroyed. To say I was disappointed is a vast under statement. Sorry. I am sure there are lots of readers out there who will enjoy the tale. Just not me.
I am a huge fan of Jack Frost so this book greaty appealed to me. I adored the world building and the character depth. It was a great take on the 'Jack Frost' tale and had me hooked from page one. I would highly recomend this book.
The summary had me so excited. Not to mention the cover! I really thought I’d love this one. But, I just didn’t.
This has a really interesting plot, but the characters absolutely ruin the story. So you can see how by disliking them, the story just goes out the window.
Overall, a genius idea with poor execution. :(
I wanted so much to like this book, the premise was intriguing, the cover was gorgeous, and I usually adore survival stories, but I just couldn't attach to any of the characters. All of them seemed flat and slightly mellow-dramatic. The transitions during travel were jarring, time skips made it seem like they jumped from place to place (not that I wanted to trudge through all that snow with them, but still) despite telling that it was hours. The bunker is supposed to house 200 people but it feels more like 50, which made things are to picture at times because I struggled to believe the sheer number of people involved inside the globe. The ending did surprise me though and made me want to read more. Easy and fast read, pacing didn't drag, descriptions were gorgeous, voice is distinctive. It wasn't bad, just not as amazing as I'd hoped.
I kept waiting for this story to take off but it was slow and confusing. It just felt like something was missing.
Thank you so much for allowing me to read this book.
This book just was not my cup of tea. It was bland, all the characters felt so juvenile, and the romance was wretched. I don't want to say much as my opinion is not great on this book, but I seriously didn't like any of this.
Thank you K.M Robinson and netgalley for providing me an ARC for an honest review.
First off...a Jack Frost retelling...yes, please!!! I loved the overall sound of this novel and was so excited to jump in and read it.
When I first began reading it I was slightly disappointed because it felt slow and definitely not what I was expecting. The characters were untreatable and a bit mundane and I didn't like the dynamic of the novel as it felt too similar to another very popular series.
Once I reached the halfway point the plot did thicken and it picked up the pace creating a quicker read and by the end my heart hurt for the overall emotional aspect K.M is so good at achieving. I blazed through the last 15% of the novel and when it ended I was left with a lot of "Oh no" and "What!" S
The relationship between Jack and Gen wasn't my favorite. I had a hard time picturing any character other than Jack which is a real issue for me. The whole dynamic of the bunker and who is in charge is confusing and seems to not be set in stone. It seems that Adam is the actual leader but in reality it seems like Jack is officially the one in charge, it's too up in the air for me to get a solid feel on.
In the end when they take a troop out and it says there's a hundred people with them, I NEVER imagined the bunker being that big or remember any inclination or reference to it being able to hold that many people so I was kind of frustrated with that confusion.
There are a lot of punctuation and spelling errors that can be fixed with one more editing run through.
I will say I had no idea how this was panning out to be a Jack Frost retelling until the very very very end but I loved how K.M turned Jack into this new character but I wish there had been more of a connection. The ending was left open for a sequel which I will definitely want to read.
Overall I loved the idea of this novel and the fact that it could have been a very unique twist on a well know story and I do recommend it to other readers out there who love retellings, a little romance, and survival stories.
First of all, the cover's gorgeous.
Believe me, I've tried to get past page 68 pages. I even took a break from the book, thinking it was me. It's the writing and the main characters really annoyed me especially Genesis. I could not connect with the characters. I mean with the sentence, "She put on a soft smile for him." This is a girl who crushes after a guy. Sorry she would've not have to make an effort to smile softly for a guy if there's such a thing. Just not realistic. The writing felt forced to me. I DNF this book after 68 pages. I'm sorry, I couldn't handle it anymore.
But the cover is is so breathtaking! One star for the book cover.
I received this ARC from Net Galley in return for an honest review
The revolution of Jack Frost was such a fun read ! I absolutely loved the theme behind it and how they were in a “snow globe” of sorts where outsiders studied them and were constantly changing the weather on them. It’s a great read because it not only shows what humans will do to survive but the science fiction involved is incredible ! I loved how outside the globe their was a war waging and families were volunteering their children to go into the study and no one had any knowledge of anything outside the globe .
This book was a nice quick read. It did have parts that didn’t make much sense, and that was too hard to understand, but overall it was an okay read.
I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own
I knew what was coming at the ending but I was still broken.
The Revolution of Jack Frost is one of the best retelling I have read !! Although I was kinda lost in the beginning, I stuck through it and grew to love the adventure. Once I got to the fourth or fifth chapter, I got a grasp of what was going on and I could clearly imagine the story.
With Jack Frost being one of my favourite characters, I was excited about reading this book. Filled with love, suspicion, and survival, K.M.Robinson brings to life a journey that will question your convictions.
This is the first time reading K.M.Robinson's book and I am hooked !! Now I feel like I need to read all her books because she's like the queen of retelling.
I would recommend those who love retelling and adventure to read this book. It is absolutely stunning.
I received a complimentary copy of this book from Bleeding Ink Publishing through NetGalley. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.
This wasn't what I was expecting. It is so much better. I am 100% excited for the next book! This take on Jack Frost was really cool and interesting to read. It kind of reminded me of The Maze Runner in a way, but not. If you get my meaning. I really like the whole seasonal change and how each person has a job. The whole bunker works as a well-oiled machine in the short time they have until the winter to keep them supplied. But when things start changing, that 'machine', as it were, adapts to start saying hey look, we need to figure this out. They don't miss a beat. Loved it! 5 stars.
This was just not a good book. I pushed through because it wasn't that long. But the plot was too dull. I felt like I kept stopping. This Revolution of Jack Frost first enticed me because I love Jack Frost, I love Morozko and I thought this would be a cool retelling. it was none of that. This concept was too similar to The Maze Runner for me to even begin to enjoy it. Think of a weather controlled Maze Runner and that's the book. I found the characters to be just random and really had no development whatsoever. Genesis is the main character even though she had no personality unless talking about Jack. I didn't believe in their friendship let alone any romantic feelings. I don't understand why Jack wasn't the MC, he was one mentioned the most. The Hierarchy of the group confused me. I thought Jack was in charge because everyone listened to him, but it was actually someone else.
I didn't read the synopsis before going into this, and maybe that's where I went wrong, but I just saw Jack Frost and thought I'd give it a shot.
Thank you for letting me read this ahead of publication, but it was just not for me.
I loved this take on Jack Frost
Fun, innovated and the writing was great! Really loved the fact that it was unique to the point that J.F. retellings aren't saturating the market.
Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for the chance to read this book!
I'm going to admit, at first with this book I was rolling my eyes at the cheesy romance and waiting for it to pick up, but when it finally did, I found myself really enjoying it! I actually really liked the romantic message; the ability to love someone but not agree with what they are doing, or be able to support it. Sometimes you have to let love go and see what happens, and I did like this difference. There were a few plot holes, and also this edition being an ARC had a few spelling errors. I also felt there were times when things were written too simply; they did this, this happened, then this react. Rinse and repeat. But essentially, I felt like this was a solid read and should present better with some polish.
I can't say I've read many Jack Frost retellings specifically, but I have read many retellings and as they go this one wasn't too bad. I'd recommend this for people who enjoy YA fantasy retellings. Four stars (rounded up from 3.5 because I'm generous and I liked that epilogue)