Member Reviews
I've read, and enjoyed a surprising amount of YA books. I don't recall this being one when I requested it. Regardless, it reads as not only bland YA but written by a.. less than experienced, possible younger than what I may be used to normally reading?? Honestly not sure. But.. I'm giving myself a "pass" card after about 1.5 chapters.
If you like action, this is the book for you. It's a non stop action thriller. The plot reached the limit on my plausibility.
This wasn't a bad book, although the characters were somewhat one dimensional, but it wasn't the book that I was expecting. The jokes became stale after a bit and the ending after ending became tiresome. However, the premise was original, so major props for that. I think there are a lot of people who will enjoy this, even if it wasn't to my taste.
Three Remain is a wonderfully crafted story. It starts off in one direction and finishes up somewhere you never imagined. Wonderfully developed characters continually provide surprises as this unconventional story evolves. The complex dynamics between the three main characters was interesting to watch and I thought that they brought a fun and bright outlook to an otherwise bleak situation. Three Remain is an unconventional take on the usual dystopian tale – a blend of Sci-fi, adventure and romance - and a great read!
Thank you to NetGalley for providing me with a copy of this publication, which allows me to provide you with an unbiased review.
The title “Three Remain” and the cover where there are three silhouettes sat together looking out to the ocean were, what initially attracted me to the book. From the cover and then reading the blurb I thought the book would possibly be post-apocalyptic in genre. The actual genres listed are Sci-Fantasy which would fit with my “post-apocalyptic” guess and also mystery & thrillers are listed which has me even more intrigued and curious about the book. I should add that upon reading the book the cover is a scene featured in the book, which I like.
The book started off quite well, we met the characters individually staring with Traci, a teenager who has just been dropped off at the movies to meet her friends. Unfortunately for Traci it seems her friends are late and she can’t reach them via her phone. She finally decides to go inside the theatre to get settled and save seats for her friends. As she settles down the ads start and the lights go down and Traci feels so tired, she just can’t keep her eyes open….
Next up to be introduced is Sara who is checking the map on her phone checking the estimated time it will take to get to where she needs to be though she is a bit annoyed about being tasked to follow a guy who clearly has no record. To her it doesn’t make sense to be tailing this guy! As her car goes around a curve in the road, she somehow loses control and ends up on a crash course with a tree….
Finally, we are acquainted with Glen who we join whilst he is looking in his rather bare fridge finding only a bruised apple. He settles on the last bottle of Corona, which he clumsily ends up knocking and spilling. It’s then he see’s what looks like a meteor. After watching the meteor spectacle Glen, tries to find any news about exactly what is happening but when he doesn’t find anything online, on the radio etc. he decides to go to bed. He sets is alarm as usual and goes to sleep. The next day Glen awakes and its then he finds out there is no electricity or internet and that his water is in short supply too. So, Glen gets washed and shaved by torchlight and heads out to his prized possession, his Mustang V8. It’s whilst he is out in his car that he comes across a crashed car. He rescues the woman who cannot remember anything, not even her own name. Despite this she refuses Glen’s offer to take her to a Doctor she almost demands he take her to his home for her to clean up and tells him in no uncertain terms that he shouldn’t get any ideas because he is far too old to date her!
I was quite immersed at this point we had four, though the identity of the crash victim that was rescued by Glen is really obvious to work out. Anyway Glen & Sunshine, which is the name Glen has given to the car crash victim he rescued decide to search for some food and survival gear in town. It is whilst they are doing this that they meet up with Traci and become a group of three. Its then everything gets somewhat confusing, admittedly I have gone into reading this book with the expectation of a great post-apocalyptic story.
I did enjoy the banter between the characters such as, when the trio are going to have something to eat and Glen gets out Spam. “Eyeing the dishes on the table, Traci asked, "What's Spam?" "You don't want to know, dear," Sunshine answered.” And again, later in the book when Glen calls Sunshine Pocahontas, and Traci is feeling left out and unheard, “So, who is Pokeeho . . . never mind. I must be wearing a Harry Potter invisibility cloak because you never see or hear me," whined Traci. "I watched all the movies. The second one is my favorite”. Throughout the book Sunshine draws the attention to the fact she perceives Glen is wanting to date her, and as Glen is older than her, and far too old to date or even be interested in him in that way. Sunshine sometimes acts like she is as young as Traci, for example “Sunshine asked, "Will you read a bedtime story to us, Daddy?" To be honest Sunshine going on and on ended up being a bit irritating. I did like how the characters banded together in a kind of “us against whatever is going on”. I was also sceptical about Sunshine not having any ID on her at all. From what we know about her I would guess she is either a Private Investigator or most probably a Policewoman, so where’s her badge? These characters are introduced slowly and we see how their relationship with each other grows but I couldn’t help feeling I wanted the book to move faster. It felt like it was dragging on a little to me. Sunshine and Traci fall into a kind of “mother-daughter” relationship and it is really believable. Traci does look up to both Sunshine and Glen for guidance and they willingly accept and take on the parenting role.
I really did feel like giving up on the book a few times, but I wanted to know what was going on. I also wanted to give the book chance. I thought it was suddenly going to turn a corner and then bam it would pick up and really get going. There were sections of the book I did enjoy such as the section with the sharks and dolphins though I did find it rather “obvious”.
My immediate thoughts upon finishing the book were, well I honestly don't know what to say! If there was a half a star it would be one and a half stars as I liked the characters and enjoyed reading how they met up, but that was about it!
To finally sum up, I feel I need to explain and/or justify what I felt and have written about this book. The book seems to explore every possible plot and I mean explore the individual possible plot directions and probable cause of this strange atmosphere that Glen, Sunshine and Traci have found themselves in, before one final twist turning the plot into something totally different again. I liked the characters and as I got to know them, I grew to like them more, but to be truly honest by the time the final twist and ending of the book arrived I didn’t really care anymore! When that final twist was revealed it felt so rushed. We had spent the whole book meandering on, and when the whole truth was going to be revealed it was haphazard and rushed. Sorry I persevered to the very end but this book just was not for me.
Three Remain is odd to say the least. It was nothing like I expected, but it turned out to be very interesting. Take three quirky sassy characters and place them in a fog bank. Now, the journey begins to find out where everyone went and what is going on. It's just not told in a typical fashion. Along the way it's just straight up weird and bizarre. The story is lively and entertaining, and I didn't know where it was headed. There are some good twists and turns here and there. If you can get past the silliness, it's actually a good read. Because it's so weird, it keeps your attention. The characters are meh. Kinda likeable and kinda not. The overall picture is quite intriguing for the story, so give it a try. Thanks to NetGalley for an arc in exchange for an honest review.
WOW! I was so excited to start reading this book. What a great premise...three very diverse people have to come together to fight an unknown threat.
HOWEVER, the characters quickly grew DULL and boring. The three main characters were so annoying, the same dialogue happened over and over again.
The females constantly telling the male character to quit looking in a sexual manner at them.
The one females amnesia was so overdone and ridiculous.
The teenagers obsession about a phone, NOT the facts around them that the world is over as they know it.
I quit reading 25% into the book.
This book is NOT good, I can't believe anyone published this book!
I will NOT leave a review on goodreads.
Thanks to Netgalley for the ARC. This is a very enthralling sci-fi/adventure tale. It's a dystopian novel that makes you think it's going a certain path, then goes somewhere totally different. Apocalyptic tales, I'm very picky about. I'm so tired of zombies!!! This was one told right!
This science fiction novel had me on the tip of my toes or maybe rather on the edge of my seat and had me going to bed too late. It is a very entertaining read and suspense keeps very high throughout the whole story.
One morning when a lawyer goes to work he finds a woman who was in a carcrash. When they go into town they notice that there is no one around and phones, internet and electricity are not working. The only person they meet is a young girl and there is a huge fog bank blocking the road. Then things get dangerous.
To tell more would spoil your fun but if you like Steven King's novels this is one for you.
An additional plus of this story is that there is a lot of good humour in it although there were situations the teenager grated on my nerves.
(I cannot find it on Amazon yet)
This one started out so great, I loved the premise, it was such an interesting idea. I always love a good post apocalyptic novel and this was no different. The characters grew on me, the plot was intriguing and it was fairly fast paced. I would recommend it.
THREE REMAIN was an amazing novel. I actually never knew what was actually happening, and each time I though I figured it out, or that the characters figured it out I was wrong. Great twists and turns. I highly recommend this novel.
Thank you netgalley for providing this ARC for an honest review.
I was a bit confused with the beginning and felt this story could have been written with better transitions. We get different perspectives as each character is revealed but we don't know much about what caused the disaster. The characters meet and to be honest are a bit annonyingly rude to each and act too calm for the end of the world. Just didn't enjoy it as much as I would have liked.
The publisher gives a good summary of the plot: "A girl, young woman, and a man discover themselves in a countryside void of people and imprisoned by thick fog. Brought together by circumstance, the three confront bizarre, life-threatening challenges as they try to unravel the mystery. Dependent on one another, the unlikely trio must find a path to rejoin humanity."
This isn't apocalyptic fiction, although at the beginning it could easily have gone that way. What it is, however, is unclear for a long time. Certainly it's suspenseful, with the three characters running into strange circumstances again and again. They begin as strangers but slowly grow on each other and learn to trust each other's instincts, but why they have such good instincts is hard to fathom. For a patent lawyer, a woman with no memory, and a young teenager obsessed with her cell phone, they have some extraordinary innate abilities to cope with emergency situations, and let that be a clue. (They're not super heroes.) But still, I dare say you won't see the truth of the situation very quickly.
There are some quibbles: both the teenager and the woman have a habit of giving the man a hard time, with the woman repeatedly warning that he has "no chance" (and given their circumstances, he's not looking for one). The teenager acts like a younger kid much of the time, and even given the scary situation they're in, she complains way too much, questioning the adults over and over about the reasons for their plans. Both females get freaked any time there's a chance the guy will see them undress. My own thought each time was, "Really, THIS is your overriding concern?" I get it that the author wanted to show that the girl is young and the woman is upset that she can't remember her past, but it was way too repetitive. Where was the editor? WAS there an editor?
But given my complaints, I have to say I zipped right through this (OK, I skimmed some parts and seem to have missed nothing consequential) and ended up liking the book way more than I expected. It really was fun.
I really liked the characters...And the premise was great at first. Then it got weird...And weirder...then just stupid. I loved the first half and hated the second half. But I loved the characters The whole way thrpugh.
I appreciate the advance copy from net galley.
My thanks to NetGalley and publisher Selladore Press for the ARC.
Three strangers are brought together: Glen, who witnessed a meteor shower before he went to sleep; Sara, who crashes her car into a tree that night, and Traci - a 13-yr-old who falls asleep in a movie theatre.
When they all 'wake', there is no cell communication, no power, no other people. The three - older man, young woman, and teenager band together to face this new alien world - did a mass-evacuation following a catastrophic disaster take place overnight? And why were they surrounded by a thick fog-bank?
Well, as the story went on I became convinced this was another 'take' on The Truman Show (look it up).
I'm afraid I wasn't really convinced all the way along. Lots of irrelevant 'action', leading to irrelevant results.
Quite frankly, I think this should be classified for the teenage market, mainly because of the amusing dialogue only a 13yr-old can come up with after all social communication is cut.
I stuck with it only from a sense of duty to review it - so this is the review. Not for me I'm afraid. Too long, too drawn-out, too convenient and childish..
I'm sorry, but this wasn't for me. I do like stories that are the 'end of the word' style but I have to say that I found this one just too far fetched. I think this will appeal to fans of this particular writer, but in all honesty I did give up after a while.
This was a bit of a different genre for me and initially I got sucked into the story. Like the characters I was constantly guessing about what was going on. The first half was quite gripping and my curiosity was peaked which kept me reading on. Unfortunately after the first half I felt the story started to derail and the plot was all over the place. It's a shame because it started so well.
One morning the sun comes up and the world has changed. Glen wakes up in his home where the power, communications and internet are all down. A woman crashes her car on a traffic free road and pre-teen Traci wakes up in an empty cinema. Where is everyone else? Why is there no power and what is that fog preventing them leaving the district?
This book started quite well. You have 3 diverse people coming together to face an unusual situation. However, as the book progresses the characters start to be inconsistent and the plot starts to fall apart.
I started by getting irritated when Sunshine (the woman in the crashed car) had amnesia. Talk about an over used plot device which, in my opinion was unnecessary. Then she turns out to be a survival specialist and a crack shot with a gun – very convenient. Traci’s attitude seemed to go between that of an 11 year old to a much older teen depending on the storyline. She didn’t ever seem vastly perturbed about their predicament and was glad not to have her parents around. Glen seemed the best character but even he seemed to be a little too good at survivalist tactics and intelligence tests. He was, after all, an office worker in insurance & not a top army officer.
The plot was slow to begin with but when the pace increased it all got rather silly. Sherman tank driving androids pushed my patience to the limit but later we meet female androids who seem to be sex mad and I felt enough was enough.
So just over 55% through the book I called it a day. To be honest I am surprised I continued that long. In precis we have an amnesiac survival expert, cardboard characters and a plot that descended into a farce. Not the book for me.
I received a free copy of this book via Netgalley.
While the book wasn’t particularly well written, it started off well and was compelling for about half of the book. At the midpoint it started being kind of silly and then degenerated into a sixties sci fi movie plot. Unfortunately I did not finish it.
I am sorry to say that I did not finish this book. I really tried, but after the first few chapters, I could not get into it. The characters left me cold and the situations were all over the place which made sense with the story line, but they did not grab me in any meaningful way. I got about a third of the way through and called it a day.