2.5
Altered Helix
ByPublisher Description
I didn't want to take the traditional path. First, I wasn't ready for college. Second, I was going to live with my best friend, Tiff, and work at the Haunted House. Third, did I mention the hot guy Josh that works there too?
The most exciting thing about Austria's new job, at a local haunted house, was the fact that the toughest looking people screamed the loudest. But when she meets the boy without a home, Josh, Austria's life takes intriguing and eventful turns. Up until now, Josh has managed to hang with his Street crowd, but they're in danger, and so is Austria, the girl Josh recently fell for. The group finds themselves joining forces with previously considered enemies who also now find themselves in danger.
Deeply compassionate and full of twists, Altered Helix captures the struggle of polarized people that must work together for the greater good.
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Meet readers like you in the Fable For You feed, designed to build bookish communities5 Reviews
2.5
May
Created over 3 years agoShare
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“*I was kindly given a copy of this in exchange for an honest review*
I wasn't a big fan of any of the characters. It felt like there were a lot of them and you never really got to know any of them. It felt like they were written to further the plot and not like they were actually people with their own personalities. There was nothing likeable about them and they weren't relatable in any way. They did nothing that would suggest they had a life outwith the plot or prior to the book. Ultimately this made it dull to read because you never felt for the characters and therefore didn't care what the consequences of their actions were. Everything they did felt scripted. It was really hard to read.
There wasn't any humour. I always feel bad marking down a book for a quality that I personally like but is not a necessity for a book to have so I'm giving it half marks. I would prefer if it had some to lift it and give it some more personality, but hey - that's just what I like.
The atmosphere of the book was interesting. I loved the setting of the haunted house - it was super interesting and different. I also enjoyed the seeing into the setting of a "streetkids" life. It would have had more impact if Austria was richer or hadn't experienced that kind of thing before and would have provided more drama to the plot as well as creating more interesting dynamic between the characters and their environment.
I think ultimately the writing of this book is where it fell down. If the characters had been better this could have been amazing! The plot certainly had a lot of potential to be great. But the lack-luster characters impacted on the overall intrigue and just dragged it down. Also I found it very hard to follow, it flitted between past and present without a decent separation or an indication that time was changing. The writing was also very very heavily focused on description and not much interaction between the characters which didn't the fact they already felt distant. Normally I am a fan of more descriptive or elaborate writing styles but because this was such a short book (only 89 pages) it didn't have enough of a balance to warrant so much of the book being description. This then impacted on the plot because so much of the time was spent describing and reminiscing that you didn't as much drama or intrigue from a plot that had a lot of promise. Also, I felt like there were a lot of Info-dumps in this book, but it was weird as it wasn't the typical one massive info-dump. It was more like loads of shorter ones that felt out of place either because of what they were saying or who was saying it. This was super obvious in the part with the doctor trying to explain her "special" DNA.
From the description this book sounded great. Everything I could possibly want - Romance, mystery, thriller, paranormal stuff but sadly it fell short. It felt like the book didn't know what it wanted to be so it tried to be everything and failed. There were so many sub-plots that just didn't work together or connect. Instead of the fantasy and harsh real-life elements grounding each other and adding believability they just seemed to oppose each other so much it was as if you were reading two separate stories. Also nothing seemed to happen in the book. The one dramatic thing happened at the 90% mark and was resolved in the same chapter so it again reinforced the idea that there was no consequences for the actions of the characters so it just lost all of it's impact. The end felt rushed and just erased all the things you previously had been told to be true. I really was not a fan of how it played out. If I could have picked a plot line to go with I would have stuck with the homeless/streetkid and human trafficing plot - because it was far more interesting. If you took out the supernatural element of this book it would have improved it and you wouldn't feel like anything was missing.
It was extremely predictable. Like I touched on above, because you don't relate to the characters the things that should grab you and make you excited to read on just don't work because you don't care about what happens to them and therefore you don't care about what happens in the book either. The fact all their answers felt scripted also distracts from the overall intrigue of the book because it feels fake and predictable. When "big plot events" happened the characters just come off as stupid or naive because they had already either guessed it would happen or had suggested something bad was about to happen.
I was holding out hope that the romance would be so cute that it would redeem this book slightly more for me. If anything it only degraded my opinion more. This is the worst case of Insta-Love I have ever read in my life. Half a page. In half a page the characters go from being introduced for the first time to kissing...AHHHHH!! Could there be anything more painful?? I'm not a fan of insta-love but I can cope with it if the romance develops and has enough to stand alone despite it's beginnings - this did not have this at all. On their first date she talks about potentially loving him forever, this isn't some naive thirteen year old, this girl is meant to be college age...come on now!
If you couldn't already tell...I strongly disliked this. (hate is a strong word) It was painful to read. There was no interest, it felt fake and forced and the characters were not only dull but badly written. My biggest gripe with this book however was at 21%. Austria is talking about the movie Ghost, with the famous actors Demi Moore and...Ethan Swayze. Yes, you read that right. ETHAN Swayze. I'll run through my thoughts with you. Firstly my brain goes into confusion - rereading it over and over to make sure I've not miss-read or misconstrued the sentence. I didn't. Then my brain goes to Patrick Swayze is potentially one of the biggest male heartthrob actors ever - how the author can get his name wrong is beyond me. Then it hits me, there's a character in the book called Ethan and I realise what happened. At some point Ethan must have originally been called Patrick, and for whatever reason the author decided to change his name. Instead of going through and changing it all she used the replace all button. This isn't an issue if you then proof-read your work but she obviously didn't. How am I meant to care or enjoy a book when the author clearly didn't take the same time or care in ensuring her book was of a good standard. I can forgive spelling and grammar errors as they are easier to slip through the cracks but this is just sloppy.
Full review here: https://hawthornbookreviews.com/2020/06/22/altered-helix-review/”
Sophril
Created almost 4 years agoShare
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“I received a copy of this book from the Author and R&R Book Tours, for an honest review. All thoughts and opinions are my own.
Altered Helix is a young adult, mystery, romance. This was such a quick read I was halfway through the book before I realized it.
This book has dystopian elements since this book takes place after the fall of the American National government, the States are left up to governing themselves and as a result, a lot of social programs have disappeared and there are more homeless people than those living in homes it seems.
This book kept me entertained the whole way through. The concept is interesting and I really like how the title of this book ties into the story. There were a few elements that I did not jive with me. This book is full of instalove and I just don’t care for that and I am not a big fan of dystopian stories.
I can not wait to continue the series and see where the story goes from here.”
Meli's Book Reviews
Created over 4 years agoShare
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BookDragonGirl
Created over 4 years agoShare
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“This was so good!! I had a hard time putting it down when I had to. But I read quickly, and not just because it was short, but it grabbed my attention from the very beginning and then I kept wanting to see what happens and what exactly was going on. I was not disappointed, and I’m really looking forward to reading the next book!!!”
“Altered Helix is a mystery, thriller and part romance. It was a very easy read that I could get through in one sitting.
There are a lot of twists and turns and sometimes you think you know the answer and then Stephanie comes back with a different twist.
This book was very hard for me to really get into. It started off with what was eventually going to be towards the end and then jumped right into "so many days before" and all the events that happened to lead up to that point.
It felt very jumpy and hard to understand at times.
Still a very good read if you are into mystery with a great thrill ride!!”
About Stephanie Hansen
Stephanie Hansen's short story, Break Time, and poetry has been featured in Mind’s Eye literary magazine. The Kansas Writers Association published her short story, Existing Forces, appointing her as a noted author. She has held a deep passion for writing since early childhood, but a brush with death caused her to allow it to grow. She's part of an SCBWI critique group in Lawrence, KS and two local book clubs. She attends many writers’ conferences including the New York Pitch, Penned Con, New Letters, All Write Now, Show Me Writers Master Class, BEA, and Nebraska Writers Guild conference as well as Book Fairs and Comic-Cons. She’s a member of the deaf and hard of hearing community.
Other books by Stephanie Hansen
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