Review: The Silent Bluebird

Author: Elle M. Holmes

Started reading: May 29th 2022

Finished the book: June 5th 2022

Pages: 276

Genres: Fiction, Science Fiction

Published: November 17th 2020

Source: Netgalley

Goodreads score: 3.67

My score:

Synopsis

The stories we read have the power to change our lives.

Sadie Smith lives an ordinary life, unlike the extraordinary ones of the characters in the books where she finds an escape. She dives into her stories with wanton abandon.
Until one story changes it all.
The story of the impetuous Killian Quinn: an agent for the Zeta Defense Agency, determined to avenge his fallen partner. As she follows him further down the rabbit hole, worlds collide when she awakens with her hands tied to a chair in the face of armed men. Sadie finds herself dropped in the middle of a battle between secret agencies she didn’t even know existed, but maybe where she’s belonged all along.

My thoughts

This book sounded really interesting when I saw it on Netgalley, and I was happy that I was able to read it! Definitely a quick paced book that is easy to read through. This book has a fun cast of characters and a lot is happening, so I'm sure a big audience will like this book. This has been a debut for Elle M. Holmes, and I think it's a pretty good one! Sadly it has been silent on her socials for two years now...

Pros

• Half chapters: I have never seen half chapters in a book, and I found that to be very original. We follow the POV of Sadie, but sometimes we get a sprinkle of different information through half chapters. I thought it was unique and something I had not seen done before.
• Sadie: One thing that really irks me in books is when characters are dumb or very naive. Things can be RIGHT in front of a character and we as readers clearly understand what is happening and the character will not have a clue... Luckily, in this book we have Sadie! She is really smart and not like a naive character AT ALL. I could really appreciate that!

Cons

• Coincidence: I did love the story in this book, but some parts felt like they weren't all that cohesive. The story actually started pacing because of coincidences. If those things hadn't happend, we would not have a story. Throughout the book there were some errors as well, like the wrong name or place in a sentence... So, yes, the story was fast paced and fun, but it did make me feel like some things were lined up perfectly to happen.
• Thoughts: It was really weird and awkward to read the thoughts of people. I feel like no person thinks the way these people do and it made it feel very unnatural in places where there were really big parts of thoughts that we were reading.

Overall

A fun, quick paced story that felt unique and original. The little sparks of humor and the friendships in this story were a nice addition as well. If you're looking for a quick, fun science fiction read, this is one to pick up!

Other opinions on this book

"Rich with off-the-cuff humor, The Silent Bluebird is a spirited science fiction foray into ancient and modern knowledge, which certain power plays are determined to keep hidden for their own use and abuse."

- IndieReader

Memorable quotes from this book

"If you never expect anything, you'll never be disappointed."

"Still, that small part of her that felt she always needed to prove herself, to work hard enough to be valued, screamed self-doubt in the back of her mind."

Thanks for reading!

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