Reviews of the Night Fall Series Books 10 and 12
The Night Fall series is a series of 12 books aimed at young adults written by different authors. I recently listened to two of the series on audiobook and I am sharing my reviews for both The Prank and The Late Bus today:
The Prank
Series: Night Fall #12
Author: Ashley Rae Harris
Published: August 1, 2011
Audiobook
Reviewed By: Jessica
Date Read: June 25, 2020
Jessica’s Rating: 2 stars
Book Description:
Pranks make Jordan nervous. But when a group of popular kids invites her along on a series of practical jokes, she doesn’t turn them down. As the pranks begin to go horribly wrong, Jordan and her crush, Charlie, work to discover the cause of the accidents. Is the spirit of a prank victim who died twenty years earlier to blame? And can Jordan stop the final prank, or will the haunting continue?
Jessica’s Review:
I was waiting for another audiobook to arrive and saw this was available and also a short one, right around two hours. It is part of a series that seemed reminiscent of the R.L. Stine Fear Street book series I absolutely loved as a teen. But it did not deliver for me.
First, it takes place in high school, and yes, I do enjoy YA books, but the teen drama was too much for me in this. There is a reason you may not want to go back to high school and this book showed it.
Jordan doesn’t like pranks but then the ‘popular kids’ invite her to come join with them. She doesn’t at first but then gets pulled in because they used an item of hers and left it at a location. Then things begin to get out of hand. Quite honestly, I don’t even remember the ending and even though it is a short audiobook, I will not go back to it as I did not really even care about the teens. It just tries to give a lesson for teens to not prank others or face consequences.
Purchase Links:
Amazon US
Amazon UK
The Late Bus
Series: Night Fall #10
Author: Rick Jasper
Published: August 1, 2011
Audiobook
Reviewed By: Jessica
Jessica’s Rating: 3 stars
Date Read: June 26, 2020
Book Description:
Lamar takes the late bus home from school after practice each day. After the bus’s beloved driver passes away, Lamar begins to see strange things–demonic figures, preparing to attack the bus. Soon he learns the demons are after Mr. Rumble, the freaky new bus driver. Can Lamar rescue his fellow passengers, or will Rumble’s past come back to destroy them all?
Jessica’s Review:
The Late Bus is the second audiobook in the Night Fall series I listened to. This one was much better than The Prank. This one was a 45 minute audiobook, but Warning Warning: We have a problem Libby App: This is only part of the story! If you look on Amazon, it says the book is 116 pages. 116 pages cannot be read in 45 minutes! Also when I started the beginning of the audiobook, the narration began with chapter 10. So we are missing the first half of the book. This is very unfortunate as I enjoyed this one. It is not ‘scary’ but a mystery. I don’t think it would be scary to ‘younger readers’ either. I was invested in the story and really enjoyed the ending and if I had gotten the whole story, I am sure I would have given it 4 stars. You can’t really review something when you don’t have the whole story, but being I enjoyed it, I tried to review it the best I could.
I am far from the target audience for these two books, I don’t think I would listen to the others in the Night Fall series based on these two books, but if I had the chance to read the whole book of The Late Bus I would. I would like to get the whole story. I hope if I ever re-read some of the Fear Street series I hope they hold up well for adult readers as they did for teen readers all those years ago.
Star Trek: The Next Generation: Section 31: Rogue
Star Trek: The Next Generation: Section 31: Rogue
Authors:
Andy Mangels
Michael A. Martin
Published: June 2001
360 Pages
Reviewed By: Kim
Kim’s Rating: 3 stars
Book Description:
They are the self-appointed protectors of the Federation. Amoral, shrouded in secrecy, answerable to no one, Section 31 is the mysterious covert operations division of Starfleet, a rogue shadow group committed to safeguarding the Federation at any cost. Six months before their ultimate battle against the Borg for the fate of Earth, Captain Jean-Luc Piccard and the crew of the “USS Enterprise”™ face a very different kind of crisis. A world in turmoil becomes the focal point of conspiracies and betrayal as an unexpected reunion brings with it startling revelations. Old friends become bitter enemies and one young officer reaches a crossroad when he’s forced to choose between the greater good of the Federation and the ideals for which it stands.
NO LAW.
NO CONSCIENCE.
NO STOPPING THEM.
Kim’s Review:
While I really enjoyed the first book in the Section 31 series, this book was a bit of a dud. As much as I love the TNG crew, I sludged through this book. To be honest, I can’t really say I remember much of what happened. I did go back and re-watched a couple of episodes of TNG to make sure I had all the groundwork. I just couldn’t really get into the story. It all just felt a little forced. It’s so sad, but I don’t think I could give any details from the story. I know there were Romulans and I learned a little more about Lt. Hawk before First Contact … but other than that, not much else. I remember kinda enjoying it while I read, but nothing stuck with me.
Purchase Links:
Amazon US
Amazon UK
Secondborn by Amy A. Bartol
Secondborn
Author: Amy A. Bartol
Published: August 1, 2017
Audiobook
Reviewed By: Jessica
Dates Read: April 6-27, 2020
Jessica’s Rating: 3 stars
Book Description:
Firstborns rule society. Secondborns are the property of the government. Thirdborns are not tolerated. Long live the Fates Republic.
On Transition Day, the second child in every family is taken by the government and forced into servitude. Roselle St. Sismode’s eighteenth birthday arrives with harsh realizations: she’s to become a soldier for the Fate of Swords military arm of the Republic during the bloodiest rebellion in history, and her elite firstborn mother is happy to see her go.
Televised since her early childhood, Roselle’s privileged upbringing has earned her the resentment of her secondborn peers. Now her decision to spare an enemy on the battlefield marks her as a traitor to the state.
But Roselle finds an ally—and more—in fellow secondborn conscript Hawthorne Trugrave. As the consequences of her actions ripple throughout the Fates Republic, can Roselle create a destiny of her own? Or will her Fate override everything she fights for—even love?
Jessica’s Review:
Secondborn has an interesting concept about birth order and where you fall in society. And you better not have a third child without permission! (Only firstborn’s can have children).Roselle is our protagonist and she is the second born child to a very elite mother, a mother who could care less about Roselle. Roselle even grew up on television and she is well known. But once her 18th birthday hits all life changes for her, she has to become a part of the army.
This is a coming of age story and Roselle’s fight to survive. There is also a love interest thrown in which I could have done without, but it becomes important later in the book and I am sure for the future books of the series.
Secondborn is similar to Divergent with the different sections of society (in Divergent you have a choice) with a female protagonist becoming who she is meant to be with a love story with a hottie thrown in. Ultimately it was just an ok read for me as it did not really add to the YA/Dystopian genre. I’ll stick with the Divergent series which I really enjoyed, despite the unpopular ending that I saw coming and actually enjoyed.
Purchase Links:
Amazon US
Amazon UK