I was really surprised with this book - I was hooked from the beginning. I have never heard of the author, but the story she was telling was novel and not something that I have read before. Although the main storyline wasn't anything special (apart from the premise), the ending was not something I saw coming and it was a pleasing ending that left you wanting the read the next book

First, I have to say - this cover is GORGEOUS.The cover relayed so many emotions to me. There seems to be a blank slate staring at me, yet you can see pain and terror beneath that. I really went into with the hopes of something wonderful that I could share with my kiddos. Unfortunately, the book fell flat. The book was very predictable, and not in a good way. Several times the plot was one dimensional and lacked any kind of progress. The love triangle is a typical but poorly done. It slows down the plot to a nerve grating pace. There were times that I felt like it could turn itself around, but then the book hit a stalemate again. I did finish the novel, but I was very disappointed in the quality of story. This title was a 3/5 star read for me.

This book reminds me so much of when I used to read books on Wattpad. It had the whole "who will she end up with" feel to it. While I liked the nostalgia, this wasn't the book for me.

This book follows the main character, Ann, as she wakes up on a beach to two handsome men. She's then taken to a secret facility in a mountain complete with an in-mountain beach. There, she learns that she is a reader who is able to read minds.

This book has some really good elements. The plot is extremely well thought out complete with a history into the beginning of the readers. Everything that seems impossible is well explained which makes it a little more realistic.

However, a lot of the book revolves around Ann finding her love interest. This isn't bad for everyone, but it wasn't my ideal idea of a good read. However, 15 year-old me would have loved it.

Another interesting thing is that the readers tend to be as good-looking as their power is strong. Ann is extremely strong, so she is extremely "beautiful". It's interesting to read about the author's view of "beauty". In this case it's a 5'3" woman weighing in at 110 lbs. While not necessarily a bad thing, I did hate how much of this book revolved around physical attraction. Again, 15 year-old me might have liked this aspect, but not me now.

Because of the majority of this book revolving around physical looks and "who Ann will end up with" I wasn't a fan of this book. However, it's well-written and you may enjoy it. It just wasn't the book for me.

The story starts off strong with our heroine waking up on the beach with a gunshot wound and no prior memory, including her own name. She's quickly rescued by two guys, one "nice" and one "mean", who whisk her away to a mysterious compound where they claim they can help her regain her memories, and (of course) a love triangle ensues. Once at the compound she's told she is part of line of genetically mutated humans who can read the minds of non mutants, hence the title, The Reader. It's soon revealed that she may be "the lost one" who is the key to finally ending the war that has spanned millenniums between the two remaining types of mutants: Readers who read minds and Jacks who hijack bodies of non mutants.

This book pulled me in right away and kept me up late into the night to see how the story would end. The love triangle was predictable, and while some of the characters were so cliche it was laughable, they were also likable and kept me vested in the story. Insta-love's not really my thing but in this case I'll overlook that. I'm huge fan of sassy characters and this book had enough to keep me entertained.

I don't want to spoil anything but my main peeve was that we had all this build up for (in my opinion) an anticlimactic ending.

Overall I enjoyed this book and think it's worth recommending.

Seers, mind readers,and body jumpers oh my! If these are the types of things you are interested in dealing with fantasy novels then this book is for you. I give it a solid 4.5 stars. Very interesting story thats an open and shut case. You won't be left with a cliffhanger here although I would be very excited a prequel would be great. Half a star taken off for the jumps in time between chapters that seemed a little off. Would definitely recommend though.

*I received this book from Netgally in return for an honest review.

I finished this book in just two days. It was so amazing!

A young lady wakes up a lone, with a gun shot and no memory of being shot. No idea what has happened and no idea as to who shot her or why. She has no idea who she is or where she came from. She is rescued by two young men whom take her back with them to their home deep in the mountains.Little by little she finds out her name , where she is from and why she is being hunted.Her name is Ann. Someone will soon betray her. Even though she can’t remember anything, she will do whatever it takes to keep the people she loves and cares for safe.

Little by little she finds out her name where she is from and why she is being hunted.Her name is Ann. Someone will soon betray her. Even though she can’t remember anything, she will do whatever it takes to keep the people she loves and cares for safe.

This was a fast and great read it grabbed me right from the first page and never let go until the last page. I loved all the characters and the world that they lived in. Ann was one tough cookie who could fight as well or better than any man.

If you have not read The Reader then I would like to suggest that you do as well. If you like reading a story filled with suspense, intrigue and lots of twist and turns then this is the book for you!

Loved it!
It was very intriguing, I wish there was more to it because I really enjoyed some of the characters.
Unfortunately, it was a tad predictable at times.

It was an interesting experience, going into this book without knowing anything about it - no synopsis, no details, just the genre classification. I was wary - after all, who knows what you are getting? But I cannot say enough how pleased I am that I took the opportunity to read this book. I read it in two sittings (ok, I am on holidays!) in less than 24 hours because I could not put it down. I don't want to reveal too many details about the novel, because it was such a good experience for me going into the book blind. If you are looking for a YA novel and a fan of Sci-fi/fantasy set in a version of our reality, then please pick this up! You will not be disappointed. I am about to start on Book 2 - so I have to go! Enjoy.

The lack of a synopsis caught my attention, and when I saw that other reviews said it was best going into it with no information, I was intrigued! (Obviously, this is not the case for non-NetGalley readers, as the book DOES have a blurb, but it is also suitably vague.)

That said, I was pleasantly surprised by the story. It was imaginative, fast paced and suspense-filled. Harkins does some lovely concept building with the Jacks, Readers and Seers. She lays a strong groundwork for everything that happens to Ann, whose story is revealed in bits and pieces to her (and to you, the reader.) Great suspense as we try to figure out what the truth is of her situation, and there are some good twists.

While part of a series, Ann's story is wrapped up nicely, which I appreciate.
(Honestly, this is my favorite kind of series - I'm too impatient to wait a year between installments.)

This will be a fun one to review as the less spoilers provided, the better!

I am glad this is the first in a series! This was an enjoyable, fast-paced, YA thriller/fantasy novel. There isn't much premise so I went into it blind and I am glad I did, it made it that much better. Great captivating story line with good pacing.
Loved it!

#TheReader #NetGalley

First and foremost thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for providing me with a free ARC of this book.

The writing: the story line was very intriguing and it was the reason I requested this book. The writing was mediocre - the descriptive part of the book was pretty good, the dialogues not so much. At times, I wasn't sure who was talking, when there were more than two people involved in the conversation. The dialogue was a bit cringe worthy, but nothing I couldn't get over.

There was a lot of info dump in parts, instead of getting information by showing, not by telling, but also nothing I haven't ran into before.

The biggest issue for me was the main character, Ann. She wakes up on the beach with a bullet hole in her arm. Someone is after her and she has amnesia. So far so good. She is taken by two hot guys - one nice and one grumpy to safety of their compound inside a mountain. They are part of special "humans" who are called the Readers - they can read minds. Still pretty good.

Then Ann decides to freak about how everybody in this compound is extremely good looking and pretty much a super model. OK, a bit odd, but I go with it. AND THEN SHE ASSUMES THAT SHE IS UGLY or PLAIN or SIMPLE looking???? What in the freaking hell?

Aaaaaand at this point I am out and done with this book.

I don't have an issue with a person (girl or a boy), who feel like they have appearance issues. I have been there when I was a teenager. I had zits and my father would remind me every single day, why was my skin looking so terrible and why wasn't I doing anything about it (clearly, he never heard of puberty, but oh well). But why would the writer make a girl ASSUME about herself that she is ugly or plain? She has amnesia. She can be looking like a Victoria Secret model and yet she believes that she is this plain looking thing among hot people? COME ON! That is, to me, straight up insulting.

And I am not wasting my time with a character like that.

Fantastic story! Kept me on the edge of my seat, the love story is as beautiful and unique as the storyline

This was a quick and enjoyable read. I liked the ideas and the writing but towards the end I thought it would not have an end, that the author would have left the final open and continue in the next book because there was still so much to say. I liked Devon from the beginning and I loved Lucy, I also liked Ann but both her and her relationship with her soulmate needed more space. I believe the biggest flaw of this book is that it needed more pages.

Thankyou to NetGalley, Victory Publishing and the author, M. K. Harkins, for the opportunity to read a digital copy of The Reader in exchange for an honest, unbiased opinion.
Well, I honestly think this is a very promising start to what is going to be a fantastic series.. I really enjoyed this good, quick read. I was very disappointed when I turned the last page though. It meant I now have to wait for the next book in the series..
The story was well thought out and written. You are immersed into the storyline with amazing characters. I loved it.
Well worth a read.

I actually really liked this book. I am interested to know whether there is more in the works or not. I would 9/10 recommend.

I received an arc of The Reader from Victory Editing in exchange for an honest review.

Where do I even begin with this review. This book was not deep, it was predictable and it was so corny. I loved every minute of it.
We follow Ann who has lost her memories, we know as much as she does, that she’s being chased and that she’s been shot. 
Ann is taken in by a group of people called Readers who have the ability to read minds and from there a whole load of craziness happens as they try to work out whether she’s the ‘Lost’ one, the one to be a soulmate and begin the war.
This book was crazy. It held everything I wanted for a trashy YA novel, we had love triangles and bad boys, sinister plots and a whole lot of predictability.
I could say that I predicted at least 90% of what was going to happen in regards to romance and people’s motives. However, I was given a few good plot twists towards the end of the book which had me stressed and unable to stop reading.
The writing style reminded me of the Shatter Me or Hush Hush series. Very romance based, cheesy and corny; obvious. It was great and I wish I’d written it. If you’re looking for a deep, hard hitting, complex book though this is probably not the one.
The plot of the book was easy to follow, Readers read minds and Jacks are horrid, and kept the book fast paced which worked well paired alongside these romantic thoughts. 
The world of the Readers and the Jacks was well thought out in regards to how they live and why they behave as they do. It didn’t seem fully developed considering the book is very short, however, it wasn’t hard at all to follow and did make sense. Considering that the main parts to follow involved Ann’s feelings this didn’t affect the book and the overall plot served as a good bit of fantasy/sci fi to explore.
The only real criticism I had is that the name ‘Ann’ really wasn’t for me.
I NEED to pick up ‘The Jack’ immediately.

This started of as a really promising read. In fact, for about three quarters of the book it was really promising, but I'll come to that in a moment. There was lots of mystery surrounding the beginning. This was helped along by our MC, Ann, who wakes up on an island, being shot at. Cue mysterious and good-looking boys, an underground secret citadel, magical powers, and danger. All a great start. My main beef is with the ending - in fact the last quarter or so of the book. It just felt a bit rushed. I was fully expecting this to turn into a beefy trilogy, but instead, the author seemed to rush to squeeze everything in and get to the end of the story. The loose ends are tied up with something of an epoligue, but for me it would have been much more satisfactory to let the story play out at a more natural pace.

Thank you to NetGally for providing me an advanced copy in exchange for an honest review.

I'm going to be honest I DNF'd this book around 50%. I just didn't connect to it or any of the characters. Chapter 6 & 7 are literal info dumps, and although I don't always believe it's better to show vs tell, I think this was a situation where it would have worked better. This book is also super fast and I just felt like all the characters were poorly written.

I'm sure this would be an awesome read for someone else but I just wasn't interested.

This book came just when I needed it too. I have been struggling to finish a book I have been reading and so I took a quick break and read this beauty. At 231 pages it was a lovely quick fun read. The cover is so stunning, the model is beautiful and Blue of the eyes pop making the cover more interesting (considering I usually hate covers with faces).

I liked the premise and the idea of humans that can read minds was fun and different. Ann wakes up on a beach with no idea who she is. Devon who is not so nice and Archer who is nice turn up just in the nick of time to save her from gun shots.

The mystery of the story was cleverly continued and I didn't get bored with not knowing what was going on because there were other things going on. Such as the Ann/Devon/Archer romance.
Each character had a reason for being included in the story and they were represented with the correct amount of page time. There were some fairly predictable plot twists but also a couple of huge twists that I did not see coming.

I fully enjoyed this book and would love to read another book in this world even though the book was finished so nicely. I will be keeping my eyes peeled for other books by M.K. Harkins as I would like to thank him or her for getting me out of this particular slump.

Thanks For Reading

Emx

The story was interesting. The characters were relatable. What bothered me the most was the pace. To me, it went too slowly. I would still recommend the story to others. As stated, the story was interesting.