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Saturday, June 25, 2011

Review: Fury (Fury #1) by Elizabeth Miles

Publisher: Simon and Schuster
Published: August 30, 2011
Pages: 352
Source: For Review from Simon and Schuster Canada (Thank you!)
Rating: 4 Stars - I Loved It!


Sometimes sorry isn't enough....
It’s winter break in Ascension, Maine. The snow is falling and everything looks pristine and peaceful. But not all is as it seems... 
Between cozy traditions and parties with her friends, Emily loves the holidays. And this year’s even better--the guy she’s been into for months is finally noticing her. But Em knows if she starts things with him, there’s no turning back. Because his girlfriend is Em’s best friend.
On the other side of town, Chase is having problems of his own. The stress of his home life is starting to take its toll, and his social life is unraveling. But that’s nothing compared to what’s really haunting him. Chase has done something cruel...something the perfect guy he pretends to be would never do. And it’s only a matter of time before he’s exposed. 
In Ascension, mistakes can be deadly. And three girls—three beautiful, mysterious girls—are here to choose who will pay. 
Em and Chase have been chosen.

In short: Fury by Elizabeth Miles is an engaging and thrilling debut with realistic characters and a chilling storyline.
Karma is a bitch, and it comes in the form of three gorgeous deities from Greek mythology called the Furies. Fury follows Em and Chase, in alternating chapters, and the typical high school drama surrounding their lives. But both Em and Chase have done something reprehensible. Chosen by the Furies for their wrongdoings, they have to learn the hard way that what goes around, comes around.

From the start of Fury, Em and Chase were not likeable characters; I don't believe they were supposed to be. After all, they had to be guilty of a transgression for the Furies to want to take revenge. They were both obsessed with popularity. Em contemplates cheating with her best friend's boyfriend and Chase nonchalantly treats girls as though they're worth nothing to him.

Rather than be turned off by their faults, I found I could at least appreciate the fact that they weren't saints. They were definitely no Mary Sue and Gary Stu. They were authentic teens with authentic teen feelings and immaturity. It was strangely a breath of fresh air from main characters that are instantly likeable, if that makes any sense. As they realize and feel genuinely sorry for what they did and how they'll have to pay for it, you can't help but sympathize with Em and Chase and forgive them for their stupid mistakes.

A large portion of Fury was taken up by high school drama with only some paranormal occurrences happening in the background. It read like a contemporary novel at times and I would have preferred had it focused a bit less on the regular drama and more on the paranormal aspect. But once more and more creepy incidents start to affect Em and Chase's lives about halfway through the novel, it took me by surprise how involved with the story I became. I went from not liking the characters and high school drama in the beginning to being sympathetic towards the characters and totally caught up in the chilling and freaky storyline as it unfolded.

Overall, though I did not expect this when I first started reading Fury, I really ended up becoming engaged in the characters and storyline as it became creepier and more horrifying. The ending especially was so intense and filled with so many shocking twists that I hadn't been expecting. I eagerly look forward to how the story will unfold in this planned trilogy. Fury will be released August 30, 2011.

Other Review:
i swim for oceans

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*Read as part of the 2011 Debut Author Challenge

28 comments :

  1. Fascinating! I love the idea of not-so-likable protagonists. I'm definitely looking forward to reading Fury! Great review. :)

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  2. For some reason that cover always gives me the creeps! I can't say that Fury's at the top of my wishlist but I do want to see what the Furies consider revenge because I have no idea what to expect. Thanks for the review!

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  3. Great review. :) This one's high on my tbr list.

    I love the mythology of the Furies, so I was hoping for a lot of creepy paranormal vengeance. But I've been reading more contemporary lately, too, and, well, who could resist that cover? Can't wait to start this one, and I'm glad you ended up liking it.

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  4. I like the idea of these not-so-likable protagonists, I can deal with that so long as the rest of the story is sold, as this seems to be. I guess I'll have to check it out! :D

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  5. I have this to read on galley grab, glad you liked it:D
    Have fun with bf.

    Michelle A

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  6. Lauren: Yeah, I was surprised to find that I liked it too. I think it only works for this book because they were supposed to not be likeable.

    Laura: Heh, what the Furies consider revenge is an eye for an eye... the result is pretty horrifying.

    Kat: I honestly had no idea who the Furies were before I read this. I had to google it. So I hope you aren't disappointed because you probably have higher expectations of them and the mythology going into this than I had!

    Alex: Yeah, for me anyway, I felt the rest of the story is sold despite the unlikeable characters, which were necessary to the plot.

    Michelle: I hope you like it!

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  7. Awesome review, Aylee, and I'm so glad to see you had similar thoughts on the characters. It's not often I can enjoy or appreciate a book while disliking the characters, but it made them authentic...ps...that end. Holy heck! Loved seeing your thoughts on this one! :)

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  8. I seriously love the cover. The whole hair/fire this is very cool. Wish my hair looked like that! :) Thanks for the review. I think I will pre-order this one. It

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  9. I seriously love the cover. The whole hair/fire this is very cool. Wish my hair looked like that! :) Thanks for the review. I think I will pre-order this one. It

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  10. I'm really looking forward to this one! I've heard the characters are a bit difficult to connect to which is a little worrisome, but overall I'm still excited for this one. Thanks for your thoughts Aylee!

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  11. Ace Review :) I am really interested in reading this one!!

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  12. I haven't read this one yet so thanks for letting me know what to expect. I like that you mentioned that you didn't think Em and Chase were likeable but added that they shouldn't have to be because they are being chased by the Furies. I'll be checking out Melissa's review tomorrow after I get some sleep. I'm off to bed now :)

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  13. Melissa: That end! Gah. I had lots of things that I could have said about it in my review because it was just, so, WOW, but of course that would have made the review spoilerific.

    Misty: Heh, she does have very pretty hair, doesn't she? I think it would pretty hard to maintain hair that long though.

    Jenny: Yeah, I can't say I was super connected to the characters... but that wasn't of great importance to me. Besides, after what happens to one of the main characters... I'll end that thought there :)

    Jess: Good, I hope you like it!

    Zahida: Yeah, exactly. That is the only reason why I thought it was acceptable for them to be so unlikeable. Heh, yeah get some sleep so you'll be well prepared to read Melissa's review because it's a good one, as always :)

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  14. Hm, I commented on this review the other day, but it doesn't look like it went through.

    I'm glad I read your review before reading the book. I so need to like the characters, but if I know ahead of time that I'm not supposed to like them, then I can be cool with that. Like with the Pretty Little Liars books.

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  15. Good to know. Yeah, I definitely didn't enjoy the characters, at least at first, and it was really affecting my enjoyment of the book. Once I came to the realization that they weren't really supposed to be likable, that is when I got into the plot and really ended up enjoying the book very much.

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  16. I want to read this one so much. I love anything mythology-related!

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  17. Oh l can't wait for this! l love it when books surprise you and there are twists =)

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  18. Julian: I would say this is mythology-lite, but I still think you would enjoy it :)

    Jodie: Love that too! The last third of this book... Gah, I can't say anything about it or else it'll spoil you obviously!

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  19. Gary Stu! I love it!

    I'm hesitant to jump into mythology after being scarred for life by Starcrossed. Add in the unlikable characters and I'm pretty sure this one isn't for me.

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  20. Oh no, bummer! I swear, I've head so many mixed things about Starcrossed that I really don't know what to think. Some people loved it but I really don't like hearing that you were scarred for life, yikes! I guess there are other great mythological reads coming out to focus on instead, namely Half-Blood.

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  21. What a way to open a review, Aylee.

    I'm not gonna lie. I was hoping with this book you'd get some in you face paranormal because of the concept and the cover, so I'm more than disappointed to hear it carried a contemporary feel to it most of the time with high school drama.

    Good thing the characters were engaging.

    Side note: why do I feel so tied of trilogies already?

    Excellent early review! Thanks.

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  22. Heh, thanks.

    I was disappointed at the contemporary feel at first, because like you, I was expecting something much more paranormal, but I was surprised to find that I really enjoyed the book despite that.

    Heh, not me. I still love me some trilogies. It does get a bit difficult keeping track of them all the time, admittedly. The good thing about standalones is that once they're done, you don't need to remember key details of the plot for the sequel when it comes out a year after.

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  23. This sounds good! A lot of Greek Mythology trends in literature today. I'll have to check this one out! Great review.

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  24. There is indeed a trend. And I, for one, love it!

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  25. This isn't at all what I'd expected from the cover. The book sounds very enticing. Thanks for an honest review.

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  26. Thanks for the review. I have this book and thought I would get to it, when I get to it. Now I want at it.

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  27. Ohhh this does sound interesting. I like that the Furies shadow these characters - what a great way to get some serious momentum going. And I love the cover. Great review!

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  28. Gina: Yeah, you'd expect from the cover lots of fantasy but I found it to be really in the background for the majority of the book. The ending really amped up the supernatural.

    Sara: I hope you like it! I can't imagine it'll be a book that everyone likes, but speaking for myself, I did :)

    BookGeek: It was pretty freaky reading about these mysterious girls following around the main characters wherever they went. It did amp up the momentum!

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