Official Review: Watchers by Marietta Standlee

[kandscreeley]

[Following is an official OnlineBookClub.org review of "Watchers" by Marietta Standlee.]

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3 out of 4 stars

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Morgan Crawford is a 17 year old struggling through life after her whole family is killed in a crash. After waking up from a coma, she struggles with amnesia. She get flashes of memories, but there are no emotions associated with it. Then, Fen enters her life. A transfer student, he captures her eye, and the two fall madly in love. But he isn't quite what he seems. Morgan learns that he is from another planet called Kronos. On Kronos, everyone lives forever leading to an overpopulation problem. To solve it, the inhabitants have learned to send their mind to live through people on other planets. Their bodies are then kept in stasis on Kronos. Fen was exiled from Kronos, but not everyone is happy with him still. Will Morgan be able to accept Fen even though he's an alien? Will Fen stay on Earth with Morgan, finally be allowed to return to Kronos or suffer an even worse fate?

Watchers by Marietta Standlee is also entitled Other Worlds: Earth and is the first in a series. The book is classified as young adult science fiction and is only around 150 pages. With no explicit content, little graphic violence and no swearing this would be very appropriate for younger teens up through adults.

While the premise of the book is not necessarily unique (a girl falls in love with an alien who has taken over a human boy's body), I did enjoy the characters and the fresh touches that the author put on the story. Morgan is not all that she seems either, and that made for an unexpected twist in the plot. The other students at the school are fun as well. Morgan's best friend Bree even makes up for the loss of her family. Every character was lifelike, even the most minor.

The story moves along at a good pace, and it's easy to get involved in. For most average readers, it won't take long to finish this book. That's not to say, though, that the book is too short. I think there is just the right amount of information for this first book. It wraps up nicely but leaves enough questions for the next book in the series that you want to keep reading.

The biggest problem I had with the book was the editing. The first thing I noticed was that there wasn't enough delineation between the paragraphs. It's difficult to tell where one begins and the next ends which is hard on the eyes. Even putting that aside, there were misspelled words all over the place not to mention atrocious punctuation. From dropped letters to homophones to way too many commas, this book will probably drive you nuts trying to read it. Even though I was very involved in the story, I got really tired of seeing "tiered instead of tired" or having commas cutting in the middle of a sentence. This really could use the help of a proofreader at the very least.

I had a great deal of difficulty trying to rate this book. On the one hand, the author knows how to weave a good story; I stayed involved from beginning to end and am actually looking forward to reading the next book. On the other, the editing left much to be desired and absolutely distracted from my enjoyment of the book. So, after much debate, I rate Watchers 3 out of 4 stars. I believe the plot and the talent of the author override the distracting editing enough for a higher score. I recommend this to any fans of alien science fiction that like a good, clean story regardless of age.

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Watchers
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Like kandscreeley's review? Post a comment saying so!

[Jackie Holycross]

Wow. Just the amnesia and coma would have made a good story. Romance with an alien ramps it up more. I’m inpressed to find a romance that does not feel steamy sex scenes are necessary. It sounds like a great package.

[Denis wekesa]

Marietta Standlee: actually, the author leaves me in dialema , but, next book will provide answers that two questions have being mentioned am eager to know what happened, I have learned something about love, that we should look before we leave.

[kandscreeley]

Wow. Just the amnesia and coma would have made a good story. Romance with an alien ramps it up more. I’m inpressed to find a romance that does not feel steamy sex scenes are necessary. It sounds like a great package.

It really was. I just wish the editing had been better. Thanks for commenting.

[Kat Berg]

Oh, I just don't think I could do it. I feel your pain! It is so hard to know what to do with a book that has a good story but the editing issues make it...words fail. I have said it on numerous occasions: A good editor is worth their weight in gold. And it is a very wise author that uses them! Thanks for your review.

[Anon_Reviewer]

I'm a huge fan of YA fiction and I think I'd enjoy this book. I really hope the author gets it edited because it's terrible when bad grammar and spelling get in the way of a good read. Thank you for an awesome review!

[revna01]

I actually thought the premise was unique, but I am not very well-versed in sci-fi, so I'll defer to your judgement. Poor editing strikes again, but I'm glad you enjoyed he book and the characters were fully developed. Thanks for a great review!

[kandscreeley]

Oh, I just don't think I could do it. I feel your pain! It is so hard to know what to do with a book that has a good story but the editing issues make it...words fail. I have said it on numerous occasions: A good editor is worth their weight in gold. And it is a very wise author that uses them! Thanks for your review.

I completely agree. Editors are worth paying for. Thanks for commenting.

[kandscreeley]

I'm a huge fan of YA fiction and I think I'd enjoy this book. I really hope the author gets it edited because it's terrible when bad grammar and spelling get in the way of a good read. Thank you for an awesome review!

If you're a fan of YA fiction, you'd really like this. Hopefully the author will use an editor on this one. Thanks for commenting.

[kandscreeley]

I actually thought the premise was unique, but I am not very well-versed in sci-fi, so I'll defer to your judgement. Poor editing strikes again, but I'm glad you enjoyed he book and the characters were fully developed. Thanks for a great review!

Thank for commenting. It seems that so many authors don't think that an editor is worth it. But they are definitely worth it.

[strawberrysab]

I usually love sci-fi, but this one doesn’t sound like something I would enjoy. Thanks, though, for your great review.

[DathanReeves]

Since it starts on earth, would you say this book in the series is like a prelude to what's to come?

[Samantha Simoneau]

I'm so torn! Clean story? Check. Sci-fi? Check. Love story? Check. I'm also itching to know what the plot twist is, but "atrocious" editing seriously grates on my nerves. Another wonderful review, though!

[Amberlily]

I love this genre but I honestly haven't read a whole lot of books about alien romance. I would be willing to give this one a shot but... I'm not sure if I could power through all of those editing issues. As a writer I know it's very easy to make mistakes even if you are well rehearsed in the rules of grammar. Some people seem to trust that editing their own work is enough but this is a good example to know that other people should definitely look it over before publication. This is something I would consider reading if the author does have an editor fix this up eventually. Great review!

[gen_g]

Oh, I just don't think I could do it. I feel your pain! It is so hard to know what to do with a book that has a good story but the editing issues make it...words fail. I have said it on numerous occasions: A good editor is worth their weight in gold. And it is a very wise author that uses them! Thanks for your review.

I totally agree! It is such a pity when the errors present totally puts the reader off reading the book, especially with so many. Thanks for the lovely review as always!